Power: A User's Guide

Arts & Ideas

BBC

Society & Culture

4.2 • 598 Ratings

🗓️ 4 June 2025

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Political power can take many forms, from the top-down model of the Roman Empire, to operating in the democratic politics of today, to the possibilities offered by new technologies for more horizontal power structures in the future.

Matthew Sweet is joined on a stage at the Hay Festival by historian Tom Holland, whose new translation of Suetonius’ Lives of the Caesars examines Roman power politics from the inside; Guto Harri, who saw the inside workings of power as Downing Street Director of Communications; Adam Greenfield, whose book Lifehouse looks at local networks of mutual aid that have emerged in response to climate crisis; and political philosopher Sophie Scott-Brown - whose book The Radical Fifties: Activist Politics in Cold War Britain is out in July.

Producer: Luke Mulhall

Transcript

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0:00.0	Can I just say?
0:01.5	You're about to listen to a BBC podcast.
0:04.0	It's such a wonderful listen.
0:05.6	So nice.
0:06.5	There are loads more like it on BBC sounds.
0:08.8	Different paces, different heights.
0:10.6	The roof is buckling.
0:11.9	Where you can also listen to live sports commentary.
0:14.2	It's right foot goes for goal.
0:16.7	And then enjoy even more podcasts full of analysis and reaction to the big stories.
0:21.6	The stat that is astonishing is they ended with the lowest amount of possession.
0:25.2	And she's had to live with that.
0:26.8	So if you love sport, a passion, it's almost like a religion.
0:29.7	Listen on BBC Sounds.
0:31.7	Sort of expecting that every week now.
0:35.8	BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts.
0:39.3	You're listening to the Arts and Ideas podcast with me, Matthew Sweet.
0:45.4	Power is everywhere and comes from everywhere.
0:49.8	Michel Foucault said that, French theorist who knew how to rock a roll-neck sweater.
0:56.3	But if that's the case, why do so many people feel so powerless?
1:00.7	Even, we might add, members and supporters of the present government,
1:05.0	who wonder why that big majority seems so hard to translate into confidence, action and success.
	...

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