Tempus Potentia Est
Watches & Politics is a multimedia project exploring the intersection of horology, history, power, culture, and identity. Created by political scientist and watch collector Edi Shipoli, the project examines how timekeeping shaped empires, war, diplomacy, industry, luxury, and modern society. Through cinematic storytelling, long-form interviews, and deep explorations of watch literature, the series brings together historians, collectors, executives, journalists, scholars, and independent watchmakers to uncover the hidden political and cultural life of watches. More than a podcast, Watches & Politics is a growing archive of ideas, stories, and conversations designed for collectors, historians, and curious minds alike.
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Series 1: The story
The Story is the original limited-series podcast from Watches and Politics — a cinematic exploration of how timekeeping shaped power, diplomacy, war, industry, and identity across history. Hosted by political scientist and horology enthusiast Edi Shipoli, the series uncovers the hidden political life of watches, from medieval public clocks and Calvinist Geneva to Cold War summits and presidential wrists. Across ten meticulously researched episodes, listeners discover how watches organized labor, projected prestige, coordinated empires, and became symbols of influence and legitimacy. Blending political history, cultural analysis, and horological storytelling, The Story offers a completely new way of understanding the modern world — one tick at a time.
Series 2: the insiders
The Insiders is the second series of Watches & Politics — a long-form interview podcast exploring the people, institutions, and ideas shaping modern horology from within. Following the success of the original story series, host Edi Shipoli expands the project into in-depth conversations with scholars, historians, executives, journalists, auction specialists, watchmakers, and cultural figures who influence how watches are valued, remembered, and understood today. More than a watch podcast, The Insiders examines legitimacy, heritage, globalization, art, science, identity, and cultural power through the lens of horology. Thoughtful, interdisciplinary, and deeply researched, the series reveals why mechanical watches continue to matter in the digital age — not as tools, but as carriers of memory, prestige, and meaning.
Series 3: the books
The Books is the third series of Watches & Politics — a long-form podcast dedicated to the literature that shaped modern horology. Moving beyond traditional reviews, each episode explores a single watch book as a cultural artifact, historical document, and intellectual gateway into the world of watches. Hosted by Edi Shipoli, the series examines the authors, ideas, myths, and histories behind the most influential books on collecting, design, craftsmanship, luxury, and watchmaking heritage. From iconic brands and legendary timepieces to independent creators and collector culture, The Books reveals how horological knowledge is preserved, debated, and passed on. Thoughtful, cinematic, and deeply analytical, the series invites listeners to build not just a collection — but a library.
The Archive
Looking for a specific episode, guest, watch brand, historical topic, or book? Visit The Archive — the searchable library of all Watches & Politics content. Browse every episode across all series, explore conversations by theme, filter by tags, and discover the growing world of horology, politics, collecting, craftsmanship, history, and culture. Whether you are searching for military watches, vintage collecting, diplomacy, independent watchmaking, or the great maisons of Switzerland, The Archive is designed to help you explore the deeper story of time.
ABOUT EDI SHIPOLI
Edi Shipoli is a scholar, executive coach, consultant, and creator of Watches & Politics. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science and International Relations and is currently a sponsored university associate at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. His academic work focuses on foreign policy, religion, democracy, security, conflict, and political discourse, and he is the author of several books and scholarly publications exploring international politics and security studies.
Beyond academia, Edi is an entrepreneur and advisor who consults executives, professionals, organizations, collectors, and brands on storytelling, executive presence, negotiations, lobbying, advocacy, influence, and the power of communication. Through Watches & Politics, he combines political analysis with horology to explore how watches intersect with diplomacy, war, globalization, prestige, identity, collecting culture, and contemporary power structures.
A lifelong watch enthusiast and active participant in the international horological community, Edi is also a member of the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève Academy. His work engages with collectors, historians, executives, independent watchmakers, media figures, and cultural institutions, shaping contemporary horological discourse. Edi speaks English, Albanian, Bulgarian, Turkish, and Serbo-Croatian.