63. What are the Lessons of History?

The Burning Archive podcast explores how the past is not dead, the past is not even past. But if that is so, what are the uses and lessons of history? How can history be used for guidance in our lives, and to advise governments on the big decisions that shape our fates. A recent Australian book, Lessons from History: Leading Historians Tackle Australia's Greatest Challenges, eds, Holbrook, Megarrity and Lowe (NewSouth, 2022) explores this question. In this podcast Jeff Rich explores how the authors seek to cross the bridge between policy and history, and reflects upon how he has stood on that bridge in his career as a very minor government official.