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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The Battle of Cable Street â Origin Story Revisited
Saison 9 ¡ Ăpisode 19
mercredi 30 septembre 2026 ⢠DurÊe 45:07
Hello Origin Story listeners. Weâre launching season 10 in the second half of October and to mark that milestone we thought it would be fun to revisit some of our old episodes under the name Origin Story Revisited. Somehow weâve recorded over 150 episodes so weâve chosen four of our favourites to reissue with new introductions where we discuss making them and reflect on how subsequent events have changed how we think about these stories.
Our first Revisited episode is The Battle of Cable Street from August 2024. Itâs not just because the 80th anniversary of that event falls on 4 October. In light of the emergence of Patriot Platform and other forms of far-right intimidation, itâs a good time to look again at the day a vast anti-fascist alliance stood up to Oswald Mosleyâs British Union of Fascists in the East End, and at how popular resistance can spur state action. Hope you enjoy it.
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Written and presented by Ian Dunt and Dorian Lynskey. Producer: Simon Williams. Music by Jade Bailey. Art by Jim Parrett. Logo by Mischa Welsh. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Origin Story is a Podmasters production
www.podmasters.co.uk
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John Rawls â Philosopher king of the 20th Century
Saison 9 ¡ Ăpisode 18
mercredi 23 septembre 2026 ⢠DurÊe 01:04:59
This week we dive into the life and ideas of John Rawls, the most celebrated liberal philosopher of the post-war period. Even in his own lifetime he was compared to Plato and Hobbes, becoming the only figure of our era to enter the canon of Western thought alongside the greatest figures in the philosophical tradition.Â
Rawls' work was a deadly surgical attack on neoliberalism and a rigorous defence of a more progressive form of liberalism, grounded in equality, rights and social justice. His notion of the veil of ignorance is perhaps the single most influential philosophical idea of the 20th Century and one of the most beautiful concepts in political theory. He provided a systematic justification for a centre-left worldview and policy programme, with a firm moral grounding and extremely radical repercussions.
We trace his life story, from early childhood tragedy, through the battlefields of the Second World War, to a long and distinguished career in Harvard. We find a quiet, shy, unassuming man, uncomfortable in large groups and immune to self-importance, who nevertheless shook the philosophical world to its foundation. As his libertarian opponent Robert Nozick admitted: "Political philosophers must either work within Rawls' theory or explain why not."Â
We then delve into Rawls' political philosophy, providing a concise explanation of a foundational idea in the history of progressive thought. If you've ever wondered what the limit of the market should be, or how much inequality we should allow, or why people should be entitled to rights, Rawls will provide the explanation. Join us for an inspiring story of a world-changing idea.
⢠Support Origin Story on Patreon
Reading list
⢠Daniel Chandler - Free and Equal: What Would a Fair Society Look Like? (Penguin, 2024)
⢠Thomas Pogge - John Rawls: His Life and Theory of Justice (Oxford University Press, 2007)
⢠John Rawls - Political Liberalism (Columbia University Press, 2005)
⢠John Rawls - Theory of Justice (Harvard University Press, 1999)
Written and presented by Ian Dunt and Dorian Lynskey. Producer: Simon Williams. Music by Jade Bailey. Art by Jim Parrett. Logo by Mischa Welsh. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Origin Story is a Podmasters production
www.podmasters.co.uk
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Origin Story Live at Union Chapel
Saison 9 ¡ Ăpisode 17
mardi 8 septembre 2026 ⢠DurÊe 02:07:23
Hello listeners. This weekâs episode is an audio recording of our live show at the Union Chapel in London on 1 September 2026. This time we did something different and made a live show out of a classic Origin Story narrative. Itâs the story of how the Daily Telegraphâs deterioration from grey citadel of High Toryism to feral troll farm mirrors the cognitive decline of conservatism in Britain.
In part one we tell the story of the Telegraph. Founded in 1855 by a crank army colonel to pursue an obscure vendetta, it was soon bought by the Levy-Lawson family, who turned into Britainâs liveliest newspaper and the worldâs largest. During the 20th century, it became the heart of British conservatism: solidly â sometimes alarmingly â right-wing yet respectable and conscientious. It was proud to be boring: a safe harbour in a changing world. âWas, is, and will be,â its masthead boasted.
