Interviews

Why We Study History
VIDEO Christopher Sealey VIDEO Christopher Sealey

Why We Study History

Niall discusses the difference between English and Scottish pessimism, what James Bond and Doctor Who have in common, how religion fosters doomsday scenarios, which side of the Glorious Revolution he would have been on, why historians seem to have an excessive occupation with leadership, why American bands could never quite get punk music right, Tocqueville’s insights on liberalism, what he learned about populism on a trip to Latin America, and the importance of intellectual succession and institutions.

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Doom: A Conversation with Niall Ferguson | Manhattan Institute
VIDEO Christopher Sealey VIDEO Christopher Sealey

Doom: A Conversation with Niall Ferguson | Manhattan Institute

As a deadly pandemic and civil unrest swept across the world last year, “unprecedented” became the word of the hour. While 2020 was an uncommon year, the tendency to think that our time has no historical analogue is a common error—one that can have serious consequences if it causes us to ignore the lessons of the past.

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Doom, Disaster, and Democracy
VIDEO Christopher Sealey VIDEO Christopher Sealey

Doom, Disaster, and Democracy

We’re getting worse, not better, at handling disasters like the pandemic. This is the argument Niall lays out in his new book “Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe”, which sets 2020 into wider context and asks why many countries’ initial responses to coronavirus were too slow. Niall speaks with Walter Isaacson about how we got here and what the next big disaster might be.

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