Jonathan Freedland presents the series in which stories from the past are compared with current events.
The podcast The Long View is created by BBC Radio 4. The podcast and the artwork on this page are embedded on this page using the public podcast feed (RSS).
As Donald Trump raises a 25% levy on all imports of steel and aluminium into the USA, as well as other tariffs on trade with friends and competitors alike, Jonathan Freedland looks back to the Corn Laws, measures introduced to protect British farmers and land owners from competition following the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815. The Corn Laws and the campaign to repeal them transformed British politics and economics. How do events then compare to Donald Trump's policies and actions today? With: Professor Lawrence Goldman, Emeritus Fellow in History at St Peter's College, Oxford Linda Yueh, Fellow in Economics at St Edmund Hall, Oxford
Producer: Luke Mulhall
Following the recent floods in Valencia, Jonathan Freedland looks at the politics of natural disasters, with CHRIS COURTNEY - Associate Professor in Modern Chinese History at Durham University and author of The Nature of Disaster in China: The 1931 Yangzi River Flood LEAH PATTEM – Madrid based freelance journalist specialising in politics, migration and community stories The readers are Ian Dunnett and Samuel James
Producer: Jayne Egerton
Mob violence breaks out across the country, with an explosion of hatred directed at minority communities who feel under siege. As British courts process hundreds of those involved in the riots of August 2024, Jonathan Freedland looks back more than 800 years ago when hatred was directed at a different group of outsiders. In the late 1180s, Britain's small Jewish community was targeted by violent mobs in the wake of the coronation of Richard I. The worst incident was the York Massacre of 1190 in which 150 people died. What are the historical parallels with today's race riots against British Muslims and asylum seekers, and what can be learnt about how to heal communities?
Guests: Miri Rubin, Professor of Medieval and Early Modern History, Queen Mary, University of London; Joe Mulhall, Director of Research, Hope Not Hate; Hina Bokhari, Liberal Democrat Member of the London Assembley and Founder, Naz Legacy Foundation
Producers: Dan Hardoon and Luke Mulhall Reader: John Lightbody
As French President Emmanuel Macron calls a snap election to address the political threat to his government posed by the Far Right, Jonathan Freedland and guests discuss Louis XVI's decision in 1789 to call an Estates General, a meeting of representatives of all sections of French society. Louis' gamble in 1789 started a chain of events known as the French Revolution. What are the stakes of President Macron's gamble today?
With
Clare Siviter, Associate Professor in French Theatre at the University of Bristol
Emile Chabal, Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Edinburgh
The reader is Ewan Bailey
Producer: Luke Mulhall
Donald Trump has made history by becoming the first former US President to be criminally charged, facing 91 felony charges across four separate cases. As he heads towards an election rematch with Joe Biden, he has promised to continue his campaign even if he is convicted or sent to prison. What impact could this have on his campaign and has a prisoner ever run for President before?
Eugene V Debs (1855-1926) was one of the best-known Socialists in the United States. He ran for president five times – the final time from prison. Though his politics were rather different from Trump’s, his performance – he won almost a million votes – suggests how a criminal conviction can in fact add momentum to a presidential campaign.
Guests: Adam Smith, Professor of US Politics and Political History at the University of Oxford; Quinta Jurecic, Fellow in Governance Studies, Brookings; Kathleen Hall Jamieson, Professor of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania.
Producer: Dan Hardoon Reader: Eric Meyers
The Post Office Scandal has gripped the nation’s attention – but only truly captured the public's imagination following the popular ITV drama of the postmaster’s ongoing quest for justice. As the government takes steps to legislater and offer further compensation, Jonathan looks at two important factors from the Post Office inquiry – a drama making all the difference to overturning a scandal, and a miscarriage of justice being righted to make permanent and impactful change.
Professor Rosalind Crone looks back at the curious case of Adolf Beck, whose wrongful conviction and fight for freedom ended in the Court of Criminal Appeal being founded. Dr Ella Dzelzainis shines a light on writer Charlotte Elizabeth Tonna, whose novels were integral in bringing the plight of child factory workers to public attention and resulted in the Factory Acts being passed.
In both cases, it took notable storytelling in the press and popular literature of the day and the outcry of the British public for meaningful change to be made.
Producers: Olivia Sopel and Mugabi Turya
If Donald Trump is elected to a second term as President of the United States he would be 82 at the end, if Joe Biden is re-elected he would be 86. Age has become a campaign weapon. How effective have the octogenarian leaders of the past been shown to be?
One was William Ewart Gladstone who was Prime Minister four times, the last when he was 82. Dr Ruth Windscheffel Head of Teaching and Learning Enhancement at York St John University and author and editor of a number of books and articles about Gladstone discusses how his advanced age affected his final administration.
Emperor Gordian I acceded to Rome's Imperial throne in 238 AD in his early eighties. Dr James Corke-Webster is Reader in Classics, History and Liberal Arts at King's College London. He discusses with Jonathan Freedland the events surrounding Gordian's rise to power in ancient Rome's most turbulent year.
