
Live Film Special: Good Night, and Good Luck w/Helen Lewis
From Past Present Future by David Runciman
May 24, 2026 · 1h 2m · Season 16 · Episode 294
About this episode
David Runciman discusses George Clooney's film Good Night, and Good Luck with Helen Lewis, exploring themes of journalism and McCarthyism.
Today’s episode was recorded in front of a live audience at the Regent Street Cinema in London: David talks to the writer and broadcaster Helen Lewis about George Clooney’s Good Night, and Good Luck (2005). A film about the golden age of journalism and the grim years of McCarthyism, it tells the story of Ed Murrow’s attempt to take down scaremongering and conspiracy theories. Where is McCarthyism at work today? What’s happened to cancel culture? How was early TV like podcasting? And is George Clooney a hero for our times? You can find out everything you need to know about this podcast – who we are, what we do, plus merch, events and full lists of all episodes including PPF+ bonus episodes on our website https://www.ppfideas.com Next Time in Great Political Fictions: Brave New World Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
People in this episode
Host: David Runciman
Guest: Helen Lewis
Topics covered
- journalism
- McCarthyism
- cancel culture
- film analysis
- media
- politics
Keywords
- Good Night and Good Luck
- Helen Lewis
- David Runciman
- journalism
- McCarthyism
- cancel culture
- George Clooney
- media
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Good Night, and Good Luck, Brave New World
Places: London
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