The Telegraph took a strange turn after 2004, with its acquisition by the Barclay brothers and the rise of online journalism. Drawing more of its editors and energy from the Daily Mail, it began platforming more extreme voices in the hunt for clicks. By the time of Brexit in 2016, the viciousness and paranoia that characterised its online output had colonised the newspaper itself. Could its recent purchase by Germanyâs Axel Springer trigger a return to normality?
In part two we play headline tennis with some of the Telegraphâs barmiest articles, dig into the feverish, apocalyptic world view of columnist-editor Allister Heath, and explore what the paperâs decline says about the crumbling of the Tory mind. Then we take questions from the audience. Hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed doing the show.Â
Reading list
Books
Lord Burnham â Peterborough Court: The Story of The Daily Telegraph (1955)
Colin Coote â Editorial: The Memoirs of Colin R. Coote (1965)
W. F. Deedes â Dear Bill: A Memoir (2005)
Duff Hart-Davis â The House The Berrys Built: Inside The Telegraph (1990)
Max Hastings â Editor: A Memoir (2002)
Jane Martinson â You May Never See Us Again: The Barclay Dynasty: A Story of Survival, Secrecy and Succession (2023)
Peregrine Worsthorne â Tricks of Memory: An Autobiography (1993)
Articles
Stephen Bates â âSir Peregrine Worsthorne obituaryâ, Guardian (5 October 2020)
Jason Cowley â âThe lost magic of Englandâ, New Statesman (11 February 2016)
Bryan Curtis â âPaper Tigerâ, Slate (25 October 2006)
Allister Heath â âVast forces are mobilising to stop Britainâs only real chance of survivalâ,
Telegraph (18 February 2026)
Allister Heath â âThe Fall of Britain: A tragedy in three horrifying actsâ, Telegraph (19 April 2026)
Liz Truss â âTrump has been proven right about pretty much everythingâ, Telegraph (14 April 2025)
Jim Waterson â ââToxicâ Telegraph made me feel nauseous, says Graham Nortonâ, Guardian (7 October 2019)
Peregrine Worsthorne â âThe âDaily Telegraphâ: No other British institution has been so badly degradedâ, Independent (21 November 2005)
Written and presented by Ian Dunt and Dorian Lynskey. Producer: Simon Williams. Music by Jade Bailey. Art by Jim Parrett. Logo by Mischa Welsh. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Origin Story is a Podmasters production
www.podmasters.co.uk
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Section 28 â Anatomy of a Moral Panic
Saison 9 ¡ Ăpisode 16
mercredi 26 aoÝt 2026 ⢠DurÊe 01:22:05
Hello and welcome to a bonus episode of Origin Story. This time we tell the story of Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988, the legislation that prohibited local councils from funding the âpromotionâ of homosexuality and cast a chilling shadow over the lives of gay men and lesbians in the UK for the next 15 years. How did it come about, what were the consequences, and is something similar happening to trans people today?
The 1980s were a decade of rampant homophobia, fed by conservative anxieties about progressive education, âloony leftâ councils and the emergence of HIV/AIDS. One book (Jenny Lives with Eric and Martin) and one London council (Haringey) became the focus of a moral panic that spread like wildfire through the right-wing press and Margaret Thatcherâs Conservative government, with all the hysteria, bigotry and misinformation you would expect. Opposition to children learning about homosexuality in any way featured in the 1987 election campaign and led to the amendment that became Section 28: local authorities were forbidden to âintentionally promote homosexuality,â whatever that meant.
While nobody was ever prosecuted under Section 28, these few vague and provocative lines created a climate of fear and self-censorship, from schools to broadcasters, and effectively legitimised homophobia. But the campaign against it mobilised gay men and lesbians like never before. Figures such as Ian McKellen, Michael Cashman and Peter Tatchell initiated a new era of activism, including the foundation of Stonewall, to ensure that something like this never happened again.
Tony Blairâs Labour government finally repealed Section 28 in 2003, amid a slew of progressive reforms, and multiple Tory leaders apologised for ever supporting it. Now, though, government guidelines on the teaching of gender identity are echoing the intolerant logic of Section 28 and the mediaâs moral panic around trans people feels grimly familiar.
