Better Known

Ed Maklouf discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Ed Maklouf attended school in England before moving to the USA to study at Stanford University, where he conducted specialized research into group communication and how people make decisions together. After graduating, he went on to found several start-up companies in the emerging field of “democracy technology,” building tools designed to improve participation, representation, and large-scale deliberation. His work eventually led him to Barcelona, where he began a sustained research project on voting systems. During this period, he came to know and collaborate with leaders of the Arhuaco tribe in Colombia, whose sophisticated traditions of consensus and guardianship of the Sierra Nevada deeply influenced his thinking. Maklouf now serves as ambassador for the Arhuaco Sen Foundation, helping to connect Indigenous perspectives on agreement with contemporary debates about democracy and governance. The Majority Myth grows out of several years of research into Collective Agreement: a framework that combines formal voting theory and Indigenous knowledge systems to ask when a decision can truly claim to speak for ‘the people’. It is available at https://bit.ly/MajorityMyth. The truth about Voting and its origins https://www.ft.com/content/4df5c927-00d1-43dc-9731-b1fac4980dca 2. The Arhuaco Indigenous Tribe https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20190329-the-ancient-guardians-of-the-earth 3. Friendship https://www.townandcountrymag.com/education-college/a38866811/boarding-school-friends-memoir-admissions-kendra-james/ My Mum's Paintings My dad is a well known sculptor, Raphael Maklouf, who sculpted the portrait of the Queen on UK coins, but my mum never shows her work. Trees Roots https://www.trees.org.uk/Trees.org.uk/files/61/6181f2b7-e35d-4075-832f-5e230d16aa9e.pdf Etymology https://www.youtube.com/RobWords This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm

Charles Moore discusses with Ivan six things which he thinks should be better known. Charles Moore was editor of the Daily Telegraph from 1995 to 2003, editor of the Sunday Telegraph from 1992 to 1995 and editor of the Spectator magazine from 1984 to 1990. He is now the Chairman of The Spectator. He became a non-affiliated peer in July 2020. He wrote the authorised biography of Margaret Thatcher, which is available at https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/458867/margaret-thatcher-by-moore-charles/9780241687673. The 18th century https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-oct-26-bk-46704-story.html East Sussex https://www.thekeep.info/places/eastsussex/ The Psalms https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2025/12-september/features/features/finding-inspiration-in-the-psalms-food-for-the-christian-journey Ordet https://www.bfi.org.uk/film/d06c8e31-324e-5886-bfb3-200802199b37/ordet Auckland Castle https://aucklandproject.org/attraction/auckland-palace/ Hedges https://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/expert-advice/garden-management/wildlife-gardening/plant-a-hedge This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm

Adam Steiner discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Adam Steiner is a swim-teacher, freelance journalist and author. When not saving lives he sits dreaming about all the books he will never write. He has written several books of music criticism: Into The Never: Nine Inch Nails And The Creation Of The Downward Spiral, Silhouettes And Shadows: The Secret History of David Bowie’s Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) and Darker With The Dawn: Nick Cave's Songs Of Love And Death. He runs the Disappear Here poetry film project – 27 x collaborative poetry-films about Coventry Ringroad – and now curates the Living With Buildings poetry film series, screening experimental films about people, poetry and place. For more information, go to https://adamsteiner.uk/. Being There, Jerzy Kozinski: movie and book – so this is a great example of late/last great art - Peter Sellers was very attached to the story and was determined to make the movie, so he had do more pink panthers for the studio to back him. Lifeguards / Swim Teachers - under-appreciated, under-sexed, underpaid its one of the hardest jobs out there - sitting in a chair dreaming, not doing anything, but people always take it for granted. 40 - So we're always told that 40 is the new 30 etc - but it's a dangerous, difficult age. When Biographies Become Biopics: Will Self said writers reading biographies of other writers is basically lit-porn – so we get caught up in a life narrative that often informs the work but steers us away from the original. Real Dictators podcast - This is my go to 'easy' listening podcast, particularly when really ill I can just leave it on in the background and absorb. Charity shops... the ultimate form of social progression. In London charity shops are a mecca for the undiscerning buyer. This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm

