About this episode

The episode explores the evolution of our ideas about the future and its impact on democracy and political time.

Today’s episode is the first of two with writer and political scientist Ivan Krastev exploring what has happened to our ideas of the future. When did thinking about the future become the way we defined our present? What goes wrong with democracy when we start to lose our faith in the future? Why did the end of history turn out to be an illusion? And how has Trump changed the way we experience political time? 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: The Future of the Future Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: David Runciman

Guest: Ivan Krastev

Topics covered

• future
• democracy
• politics
• history
• society

Keywords

• future
• democracy
• political time
• history
• Ivan Krastev

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: PPF, podcastchoices.com

More episodes of Past Present Future

• The History of Bad Ideas: Celebrity · July 19, 2026 · 1h 8m
• The History of Bad Ideas: Deliverism · July 15, 2026 · 57 min
• The History of Bad Ideas: Narrative History · July 12, 2026 · 56 min
• The History of Bad Ideas: Hysteria · July 8, 2026 · 59 min
• Where Are We Going? The Future of the Future · July 5, 2026 · 58 min
• Live Film Special: Never Let Me Go w/Adam Rutherford · June 28, 2026 · 56 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Past Present Future podcast page.