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David Runciman

The History of Ideas Podcast
with David Runciman

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A bi-weekly podcast exploring the history of ideas from politics to philosophy, science to fiction.

Latest episode

The History of Bad Ideas: Deliverism

15 July 2026

00:00 / 01:04

Today’s episode is about a bad idea with a very recent history: David talks to political historian David Klemperer about the dangers of deliverism. When did the view that delivering for the voters is a good idea become so controversial? What does it get right and what does it get wrong about how elections are decided? Has politics become more about telling the right story than about delivering the right benefits? And is Andy Burnham a deliverist, a post-deliverist or something else?

Out now on PPF+ a bonus episode to accompany this series: David talks about what’s wrong with the idea of ‘the news’ and how it corrupts us all. To get this and all our bonus episodes plus ad-free listening sign up to PPF+ now https://www.ppfideas.com/join-ppf-plus

You can find out everything you need to know about this podcast – who we are, what we do, plus merch, events and full lists of all episodes including PPF+ bonus episodes on our website https://www.ppfideas.com

Next Time in The History of Bad Ideas: Celebrity

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More episodes

The History of Bad Ideas: Narrative History

12 July 2026

00:00 / 01:04

The History of Bad Ideas: Hysteria

8 July 2026

00:00 / 01:04

Where Are We Going? The Future of the Future

5 July 2026

00:00 / 01:04

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