The Networks of History, with Niall Ferguson

Intelligence Squared

News Commentary, Arts, News, Society & Culture

4.2 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 2 August 2023

⏱️ 63 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Niall Ferguson is the preeminent historian of the ideas that define our time. He has challenged how we think about money, power, civilisation and empires. Now he wants to reimagine history itself. Networks, he explains, are the key to history. The greatest innovators have been ‘superhubs’ of connections. The most powerful states, empires and companies have been those with the most densely networked structures. And the most transformative ideas – from the printing presses that launched the Reformation to the Freemasonry that inspired the American Revolution – have gone viral precisely because of the networks within which they spread. Our host for this conversation is historian, author and broadcaster, Rana Mitter. The audio of this live Intelligence Squared event was recorded in London in 2017. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I mean, Sirling, and today I'm at a McCain Potato Field.
0:04.0	Being chased by a massive wasp!
0:06.0	It's just a lady bird, Ian.
0:08.0	Well, it had a real wasp in her J.
0:10.0	Why are they here?
0:12.0	Well, we plot wildflowers to help encourage wildlife, like birds and insects.
0:16.0	So, we eat McCain chips. I'm helping do some good.
0:19.0	Yeah, exactly. You're supporting the move to regenerative farming.
0:22.0	Okay, this time it's definitely a wasp. My life's in danger.
0:25.0	Ian, that's a butterfly.
0:27.0	McCain, let's all chip in.
0:30.0	Hello, I'm Ian Sirling, and I'm with one of McCain's farmers who grow their potatoes.
0:34.0	Hang on, these are odd-looking potatoes.
0:36.0	That's kale, Ian.
0:38.0	You do know you need potato to make chips, right?
0:41.0	Yes, but we don't just grow potatoes.
0:43.0	We actually rotate different crops to help keep the soil healthy.
0:46.0	So, we eat McCain chips. I'm helping do some good.
0:49.0	Exactly, yeah. You're supporting the move to regenerative farming.
0:52.0	By the way, I do know the difference between kale and potatoes.
0:56.0	Of course you do.
0:58.0	McCain, let's all chip in.
	...

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