Tharik Hussain, who previously appeared on the podcast in 2022, discusses with Ivan six further things which should be better known. Tharik Hussain is an award-winning author and journalist specialising in global Muslim heritage and culture. He has written for newspapers such as The Times, Guardian and Telegraph, magazines such as National Geographic Traveler, and broadcast media such as Al Jazeera and the BBC. For the latter, he produced award-winning radio program America’s Mosques. Tharik has written or contributed to travel books on areas including the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Europe, and his book on Islam in the Western Balkans, Minarets in the Mountains, was longlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize, shortlisted for the Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year, and won the Adele Evans Award. His new book is Muslim Europe and is available at https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/458266/muslim-europe-by-hussain-tharik/9780241742822. Ibn Jubayr https://muslimheritage.com/ibn-jubair-capturing-the-decline-of-islamic-power/ King Henry II’s relationship with Muslim culture https://www.historyextra.com/period/medieval/king-henry-ii-muslim-monarch-england-convert-islam/ The tomb of Hala Sultan https://www.cyprusalive.com/en/hala-sultan-tekke King Charles III’s view of Europe’s Muslim history https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/king-charles-iii-five-things-islam-muslims 5 .The Nasrid ‘ruby’ in the Imperial State Crown of UK https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/crown-jewels/?id=6209 The synagogues of Toledo https://jguideeurope.org/en/region/spain/castilla-la-mancha/toledo/ This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm

Historian Brooke Newman discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Dr. Brooke Newman is an Associate Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. She specializes in the history of early modern Britain and the British Atlantic, with a focus on slavery and its legacies. She is the author of the award-winning book, A Dark Inheritance: Blood, Race, and Sex in Colonial Jamaica (Yale, 2018), and The Crown's Silence: The Hidden History of Slavery and the British Monarchy (Mudlark, 2026), which is available at https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/the-crowns-silence-the-hidden-history-of-slavery-and-the-british-monarchy-brooke-newman?variant=55509554397563. Her writing and research have been featured in the Guardian, the Washington Post, Der Spiegel, and Smithsonian Magazine, and she has served as a historical expert for HBO's Last Week Tonight, Vox, the BBC, and NPR, among others. The difference between historians and journalists https://www.historians.org/perspectives-article/journalists-and-historians-april-2023/ What it’s like to work in an archive https://www.wessexarch.co.uk/news/day-life-ofan-archivist The value and limitations of archives https://slimkm.com/blog/advantages-and-limitations-of-archival-research/ The Stuart monarchs launched England into the transatlantic slave trade https://www.historyanswers.co.uk/kings-queens/royal-african-company-how-the-stuarts-birthed-britains-slave-trade/ The South Sea Company was not just a Ponzi scheme https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/South-Sea-Bubble/ Formerly enslaved people appealed directly to the Royal Family to abolish the slave trade https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/apr/06/british-monarchy-ties-slavery-historical-archives-slaves This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm

Ryan Gingeras discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Ryan Gingeras is a professor in the Institute of Regional and International Studies at the Naval Postgraduate School and is an expert in modern Eastern European and Middle East history. He is the author of seven books, including The Last Days of the Ottoman Empire and Sorrowful Shores: Violence, Ethnicity, and the End of the Ottoman Empire 1912–1923, which was shortlisted for numerous book prizes. He has published on a wide variety of topics related to history and politics in publications such as Foreign Affairs, New York Times, Washington Post, Times Literary Supplement and Foreign Policy . He currently lives with his wife and children in the Santa Cruz Mountains. His new book is Mafia: A Global History, which is available at https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Mafia-A-Global-History/Ryan-Gingeras/9781398531673. Mafias should be seen as significant historical figures in the making of modern history. Mafias are not as old as you think. The laws that "made" mafias a global phenomenon are also not as old as you think. Al Capone set the mold for the modern gangsters worldwide. Coppola's The Godfather marked the critical moment in the making of modern mafias. Mafias are more integrated into the workings of the modern world than ever before. This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm

Pete Brown discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Pete Brown (https://petebrown.net/) is a British author, journalist, broadcaster and consultant specialising in food and drink. Since February 2025, he has been the Sunday Times Magazine’s weekly beer columnist – the only regular broadsheet newspaper or magazine beer columnist in the UK. He is currently Chair of Judges for the World Beer Awards. He was named British Beer Writer of the Year in 2009, 2012, 2016 and 2021, has won three Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Awards, been shortlisted twice for the André Simon Awards, and in 2020 was named an “Industry Legend” at the Imbibe Hospitality Awards. His books include Tasting Notes and Clubland. Burton-on-Trent (the most important beer town in world history) https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/food-drink/article/burton-upon-trent-beer-town-zctn9787n Perry (what some people refer to as pear cider) https://cideruk.com/what-is-cider-and-perry/ How working men’s clubs shaped modern Britain https://www.petebrown.net/book/clubland-how-the-working-mens-club-shaped-britain/ Norwich https://www.number82theunthank.co.uk/10-surprising-facts-about-norwich/ How music changes your perception of flavour https://www.petebrown.net/book/tasting-notes-the-art-of-science-of-pairing-beer-with-music/ It’s possible to disagree with someone politically and still have a civil, enriching conversation https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/15/smarter-living/learn-to-argue-productively.html This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm