The Ideas Letter Podcast

The Ideas Letter Podcast

episodes

On The Ideas Letter Podcast: A project of the Open Society Foundations, we speak with thinkers and practitioners exploring unconventional and heterodox ideas from around the world. Each episode features authors who challenge assumptions, provoke new ways of thinking, and help us engage beyond borders.

To learn more, and keep the conversation going, make sure to subscribe to the podcast feed or visit The Ideas Letter.

Mar de Dudas: Conversaciones para navegar el desconcierto con Carlos Bravo Regidor

June 1, 2026

Mar de Dudas

Carlos Bravo Regidor
Hosted by Mario Arriagada

¿Qué le ocurre al liberalismo cuando el guion que lo orientó durante tres décadas deja de corresponder al mundo? El analista político e historiador me…

Pedro Domingos, "The Master Algorithm: How the Quest for the Ultimate Learning Machine Will Remake Our World" (Basic Books, 2018)

May 30, 2026

The Master Algorithm

Pedro Domingos
Hosted by Gregory McNiff

In the world's top research labs and universities, the race is on to invent the ultimate learning algorithm: one capable of discovering any knowledge …

What AI Means for Fiction: A Discussion with Literary Critic Mark McGurl

May 26, 2026

What AI Means for Fiction

Mark McGurl
Hosted by Paul Starobin

How is the tool of Artificial Intelligence shaping the writing of fiction? Is AI emerging as more than just a potentially handy aid to an author—and, …

Yosef Grodzinsky, "How Deeply Human Is Language?: Chomsky, the Brain, and the AI Fantasy" (MIT Press, 2026)

May 24, 2026

How Deeply Human Is Language?

Yosef Grodzinsky
Hosted by Mariam Olugbodi

How Deeply Human Is Language? Chomsky, the Brain, and the AI Fantasy (MIT Press, 2026) is Yosef Grodzinsky’s exploration of the criticality of the lin…

Odd Arne Westad, "The Coming Storm: Power, Conflict, and Warnings from History" (Henry Holt and Co, 2026)

May 6, 2026

The Coming Storm

Odd Arne Westad
Hosted by Charles Coutinho

From a renowned Yale historian comes a chilling look at the looming threat of the next Great Power war and the urgent interventions necessary to avoid…

Jeremy Harding's Analogue Africa: Notes on the Anti-Colonial Imagination

May 5, 2026

Analogue Africa

Jeremy Harding
Hosted by Leonard Benardo

Jeremy Harding has long been one of the premier essayists and journalists of our day. Elegant, committed and free of cant, Harding's writing has often…

A Shakeup Is Coming for the Nation-State: A Conversation with Stephen Sims

April 27, 2026

A Shakeup Is Coming for the Nation-State

Stephen Sims
Hosted by Gregory McNiff

Stephen Sims’ New Atlantis essay examines how emerging technologies are reshaping the structure and authority of the modern nation-state. He argues th…

Oil and Militancy in Nigeria: A Conversation with Noo Saro-Wiwa

April 26, 2026

The Burning Ground

Noo Saro-Wiwa
Hosted by Ayisha Osori

Noo Saro-Wiwa is an author and journalist. Born in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, and raised in England, she attended King's College London and Columbia Univ…

Roland Betancourt, "Disneyland and the Rise of Automation: How Technology Created the Happiest Place on Earth" (Princeton UP, 2026)

April 23, 2026

Disneyland and the Rise of Automation

Roland Betancourt
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

When Disneyland opened to the public in 1955, it demystified the hidden world of factory automation through its extraordinary new attractions. In Disn…

Sarah Murray, "Powered by Smart: A Prehistory of Everyday AI" (NYU Press, 2026)

April 22, 2026

Powered by Smart

Sarah Murray
Hosted by Pete Kunze

Powered by Smart traces the techno-cultural evolutions that made artificial intelligence feel more familiar than futuristic. From wearables and stream…

Adrian Woolfson, "On the Future of Species: Authoring Life by Means of Artificial Biological Intelligence" (MIT Press, 2026)

April 20, 2026

On the Future of Species

Adrian Woolfson
Hosted by Gregory McNiff

Imagine a future where we grow houses rather than build them. Where smartphones are alive, clothing has opinions and all human knowledge fits into a s…

Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna, "The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech’s Hype and Create the Future We Want" (Harper, 2025)

April 13, 2026

The AI Con

Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna

In this episode, Emily M. Bender, Alex Hanna, Jeffrey Herlihy-Mera and Alex Rivera Cartagena discuss the looming social, cultural, and knowledge catas…

Caste and Tech with Murali Shanmugavelan and Sareeta Amrute

March 30, 2026

Caste and Tech

Murali Shanmugavelan and Sareeta Amrute

This episode features a conversation with Murali Shanmugavelan and Sareeta Amrute about how caste structures IT workspaces and communication infrastru…

Sam Illingworth and Rachel Forsyth, "GenAI in Higher Education: Redefining Teaching and Learning" (Bloomsbury, 2026)

March 17, 2026

GenAI and Higher Education

Sam Illingworth and Rachel Forsyth

GenAI in Higher Education: Redefining Teaching and Learning (Bloomsbury, 2026) provides practical guidance for higher education professionals looking …

César A. Hidalgo, "The Infinite Alphabet: And the Laws of Knowledge" (Allen Lane, 2026)

March 15, 2026

The Infinite Alphabet

César A. Hidalgo
Hosted by Caleb Zakarin

We all understand that knowledge shapes the fate of business and the growth of nations, but few of us are aware of the principles that govern its moti…

George Frazier, "Riverine Dreams: Away to the Glorious and Forgotten Grassland Rivers of America" (U Chicago Press, 2025)

March 10, 2026

Riverine Dreams

George Frazier
Hosted by Michael Simpson

Dr. George Frazier is currently an assistant professor of Computer Information Sciences at Washburn University, where his research focuses on such top…

Vanessa Rampton, "Making Medical Progress: History of a Contested Idea" (Cambridge UP, 2025)

February 15, 2026

Making Medical Progress

Vanessa Rampton
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Answers to the question 'what is medical progress?' have always been contested, and any one response is always bound up with contextual ideas of perso…

Daniela Stockmann and Ting Luo, "Governing Digital China" (Cambridge UP, 2025)

February 11, 2026

Governing Digital China

Daniela Stockmann and Ting Luo
Hosted by Peter Lorentzen

China's approach to digital governance has gained global influence, often evoking Orwellian 'Big Brother' comparisons. Governing Digital China (Cambri…

Helen Graham, "Deconstituting Museums: Participation’s Affective Work" (UCL Press, 2024)

January 16, 2026

Deconstituting Museums

Helen Graham
Hosted by Dave O'Brien

What is the future of museums? In Deconstituting Museums: Participation’s Affective Work Helen Graham, an Associate Professor in School of Fine Art, …

Kevin J. Mitchell, "Free Agents: How Evolution Gave Us Free Will" (Princeton UP, 2023)

January 1, 2026

Free Agents

Kevin J. Mitchell
Hosted by Mark Klobas

Scientists are learning more and more about how brain activity controls behavior and how neural circuits weigh alternatives and initiate actions. As w…