Chalke Talk

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

Latest releases

  • 76. THE LONG SHADOW: THE GREAT WAR AND THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
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    Has history distilled the 1914-18 Great War to a national myth of personal tragedies? Critically acclaimed historian and broadcaster Professor David Reynolds seeks to redress the balance by exploring the true impact of that war on the twentieth century. He shows how subsequent world-wide events shape and reshape our attitudes to a conflict Britain is […]

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  • 75. THE IMPORTANCE OF HISTORY
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    In this talk for secondary schools, Professor Olivette Otele begins with her own trajectory which has led to her becoming Britain’s first female black professor of history. She examines three questions: What is history? Why do we learn history? and How do we enquire into the past?

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  • 74. TO HELL AND BACK: EUROPE 1914-1949
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    One of our most eminent historians Professor Sir Ian Kershaw examines the effect two vast and catastrophic conflicts had on the lives of millions of Europeans. He wrestles with the most difficult issues that these events raise – what it meant for the Europeans who initiated and lived through such fearful times – and what […]

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  • 73. THE LIFE OF A ROMAN LEGIONARY
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    Ben Kane is a best-selling author of historical fiction who has immersed himself in Roman history. After all, he has not only walked Hadrian’s Wall in full Roman legionary kit, but has also recreated Hannibal’s route through the Alps. In this exciting and interactive event, Ben explains what it was like to live and fight […]

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  • 72. THE GREAT EXPLORERS
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    What inspires explorers to push back the boundaries of the world? Why do they risk their lives in unforgiving conditions far from home? How do they survive at the limits of human endurance? Who are the great pioneers of land, sea and space? Robin Hanbury-Tenison charts the great expeditions of the most outstanding men and […]

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  • 71. THE 1917 RUSSIAN REVOLUTION
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    In this lecture to senior school pupils, Dr George Gilbert talks about the Russian Revolution of 1917 and puts this in context by what came before and what happened after into the civil-war era of the 1920s. He covers war, revolution, civil war as well as the different interpretations of these events today.

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  • 70. CAPITALISM IN AMERICA: A HISTORY
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    Adrian Wooldridge, otherwise known as Bagehot from the Economist, describes America’s evolution from a small patchwork of colonies to an unsurpassed engine of wealth and innovation. He addresses the crucial debates, from the role of slavery in the antebellum Southern economy to the real impact of Roosevelt’s New Deal and America’s violent mood swings in […]

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  • 69. OUR UNINVITED GUESTS: THE SECRET LIVES OF BRITAIN’S COUNTRY HOUSES 1939-1945
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    At the beginning of the Second World War the government requisitioned thousands of houses to provide accommodation for the armed forces, secret services and government offices as well as vulnerable children, the sick and the elderly. Julie Summers gives a behind-the-scenes glimpse of life in some of Britain’s greatest country houses that were occupied by […]

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  • 68. AUNTIE’S WAR: THE BBC DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR
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    As an essential propaganda tool and the voice that relayed news of all the key moments of World War II to every household, Auntie – the BBC’s enduring nickname – played a crucial role during World War II. Veteran BBC Radio presenter and journalist Edward Stourton provides a remarkable portrait of a unique institution and […]

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  • 67. CHURCHILL: WALKING WITH DESTINY
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    When we seek an example of a great leader with unalloyed courage, the person who comes to mind is Winston Churchill: the iconic, visionary war leader, who stood firmly for his beliefs when everyone doubted him. But how did young Winston become Churchill? What gave him the strength to take on the superior force of […]

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