Origin Story
by Podmasters
Latest episode
Rupert Murdoch – Part Two – Decline of the Digger
Rupert Murdoch – Part Two – Decline of the Digger
About this podcast
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.
Want to support us in making future seasons? There are now two ways you can help out:
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From Podmasters, the makers of Oh God, What Now?, American Friction and The Bunker.
Episodes
The newest 50 of 133 episodes
- Rupert Murdoch – Part Two – Decline of the Digger · 1 h 39 min · Season 10 Episode 2Hello and welcome to season 10 of Origin Story. This week we conclude the story of Rupert Murdoch, the media titan people love to hate. After a brush with bankruptcy in 1990…
- Rupert Murdoch – Part One – Empire of The Sun · 1 h 36 min · Season 10 Episode 1Hello and welcome to season 10 of Origin Story. Thanks for listening and supporting our work. We kick off with the world-shaking, century-spanning story of Rupert Murdoch. No…
- Anti-vaxxers – Herd impunity – Origin Story Revisited · 1 h 24 min · Season 9 Episode 22Hello Origin Story listeners. We’re 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…
- Russell Brand – Confidence man – Origin Story Revisited · 1 h 28 min · Season 9 Episode 21Hello Origin Story listeners. We’re 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…
- Ayn Rand: The ego has landed – Origin Story Revisited · 1 h 21 min · Season 9 Episode 20This week, while we research a two-parter on the history of libertarianism, we're revisiting the story of the political novelist Ayn Rand. In this episode from 2022 — the first…
- The Battle of Cable Street – Origin Story Revisited · 45 min · Season 9 Episode 19Hello Origin Story listeners. We’re 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…
- John Rawls – Philosopher king of the 20th Century · 1 h 4 min · Season 9 Episode 18This 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…
- Origin Story Live at Union Chapel · 2 h 7 min · Season 9 Episode 17Hello listeners. This week’s 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…
- Section 28 – Anatomy of a Moral Panic · 1 h 22 min · Season 9 Episode 16Hello 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…
- The Duke of Buckingham – How a queer love story predicted modern politics · 1 h 17 min · Season 9 Episode 15Welcome to another bonus episode of Origin Story, where we look at the short and extraordinary life of the Duke of Buckingham (1592–1628). It's a bizarre, tragic tale which…
- Origin Story live show announcement! · 3 minTickets are flying out of the door for Ian and Dorian’s biggest live show yet at the stunning Union Chapel in London’s sophisticated Islington on Tue 1 Sept. A spectacular…
- Starmer Revisited – Where Did It All Go Wrong? · 1 h 27 min · Season 9 Episode 13Welcome to a bonus episode of Origin Story. For the first time, we’re revisiting an earlier episode to ask what we got right and what we got wrong about the subject. Just before…
- The Luddites – Rage Against the Machine · 1 h 43 min · Season 9 Episode 11Welcome to the finale of season nine of Origin Story. We’re wrapping up the season by telling the thrilling, misunderstood story of the Luddites and how their name became an…
- Paranormal Investigations – Is There Anybody Out There? · 1 h 43 min · Season 9 Episode 10Welcome to Origin Story. This week we’re doing something different: the history of paranormal investigations and what it says about the relationship between evidence and belief…
- Think Tanks – Part Two – The Room Where It Happens · 1 h 21 min · Season 9 Episode 9Welcome 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…
- Think Tanks – Part One – What’s the Big Idea? · 1 h 19 min · Season 9 Episode 8Welcome to Origin Story. This week we explore the world of think tanks, a term that has developed two very different meanings. To many people, it suggests deceptively named and…
- Evangelicals – Part Two – Good News, Bad News · 1 h 24 min · Season 9 Episode 7Ever since the birth of evangelical Christianity in the 1730s, believers have disagreed over whether to dedicate themselves to changing society as well as converting individuals…