How did a single copy of a Danish picture book lead to the most homophobic legislation in a century? Was the newspapersâ vicious campaign against the âloony leftâ Britainâs first experience of an âanti-wokeâ culture war? Who were the politicians, many of them still around today, who supported and opposed Section 28? How did the battle over it give birth to modern LGBTQ activism? How did Section 28 damage ordinary lives and why did it take so long to repeal? And why are some of the people who fought so hard against Section 28 now supporting its transphobic equivalent?
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Written and presented by Ian Dunt and Dorian Lynskey. Producer: Chris Jones. Music by Jade Bailey. Art by Jim Parrett. Logo by Mischa Welsh. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Origin Story is a Podmasters productionÂ
â â www.podmasters.co.ukâ â Â
Books and articles
Paul Baker â Outrageous! The Story of Section 28 and Britainâs Battle for LGBT Education (2022)
Susanne Bosche â âJenny, Eric, Martin⌠and Meâ, Guardian (31 January 2000)
Faye Brown â âClaims of oral sex and choking lessons prompt government review into sex education critic says is âpolitically motivatedââ, Sky News (8 March 2023)
Michael Cashman â One of Them: From Albert Square to Parliament Square (2020)
Colin Clews â Gay in the 80s: From Fighting for Our Rights to Fighting for Our Lives (2017)
James Curran, Ivor Gaber and Julian Petley â Culture Wars: The Media & the British Left (2005)
Ryan Gilbey â It Used to Be Witches: Under the Spell of Queer Cinema (Faber, 2025)
Audrey Gillan â âSection 28 gone⌠but not forgottenâ, Guardian (17 November 2003)
Chris Godfrey â Section 28 protesters 30 years on: âWe were arrested and put in a cell up by Big Benâ, Guardian (27 May 2018)
Ian Lucas â OutRage! An Oral History (1998)
Kelly Ann Cecilia McGhee â âThe Destruction Caused by Clause 28â, Glasgow Womenâs Library
Adam Mars-Jones â âThe book that launched Clause 28â, Index on Censorship, Vol. 17, Issue 8 (September 1988)
Michelle OâToole â âIâm a trans woman who grew up under section 28 â I worry it could make a comebackâ, the i Paper (11 May 2020)
Ruth Pearce â âLabourâs Section 28 is here â act nowâ, ruthpearce.net (14 February 2026)
âRelationships Education, Relationships and Sex education (RSE)â
Peter Tatchell â The Battle for Bermondsey (1983)
Jamie Wareham â ââSection 28 2.0â: New âtransphobicâ curriculum restricts teachers from teaching Trans+ pupils to understand their identityâ, QueerAF (19 July 2025)
Nicholas Watt â âDavid Cameron apologises to gay people for section 28â, Guardian (2 July 2009)
Ian Youngs â âBlue Jean: the lesbian teachers who inspired film about Section 28â, BBC (10 February 2023)
Radio and film
Archive on 4: Section 28: Right to Be Gay, Radio 4 (22 March 2025)
Blue Jean, written and directed by Georgia Oakley (2022)
The Reunion: Stonewall, Radio 4 (20 September 2009)
Parliamentary debates
Schools: Investment in Education and Science, Hansard (7 May 1986)
Education Bill HL, Hansard (20 May 1986)
Local Government Act 1986 (Amendment) Bill HL, Hansard (18 December 1986)
Amendment of Local Government Act 1986, Hansard (8 May 1987)
Prohibition on Promoting Homosexuality by Teaching or by Publishing Material, Hansard (15 December 1987)
Local Government Bill, Hansard (1 February 1988)
Local Government Bill, Hansard (16 February 1988)
Clause 28, Hansard (9 March 1988)
Repeal of Section 2A of Local Government Act 1986 (10 March 2003)
Engagements, Hansard (18 March 2023)
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The Duke of Buckingham â How a queer love story predicted modern politics
Saison 9 ¡ Ăpisode 15
mercredi 12 aoÝt 2026 ⢠DurÊe 01:17:43
Welcome to another bonus episode of Origin Story, where we look at the short and extraordinary life of the Duke of Buckingham (1592â1628). It's a bizarre, tragic tale which weaves together queer history, courtly romance, unending war and the early resistance of parliament against royal power. Â
More than anything, it is the story of the Favourite, that strange underdiscussed role of the leader's key ally. In our modern era, we've seen figures like Dominic Cummings and Morgan McSweeney take this position â operating as the prime minister's chief loyalist and then being used as a sacrificial pawn to placate their critics. We see a very similar arrangement in the 17th Century, albeit in a significantly more sexy way. Â
As Sir Francis Bacon said: The favourite is a "shadow" who can be "offered as a sacrifice to appease the multitude". Come with us back to an era where the modern world is slowly being formed, and see how exuberant, unpredictable, emotional and dramatic the early days of the English parliament truly were. Â
Books Â
Lucy Hughes-Hallett â The Scapegoat: The Brilliant Brief Life of the Duke of Buckingham (4th Estate, 2024)Â Â
Roger Lockyer - Buckingham: The Life and Political Career of George Villiers, First Duke of Buckingham 1592-1628 (Routledge, 1981)Â
Â
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â˘Â â See Origin Story live at the Union Chapelâ , London on September the 1stÂ
⢠Support Origin Story on â Patreonâ Â
Written and presented by Ian Dunt and Dorian Lynskey. Producer: Chris Jones. Music by Jade Bailey. Art by Jim Parrett. Logo by Mischa Welsh. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Origin Story is a Podmasters productionÂ
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Origin Story live show announcement!
