PODCAST · history
The Burning Archive
by Jeff Rich
History helps us understand the cultures and conflicts of the changing multipolar world. But there is so much to read! Where to begin? Let Jeff Rich, writer historian, and ex-government official, be your guide to some quality world history. Appreciate world literature, discuss world crises and meet intriguing historians. Free weekly newsletter at jeffrich.substack.com
Episodes
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152. Nobel Prize for Literature Reading Challenge (Read all 120 winners since 1901). 1907-13, from Kipling, poet of empire to visionary anti-empire writer, Tagore.
Over the next months until October in the Burning Archive podcast I am inviting you to participate in this unique booklover's reading challenge. And the challenge opens a unique window onto the multipolar world's cultural history. Can we read together all 120 winners of the Nobel Prize for...
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151. How Western leaders can regain a sense of reality. Isaiah Berlin, "On political judgment"
What is the essential skill Western leaders need to regain a sense of reality, and to provide better leadership, diplomacy and statecraft? The great historian of ideas and political philosopher, Isaiah Berlin, proposed a solution. What can you learn from his 1996 essay, "On political judgment"?…
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150. Tagore on Nationalism in the West - a warning to today's world from 1917
Rabindranath Tagore was a great Bengali and Indian writer who won the Nobel Prize in 1913, just before the world went to war. In 1917, in the depth of World War One he wrote his essay, "Nationalism in the West". I read the full essay, and introduce you to the reasons Tagore why this essay…
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149. Rabindranath Tagore on Crisis in Civilization... in 1941 and today.
Rabindranath Tagore was a great Bengali and Indian writer who won the Nobel Prize in 1913, just before the world went to war. In 1941, in the depth of World War Two he wrote his essay, "Crisis in Civilization". I read the full essay, and introduce you to the reasons Tagore still speaks so...
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147. How the Japanese classic Chōmei, Hōjōki, from 1200 teaches us how to live wisely today
Please enjoy my reflections on and reading of a classic essay of Japanese literature from 1200 that still speaks to us with compassion today. When the world around you is collapsing and you are gripped by fear of its demise, four responses are available to you, or at least so modern psychology...
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146. Can the USA Empire bounce back from decline? My review of the RAND report on "Renewed National Dynamism"
Can the USA bounce back from decline. Many geopolitics analysts are speculating on the end of the US empire, and the end of the unipolar moment. Is American Greatness over, or can the USA learn lessons of history to bounce back and renew its national dynamism? I share my assessment of the RAND...
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145. Are we living through an end of empire moment, like the Suez Crisis?
In this video podcast, I share with you insights from the best historians of empire about whether we are living through an end of empire moment? Even Boris Johnson says the collapse of Western hegemony could be near? Will the US empire collapse? Will defeat in Eastern Europe bring on a Suez…
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144. Halford Mackinder, The Geographical Pivot of History
Judge the "father of geopolitics" yourself by listening to my reading of his celebrated essay from 1904, the Geographical Pivot of History. Try my new introductory course on geopolitics and history, Seeing the world clearly with history I have distilled a lifetime of studying history, observing...
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143. Mackinder and geopolitics: mad, bad and dangerous to know?
Halford Mackinder's ideas about geopolitics were so influential that he is known as the "father of geopolitics." Many people think US strategy is still based on Mackinder's ideas. But when you look at these ideas with some quality world history you discover that Mackinder was mad, bad and…
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142. Sophie Loy-Wilson on the intertwined history of Australia and China
This Burning Archive interview tackles a critical question: Can Australia and China rewrite their shared Asian history? Delving into the subtleties of China-Australia history, the Burning Archive interviews a brilliant Australian historian who specializes in Australian Chinese communities, Sophie...
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141. History, Destruction and Sebald, The Rings of Saturn
W.G. Sebald, The Rings of Saturn is an unclassifiable book - essayistic semi-fiction that traces the history of destruction and is haunted by the horrors of war and the Holocaust. I reflect on Sebald's histories of destruction, based on my recent essay at jeffrich.substack.com, and read from the...
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140. How to mend Australia-China relationships: a conversation with Warwick Powell
Warwick Powell and I had a wide-ranging conversation about Australia-China relationships, and how history has shaped the tensions in the relationship today. But history can also show us how Australia, Asia and America can learn to live together at peace with a multipolar world. Please enjoy this...
