Niall Ferguson on the Politics of Catastrophe

Intelligence Squared

News, Society & Culture, Arts, News Commentary

4.2 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 11 May 2021

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Why was the response of the UK and US to the coronavirus pandemic so bungled? How can we be better prepared when the next disaster strikes? These are the questions that historian Niall Ferguson discussed with Rana Mitter in this week's episode. Drawing from his new book 'Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe' he explains that while blaming populists like Boris Johnson and Donald Trump for their poor leadership is trendy, the story of Covid-19 as a political failure is to miss the more profound pathologies that were at work – pathologies already visible in our responses to earlier disasters. To find out more about the book click here: https://www.primrosehillbooks.com/product/doom-the-politics-of-catastrophe-niall-ferguson/ Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Do you hear that?
0:05.4	It might sound like nothing to you, but it's actually the sound of nuclear, wind and
0:10.0	solar energy.
0:11.0	At EDF, we're busy generating more British zero carbon electricity than anyone to help
0:16.8	keep future energy costs down for everyone and help cut UK carbon emissions to nothing.
0:22.5	Sound good to you?
0:24.1	Find out more about our zero carbon generation at EDFenergy.com-slash-help-imprinting.
0:30.7	Slack presents Hands-Free Conversations Hello car commuter, dog walker, stroller
0:36.2	pusher.
0:37.2	Your hands are busy.
0:38.2	It's why we created huddles in Slack because sometimes talking is easier than typing.
0:43.0	Huddle without the hassle.
0:44.6	In Slack.
0:45.6	Hello podcast listeners, I'm Connor and welcome to this Tuesday episode of Intelligent
0:49.4	Squared.
0:50.4	We're joined by Neil Ferguson, who in conversation with Rana Mitter discuss the politics of catastrophe,
0:56.5	drawing from a wide range of disciplines, from economics, network science and data analytics.
1:02.6	Ferguson offers us a general theory of disaster in which states can learn about future threats
1:07.6	from climate change to future pandemics.
1:09.5	It's a really fascinating conversation and if you do enjoy it, you can find a link for
1:13.3	Neil Ferguson's new book, Doom, in the podcast description.
1:16.3	But now let's go to the episode.
	...

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