The Zeitgeist Tapes cover art

The Zeitgeist Tapes

The Zeitgeist Tapes

Written by: The Zeitgeist Tapes
Listen for free

About this listen

Where politics and pop culture collide. Every month journalist Emma Burnell and Professor Steve Fielding discuss the way politics is interpreted through popular culture.

 Politics & Government Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Zeitgeist Tapes - The Finale

    Zeitgeist Tapes - The Finale
    Aug 31 2025
    Sadly, this is the last episode of The Zeitgeist Tapes as Emma goes off to take up the full time role of Editor of LabourList and Steve valiantly continues to write his book on the Labour Party.

    In this episode, we pick out a few of our favourite episodes from the eight years of the show. We discuss our bizarre origin story and the unfortunate original naming convention.

    Read Steve's book that inspired the show:

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/State-Play-British-Politics-Trollope/dp/1780933169

    Steve's Choices:
    The Campaign: https://audioboom.com/posts/7581395-the-campaign-1983
    My Fair Lady: https://audioboom.com/posts/8281940-my-fair-lady
    Scrooged: https://audioboom.com/posts/7126205-podded
    Mr Smith Goes to Washington/Meet John Doe https://audioboom.com/posts/8707552-capra-double-bill-mr-smith-goes-to-washington-and-meet-john-doe

    Emma's Choices:
    Parks and Recreation: https://audioboom.com/posts/7524657-parks-and-recreation
    Vote for Froglet: https://audioboom.com/posts/7416090-vote-for-froglet
    Our Friends in the North: https://audioboom.com/posts/6327558-3-our-friends-on-the-podcast
    Running on Empty: https://audioboom.com/posts/8551366-running-on-empty

    Our Joint Favourite:
    Dirty Dancing: https://audioboom.com/posts/6941048-dirty-podding
    Show More Show Less
    43 mins
  • The Spectator (Novel)

    The Spectator (Novel)
    Aug 27 2025
    This month after a somewhat hilarious mix up Emma and Steve read and discuss the Spectator - a Novel by Timothy Balding. This book has an odd format and may be too light on story as a result. Ultimately tries too hard to make answering the question "But what if the Daily Mail is actually awful?" an interesting one.

    Read the Spectator: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Spectator-Novel-Timothy-Balding/dp/1935830767
    Read the Director: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-director/daniel-kehlmann/ross-benjamin/9781529435115?sv1=affiliate&sv_campaign_id=57434&awc=3787_1756317426_f55f2a16a2d20e6ace48ecf531d0ef13&sn=1&utm_source=57434&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=Easyfundraising
    Show More Show Less
    35 mins
  • Conclave

    Conclave
    May 26 2025
    This month, slightly later than planned (or is timely) Emma and Steve discuss Conclave.

    The film has pretensions to high drama, but is it really just an Agatha Christie style novel set in the Catholic Church? Not so much a 'whodunnit' as a They all done something innit!.
    Show More Show Less
    33 mins
No reviews yet