Legacy

As a young boy, J Edgar Hoover strives for perfection and control. After a stint working at the Library of Congress he embarks on a career in law enforcement. But it's not long before his perfect image is threatened, and he needs to find someone to blame when things goes wrong. What happens next will set him on the path to becoming the founding director of the FBI - and one of the most controversial figures of the 20th century. 

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Stabbed in the back by her Tory allies, Thatcher is forced to wave goodbye to Number 10. She remains active in public life until declining health forces her to withdraw. Today, more than a decade after her death, her legacy continues to divide: for some, she is an icon of conservatism who revived the British economy; for others, the harbinger of increased inequality. Either way, Thatcher's legacy still defines British politics.

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Conflict is never far from Thatcher's politics - and life. She becomes locked in a year long bitter stand off with miners on strike over her planned closures. She doesn't give in either to the IRA. If anything - after surviving a near-miss assassination attempt, she is more resolute than ever in seeing through the changes she believes the country needs.

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As Britain's first female Prime Minister, Thatcher has made history. But she's off to a shaky start: her economic policies are unpopular and lead to riots across the country. It looks like her tenure might be cut short - until ... Argentina decides to invade the Falklands islands. 

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The daughter of a methodist shopkeeper, Margaret Thatcher has never believed in luck. She knows that together with her strength of character, hard work is what will bring her success. And soon enough, she proves herself one of the most formidable politicians the country has ever seen. 

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From Shakespeare to Netflix, Cleopatra's life and death has been told and retold. Siren seducer, serious scholar, powerful African queen - or all of the above? Untangling the real Cleopatra reveals as much about our own identities as hers.

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Cleopatra emerges victorious after a series of battles and sets sails across Egypt. She dazzles another great Roman, Mark Antony. But will her political ambitions be helped or hindered by him?

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Cleopatra's future hangs in the balance, but there is one person who could change her fate. He is Julius Caesar, the most powerful man in the world - and he's come to Egypt. If only she can convince him of her worth. 

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Cleopatra is born into a life of luxury - and violence. Beautiful and brilliant, the young queen of Egypt is still a teenager when she ascends the throne - but it's not long before she's betrayed by those closest to her. 

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Alan Turing’s life is tragically cut short. And his crucial impact during the war remains unknown for years. But in the 21st century, his legacy in Artificial Intelligence is more relevant than ever and so is his identity as a queer man. How should we reassess the legacy of Alan Turing?

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Turing returns to a normal social life after the war, where he is open about his sexual orientation with his friends. Until a burglary turns everything upside down and Turing faces the reality of being criminalised for who you love. Will Turing survive this?

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The stakes are high for Turing and his team of codebreakers as they try to decrypt Nazi messages. Known as “Prof”, Turing and his eccentricities are central to life at Bletchley Park during the Second World War. Will he and his team be able to turn the tide in Britain’s favour?

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A curious bookish boy, Alan Turing is already an outsider at a young age. But at Cambridge, he comes up with an idea that shapes the foundation of computer science. His genius will later alter the course of the Second World War. But Turing's personal life will destroy his reputation for generations to come.

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The tide is turning for Nina Simone. A new generation falls in love with her music, she's reconciled with her daughter and her mental health has recovered. But alongside the civil rights movement, Nina's significance as an activist is forgotten until recent events in the US give them new relevance.

You can listen to the songs mentioned in this series here: https://music.amazon.co.uk/playlists/B0CVXPPT7G or search 'Nina Simone: The Legacy Playlist' in the Amazon Music app.

Listen to Legacy on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge episodes early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/legacy now.

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Amidst marital and financial problems, Nina escapes the US for an eclectic life abroad - finding love in Barbados, happiness in Liberia, and a better education for her daughter in Switzerland. But mental health struggles soon come to the fore and before soon Nina Simone will reach a new low.

You can listen to the songs mentioned in this series here: https://music.amazon.co.uk/playlists/B0CVXPPT7G or search 'Nina Simone: The Legacy Playlist' in the Amazon Music app.

Listen to Legacy on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge episodes early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/legacy now.

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Nina Simone's star is rising - however cracks in her personal life are starting to show. Meanwhile, the civil rights movement is catching up with her. Where does she stand in the midst of this? And will she be on the right side of history?

You can listen to the songs mentioned in this series here: https://music.amazon.co.uk/playlists/B0CVXPPT7G or search 'Nina Simone: The Legacy Playlist' in the Amazon Music app.

Listen to Legacy on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge episodes early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/legacy now.