Reader: Josh Bryant-Jones
Producer: Harry Parker
Two of Britain’s ruling political parties find themselves without the strong, charismatic leaders who won them a handsome election victory – and now they’re struggling. At Westminster, it’s the Tories who are emerging, with difficulty, from the shadow of Boris Johnson. At Holyrood, it’s the Scottish National Party getting used to life without Nicola Sturgeon. Both were once riding high – yet this month, both the Conservatives and the SNP lost closely-watched byelection contests to Labour, those Tory defeats coming in Tamworth and mid-Bedfordshire just a few days ago. But the hole left after a once-dominant leader departs the stage is not new – not in Westminster and not in Edinburgh.
.Jonathan Freedland takes The Long View of the void left by once-dominant leaders - to the fall-out from the demise of Sir Robert Peel in the middle of the 19th century and the way Tory politics was upended by the exit of the man who had all but created the modern Conservative Party; and the power vacuum that was left by the sudden death of King James V of Scotland in 1542.
The Guests Dr Luke Blaxill, political historian at Hertford College, Oxford Dr Amy Blakeway, Senior Lecturer in Scottish History at St Andrews
Readers Michael Bertenshaw Kenny Blyth
Assistant Producer: Olivia Sopel Production Coordinator: Shan Pillay
Producer: Mohini Patel
Elon Musk made his money leading and shaping the latest advances in society but now he’s dabbling in politics on the global stage – unelected and unaccountable but with the power to hold one-to-one meetings with world leaders as he did just last week with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who flew to California to meet the tech billionaire in person. Two commercial figures in history also took on the roles of unofficial diplomats and international influencers - Henry Ford, a car maker like Elon Musk, and a man who used his pioneering industrial might for political ends; and Robert Clive, the C18th imperialist and privateer whose actions under the guise of the East India Company brought him influence locally and internationally on the back of the new opportunities of empire.
Historians: Adam Smith, Professor of US Politics and Political History at University of Oxford Chandrika Kaul, Professor of Modern History at University of St Andrews
Reader: John Lightbody
Producer: Mohini Patel
The notorious Wagner group of mercenaries marched for Moscow after calls from its leader to 'end this disgrace’. Yevgeny Prigozhin insisted it was a ‘march for justice’ and not a coup, but for 24 hours Russia’s future seemed uncertain and the political impact of the brief uprising remains to be seen.
The Roman general, Sulla, was the first leader of the Republic to seize power by force, marching twice on Rome – first in 88 BC, and the Streltsy uprising of Russian soldiers in 1698 proved a decisive moment in the rule of Peter the Great.
Jonathan Freedland takes the long view of marches of mutiny.
Contributors: Catherine Steel, Professor of Classics, University of Glasgow Simon Sebag Montefiore, historian and writer
Readings: Gerard McDermott Samuel James
Producer: Joel Moors
Jonathan Freedland takes The Long View of attempted state assassinations.
Russia claimed it foiled an attack by Ukrainian drones on the Kremlin just last week, calling it an unsuccessful assassination attempt against President Vladimir Putin. The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, denied it, saying: “We don’t attack Putin or Moscow.” The Russian authorities said the purported attack occurred overnight but there was no independent verification of it and no evidence has been presented to support it. Questions have arisen as to why it took the Kremlin hours to report the incident and why videos of it also surfaced so late in the day. Yet accusations abound in the Kremlin as to which state was the perpetrator - Ukraine or the US. As the threat of Russian retaliation for what it termed a “terrorist” act hangs in the air, Jonathan is joined by two historians. Professor Rory Cormac, Professor of International Relations at University of Nottingham, looks back to the United States' Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) many and varied unsuccessful attempts to assassinate Cuban leader Fidel Castro in the 1960s. And Dr Elizabeth Norton, who specialises in the queens of England and the Tudor period, takes us back to 1586 and the Babington Plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I, a Protestant, and put Mary, Queen of Scots, her Catholic cousin, on the English throne. The facts of the plot are far from straightforward, and very much tied up with the extensive spy networks created by Sir Francis Walsingham, arguably the first state spymaster. In both cases espionage and politicking lie just below the surface.
The Readers are Leah Marks and Ewan Bailey
The Producer is Mohini Patel
Jonathan Freedland takes The Long View of Spring Offensives.
As Ukraine prepares for what is anticipated will be a Russian Spring Offensive, Jonathan is joined by two historians. Dr Michael Jones looks back at the spring offensive of 1356 in the Hundred Years War, which would lead eventually to the Battle of Poitiers and the capture of the French King. Professor Heather Jones of University College London discusses the German offensive of 1918 at the end of the First World War.
In both cases the winter season forced the conflict to pause and allowed both sides to prepare for the Spring to come. The transition to spring is a time too for anxiety and tension.