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139. A conversation with Sam Roggeveen on defence, diplomacy and Australia's role in a multipolar world
How can smart defence strategies and multilateral diplomacy avoid a US-China war in Asia - for example over Taiwan? Have American and Australian advocates of war with China over Taiwan really thought about the realities of a war with China? How should middle powers - like Australia, Indonesia and...
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138. Civilizations of the Ocean - the Atlantic and the rise and fall of the West
How did Western civilization rise up from the Atlantic Ocean? How did the idea of the West get confused with the military alliance of NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation? And how do we tell the story of the West if we view civilisation as a process, and civilisations as always plural?…
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137. Civilisations of the Sea - Sri Vijaya in the Indonesian 'Middle Ages'
There have been many civilizations of the sea - the Vikings, the Ancient Greeks, the great Polynesian navigators of the Pacific. But among the most intriguing is Sri Vijaya that thrived in what we think of as Indonesia, in the 'middle ages'. You can explore the world history of civilizations, as...
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136. Civilizations in highlands - from Afghanistan to the Incas
When Americans described Afghani tribesmen as uncivilized people from the mountains they used old tropes about the culture of people from highlands. However, we learn from Felipe Fernández-Armesto, Civilizations much more about the complex achievements of civilizations of the highlands from...
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135. Civilizations in fields of mud - how we get the story of Sumer and Babylon wrong.
Did civilization spread from a cradle in the river valleys of Mesopotamia? Or is there a different story of the emergence of civilizations from fields of mud? In this episode of the special Summer of Civilizations series, I tell the story of Sumerian and Akkadian civilizations that developed in…
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134. Civilizations in Tropical Lowlands - Benin, Africa and Papua New Guinea
In this episode of the special Summer of Civilizations series, I share the stories of civilizations that developed in tropical islands, including the great African walled city of Benin and the island off Papua New Guinea, once named by Europeans as Frederick Hendrick Island, and known now as…
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134. Civilizations in the Frozen North and the Steppe
In this episode of the special Summer of Civilizations series, I share the stories of civilizations that developed in the ice and tundra of Northern Eurasia and the great Eurasian Steppe. ▼ ▽ SEE THE WORLD MORE CLEARLY WITH MY COURSES World History Explorers and all my courses...
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132. Summer of Civilizations III Where were the cradles of civilisation?
What is a cradle of civilisation? A simple question, but quality world history gives us a more complex, but satisfying answer. There were many in different environments. This episode will inform you about the well-known 'cradle' of civilisation in the fertile crescent of Western Asia, but also…
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131. Summer of Civilizations 2 -Is civilization the biggest and baddest idea in world history?
Civilizations are back in 2024. There is talk of Western civilizations, the diverse civilizations of the multipolar world, and the upcoming release of the game Civilization 7. It is a great time to explore the real history of the many civilizations that have flourished and fallen in every...
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130. Summer of Civilizations 1 - Idea, History, Game
Civilizations are back in 2024. There is talk of Western civilizations, the diverse civilizations of the multipolar world, and the upcoming release of the game Civilization 7. It is a great time to explore the real history of the many civilizations that have flourished and fallen in every...
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129. Year in Review and Summer of Civilisations
I review the highlights of the world in history that appeared on the Burning Archive podcast in 2023. And I make a special announcement of the upcoming series on the podcast, linked to my upcoming online history courses. Yes, I will be releasing a special Summer of Civilisations series. Weekly...
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128. Napoleon: movies, myths and histories.
Ridley Scott's movie Napoleon has sparked controversy? Is it great cinema yet terrible history? Jeff Rich gives his assessment of the movie, and points you to other classic movies about Napoleon made over the last 100 years. The podcast also shares some of the best recent history books on the...
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127. Kissinger is Dead. Is US diplomacy dead too?
My reflections on the death of US diplomat and grand strategist, Henry Kissinger at 100. Does his death toll the bell for US leadership of the world? Read more at jeffrich.substack.com Thanks to the Twisted Nixons, the Dead Kennedies, Thomas Fazi, Nina Byzantina, Thomas Fazi, Odd Arne Westad and...
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126. How the Mongol Horde Changed the World: interview with Marie Favereau, historian
Marie Favereau shows how the Mongol Horde changed the world and world history in this special interview. It was not only the conquests of Genghis Khan, but his successors in the Horde, especially the Golden Horde. Their culture, skilful diplomacy and embrace of diversity were the real reasons the...
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125. How to spot bad histories in narratives of geopolitics.
It is all about the story. We are all experts in story, aren't we? And every day amidst this current world crisis, we are bombarded with narratives. Some of these "geopolitical" narratives are based on good history. Some on very poor history. But how do you spot the difference? How do you know…
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124. Beowulf. How a legend was saved from the fire.
If a modest librarian had not pulled the sole manuscript of the Old English poem, Beowulf from the fire, we might never have had J.R.R. Tolkein's Lord of the Rings. You have probably heard of Beowulf, but never have read the poem. Introduce yourself to this legend saved from a burning archive on...
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117. History of the Nobel Prize for Literature and 2022 Winner Annie Ernaux
It covers the history of the Nobel Prize for Literature, some of my favourite winners and losers, and some controversies. I also cover in this episode the 2022 winner, French writer, Annie Ernaux. This episode begins a mini-series on the Nobel Prize for Literature. There will be episodes in all…
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123. In a time of war, nurture empathy with history
The Israel-Gaza Crisis, as the United Nations describes the situation, has shocked the world, and confronted us with the difficulties of living in a time of war. How can we respond to these shocking events mindfully, given the torrents of emotion coursing around the world? How can we use history...
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122. Six Intriguing New History Books from the Wolfson History Prize. Please Discuss.
Are you looking for a new, readable, intriguing history book to read? I introduce you to a shortlist of 6 top history books from 2023. All 6 books come from the shortlist for the 2023 Wolfson History Prize, Britain and the UK's most prestigious history book prize. I also invite you to help me…
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121. Jon Fosse's Slow Prose. My reaction to 2023 Nobel Prize for Literature Announcement
The 2023 Nobel Prize for Literature is announced. Relive world literature's night of nights with this edited live reaction to the announcement. It covers all the predictions, the actual announcement, and an emotional introduction to why you might want to read the works of this year's winner....
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120. Why read Olga Tokarczuk, 2018 Nobel Prize for Literature?
Why read Olga Tokarczuk, Winner of 2018 Nobel Prize for Literature? Find out in this fourth episode of my series on the Nobel Prize for Literature. It discusses the life of the 2018 Nobel Prize for Literature Laureate, the novelist Olga Tokarczuk. I give you 10 reasons to read one of the most...
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119. Why read Patrick White, 1973 Nobel Prize for Literature, the Exile at Home?
Why read Patrick White, Winner of 1973 Nobel Prize for Literature? Find out in this third episode of my series on the Nobel Prize for Literature. It discusses the life and works of the 1973 Nobel Prize for Literature Laureate, the novelist Patrick White, the only Australian to win the Nobel Prize...
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118. Why read WB Yeats, Winner of 1923 Nobel Prize for Literature?
Why should you read W.B. Yeats, Winner of 1923 Nobel Prize for Literature? Find out in this second of my series on the Nobel Prize for Literature. It discusses the life and works of the 1923 Nobel Prize for Literature Laureate, William Butler (W.B.) Yeats, including a rare recording of Yeats in…
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116. Professions vs. Managers. The rise and fall of the professions. Interview with Hannah Forsyth
What is the history behind the rise and fall of the professions? How is their story linked to the rise of management especially since the 1970s? And how does it all relate to what happens in the modern university? Find out answers to all these questions in this in-depth interview with historian…
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115. Exploring World History with Leading Historian Felipe Fernández-Armesto - Part 2
The Burning Archive brings you the second in a special two-part interview with the esteemed world historian, Felipe Fernández-Armesto. Is the world changing in ways not seen for 100 years? How can America's Hispanic past and present inform how it responds to this changing world of more equally...
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114. Exploring World History with Leading Historian Felipe Fernández-Armesto - Part 1
The Burning Archive brings you a special two-part interview with the esteemed world historian, Felipe Fernández-Armesto. Did you know the first case of animal farming was the humble snail? How does the world's leading historian of the world see the accelerating pace of change today affecting...
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112. Social differences, elite competition and political breakdown
Why can't we just all get along? Is all history class struggle, or a fight between the people and the elites? Or, as Peter Turchin suggests, do elites fight hardest against other elites? And how can Stockholm show us a better way to live together? Quote of the show: "Identity is an invitation to...