- Evangelicals – Part One – Altared States · 1 h 33 min · Season 9 Episode 6Welcome to Origin Story, the show about why we are where we are. This week we begin the story of evangelical Christianity and its influence on politics. Starting in the 1730s…
- J.K. Rowling – Part Two – Transparent · 1 h 27 min · Season 9 Episode 5Welcome back to Origin Story and part two of the story of J.K. Rowling. In this episode we turn away from her life story towards her public statements and the information she is…
- J.K. Rowling – Part One – Transformation · 1 h 9 min · Season 9 Episode 4Hello and welcome to Origin Story. This week we begin the story of J.K. Rowling and how the world’s most beloved author became its most divisive. How did she become obsessed with…
- European Union – Part Three – The Expanse · 1 h 23 min · Season 9 Episode 3Hello and welcome to the final part of the story of European union, in which we finally see the European Union come to pass — and run into trouble. The transition begins with…
- European Union – Part Two – Reality Bites · 1 h 9 min · Season 9 Episode 2Welcome back to Origin Story and part two of the story of European union. Last time we left Europe in 1955, with Jean Monnet’s European Coal and Steel Community bringing European…
- European Union – Part One – Come Together · 1 h 23 min · Season 9 Episode 1Hello and welcome to season nine of Origin Story. After last season’s history of socialism, we’re returning to our usual format of taking on a completely different topic each…
- Origin Story – Live at Bloomsbury Theatre, 15th April 2026 · 1 h 46 min · Season 8 Episode 23This week’s episode is an edited version of Origin Story Live at London’s Bloomsbury Theatre on Wednesday 15 April 2026. It was a thrill to take the stage in the former terrain…
- The General Strike – The Revolution That Wasn’t · 1 h 25 min · Season 8 Episode 22Hello and welcome to another bonus episode. It’s the centenary of the General Strike of May 1926, the most important industrial dispute in British history, but what really…
- Introvert / Extrovert – In Two Minds · 59 min · Season 8 Episode 21The terms introvert and extrovert have never been more popular. People seem to increasingly latch onto them as a core element of their personality, clinging to the personal…
- Stephen Miller – American Fascist · 1 h 18 min · Season 8 Episode 20Welcome to a bonus episode of Origin Story. Sometimes we profile people who are psychologically complex, who have undertaken fascinating intellectual journeys, whose sins and…
- 15-Minute Cities – How Urban Design Entered the Culture War · 1 h 6 min · Season 8 Episode 19Welcome to another between-season bonus episode of Origin Story. This week Ian tells the story of 15-minute cities: the notion that every urban resident should live a 15-minute…
- Blue Labour: We Need to Talk About Maurice · 1 h 30 min · Season 8 Episode 17Origin Story is live at the Bloomsbury Theatre, London on Weds 15th April 2026 - tickets selling fast, get yours here Welcome to a between-season bonus episode of Origin Story…
- Socialism: The Finale – What’s Left? · 1 h 39 min · Season 8 Episode 15Welcome to the finale of Origin Story season eight: the story of socialism. Thanks to everybody who has followed our most ambitious season yet, especially those whose support has…
- The Fall of the USSR – End Game · 1 h 34 min · Season 8 Episode 14Welcome to the penultimate episode of Origin story season eight: the story of socialism. We close the book on Soviet communism with the story of how it all came crashing down —…
- Che Guevara – Guerrilla in the Mist · 1 h 32 min · Season 8 Episode 13Welcome back to Origin Story season eight: The Story of Socialism. This time, we take a look at hands-down the sexiest revolutionary of socialist history: Che Guevara. Born in…
- The New Left – Part Two – Children of the Revolution · 1 h 12 min · Season 8 Episode 12Welcome to the second episode of the week as we conclude the story of the New Left. In part one, we explained the various groups and thinkersthat fed into the New Left’s attempts…
- The New Left – Part One – Generation Next · 1 h 5 min · Season 8 Episode 11Welcome back to Origin Story season eight: The Story of Socialism. This time, we’re explaining the New Left, the messy constellation of ideas and movements that came out of the…