The actors Roger Ringrose and Leah Marks provide illustrative readings.
The Producer is Tom Alban
Jonathan Freedland sheds light on current events through stories from the past.
As Donald Trump announces he's running for President a second time Jonathan takes the Long View of political leaders who made a comeback. The 7th century Byzantine Emperor Justinian II generated enormous opposition during his first reign from 685 to 695 with unfair tax rises, military defeats and ultimately ordering mass murder in Constantinople. He was overthrown, had his nose cut off by way of punishment and banished in exile to modern day Kherson, in Ukraine. Now known as 'Slit Nose' he declared he would become emperor again and slipped back into Constantinople with a military consort and retook power. He then embarked on an even more despotic and bloodthirsty reign meting out vengeance on his enemies past and present, until his own life was brought to a violent end, abandoned by his troops.
And the only US President to ever gain office in two non consecutive terms, Grover Cleveland. In the 1880's and 1890's, the Democrat won each time on tight margins. Although he was seen as a hard working, upstanding politician of probity, scandal surrounding extra-marital relations and I child out of wedlock dogged his presidential campaign. He declared 'Reform!' on the bloated Civil Service but when the vote went against him after his first term he vowed to his support base that he may have lost the battle, but not the war and he would be back. Four years later, he was. But the second term was even less successful than the first.
With Professor Adam Smith from Oxford University and Associate Professor Rebecca Darley from University of Leeds
Readings by David Hounslow, Chloe Sommer and Roger Ringrose
Producer Neil McCarthy
As Liz Truss resigns after 44 days in office, the shortest serving Prime Minister in UK history, Jonathan Freedland takes the Long View of short-lived leaders; from Emperor Didius Julianus in AD 193 to Prime Minister Lord Goderich in 1827.
Contributors: Professor Tim Cornell, Emeritus Professor of Ancient History at the University of Manchester Dr Luke Blaxill, Political historian at Oxford University
Producer: Sarah Shebbeare
This summer, many Brits are striking or thinking about striking. From railway workers to barristers, Post Office workers to teachers, an unusually large wave of strikes continues to build as the summer goes on. As workers struggle with the cost of living and turn to industrial action, the Labour Party is divided on how to act. As the leader of the opposition, Keir Starmer is walking a tightrope: the Party was founded on workers rights but strikes are disruptive and unpopular with many voters.
So how have Labour leaders in opposition dealt with mass strike action in the past? Jonathan Freedland takes the Long View.
Contributors: Professor Steven Fielding of the University of Nottingham and political historian Anne Perkins Producer: Sarah Shebbeare Studio Manager and mixing: Tim Heffer
In this edition of The Long View Jonathan Freedland finds historical comparisons to the current Tory leadership contest, considering moments in history when the Conservative Party has removed a prime minister and sought a new figure for Number 10.
He is first joined by Professor Laura Beers to discuss the removal of David Lloyd George in October 1922. Lloyd George, a Liberal, had led a War Time Coalition consisting of majority Conservative MPs. A charismatic figure, Lloyd George had a reputation as an innovator and a doer, but his time as PM was also plagued by scandal. Unhappy with the PMs economics, his foreign policy and his reputation, Conservative MPs met at the Carlton Club to decide whether to abandon the coalition and oust Lloyd George. Some of the loudest criticisms came from rising star and future PM, Stanley Baldwin who described Lloyd George as a 'dynamic force'.
Fast forward 40 years to 1963 and the Party is once again seeing a change of leader. This time after Harold Macmillan decides to resign on the eve of the Tory Conference, citing ill health. The non-democratic 'soundings' procedure, run by the party elite, settles on Alec Douglas-Home to be leader, refusing to back any of the favourites. The choice causes controversy and will have a lasting impact on how future leaders of the party are selected.
Presented by Jonathan Freedland Produced by Sam Peach Readings by David Hounslow
With the warning of potential double digit inflation on the way and the already very real cost of living crisis, Jonathan Freedland is joined by Economic Historians Albrecht Ritschl and Duncan Needham to compare today's situation with the context, causes and impact of UK inflation spikes in the 1920s and the 1970s. Economies rarely fall prey to single drivers, but war, pandemic, international oil price and food costs have all been part of Britain's story in the past. Jonathan discovers how politicians dealt with inflation in the 1920s and 1970s, what the costs of their interventions were, and to what extent the insights of hindsight might help an approach to today's growing pressures.
Producer: Tom Alban
Jonathan Freedland explores the past behind the present. In the last of this long view of the future we ask when do civilizations & systems know that things cannot go on as they are. When do the rulers and the ruled sense the game is up? Historians Craig Clunas summon up the last days of the Ming Dynasty of the 17th Century, Maria Fusaro considers how the Venetian Republic registered its waning powers & end days in the 18th Century and Anthony Badger explores the existential crisis of America in 1933-would it survive as a democracy, could it be reformed & avoid collapse?