Saison 9 ¡ Ăpisode 14
mercredi 22 juillet 2026 ⢠DurÊe 03:05
Tickets are flying out of the door for Ian and Dorianâs biggest live show yet at the stunning Union Chapel in Londonâs sophisticated Islington on Tue 1 Sept.
A spectacular Gothic Revival church on Upper Street, the Union Chapel is a breathtaking venue just a few momentsâ stroll from Highbury & Islington Tube â and therefore close to Euston and Kingâs Cross for the Not-London crowd. As well as the Victoria Line, itâs on the Mildmay Overground so whether youâre in leafy West London or sourdough-and-cold-drip-coffee East London you can be there and home with ease.You can buy tickets here, or Patreon supporters get exclusive discount, so now is as good a time as any to sign up: https://www.patreon.com/c/originstorypod
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Starmer Revisited â Where Did It All Go Wrong?
Saison 9 ¡ Ăpisode 13
vendredi 17 juillet 2026 ⢠DurÊe 01:27:40
Welcome to a bonus episode of Origin Story. For the first time, weâre revisiting an earlier episode to ask what we got right and what we got wrong about the subject. Just before the July 2024 election we profiled Labourâs PM-in-waiting Keir Starmer and made some cautiously optimistic guesses as to what his government might look like â the promise and the pitfalls. Well, it turned out to be mostly pitfalls. As Starmer steps down and Andy Burnham steps up, we perform the autopsy.
Did Starmer have fundamental personal weaknesses that doomed him to failure? What happened to the moral principles and managerial competence that defined his career before he became Labour leader? What mistakes did he make and what opportunities did he miss? Has Starmer killed the theory that a boring technocrat is the antidote to right-wing populism? How did he become so hated? What legacy has he bequeathed to Burnham (it wasnât all bad news)? How much of this can we blame on Morgan McSweeney? And is it fair to call Keir Starmer the worst Labour prime minister ever? The ghost of Ramsay MacDonald certainly hopes so.
Join us for an in-depth reflection on what went wrong for Starmer and the lessons we can learn about what it takes to be a successful prime minister in the 2020s.
⢠See Origin Story live at the Union Chapel, London on September the 1st
⢠Support Origin Story on Patreon
Written and presented by Ian Dunt and Dorian Lynskey. Producer: Simon Williams. Music by Jade Bailey. Art by Jim Parrett. Logo by Mischa Welsh. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Origin Story is a Podmasters production
www.podmasters.co.uk
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The Luddites â Rage Against the Machine
Saison 9 ¡ Ăpisode 11
mercredi 8 juillet 2026 ⢠DurÊe 01:43:56
Welcome to the finale of season nine of Origin Story. Weâre wrapping up the season by telling the thrilling, misunderstood story of the Luddites and how their name became an insult synonymous with ignorance, reaction and fear of progress. You canât get much more Origin Story than that.
It was November 1811 when textile workers in Nottinghamshire first began breaking machinery in the name of a mysterious figure called Ned Ludd. The movement spread through neighbouring counties and reached its dramatic peak in Yorkshire, as these secretive activists waged guerrilla warfare against the factory owners who were destroying their livelihoods.
