History in the news
Independent historical analysis that places contemporary events in the wider histories of institutions, ritual, culture and authority. Available for television, radio and podcast interviews in English and Spanish.
Available at short notice for live broadcast and on-record commentary on the papacy, conclaves and Catholic affairs. English and Spanish.
Media enquiries →Selected appearances
Popes vs Power
Jesuitical — 60-minute feature interview.
Watch & listen →Blasphemy, outrage and competitive victimhood
God Forbid — 60-minute programme and panel discussion.
Listen →Papal Infallibility
In Our Time — 60-minute programme.
Listen →Comment & analysis for international press
Pope Leo praises Europe's democracy, diverging once again from Trump
Expert comment on the papacy’s religious and international significance.
Read →How the pope went pop
Expert comment on the cultural image and public reach of the modern papacy.
Read →“El cónclave es un referéndum sobre el futuro de la Iglesia”
A substantial Spanish-language interview on the conclave and the future direction of the Catholic Church.
Read →Beyond the usual subjects
New Scientist podcast
An appearance during the 2025 conclave period.
Listen →The theology of chocolate
A lighter historical intervention on Catholicism and chocolate.
Read →If I could go anywhere: the “cathedral” at Blythburgh that rises from the marshes
A journey through history, landscape and one of Suffolk’s great medieval churches.
Read →Ideas, ethics & contemporary questions
Beyond commentary on the papacy and Catholic Church, Miles contributes to longer-form discussions about the ways history, religion and inherited traditions shape contemporary moral life.
History &
contemporary ethicsHistorical injustice, inherited responsibility, apology, commemoration and judging the past.
Secularisation & belief
Religious decline and revival, religious literacy, ritual and the persistence of belief in secular societies.
Universities, knowledge & moral authority
What universities are for, academic neutrality, institutional values and the formation of judgment.
Identity, tradition & invented pasts
Medievalism, invented traditions and the political and cultural uses of the past.
Media around the world
Miles’s commentary and writing have appeared in media in over 70 countries across six continents. Explore selected media coverage, commentary and areas of expertise as reproduced in international markets (for French-, Italian-, Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking media, see the versions of this site in those languages).