Producer Mark Burman
Cancel culture is not new or unique to the modern day. For as long as humans have had society, we’ve cancelled those who violated its unwritten rules and norms. Jonathan Freedland explores what history can tell us about how today's cancel culture might play out. He looks for historical precursors, starting with the the story of Galileo, whose insistence in the early 17th Century that the Earth goes round the Sun and not vice versa, got him into deep trouble with the Catholic Church.
Contributors: Paula Findlen, Professor of History at Stanford University in California Terence Dooley , Professor of History at Maynooth University in County Kildare Sir Antony Beevor, historian and author.
Producer: Sarah Shebbeare
Jonathan Freedland explores historical parallels of today's shift to renewable energy due to climate change.
Jonathan considers moments in history when societies have been forced to adapt their energy supply due to environmental pressures. He looks to the Ancient Egyptian Old Kingdom and how it adapted to a century long drought, Early Modern England's wood scarcity crisis and the shift away from coal prompted by London's Great Smog of 1952.
In our era of environmental crisis, can these historical events offer guidance on how best to adapt our own energy resources?
Contributors: Professor Nadine Moeller, Yale University. Keith Pluymers, Assistant Professor, Illinois State University Dr Roger Fouquet, London School of Economics
Producer: Sam Peach
Jonathan Freedland explores historical parallels to concerns around the harms of social media today. What can history tell us about those worries might be addressed?
Jonathan looks for historical precursors to fears around the harms of social media platforms. He examines the controversial unstamped press in the Victorian era, the rise of the motor car and road safety in the early 1900s as well as the role of whistle-blowing in exposing the tobacco industry in the second half of the 20th century.
Producer: Laurence Grissell
Jonathan Freedland explores what history can tell us about how today's tensions with China today might play out.
Jonathan looks for historical precursors to the rise of China. He examines the rise of the Macedonian Empire in the 4th century BC, the Anglo-Dutch Wars in the 17th century and the rise of the United States in the second half of the 19th century.
What can history tell us about how conflict might be avoided when a new power threatens an existing one?
Producer: Laurence Grissell
Jonathan Freedland and a team of historians and BBC correspondents take The Long View of the Union of the United Kingdom.
The peoples of this island and their relationship with each other is hotly discussed and contested. Its relationship – constitutionally, economically and culturally - is up for debate, especially as issues of the Union after Brexit and the pandemic come to the fore. In this special edition of The Long View Jonathan Freedland and a team of historians and BBC correspondents look back at three separate moments in the history of the birth of the Union where its future - and its terms of engagement - were under similar scrutiny.
Producer: Mohini Patel
Earlier this year the death of Sarah Everard provoked an outpouring of grief and anger. A vigil marking her death descended into violence and thousands of social media-posts were shared detailing experiences of attack and threats against women in public spaces. Although the attempted rape of Kate Dickinson by the military officer Valentine Baker had a less tragic conclusion, the response to his assault on her in a railway carriage, which resulted in her hanging out of the train door for several miles until rescue came, provoked a very similar reaction across the nation. The ability for a woman to travel freely, to walk the streets without let or hindrance, was a topic of hot debate. There were many men who felt that with women becoming increasingly emancipated, and more involved in walks of life traditionally the preserve of men only, they simply had to accept as inevitable, the fact that they were at greater risk. Who was responsible for women's safety, and whether or not there were practical solutions like the re-design of railway carriages so that there was both access by way of a corridor and directly onto the platform, were discussed in newspapers and journals. Jonathan and his team explore the debate back then and the anger now about what may or may not happen to insure what to most is a basic freedom - to walk the streets in safety.
Producer; Tom Alban
Although not dominating the COVID headlines the backlog of legal cases in the UK is taking a heavy toll on everyone from the people involved who are seeking resolution to the legal profession itself. That's the story today, but it was also the story back in 1666 when after a year of plague and then the Great Fire of London, our capital city was crippled by a legal backlog which made economic recovery and the rebuilding that it required all but impossible. The challenge then was to deal with all the cases to do with Landlords and Leaseholders who had lost everything in the fire and so couldn't afford to begin the rebuilding process. Jonathan is joined by the historian Professor Jay Tidmarsh who will tell the story of the Fire Courts and Fire Judges, set up to deal with the backlog as quickly and efficiently as possible. What they did, how the courts operated and just how much work they got through in less than a decade might provide some ideas for today's legal practitioners. To compare the history with the present Jonathan also hears from the Chair of the Bar Council Amanda Pinto and Sir Ernest Ryder a Lord Justice of Appeal, master of Pembroke College, Oxford and a law reformer. That's the Long View of Legal Backlogs.
