Chalke Talk

The podcast from the Chalke Valley History Festival
Released every Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings

Chalke Talks for CENTURY: C21st


  • 01. NO TURNING BACK: LIFE, LOSS AND HOPE IN WARTIME SYRIA
    ( )

    Award-winning journalist Rania Abouzeid presents reportage of unprecedented scope. From the first rumblings of dissent in 2011, she shows the unravelling of a nation: peaceful protests collapsing into violence, families shattered, and religious conviction sharpened by rage to a radical point. She reveals how Syrians found new ways to resist as the cruelty of the […]

    > PLAY
  • 15. BEHOLD, AMERICA: A HISTORY OF AMERICA FIRST AND THE AMERICAN DREAM
    ( )

    Professor Sarah Churchwell offers a history of “America First,” one of Trump’s campaign slogans. Although popular wisdom attributes the phrase to Charles Lindbergh and the isolationist “America First Committee” of 1940-1941, the expression has a longer, and darker, history, a story of nativism and the Ku Klux Klan, of “100 percent Americanism” and isolationism, and […]

    > PLAY
  • 24. UNDERSTANDING AMERICAN GOVERNMENT
    ( )

    At times America’s complicated system of Federalism has seemed like a model of rational and democratic government — at others it has seemed like a recipe for obstruction and chaos. Nicholas Cole discusses the circumstances in which America’s government was created, the objectives of its founders, and whether the assumptions of the eighteenth century are […]

    > PLAY
  • 28. SALAFI-JIHADISM: THE HISTORY OF AN IDEA
    ( )

    No topic has gripped the public imagination as dramatically as the spectre of global jihadism. While much has been said about the way jihadists behave, their ideology remains poorly understood. Shiraz Maher, an authority on radicalisation, charts the intellectual underpinnings of Salafi-Jihadism from its origins in the mountains of the Hindu Kush to the jihadist […]

    > PLAY
  • 31. NATO: SAFEGUARDING FREEDOM – 1949 TO THE PRESENT
    ( )

    General Sir Adrian Bradshaw, a former Commander of UK Land Forces, spent three years as Deputy Supreme Allied Commander of Europe, working with our NATO allies. This talk outlines his thoughts on the history of NATO, the challenges it has faced and those that still confront it today as the ripples of discord sweep across […]

    > PLAY
  • 43. BAITING THE RUSSIAN BEAR
    , , ( )

    With Mary Ann Sieghart in the chair, Peter Frankopan, Marina Litvinenko and Edward Lucas look at the historical background to the rapidly re-emerging cold war. From the Napoleonic Wars to the Second World War and beyond, through to the current escalating tensions, they explain why the West has traditionally had such a fraught relationship with […]

    > PLAY
  • 101. THE SECRET WORLD: THE LOST HISTORY OF INTELLIGENCE FROM THE ANCIENT WORLD TO THE 21st CENTURY
    ( )

    What difference have security and intelligence operations made to the course of history? Professor Christopher Andrew, Britain’s foremost intelligence scholar, provides the answers. Beginning with the shift in the ancient world from divination to recognisable attempts to gather intelligence, he charts the development of intelligence and security operations through Renaissance Venice, Elizabethan England and Napoleonic […]

    > PLAY
  • 103. THE ONCE AND FUTURE FARM
    , , ( )

    Today farmers face unprecedented changes, exacerbated by Britain’s uncertain relationship with Europe. In this highly topical event, our experts discuss how farming has survived revolutions and reformations from the end of the 19th century to the present, and what can be done to ensure our mutual future prosperity.

    > PLAY
  • 123. BOOTS ON THE GROUND: BRITAIN AND HER ARMY SINCE 1945
    ( )

    In May 1945, the German High Command surrendered to the Allies on Lüneberg Heath. Seventy years later, the British Army finally left their garrisons next to the Heath. General the Lord Dannatt, former Chief of General Staff, follows the compelling story of the British Army since then, tracing Britain’s transformation from a leading military power […]

    > PLAY
  • 124. THE ISLAMIC ENLIGHTENMENT: THE MODERN STRUGGLE BETWEEN FAITH AND REASON
    ( )

    The Muslim world has often been accused of failing to modernise, reform and adapt. But, from the beginning of the nineteenth century to the present day, Islamic society in its Middle Eastern heartlands has in fact been transformed by modern ideals and practices. Acclaimed author Christopher de Bellaigue covers 200 turbulent years of Middle Eastern […]

    > PLAY
  • 128. AMERICA TRUMPED: HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?
    ( )

    Who better than the charismatic broadcaster Matt Frei to explain the extraordinary phenomenon which was the then President of the United States of America? The award-winning journalist was Washington correspondent for the BBC and Channel 4 News for many years and recently made the documentary ‘Meet the Trumps: From Immigrant to President.’ So how did […]

    > PLAY
  • 170. GEORGE OSBORNE: POLITICS AND HISTORY
    , ( )

    The former Chancellor looks at politics historically and divulges the historical antecedents which inspired him and his close friend David Cameron during their six years in government together. In conversation with Tim Bouverie, this is a rare insight into politics at the very highest level from the man Andrew Marr once called the smartest politician […]

    > PLAY
  • 179. The Write Fantastic: Terry Pratchett
    ( )

    Sir Terry Pratchett is one of the most popular authors to have ever lived. His Discworld novels have sold tens of millions all over the world. In this talk his right-hand man and collaborator, Rob Wilkins, discusses his life, his work, his inspiration and his profound love of the Chalke Valley.

    > PLAY
  • 180. THE QUEEN
    ( )

    Renowned biographer A. N. Wilson celebrates the life of the Queen in this vibrant examination of Britain’s most iconic figure. He paints a vivid portrait of “Lilibet” the woman, and of her unfaltering reign during the tumultuous twentieth century, while asking candidly whether Britain can remain a constitutional monarchy after her reign ends.

    > PLAY
  • 183. THE FINAL TABOO: A HISTORY OF GRIEF
    , ( )

    Death is the last taboo in our society, and grief is still profoundly misunderstood. In conversation with Dan Snow, Julia Samuel, a grief psychologist and Founder of Child Bereavement UK, explores past attitudes to grief and the historical context of death and dying in this country, from the Victorians to the present day, with particular […]

    > PLAY
  • 194. HOW TO REMAIN SANE IN THE AGE OF POPULISM
    ( )

    In recent years, a wave of populism has swept the world, fuelled by fear, anger and resentment. Internationally award-winning author and TED Global speaker Elif Shafak asks how we remain sane in the age of populism. Should we retreat into tribes of our own; should we create new tribes, or should we, and can we, […]

    > PLAY
  • 198. ALL OUT WAR: THE FULL STORY OF HOW BREXIT SANK BRITAIN’S POLITICAL CLASS
    , ( )

    This is political history that rivals the very best thrillers: a behind the scenes account of what really happened before, during and immediately after the Brexit referendum. Tim Shipman had unrivalled access to many of the key players and, in this discussion with Guy Walters, offers a ringside view of the decision that will change […]

    > PLAY

More podcasts - latest releases