The World in Time

Stories and insight from today’s leading writers and thinkers

May 13, 2025

The Cantino planisphere, made by an anonymous cartographer in 1502, shows the world as it was understood by Europeans after their great explorations at the end of the fifteenth century.

May 26, 2017

The World in Time:

Ian Mortimer

Lewis Lapham talks with Ian Mortimer about the past millennium of human innovation. More

May 15, 2017

The World in Time:

William Hogeland

Lewis Lapham talks with William Hogeland about the creation of the United States’ first standing army and its victory over a coalition of Indian forces that sought to halt the country’s expansion. More

April 28, 2017

The World in Time:

John Micklethwait

Lewis Lapham talks to John Micklethwait about rethinking the machinery of the state in the twenty-first century. More

April 17, 2017

The World in Time:

Andrew Bacevich

Lewis Lapham talks to Andrew J. Bacevich about America’s shift from the Cold War to war in the Middle East. More

April 03, 2017

The World in Time:

Nancy Isenberg

Lewis Lapham talks with Nancy Isenberg about the language of poverty and American myths about class, work, and equality. More

November 11, 2011

The World in Time:

Death Is Nothing to Us

Lewis Lapham talks with Stephen Greenblatt, 2011 winner of the National Book Award in nonfiction.  More

October 04, 2011

The World in Time:

World Enough, and Time

Lewis Lapham speaks with Elizabeth Abbott, author of Mistresses: A History of the Other Woman More

September 15, 2011

The World in Time:

Green Mountain Boy

Willard Sterne Randall and Lewis Lapham talk about the life and adventures of Ethan Allen.  More

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LQ Podcast

Robert Weide

September 17, 2014

Curb Your Enthusiasm executive producer and documentary filmmaker Robert B. Weide has profiled the biggest names in comedy. More

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LQ Podcast

Soviets & Spies

April 30, 2014

Did an Englishman assist in the murder of Rasputin? Did a man knowns as the “Ace of Spies” almost carry off the assassination of the entire Bolshevik power structure? More