Producer: Tom Alban
It's been a Presidential race like no other with the internet and social media age insuring a bitter divide between the two sides and acrimonious debate throughout. And even at its conclusion there's dispute over the result. But does that make 2020 unique? Jonathan Freedland is joined by Historian Professor Adam Smith of Oxford University and commentators from both wings of the US spectrum, Kate Andrews and Richard Wolffe to compare today with what happened back in 1800 when another one term President, John Adams, lost an equally divisive election. And as with today's result Adams was far from content to accept defeat. Famously, he didn't turn up to the inauguration ceremony of his successor, the Republican-Democrat Thomas Jefferson. Actor Kerry Shale reads the words of Adams, Jefferson and the extreme press of both sides. Did Adams come to terms with his loss? And what damage did the election do to his party, the Federalists who included in their number the now famous star of musical theatre, Alexander Hamilton.
Producer: Tom Alban
Jonathan Freedland takes the Long View of Civil Service reform. With the PM’s Chief Advisor Dominic Cummings promising a ‘hard rain’ on the Service, Jonathan follows the story of Charles Trevelyan, the ‘stormy reformer’ of the 1850’s, who reshaped the Civil Service and made many enemies along the way. Featuring Lord Butler, former head of the Civil Service and Dead Ringers star, Jon Culshaw. Historian Catherine Haddon from the Institute for Government and Sebastian Payne Whitehall journalist at the Financial Times.
Producer Neil McCarthy
Jonathan Freedland takes the long view of presidential elections fought against a backdrop of racial turmoil, comparing 2020 with 1968, the year when Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.
In 1968, Richard Nixon adopted a 'law and order' strategy to win over the so-called 'silent majority' in the face of escalating unrest. Donald Trump has adopted the same language in 2020 following outrage provoked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The law and order approach worked for Nixon in 1968 - will it work for President Trump this November?
Readings are performed by Clarke Peters who stars in the latest Spike Lee film, Da 5 Bloods and who played detective Lester Freamon in the hit TV show The Wire.
Jonathan is also joined by Dr Peniel Joseph, who holds a joint professorship at the LBJ School of Public Affairs and the History Department at The University of Texas at Austin; Asma Khalid, political correspondent for NPR and co-host of The NPR Politics Podcast; and Corrin Rankin, founder of the Legacy Republican Alliance.
Producer: Laurence Grissell
The racist chanting and gestures of several members of the crowd at a recent England international match in Bulgaria was a stark reminder that Racism in sports crowds is still an issue that hasn't been driven from stadiums around the world. There have also been recent episodes in British domestic football, particularly in the Manchester derby in which one man in the crowd was given a lifetime ban for what the club believes was clear racist gestures towards two Man Utd players. But there was an ugly situation back in 1810 during a Boxing bout between Tom Cribb, the champion of England, and his African American former slave rival Tom Molyneux. In fact a number of the crowd which numbered thousands turned to violence against Molyneux when he appeared to have gained the upper hand in what was the most important sporting event in the country at the time. An invasion of the ring resulted in an injury to Molyneux's hand which made victory all but impossible. What Molyneux did about it and how the Boxing authorities tried to quell the racial tensions is the story told by Historian Peter Radford, with contributions from Troy Townsend of the anti-racism movement Kick It Out and the former Manchester United and England player Paul Parker who has watched attitudes appear to change over his playing career only to see the ugliness return in the form of online abuse of players.
Producer: Tom Alban
With the fast-developing saga of the investigations gathering pace towards a possible impeachment of President Donald Trump, Jonathan Freedland and his guests explore the process of removing a US president from office and compare today’s events to those surrounding the first ever presidential impeachment 150 years ago.
Producer: Simon Elmes
Jonathan Freedland takes the Long View of suspected state espionage through technology companies.
He compares investigations into spy activity in Britain by Siemens employees for Nazi Germany in the run up to World War II and the allegations about Huawei’s 5G equipment containing 'back doors' that could be used by Chinese state intelligence.
Following the historical story from the National Portrait Gallery Archive, to the former tech corridor of the Great West Road and ending at the Churchill War Rooms Jonathan is joined by historian Rob Hutton, Chris Cook editor at Tortoise Media , Elisabeth Braw of the Royal United Services Institute, Chair of UK5G Ros Singleton and actor Greg Jones.
Producer Neil McCarthy
Jonathan Freedland and his guests compare the Bonfire of the Vanities in fifteenth century Florence with Extinction Rebellion's Autumn Uprising.
Girolamo Savonarola was a Dominican Friar whose apocalyptic sermons inspired his followers, the Piagnoni or 'wailers' to take over Florence's streets and squares, challenging the authorities and condemning the consumption of sinful luxuries, such as mirrors, cosmetics and musical instruments.
Today's Extinction Rebellion activists have also staged city-centre protests, demanding radical action to reduce carbon emissions and the consumption of modern luxuries such as fast fashion and air travel.
Joining Jonathan to discuss past and present are Evelyn Welch, Professor of Renaissance Studies at King's College London, Tim Stanley of The Telegraph and William Skeaping of Extinction Rebellion.