Soon, England was in a frenzy over the Luddite threat. Led by Tory prime minister Spencer Perceval and the decadent Prince Regent, the ruling classes feared a French-style revolution. As Luddite violence escalated from machine-breaking to arson, food riots and assassination attempts, the state responded with spies, torture and show trials. Swathes of industrial England fell under military occupation. In the midst of all this, Perceval himself was shot dead in the House of Commons. Yet by February 1813 the Luddite fire had burned out and the bosses appeared to have won.
It was only in the 1950s that âLudditeâ was turned into a general insult, even as revisionist historians of the English working classes started to tell a different story about the motives of the machine-breakers. Amid rising hostility towards Big Tech and AI, the legacy of the Luddite rebellion feels surprisingly relevant more than 200 years later.
Who were the Luddites? What was going wrong in England in 1811 to inspire such a viral rebellion? Were the Luddites targeting the machines, or the industrialists, or the state itself? Was their uprising really a failure or did it pave the way for fairer industrial relations? What does it mean to be a neo-Luddite today? And can the true history of the Luddites ever prevail over the crude stereotype created by their enemies?
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⢠See Origin Story live at the Union Chapel, London on September the 1st
⢠Support Origin Story on Patreon
Reading list
Books
⢠Kyle Chayka â âRethinking the Luddites in the Age of A.I.â, New Yorker (26 September 2023)
⢠Kyle Chayka â âThe Age-Old Urge to Destroy Technologyâ, New Yorker (8 April 2026)
⢠F.O. Darvall â Popular Disturbances and Public Order in Regency England (1934)
⢠Carl J. Griffin â âLuddism, Machine-Breaking and the Swing Riotsâ, Revue Française de Civilisation Britannique (2025)
⢠J.L. Hammond and Barbara Hammond â The Skilled Labourer, 1760-1832 (1919)
⢠Eric Hobsbawm â âThe Machine Breakersâ, Past & Present (February 1952)
⢠Brian Merchant â Blood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech (2023)
⢠Kirkpatrick Sale â Rebels Against the Future: The Luddites and Their War Against the Industrial Revolution: Lessons for the Computer Age (1995)
⢠Tech Wonât Save Us: The Real History of the Luddites, presented by Paris Marx (28 September, 2023)
⢠Malcolm I. Thomis â The Luddites: Machine-Breaking in Regency England (1970)
⢠E.P. Thompson â The Making of the English Working Class (1963)
Written and presented by Ian Dunt and Dorian Lynskey. Producer: Simon Williams. Music by Jade Bailey. Art by Jim Parrett. Logo by Mischa Welsh. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Origin Story is a Podmasters production
www.podmasters.co.uk
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Paranormal Investigations â Is There Anybody Out There?
Saison 9 ¡ Ăpisode 10
mercredi 1 juillet 2026 ⢠DurÊe 01:43:13
Welcome to Origin Story. This week weâre doing something different: the history of paranormal investigations and what it says about the relationship between evidence and belief.
In 1848, two sisters in Hydesville, New York claimed to be contacting the spirit world. Within a couple of years spiritualism was a popular craze on both sides of the Atlantic, with seances attracting luminaries from Queen Victoria to Charles Darwin. But could it be proven beyond doubt? In 1883, a group of scientists and intellectuals launched the Society for Psychical Research to find out, but from its inception there was tension between the genuine sceptics and the instinctive believers. However many hoaxers they debunked, even the sceptics encountered things they could not rationally explain.
The mass grief of the First World War created a new appetite for spiritualism, spearheaded by the world-famous author Arthur Conan Doyle. Meanwhile in North Carolina, J.B. and Louisa Rhine proposed that these uncanny goings on were not evidence of ghosts but of untapped powers in the human brain: Extra-Sensory Perception. Concepts like telepathy and telekinesis swept through popular culture while scientists explored their potential as weapons in the Cold War.
In the 1970s, Connecticut couple Ed and Lorraine Warren became the worldâs star investigators. In the era of Carrie, The Exorcist and spoon-bending celebrity Uri Geller, there was a huge audience for this kind of thing, bringing money and fame to the most prominent spook-hunters. Events such as the Amityville Horror and the Enfield Poltergeist still inspire fascination today, despite the investigatorsâ extremely dubious methods. Was the truth-seeking mission of the Society for Psychical Research destined to end up as a license for grifters?
