KQED Radio
KQED Newssee more
Latest Newscasts:KQEDNPR
Player Sponsored By
upper waypoint

Niall Ferguson Explores History Through the Lens of Networks

51:59
at
Save ArticleSave Article
Failed to save article

Please try again

 (Photo: Tom Barnes)

Enthusiasts of social networks tout their ability to expose corruption and topple the powerful. But according to historian Niall Ferguson, social networks are disrupting democracy itself. Ferguson joins us to discuss his new book “The Square and the Tower,” which lays out the rich history of networks from ancient Roman cults to alliances among the Renaissance Medicis to our current network of connectivity. Ferguson joins us to discuss his book and why present-day power structures are vulnerable.

Guests:

Niall Ferguson, senior fellow, the Hoover Institution; author of "The Square and the Tower: Networks and Power, from the Freemasons to Facebook"

Sponsored

lower waypoint
next waypoint
Illia Ponomarenko on Reporting From Ukraine’s Front LinesLookout Santa Cruz Wins 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Its Storm CoverageAmor Towles on his New Short Story Collection 'Table for Two'SFMOMA’s New Collaboration with Artists with DisabilitiesHamas Accepts Ceasefire Deal as Israel Threatens Rafah InvasionWill the U.S. Really Ban TikTok?California PUC Considers New Fixed Charge for ElectricityOakland’s Leila Mottley on Her Debut Collection of Poetry ‘woke up no light’Alice Wong Redefines ‘Disability Intimacy’ in New AnthologyHow a Massive California Prison Hunger Strike Overhauled Solitary Confinement