Origin Story

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:• Patreon – Get early episodes, live Zooms, merchandise and more from just £5 per month.• Apple Podcasts – Want everything in one place with one easy payment? Subscribe to our premium feed on Apple Podcasts for ad-free shows early and bonus editions too.From Podmasters, the makers of Oh God, What Now?, American Friction and The Bunker.

Partition – Part Two – Dividing Lines
Apr 23, 2025 – 01:19:30
Partition – Part One – Before Midnight
Apr 16, 2025 – 01:19:53
Thatcherism – Part Two – Imperial phase
Apr 9, 2025 – 01:36:49
Thatcherism – Part One – Birth of a Notion
Apr 2, 2025 – 01:34:30
Kemi Badenoch – Identity crisis
Mar 19, 2025 – 01:16:49
The Myth of Cultural Marxism – Anatomy of a conspiracy theory
Feb 12, 2025 – 01:03:56
Doctor Who – The Regeneration Game
Jan 29, 2025 – 01:05:23
Trump’s inauguration: Can we call it fascism yet? – Plus exclusive audiobook excerpt
Jan 21, 2025 – 44:15
Elon Musk and the Death of Twitter
Jan 8, 2025 – 01:03:36
The Daily Mail – Part two – Paper Tigers
Dec 18, 2024 – 01:20:41
The Daily Mail – Part one – Barons and Blackshirts
Dec 18, 2024 – 01:00:12
The BBC – Part two – Balancing act
Dec 11, 2024 – 01:25:37
The BBC – Part one – Inform, educate, entertain
Dec 4, 2024 – 01:20:37
Benjamin Netanyahu – Part two – Divide and conquer
Nov 27, 2024 – 01:22:17
Benjamin Netanyahu – Part one – Making enemies
Nov 20, 2024 – 01:03:22
US Post-Election Live Show – Part Two
Nov 16, 2024 – 01:11:35
US Post-Election Live Show – Part One
Nov 16, 2024 – 55:09
Artificial Intelligence – Part Two – Skynet’s the limit
Nov 13, 2024 – 01:16:28
Conspiracy Theory - Exclusive audiobook excerpt
Nov 9, 2024 – 28:34
Artificial Intelligence – Part One – Deus ex machina
Nov 6, 2024 – 01:08:27
The Suffragettes – Part Two – By any means necessary
Oct 30, 2024 – 01:18:27
The Suffragettes – Part one – Deeds not words
Oct 23, 2024 – 01:07:59
Russell Brand – Confidence man
Oct 16, 2024 – 01:26:42
The British Board of Film Classification – Who watches the watchers?
Oct 9, 2024 – 46:50
Emmanuel Macron – The centrist cannot hold
Sep 25, 2024 – 49:36
Gaslighting – No, you’re not imagining it
Aug 28, 2024 – 37:16
The Battle of Cable Street
Aug 13, 2024 – 40:03
Bonus edition: Far-Right Riots
Aug 6, 2024 – 47:19
Origin Story Post-Election Special – Live in Islington
Jul 22, 2024 – 01:59:08
The Rushdie Affair – Blasphemous Rumours
Jul 10, 2024 – 01:22:25
Keir Starmer – PM Dawn
Jul 1, 2024 – 01:22:23
Anti-vaxxers – Herd impunity
Jun 26, 2024 – 01:22:08
Genocide – Part Two – The search for justice
Jun 19, 2024 – 01:09:27
Genocide – Part One – The ultimate crime
Jun 12, 2024 – 01:02:21
John Stuart Mill & Harriet Taylor Mill – Part Two – Love, bravery and feminism
Jun 4, 2024 – 01:18:07
John Stuart Mill & Harriet Taylor Mill – Part One – Liberalism's original power couple
May 29, 2024 – 58:19
George Orwell Part 2 – From Broadcasting House to Airstrip One
May 22, 2024 – 55:45
George Orwell Part 1 – From Eton to Barcelona
May 15, 2024 – 01:07:12
10 Downing Street – The makeshift mansion
Apr 24, 2024 – 37:46
The Illuminati – Top of the Plots
Apr 17, 2024 – 42:36
Apocalypse How? Dorian on the birth of end of the world fiction
Apr 11, 2024 – 38:03
Effective Altruism: Morality by numbers
Dec 11, 2023 – 01:13:56
Eugenics Part Two: The Murderous Science
Dec 4, 2023 – 01:05:07
Eugenics Part One: Gene Genies
Nov 27, 2023 – 01:04:38
Night of the Living Allegory: The Politics of Zombies
Nov 20, 2023 – 01:15:52
John Maynard Keynes Part Two: We’re all Keynesians now
Nov 13, 2023 – 01:05:23
John Maynard Keynes Part One: The Establishment Radical
Nov 6, 2023 – 01:02:04
Boomers: You never had it so good
Oct 30, 2023 – 01:23:40
Jordan B Peterson Part Two: The Unravelling
Oct 23, 2023 – 01:02:45
Jordan B Peterson Part One: Ascension
Oct 16, 2023 – 57:56

Recent Reviews

34532647

Great, and funny

This podcast points out fascism, which we need to do. Once it’s already taken root, it is too late. It’s important to be critical and call people out far before they’ve taken and consolidated power.
jakwaugin

Thanks

Insightful, entertaining and addictive 👌
S_Thornton

Love from Texas

Been listening to you all since Remainiacs. Absolutely love this podcasts and your other works. Can’t recommend this series enough!
Taking Walks

Fantastically Researched Podcast

This is possibly the most measured and intelligent podcast on the internet. These guys do a phenomenal job of deeply researching each topic, so that they can give their audience a much better understanding of any issue than they had before. GREAT work!
Dan T. 123

Wow

What an absolutely phenomenal podcast!!! I just listened to the free speech episode and I was incredibly impressed by their nuanced and thoughtful take. A rare commodity these days. They aren’t “moderate” or “centrist” - they’re smart and take history seriously. I am optimistic that the rest of the show will be equally great!!
Lovechump

Love from NY

Two of my favorite voices from Remainiacs (plus Ian Dunt’s giggles) have a new podcast about politics, media, and pop culture? Sign me up! The McCarthy episode is an absolute standout— everyone should listen to this intelligent, hilarious duo.
greggjaffe

Relevant, intelligent, funny

There’s a trend in podcasting now that sort of melds the morning radio crew feel with the informational podcast format. A lot of people get it wrong, these guys get it right. Ian and Dorian provide a mix of banter and (apparent) friendship with actual research and knowledge of the subjects they’re speaking about. They lay things out in a way that’s easy to understand but doesn’t shy away from digging in and using heavy source material. As a US listener I like the more UK/Global point of view they have vs. what I’m used to hearing things from a US centric POV. This isn’t to say they don’t include American topics or sources, they’re quite prevalent, as you’d expect when dealing with topics of the last century. Anyway, if you’re interested in a bit of intellectual thought that’s not too high on their own scent or just a few “buddies” talking about interesting things with no actual experiences or research then theses are your guys.
carleang21

Origin Story

Another winning podcast from the team behind Oh God, What Now? and The Bunker.