How did spiritualism bewitch the Victorian era, including some of its most eminent scientists? Are psychic powers any more credible than ghosts? Why was the creator of the ultra-rational Sherlock Holmes so boundlessly credulous about the spirit world? What can the field of the unexplained teach us about cognitive biases and conspiracy theories? Is it really possible to apply scientific rigour to paranormal phenomena? And why, when almost 150 years of investigations have produced no solid evidence or theoretical basis for them, do so many people still want to believe?
This is a thrilling story of faith, doubt and fraud, featuring Harry Houdini, George Eliot, Marie Curie, Carl Jung, Helena Blavatsky, W.B. Yeats, Winston Churchill and (possibly) the Devil himself. Donât have nightmares.
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⢠See Origin Story live at the Union Chapel, London on September the 1st.
⢠Support Origin Story on Patreon
Reading list
Books
⢠Edward T. Bennett â The Society for Psychical Research: Its Rise and Progress and a Sketch of Its Work (1903)
⢠Ruth Brandon â The Spiritualists: The Passion for the Occult in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries (1983)
⢠Edmund Gurney, Frederic W.H. Myers and Frank Podmore â Phantasms of the Living (1886)
⢠RenĂŠe Haynes â The Society for Psychical Research 1882-1982: A History (1982)
⢠Oliver Lodge â Raymond; or, Life and Death (1916)
⢠Roger Luckhurst â The Invention of Telepathy 1870-1901 (2002)
⢠Ben Machell â Chasing the Dark: Encounters with the Supernatural (2025)
⢠Janet Oppenheim â The Other World: Spiritualism and Psychical Research in England, 1850-1914 (1985)
⢠Guy Lyon Playfair â This House Is Haunted: The Amazing Inside Story of the Enfield Poltergeist (1980)
⢠Harry Price â The Most Haunted House in England: Ten Yearsâ Investigation of Borley Rectory (1940)
⢠J.B. Rhine â Extra-Sensory Perception (1934)
⢠Michael Shermer â The Believing Brain: From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies: How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them as Truths (2011)
⢠Upton Sinclair â Mental Radio (1930)
Articles
⢠A.P. â ââAmityville Horrorâ amplified over bottles of wine, â lawyerâ, Lakeland Ledger (27 July 1979)
⢠Angie Barry â âThe Warren Case Files: Fact or Fiction?â, Criminal Element (31 October 2017)
⢠Stefan Beck â âA Night with The Conjuringâs Ed & Lorraine Warrenâ, Daily Beast (18 August 2013)
⢠Paul Byrnes â âThe Devil Among Usâ, Sydney Morning Herald (12 July 2013)
⢠Casey Cep â âWhy Did So Many Victorians Try to Speak with the Dead?â, New Yorker (24 May 2021)
⢠Kevin Dolak â âThe Slippery Truth About âThe Conjuring: Last Ritesâ and Ed and Lorraine Warrenâ, Hollywood Reporter (10 September 2025)
⢠Neil Genzlinger â âLorraine Warren, Paranormal Investigator Portrayed in âThe Conjuringâ, Dies at 92, New York Times (19 April 2019)
⢠Kim Masters and Ashley Cullins â âWar Over âThe Conjuringâ: The Disturbing Claims Behind a Billion-Dollar Franchiseâ, Hollywood Reporter (13 December 2017)
⢠Sean Thomas â âWhatâs Happened to Weird?â, Guardian (14 June 2004)
⢠Neda Ulaby â âThe demons in âThe Conjuringâ movies may not be real â but the family tragedies are, NPR (5 September 2025)
⢠Neda Ulaby â âWho Were the Real Ed and Lorraine Warren of âThe Copnjuringâ Franchise?â, NPR (9 September 2025)
⢠Laura Zornosa, âThe True Story Behind the Netflix Documentary The Devil on Trialâ, Time (18 October, 2023)
Films
⢠Carrie, written by Lawrence D. Cohen and directed by Brian Da Palma (1976)
⢠The Conjuring: Last Rites, written by Ian Goldberg et al and directed by Michael Chaves (2025)
⢠The Devil on Trial, written by Chris Holt and directed by Charvi Bajaj (2023)
⢠The Exorcist, written by William Peter Blatty and directed by William Friedkin (1973)
⢠Ghostbusters, written by Dan Ackroyd and Harold Ramis and directed by Ivan Reitman (1984)
⢠Late Night with the Devil, written and directed by Colin and Cameron Cairnes (2023)
⢠Panorama: The Enfield Poltergeist, BBC (13 November 1977)
Written and presented by Ian Dunt and Dorian Lynskey. Producer: Simon Williams. Music by Jade Bailey. Art by Jim Parrett. Logo by Mischa Welsh. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Origin Story is a Podmasters production
www.podmasters.co.uk
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Think Tanks â Part Two â The Room Where It Happens
Saison 9 ¡ Ăpisode 9
mercredi 24 juin 2026 ⢠DurÊe 01:21:52
Welcome to Origin Story and part two of the story of think tanks. Last time we traced the history of two very different varieties: the non-partisan centre for research and policy development and the handsomely-funded vehicle for a political ideology. Now we explain how they shape politics today.