- Origin Story – Live at the Tabernacle, 13th Nov 2025 · 2 h 2 min · Season 8 Episode 10This week’s episode is an edited version of Origin Story Live at the Tabernacle in London on Thursday 13 November. The theme is political insurgents: the politicians and…
- The Labour Party – Part Three – One Battle After Another · 1 h 34 min · Season 8 Episode 9Welcome to the third and final part of the story of the Labour Party, from Keir Hardie to Keir Starmer. Margaret Thatcher’s first election victory in 1979 initiates Labour’s…
- The Labour Party – Part Two – War and Peace · 1 h 36 min · Season 8 Episode 8Welcome back to Origin Story season eight: The Story of Socialism. This week, we continue the tale of the UK Labour Party, from Keir Hardie to Keir Starmer. It’s 1940 and…
- The Labour Party – Part One – A Very British Socialism · 1 h 31 min · Season 8 Episode 7Welcome back to Origin Story season eight: The Story of Socialism. This week, in the year of its 125th anniversary, we begin the tale of the UK Labour Party, from Keir Hardie to…
- Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin – Part Three – Terror · 1 h 36 min · Season 8 Episode 6• See Origin Story LIVE at The Tabernacle on Thur Nov 13. Buy tickets here. Welcome to the third and final part of the story of Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin: Terror. It’s 1929…
- Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin – Part Two – Power · 1 h 31 min · Season 8 Episode 5• See Origin Story LIVE at The Tabernacle, London on Thur Nov 13. Buy tickets here. Welcome back to Origin Story: The Story of Socialism as we resume the story of Lenin…
- Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin – Part One – Revolution · 1 h 31 min · Season 8 Episode 4• See Origin Story LIVE at The Tabernacle, London on Thur 13 Nov. Buy tickets here. Welcome to Origin Story. The Story of Socialism is our first ever themed season and now we…
- Karl Marx – Part Two – The Father · 1 h 23 min · Season 8 Episode 3Welcome back to Season Eight: The Story of Socialism as we conclude the story of Karl Marx and the birth of Marxism. It’s 1849. In the wake of the failed revolutions in Europe…
- Karl Marx – Part One – The Fighter · 1 h 28 min · Season 8 Episode 2A spectre is haunting Origin Story — the spectre of Karl Marx. Welcome back to season eight: The Story of Socialism. Last week, we explored the various socialisms that were…
- The Birth of Socialism – A Better World is Possible · 1 h 32 min · Season 8 Episode 1Welcome to season eight of Origin Story. This season we’re trying something different: one big narrative across multiple topics. It’s the story of socialism, from the earliest…
- The British Chinese – Hidden generations · 1 h 4 min · Season 7 Episode 17British Chinese compose nearly one per cent of the British population, but they are culturally and politically ignored with precious little representation in politics or…
- Rivers of Blood – How Enoch Powell poisoned Britain · 1 h 25 min · Season 7 Episode 16Welcome back to Origin Story. In this bonus episode Dorian tells the unnervingly relevant story of Enoch Powell’s so-called “Rivers of Blood” speech. On 20 April 1968, the…
- Shostakovich and Stalin – The Composer and the Dictator · 55 min · Season 7 Episode 15Welcome back to Origin Story. This bonus episode is something a bit different: a story about the power of music and the music of power. Tortured genius? Stalinist stooge?…
- ICE – How Trump built an American Gestapo · 55 min · Season 7 Episode 14What is ICE? Who are these men we see gathered around students and politicians in the US, with their faces covered, wearing unmarked clothing, often throwing people into unmarked…
- Martin Luther King Jr. – Part Two – Owning the dream · 1 h 23 min · Season 7 Episode 11Welcome to the grand finale of Origin Story season seven, as we conclude the remarkable story of Martin Luther King Jr. With the march from Selma to Montgomery and the passing of…
- Martin Luther King Jr. – Part One – Eyes on the Prize · 1 h 32 minWelcome to the final topic of Origin Story season seven: the extraordinary life and legacy of Dr Martin Luther King. By Origin Story standards, there’s an unusual moral clarity…