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Born in the Jim Crow South, Nina Simone's talent is obvious from an early age. She dreams of becoming the first black classical pianist but after a life-changing rejection, she has no choice but to reinvent herself...

You can listen to the songs mentioned in this series here: https://music.amazon.co.uk/playlists/B0CVXPPT7G or search 'Nina Simone: The Legacy Playlist' in the Amazon Music app.

Listen to Legacy on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge episodes early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/legacy now.

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Under Gorbachev's leadership the once sprawling empire that was the Soviet Union collapses. Is this his true legacy? Or was it all inevitable? And with present day Russia looking to the past for glory, what lessons can we learn from history's last Soviet leader? 

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On a spring morning in 1986 one of the most catastrophic events in global history occurs - Chernobyl. It brings chaos to the environment, chaos to Europe and chaos to Mikhail Gorbachev's premiership. Will he survive this?

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With the levers of power now in his control, Gorbachev steps out on the international stage with one aim: to avoid a nuclear war. He forges a new relationship with US President Reagan, but will it be enough to remove the shadow of armageddon? 

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Shaped by the brutality of the Stalin regime, Gorbachev’s childhood was one of poverty and hardship. But the communist system also works to his strengths, and allows him to reach the very top. All along, he remains a true believer but knows change must happen.  

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A bombshell memoir by a former lover annoys and embarrasses Picasso in his final years. But it is only half a century after his death that his misogyny is seen as truly problematic. And leaves many now grappling with how to separate the art from the artist.

Artwork:

The Woman in a Chair, Pablo Picasso (1948)

Seated Woman in Green, Pablo Picasso (1953)

Self Portrait Facing Death, Pablo Picasso (1972)

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Death is ever more present in Picasso’s work, as horrific events in his home country inspire him to create one of the defining paintings of the 20th century. Meanwhile his own mortality weighs on him as he approaches old age.

Artwork:

Guernica, Pablo Picasso (1937)

The Weeping Woman, Pablo Picasso (1937)

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Picasso finds inspiration in an unlikely setting and changes art forever. He also finds his first muse, then his second... and then his third - leaving a trail of suffering behind him.

Artwork:

Family of Acrobats with Monkey, Pablo Picasso (1905)

Portrait of Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso (1905-6)

The Young Ladies of Avignon, Pablo Picasso (1906)

Olga in an Armchair, Pablo Picasso (1917)

The Dream, Pablo Picasso (1932)

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His father wants him to become a great classical painter, but teenage Pablo Picasso has other ideas. He joins the heady bohemia of Barcelona and Paris, where tragedy transforms his art and puts him on the road to fame.

Artwork:

The Little Yellow Picador, Pablo Ruiz Picasso (1889)

The First Communion, Pablo Ruiz Picasso (1896)

La Vie, Pablo Picasso (1903)

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More than a century after Rhodes' death students in South Africa and Britain thrust his name back into the spotlight. Should statues of colonialists like him be torn down? And, in Africa, how is Rhodes' legacy felt today?

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Rhodes deals with the fallout from the Jameson Raid as questions about his conduct reach the British parliament. He finds a new cause to further his ambition but years of ill-health are starting to catch up with him.

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Rhodes dashes back to Kimberley to be with his dying friend. He then redoubles his colonial efforts, using ruthless tactics to trick the indigenous population out of their land. But an ill-fated scheme to take on the Boers is about to hurt him.

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A sickly vicar’s son travels from England to Africa to join the diamond rush. Cecil Rhodes wants to make his fortune. But he also wants to extend the British Empire. Drama in his private life threatens to undermine both ambitions.

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After escaping exile on Elba, Napoleon marches back to power. But the British Duke of Wellington is on his way to Waterloo to end the Napoleonic era. When the battle subsides, what’s left of Napoleon’s legacy? And what is his legacy today?

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Napoleon’s military success has cowed a continent but, in Russia, he meets almost unimaginable horror. He was defeated, he says, not by the Tsar, but by winter. His subjects aren’t so sure. And his enemies see an opportunity.

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It’s not enough for Napoleon to dominate France. He fights right across Europe before sweeping into Notre Dame, Josephine at his side, to claim an imperial crown, watched by Europe’s elite.

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A Corsican boy, an outsider, seizes his chance to make a name for himself when France is turned upside down by a long and bloody revolution. He’s relentless in his pursuit of power, and in the pursuit of one woman.

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Legacy lands Wednesday 15th November. Afua Hirsch and Peter Frankopan tell the wild stories of some of the most extraordinary men and women ever to have lived – and ask whether they have the rep they deserve.

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