In the first half of the show we follow the partisan think tanks into the 21st century with the Koch networkâs war on Obama, the Heritage Foundationâs MAGA makeover, the IEAâs role in the Liz Truss catastrophe and the depressing devolution of centre-right think tanks. At the centre of the British story is 55 Tufton Street, the notorious building where climate change deniers cross paths with Eurosceptics and the distinction between think tanks and lobby groups all but collapses. Nice work if you can get it.
Then we explain how the more independent-minded think tanks make an essential contribution to developing and analysing policies, keeping alive the original ideal of politically neutral expertise. So what do we talk about when we talk about think tanks?
Whatâs the deal with Tufton Street and why are its denizens always on TV? Where is the money coming from? How has Trump transformed the balance of power among US think tanks? What role have these groups played in the radicalisation of conservatism over the past decade? How do the independent think tanks â more important but far less discussed â try to make politicians better informed and more effective? Ultimately, how influential are think tanks really?
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Reading list
Books
⢠Richard Cockett â Thinking the Unthinkable: Think-Tanks and the Economic Counter- Revolution 1931-1983 (1994)
⢠Paul Dickson â Think Tanks (1972)
⢠Sharon Ghamari-Tabrizi â The Worlds of Herman Kahn: The Intuitive Science of Thermonuclear War (2005)
⢠F.A. Hayek â The Road to Serfdom (Readerâs Digest abridged version) (1945)
⢠Jane Mayer â Dark Money: How a Secretive Group of Billionaires Is Trying to Buy Political Control in the US (2016)
⢠Thomas Medvetz â Think Tanks in America (2014)
⢠Madsen Pirie â Think Tank: The Story of the Adam Smith Institute (2012)
⢠James A. Smith â The Idea Brokers: Think Tanks and the Rise of the New Policy Elite (1991)
Articles
⢠Dr James Barham â âTop Influential Think Tanks Ranked for 2024â, Academic Influence (16
October 2023)
⢠Tom Bawden â âThe address where Eurosceptics and climate change sceptics rub shouldersâ, Independent (10 February 2016)
⢠Chloe Farand â âMapped: Whistleblower Accuses Nine Organisations of Colluding Over Hard Brexitâ, DeSmog (23 July 2018)
⢠Richard Fink â âStructure of Social Changeâ, Philanthropy Magazine (Winter 1996)
⢠F. A. Hayek â âThe Intellectuals and Socialismâ, University of Chicago Law Review (Spring 1949)
⢠Richard Kostelanetz â âOne-Man Think Tankâ, New York Times (1 December 1968)
⢠Jane Mayer â âCovert Operationsâ, New Yorker (23 August 2010)
⢠Jane Mayer â âIs IKEA the New Model for the Conservative Movement?â, New Yorker (15 November 2013)
⢠James G. McGann, â2020 Global Go To Think Tank Index Reportâ, University of Pennsylvania, Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program (28 January 2021)
⢠Louis Menand â âFat Manâ, New Yorker (20 June 2005)
⢠George Monbiot â âNumber 10 and the secretly funded lobby groups intent on undermining democracyâ, Guardian (1 September 2020)
⢠New York Times staff â â49 Scholars Hold Man Up to Mirrorâ, New York Times (21 September 1958)
⢠David Perlman â âManâs Actions Challenge a Braintrustâ, San Francisco Chronicle (23 March 1958)
Written and presented by Ian Dunt and Dorian Lynskey. Producer: Simon Williams. Music by Jade Bailey. Art by Jim Parrett. Logo by Mischa Welsh. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Origin Story is a Podmasters production
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