Producer: Julia Johnson
Jonathan Freedland compares the drive to attract more women into intelligence and cybersecurity today to the recruitment of women at Bletchley Park during World War Two.
The government's National Cyber Security Centre - a branch of GCHQ - are keen to address the shortage of women in their workforce. Jonathan travels to Bletchley Park to look at what lessons can be learned from the wartime codebreaking operation where by the end of the war 75% of the workforce were female.
Among Jonathan's guests is Charlotte Webb, who worked at Bletchley Park during the Second World War and is author of the book Secret Postings.
Jonathan is also joined by Erica Munro, Exhibitions Manager at Bletchley Park; Jacqui Chard, Deputy Director for Defence & National Security at the National Cyber Security Centre; Elisabeth Braw of the Royal United Services Institute; and Jane Frankland, Cyber Security Consultant.
Producer: Laurence Grissell
Jonathan Freedland considers the career of Julian Assange and looks back at the life of Robert Ferguson, a seventeenth century pamphleteer and fugitive. Harnessing the power of new media to challenge the authority of English Kings, Ferguson was accused of conspiracy and forced to seek refuge in the Netherlands. Back in England he faced prison and notoriety as a plotter and possible double agent. Joining Jonathan to take the long view of journalists on the run are Justin Champion, Professor of History at Royal Holloway College, University of London, the journalist James Ball, lawyer Michael O'Kane, Senior Partner at Peters and Peters and Dr Karin von Hippel, Director-General of the Royal United Services Institute.
Jonathan Freedland takes the Long View of the gender debate in women's sport. There are currently two points of contention. The success of the Canadian Cyclist Rachel McKinnon, a trans gender athlete, in a master's world cycling event, lead to a number of senior female athletes objecting to the inclusion of trans gender women in international sporting competition. Their development as men, the argument runs, gives them a huge advantage when competing against women who matured as women. At the same time the Court for arbitration for sport is hearing the South African runner Caster Semenya's challenge against an International Amateur Althletics Federation ruling that says she must reduce her natural Testosterone levels in order to compete in women's sport. So where should the line be drawn between mens and women's competition? That's the story today, but it was also the story back in the 1930's when a Polish American runner Stanislawa Walasiewicz was the favourite for the women's 100 metres at the Berlin Olympics. Walasiewicz had settled with her parents in Cleveland and was better known as Stella Walsh. By 1932 she was also known as the Cleveland Flyer, but faced with unemployment she took up the offer to run for Poland at the Los Angeles Olympics and won Gold in the 100m. Already she was viewed by many as unusually manly in her running style and build. In the years between 1932 and the Berlin Olympics in 1936 insinuations continued but there was no action taken and she went on to compete successfully. However, in Berlin a French journalist suggested that Stella had to shave twice a day. She was favourite to win the 100m again. In the event she came second to the American Helen Stephens. The Polish team and press raised objections to Stephens suggesting that she was a man. What appears to be the first ever gender identity test was called for and Helen Stephens was its first victim. It would later be described by the legendary British Pentathlon Olympic Gold Medal winner,Dame Mary Peters, some forty years later as 'what in modern parlance, amounted to a grope.” Helen Stephens was exonerated and kept her medal, but it was a crude and profoundly humiliating way of dealing with the problem of gender verification in women's sport. Jonathan is joined by an Olympic athlete and a trans gender sportswoman to take the Long View of gender verification in women's sport.
Jonathan Freedland explores parallels between Brexit and a major dispute between King Offa of Mercia and Charlemagne, King of the Franks in the 790s.
In the 790s, King Offa of the English kingdom of Mercia found himself at loggerheads with Charlemagne, King of the Franks on the other side of the Channel. Jonathan and guests examine how the dispute was resolved and explore how the difficulties compare to Britain's relations with the EU in the postwar era.
Jonathan is joined by historian Dr Rory Naismith of King's College London and Sir Stephen Wall, former Private Secretary to John Major and former Europe advisor to Tony Blair. Stephen Wall was also Britain's ambassador to the EU in the late 1990s and is the author of an official history of Britain's relations with the European Community 1963-75.
Produce: Laurence Grissell
Jonathan Freedland takes the long view of pioneering invention and the trials and tribulations thereof in the form of Elon Musk's Hyperloop and Isambard Brunel's Atmospheric Rail system. Both men were driven and capable of challenging accepted engineering norms but in their two rail systems they struggled to make a break through. Elon Musk believes that his Hyperloop system can shoot passengers at breakneck speed through a vacuum tube, cutting journey times and revolutionising rail travel. Ever the coy publicist he refers to his Hyperloop as the "fifth mode of transport" after road, rail, sea and air. Brunel was convinced that steam wasn't the only way of providing cheap, efficient mass transport. Using a sealed tube in the centre of the rails to deliver vacuum propulsion, his system ran on a 20-mile section of track between Exeter and Newton Abbot and was a match for the speeds available to the best steam trains of the day. But both systems have proved more than challenging and in Brunel's case the challenges became insurmountable and the inventor's appetite for new adventures saw it fall quickly into disuse. How will Elon Musk's plans mature? Historian Colin Divall is on hand to help tell the parallel stories of these two men and their transport dreams.
