Conversations About The History Of Ideas

This Ideas Roadshow Collection includes the following 5 Ideas Roadshow Conversations which are based on in-depth filmed conversations with 4 leading intellectual historians and an award-winning author:

I. The Two Cultures, Revisited - A conversation with Stefan Collini, Professor Emeritus of Intellectual History and English Literature, University of Cambridge. The 'Two Cultures' debate of the 1960s between C.P. Snow and F.R. Leavis is one of the most misunderstood intellectual disputes of the 20th century. This conversation provides a careful examination and illuminating insights of what the issues really were in this debate.

II. Deconstructing Genius - A conversation with Darrin McMahon, Professor of History, Dartmouth College. The word "genius" evokes great figures like Einstein, Leonardo Da Vinci, Mozart and Shakespeare but what quintessential quality unites these individuals? This wide-ranging conversation explores Darrin McMahon's research on the evolution of genius from Plato to Einstein in an effort to illuminate what our evolving genius mythology reveals about the rest of us. 

III. Turning the Mirror: A View From The East - A conversation with Pankaj Mishra, award-winning author. Pankaj Mishra describes how the long shadow of Western colonialism has significantly affected, and still significantly affects, those in the East, giving us revealing guideposts to help us develop greater tolerance and cultural understanding.

IV. Pants On Fire: On Lying In Politics - A conversation with Martin Jay, Professor of History Emeritus, UC Berkeley. A thought-provoking book offering a careful examination of Martin Jay's extensive research on lying in politics from Plato and St. Augustine to Hannah Arendt and Leo Strauss.

V. Quest For Freedom - A conversation with Quentin Skinner, Professor Emeritus of the Humanities, Queen Mary University of London. This detailed conversation provides insights into how Quentin Skinner came to appreciate the importance of the distinction between the modern view of freedom and the so-called neo-Roman view, together with what it implies for our current and future political understanding.