What are the real stories behind the most misunderstood and abused ideas in politics? From Conspiracy Theory to Woke to Centrism and beyond, Ian Dunt and Dorian... More
What are the real stories behind the most misunderstood and abused ideas in politics? From Conspiracy Theory to Woke to Centrism and beyond, Ian Dunt and Dorian... More
Available Episodes
5 of 19
Atheism: No God, What Now?
This time: the tumultuous history of Atheism. The concept has been around since the ancient world but for centuries it was demonised and suppressed. Who could believe such a thing? Ian Dunt and Dorian Lynskey track the ultimate heresy from the earliest days of western civilisation to the freethinkers of the Enlightenment and the bare-knuckle oratory of the New Atheists.
What’s the difference between atheism, agnosticism, secularism and deism? What does it stand for? Can it explain the world while also satisfying the need for meaning and community? Was totalitarianism the monstrous zenith of atheism or just a substitute religion?
Thomas Paine, Bertrand Russell, Percy Shelley, Albert Camus, Richard Dawkins and more feature in the story of the fight for the right not to believe in God.
Listen to next week’s episode right now when you support Origin Story on Patreon: www.Patreon.com/originstorypod
“Every day around the world it is incalculable the amount of damage done by religions saying; you can’t go there, you can’t marry them, you can’t say that.” – Ian Dunt
“Declaring oneself an atheist is still a bold claim.” – Dorian Lynskey
“It’s quite a humbling experience to think it’s taken us 1,500 years to get back to the position we were in in 300AD.” – Ian Dunt
Reading List:
Julian Baggini – Atheism: A Very Short Introduction
David Berman – A History of Atheism in Britain: From Hobbes to Russell
Albert Camus – The Myth of Sisyphus
John Gray – Seven Types of Atheism
Christopher Hitchens – God Is Not Great
Christopher Hitchens (ed.) – The Portable Atheist
Susan Jacoby – Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism
Percy Bysshe Shelley – The Necessity of Atheism
James Thrower – A Short History of Western Atheism
Tim Whitmarsh – Battling the Gods: Atheism in the Ancient World
Richard Dawkins – The God Delusion
Written and presented by Dorian Lynskey and Ian Dunt. Audio production and music by Jade Bailey. Logo art by Mischa Welsh. Episode art by James Parrett. Lead Producer is Anne-Marie Luff. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Origin Story is a Podmasters production.
https://twitter.com/OriginStorycast
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05/06/2023
1:14:48
Churchill part 2: Inside the Enigma Machine
Dorian Lynskey and Ian Dunt explain the most misunderstood ideas and people in politics.
This time: part 2 of their Winston Churchill deconstruction. The pair chronicle the turbulent decade that defined Churchill's political legacy. From Munich and his unexpected elevation to power, from the Bengal Famine to victory over Hitler, his surprise defeat in the 1945 election and his long, gloomy decline, they look at a life which still casts a shadow over Britain. And they even read Boris Johnson’s Churchill book, so you don’t have to.
Churchill craved greatness. Did he live up to his ideal? There’s only one way to find out…
Listen to next week’s episode right now when you support Origin Story on Patreon: www.Patreon.com/originstorypod
“I think what he did was primarily journalism, rather than being a prime minister.” – Ian Dunt
“People think they can look at Churchill like a lifestyle guru they can replicate without the nuance.” – Dorian Lynskey
“Churchill personifies the European confusion that has lasted in this country to the present day” – Ian Dunt
Reading List:
Churchill by Roy Jenkins
The Churchill Factor by Boris Johnson
Churchill: Military Genius or Menace? By Stephen Napier
Churchill and Orwell: The Fight for Freedom by Thomas E. Ricks
Churchill: Walking with Destiny by Andrew Roberts
Oblivion or Glory: 1921 and the Making of Winston Churchill by David Stafford
Churchill’s Shadow by Geoffrey Wheatcroft
Free Thinking: Churchill's Reputation – BBC Radio 3
Written and presented by Dorian Lynskey and Ian Dunt. Audio production and music by Jade Bailey. Logo art by Mischa Welsh. Lead Producer is Anne-Marie Luff. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Origin Story is a Podmasters production.
https://twitter.com/OriginStorycast
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29/05/2023
1:11:15
Churchill part 1: Rebel Without A Cause
New Series! Explaining the most misunderstood ideas and people in politics.
