<p>This year's Reith Lecturer is British lawyer Lord Radcliffe. He was Director-General of the Ministry of Information during the Second World War, and is most famous for his role in Partition, the division of the British Indian Empire, His work led directly to the creation of Pakistan and India as independent nations. He examines the features of democratic ... Show More
Yesterday
Moral Maze debate: Rutger Bregman’s call for a moral revolution
<p>The Dutch historian Rutger Bregman, whose BBC Reith Lectures start this week, is calling for a moral revolution to change our societies for the better, charting how small groups of committed people – abolitionists, suffragettes, and temperance activists – have brought about po ... Show More
56m 47s
Jan 2025
Introducing two gripping BBC podcasts: Intrigue and Gangster
Hear thrilling investigations and stories of crime, power and control from Intrigue and Gangster.Intrigue from Radio 4 tells dramatic true stories with gripping narratives, including the award-winning series, To Catch a Scorpion.In the latest Gangster series, Livvy Haydock invest ... Show More
2m 2s
Jun 2023
Douglas Kerr, "Orwell and Empire" (Oxford UP, 2022)
George Orwell was born in India and served in the Imperial Police in Burma as a young man. Douglas Kerr's book Orwell and Empire (Oxford UP, 2022) is a study of his writing about the East and the East in his writing. It argues that empire was central to his cultural identity and ... Show More
42m 30s
May 2018
Tarak Barkawi, “Soldiers of Empire: Indian and British Armies in World War II” (Cambridge UP, 2017)
Tarak Barkawi, a Reader in International Relations at the London School of Economics, has written an important book that will cause many of us to rethink the way we understand the relationships between armies and societies. In Soldiers of Empire: Indian and British Armies in Worl ... Show More
38m 55s
Apr 2020
Kate Imy, "Faithful Fighters: Identity and Power in the British Indian Army" (Stanford UP, 2019)
In her fascinating and remarkable new book Faithful Fighters: Identity and Power in the British Indian Army (Stanford University Press, 2019), Kate Imy explores the negotiation of religious identity, military service, and imperial power in the context of twentieth century British ... Show More
1h 10m
Feb 2024
Comment l'Inde est-elle devenue britannique pendant 200 ans ?
<p>Mes chers camarades, bien le bonjour !</p><p>L’empire colonial anglais a été gigantesque, et encore aujourd'hui, le roi d’Angleterre a 15 couronnes de royaumes autonomes, mais tous membres d’une alliance commerciale : le Commonwealth. Alors comment les Anglais ont-ils dominé l ... Show More
14m 22s