Philipp Blom

Philipp Blom (Hamburg, 1970) is a historian, writer and broadcaster. He is the author of many books on history, politics, and philosophy, as well as four novels. He also works as a journalist, radio presenter, podcaster, documentary film maker, and public lecturer.

Philipp’s books combine historical research and philosophical enquiry in an accessible narrative style. Among his best-selling books are The Vertigo Years and Fracture, on the cultural history of the early twentieth century, A Wicked Company, about the radical Enlightenment, Nature’s Mutiny, an investigation into history and climate change in the seventeenth century, What’s at Stake, a discussion of climate change, digitization, and democracy, and most recently, Hope: An intelligent engagement with the world.

Philipp’s wide-ranging work and research interests have received numerous prizes and accolades, and his books are translated into sixteen languages. In 2018 he opened the prestigious Salzburg Festspiele with a widely disseminated speech on the future of the Enlightenment in a time of climate change.

A keen amateur violinist, Philipp has presented a series of chamber music concerts at Vienna’s Konzerthaus. Having grown up in Germany, he has since lived in Oxford, London, Paris, and Los Angeles, and now makes his home in Vienna.