This time: Winston Churchill is caricatured as either a bigoted villain or a stainless hero. Is he neither… or both? Dorian Lynskey and Ian Dunt take on a Churchillian task: to avoid reducing the legacy of Britain’s war leader into a simple binary.
In part one they look at Churchill’s complicated childhood, his military adventures, his surprisingly progressive time as Home Secretary, his role in the Gallipoli disaster and his journey from the Tories to the Liberals and back again, leaving him on the brink of the 1930s. And they weigh up the allegations against him, from racism to sending troops to fire on striking miners at Tonypandy. Between the myths and the countermyths there’s a fascinating mess of a man.
Get Part Two of our Churchill exploration right now – and all of our episodes a week early – when you support Origin Story on Patreon: www.Patreon.com/originstorypod
“Yes, he is a racist imperialist warmonger. He’s also the most important antifascist of human history.” – Ian Dunt
“He had no followers. No ‘Churchillites’. Nobody in politics would sacrifice a thing for him.” – Dorian Lynskey
“At this point he’s Woke Winston. He's a liberal, supports votes for women, nationalising the railways and restrictions on monopolies.” – Dorian Lynskey
Reading List:
Churchill by Roy Jenkins
Walking With Destiny by Andrew Roberts
The Churchill Factor by Boris Johnson
Churchill: Military Genius or Menace? By Stephen Napier
Churchill and Orwell: The Fight for Freedom by Thomas E. Ricks
Oblivion or Glory: 1921 and the Making of Winston Churchill by David Stafford
Churchill’s Shadow by Geoffrey Wheatcroft
Free Thinking: Churchill's Reputation – BBC Radio 3
Written and presented by Dorian Lynskey and Ian Dunt. Audio production and music by Jade Bailey. Logo art by Mischa Welsh. Lead Producer is Anne-Marie Luff. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Origin Story is a Podmasters production.
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22/05/2023
1:00:30
Special: Gary Lineker, Free Speech and the Nazis
A between-seasons special: The Lineker Affair didn’t just expose the BBC’s fear of the Government. It triggered a flood of bad takes on whether it’s ever permissible to compare contemporary politics to 1930s Germany; BBC employees’ rights to speak their minds; the limits of Twitter; and even whether the Nazis were in fact left-wing. Spoiler: they weren’t.
Seasoned spotters of bad faith arguments Dorian Lynskey and Ian Dunt examine a gala week of political nonsense, obfuscation, straw-manning and plain old bullshit.
Written and presented by Dorian Lynskey and Ian Dunt. Audio production and music by Jade Bailey. Logo art by Mischa Welsh. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Origin Story is a Podmasters production
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15/03/2023
51:39
New podcast: Mugshots with Michael Crick
New series preview: How much do we really know about the people who make the headlines? In a provocative new series the acclaimed journalist Michael Crick, formerly of BBC, C4 and Newsnight, delves into the backgrounds of the powerful and the influential.
In this first episode: Few newspaper editors wield as much power as the Daily Mail’s Paul Dacre. Feared and courted by politicians, he’s imposed his singular vision of Britain on successive governments – while sometimes stretching the law in pursuit of justice. But what makes Dacre tick? What does he want? And how might this epic career end?
Like this excerpt? Hear the complete episode on all platforms right now here. And subscribe for new episodes every Monday.
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What are the real stories behind the most misunderstood and abused ideas in politics? From Conspiracy Theory to Woke to Centrism and beyond, Ian Dunt and Dorian Lynskey dig into the astonishing secret histories of concepts you thought you knew.
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From Podmasters, the makers of Oh God, What Now? and The Bunker.