Producer: Tom Alban
A new figure on the world stage with enormous influence, is creating confusion. Heralded as a reformer he is also responsible for extreme intolerance towards those who exhibit disloyalty or threaten to cross him. That was the story in the 11th century with Pope Gregory Vii, and it's also the story now with the Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Pope Gregory appeared to be leading major reforms within the church including attitudes towards clerical celibacy. But while there may have been suggestions of a willingness to accept change and to be flexible in the face of changing pressures he was also capable of ruthless intolerance. He was accused of necromancy, torture of a former friend, assassination attempts and unjust excommunications. His conflict with King Henry iv, Holy Roman Emperor dominated the European stage in the 1070s and 1080s. Conrad Leyser, associate Professor at Worcester College, Oxford helps Jonathan tell the story of a man billed as a reformer but whose reputation underwent a dramatic change during his time as head of the church in Rome.
Jonathan Freedland compares Theresa May's woes now with those of Arthur Balfour in 1903-06, taking the long view of prime ministers confronted with deep divisions in their own party.
In the early 1900s Prime Minister Arthur Balfour was faced with a seemingly irreconcilable split in his party. Back then, Balfour’s Conservatives were tearing themselves apart over Imperial Preference - a proposal for a free trade zone within the British Empire. Advocates of Imperial Preference saw it as vital to maintaining Britain's place in the world. Opponents saw it as a dangerous folly.
Jonathan Freedland looks at what lessons can be drawn from Balfour's experiences.
Producer: Laurence Grissell
Jonathan Freedland and guests take the Long View on the expulsion of Russian diplomats - both in 2018 after the Skripal poisionings and in 1927 after a notorious raid of a building in London's Moorgate.
The story begins in 12 King's Bench Walk in London's Inner Temple, where on 9th May 1927 MI5's head of anti-Soviet work met with Edward Langston a whistle-blower who revealed that a secret military document had been in the possession of the Soviets in the Head Quarters of the All Russian Co-Operative Society, located at 49 Moorgate. And the story ends in Victoria Station where the expelled Russians started their journey home, sent off by crowds of supporters which included MPs and trade unionists.
Joining Jonathan Freedland to take this Long View are: Timothy Phillips: Historian, and author of "The Secret Twenties: British Intelligence, The Russians And The Jazz Age" Edward Lucas: Times columnist, espionage expert and author of "The New Cold War: Putin's Russia and the Threat to the West", "Deception: The Untold Story of East-West Espionage Today", and "Cyberphobia: Identity, Trust, Security and the Internet" Oksana Antonenko: Visiting Fellow at Institute of Global Affairs at the London School of Economics and former Programme Director for Russia and Eurasia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies Sir Tony Brenton: Former British Ambassador to Russia (2004-08), including during the Litvinenko case Tim McMullan: Actor who played Arthur Valentine, an MI5 operative in Foyles War
Producers: Ben Mitchell and Paul Kobrak.
Jonathan Freedland compares safety on the railways in the 1830s to the debate around driverless cars today.
The Liverpool and Manchester Railway was opened to great fanfare on 15 September 1830. It was clear this new form of transport would radically transform society. Yet the day was overshadowed by the death of William Huskisson MP who stepped on the tracks and was struck by Stephenson's Rocket as it steamed down the line.
With the the first death to result from driverless vehicles in Arizona a few weeks ago, Jonathan Freedland and guests tell the story of Huskisson's death and explore the implications for the development of self-driving vehicles today.
Producer: Laurence Grissell.
Jonathan Freedland and guests compare the Facebook Cambridge Analytica data row with Luther's rejection of Purgatory and a loss of trust in the Church in pre-Reformation Europe.
With Diarmaid MacCulloch. Professor of the History of the Church; Mic Wright, technology writer; Emily Taylor, associate fellow of Chatham House and editor of the Journal of Cyber Policy; Liam Byrne MP, Shadow Digital Minister and actor Anton Lesser.
Producer: Georgia Catt.
The Long View marks a year to go to Brexit. Jonathan Freedland & guests consider multiple historical scenarios when Britons faced a new and uncertain direction for their collective island fate. Dr Erin Goeres uncovers a little known story of 11th Century Brexit & unhappy Anglo Saxons. David Andress details how Britain weathered war & a Napoleonic trade ban but workers rights were challenged. Whilst in May 1940 a strengthened alliance with France promised a second chance for Europe and then it was gone in a Blitzkreig. As David Reynolds reveals , Churchill's heroic words masked the desperation of a leader who had no idea what awaited his people. Jonathan and contemporary commentators, Conservative M.P. Kwasi Kwarteng & Eloise Todd, C.E.O. of Best for Britain, gather to learn from the past in this lengthened Brexit Special. Ian Harte, one of the stars of the BBC's The Last Kingdom reads the chronicles of yesteryear.