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111. Four Social Changes Unsettling the Modern World
We feel that society is changing in dramatic ways. But what are the four big social changes that are driving how we make sense of society. Find out on the Burning Archive Podcast. www.theburningarchive.com
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110. Social Progress, Collapse and Fragmentation - 7 changes that define the modern world
There are mass protests in France. Tensions everywhere. Peter Turchin has published End Times- his theory of social collapse. Is it that bad? And what are Emmanuel Todd's seven top social changes that define the conflicts of modern advanced societies?
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109. NATO in Vilnius - What does it mean?
The NATO Summit in Vilnius disappointed Volodomyr Zelenszky and Ukraine. He might be singing, Is that all there is to an alliance? Find out what it means for NATO, for the war in Ukraine, and risks of war with China in the Indo-Pacific. Is it the beginning of the end game? Or is it the old game…
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108. Atlantic Romantics, Part II: How NATO emerged from Atlantic History
Atlantic Romantics, Part II gives you a rapid fire history of the Altlantic, structured around seven key dates. These dates provide glimpses into the multipolar history of the Atlantic Ocean, and the chameleon-like character of the Atlantic idea, institutions, alliance, cultures and…
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107. Atlantic Romantics, Part I: Will NATO’s Special Relationship break up?
Three big regional ideas dominate the world: the Indo-Pacific, Eurasia, and the Atlantic. What is the Atlantic? Is it an ocean? An alliance? An idea? Is it Western civilization? Is it a special relationship between the USA and Britain? Could the NATO alliance be about to break up? Find out the...
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106. How do ideas of Eurasia influence world politics and history today? Eurasia Part II.
There are not two continents of Europe and Asia. There is one physical continent of Eurasia. Ideas of Europe and Asia, and their place in world history have formed two continents from one. And ideas of Eurasia in Russia and in the West threaten war between the Eurasian and Atlantic worlds. But it...
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105. Why is Eurasia so important in world history and geopolitics today?
There are not two continents of Europe and Asia. There is one physical continent of Eurasia, and the countries of Eurasia are becoming more important, more wealthy and more assertive in world politics. Find out why, and how powerful new international institutions, infrastructure projects and...
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104. Lost in the Indo-Pacific - Strategy, Oceans, History or Illusion?
I wrote recently that the Free and Open Indo Pacific is like the Holy Roman Empire. It is not free, not open, and not even the Indo-Pacific. Find out why on this intriguing podcast that covers - my article on Australia, India and the Indo-Pacific, "Australia, Little Country Lost" - some real...
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103. World Crisis, Polycrisis, or Another Day at the Office?
Some leaders say the world is in a crisis it has not seen in 100 years. Adam Tooze (historian) says the world is in a polycrisis, and that we all struggle to cope with the shock of the many. Some cynics might say, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Who is right? Or are they all...
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102. Modi in Sydney, and the Indian Way to Reform the United Nations
When Indian Prime Minister. Narendra Modi came to Sydney in 2023 he charmed the crowd so much that Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declared him to be "The Boss". His charisma came with India's soft power, based in its millenia of cultural traditions of responsible statecraft. And it…
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101. Mental Illness. Government Failure. Human Imperfection.
Hard truth, bitter lesson: Governments around the world often fail people with mental illness. Many grand plans for reform or noble visions of liberation crash to earth. Why? On this podcast, I show the connection of mental illness to problems in democracy and the great world crisis today I share...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
History helps us understand the cultures and conflicts of the changing multipolar world. But there is so much to read! Where to begin? Let Jeff Rich, writer historian, and ex-government official, be your guide to some quality world history. Appreciate world literature, discuss world crises and meet intriguing historians. Free weekly newsletter at jeffrich.substack.com
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Jeff Rich
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Burning Archive have?
The Burning Archive currently has 133 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Burning Archive about?
History helps us understand the cultures and conflicts of the changing multipolar world. But there is so much to read! Where to begin? Let Jeff Rich, writer historian, and ex-government official, be your guide to some quality world history. Appreciate world literature, discuss world crises and meet...
How often does The Burning Archive release new episodes?
The Burning Archive publishes regularly with 133 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to The Burning Archive?
You can listen to The Burning Archive on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Burning Archive?
The Burning Archive is created and hosted by Jeff Rich.
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