Producer: Mark Burman.
Jonathan Freedland and guests take The Long View of Donald Trump's trade plans. The United States slapping hefty tariffs on goods from abroad in order to protect their industries at home is the story now, but also just a few years after the founding of the American Republic. The man imposing the tariffs, the then Treasury Secretary, Alexander Hamilton. Producer: Georgia Catt.
Jonathan Freedland compares the Catalonia crisis with a moment in Cornish history.
Jonathan Freedland explores the parallels between recent alleged Russian state interference in the American and other foreign elections, and covert British activities of the British Security Coordination (BSC), a secret arm of MI6 founded in May 1940. The motivations in each case are very different of course but some of the methods used then and now are very similar and offer an interesting parallel.
Based in New York, BSC was initially simply the MI6 regional station in North America, it's mission - to gather intelligence and to help get American aid in the form of munitions. But the greatest obstacle to getting American aid is American isolationism. America at this point is almost in a civil war of ideas between those who want to go to war; and those who do not - the isolationists. The maverick head of BSC, a Canadian named William Stephenson, soon realises they have to win the civil war of ideas before anything can happen. and takes matters into his own hands.
By the spring of 1941- after the effects of Dunkirk and the Battle of Britain - Prime Minister Winston Churchill and the Foreign Office, wary of using propaganda as they know the Americans are watching out for it, come to accept that without America, Britain would undoubtedly lose the war.
On the panel with Jonathan are historian Henry Hemming, the novelist William Boyd, Russian foreign policy expert Dr Alex Pravda at Oxford University; Dr Leslie Vinjamuri, associate fellow with the US Programme at Chatham House, and Sir Mark Lyall Grant, the former national security adviser to the Prime Minister. Reader: Tobias Menzies.
Producer: Mohini Patel.
Jonathan Freedland compares the plight of black cab drivers with the fate of London's watermen. For centuries watermen had a monopoly on Thames river crossings until advances in new technology allowed for bridges to be built across the river in the mid 18th Century. The men who ferried passengers on the Thames lost their jobs and livelihood. Today, technology threatens the modern day taxi business with the rise of smartphone app Uber and the dawn of the driverless car. As automation and artificial intelligence technologies improve, Jonathan Freedland and panellists explore what history can tell us about how workers might fare today.
Producer: Sarah Shebbeare.
Jonathan Freedland compares Theresa May's weakened premiership with that of Liberal prime minister Lord Rosebery in 1894-5. MPs Iain Duncan Smith and Grant Shapps join Jonathan to examine what lessons can be learned.
Rosebery was appointed to the premiership as a unity candidate, chosen to heal rifts in the Liberal Party caused by the issue of Home Rule. But Rosebery had powerful rivals in his cabinet - most notably the chancellor Sir William Harcourt. As the months passed, Rosebery's leadership was increasingly called into question with the government accused of being in office but not in power.
Also on the panel, former spokesperson for Theresa May, Joey Jones, Katy Balls of The Spectator and historian Dr Luke Blaxill. Actor Anton Lesser performs the historical readings.
Producer: Laurence Grissell.
In the space of a few short years the male beard has made a striking return to British life. Footballers, actors, fashionable hipsters and hirsute labourers are far more likely to wear some form of facial hair than they were in the recent past. The beard used to be the marker of a particular mindset, usually involving real ale, wholesome living and a disregard for the strictures of conventional living. Now the wearing of a tidy, well-barbered beard is far less likely to raise an eyebrow. And so it was in the 1850s when, after many years of shaving, a fashion for wearing a full beard swept the British Isles. Charles Dickens lead by example and wrote in his journal 'Household Words' extolling the virtues of 'whisker, beard, and moustache, reverently worn, and trimmed discreetly and with decency'. Within a few years beards were everywhere and claims for their practicality in the face of industrial dirt and grime only encouraged more. They were also worn by heroes beginning with those returning from the Crimean war and then the sportsmen like Spencer Gore, first Wimbledon champion in 1877 and the greatest celebrity of the age, W.G.Grace. Jonathan asks historians Dr Alun Withers of Exeter University and Professor Caroline Cox what drove the passion for beards then and what fuels it now and he visits a barbers shop to find out whether the damaged to the razor industry was more than compensated in both eras by the passion for developing and sustaining the perfect beard. He also hears from Areeb Ullah who wears his beard as a proud Muslim and has thoughts on the impact this new fashion has on his own bearded identity. Pognophiles versus Pognophobia, a story for our times as much as for Victorian Britain, in The Long View.
Producer: The recently bearded Tom Alban.
In 1883 a grass-roots political organisation was founded that re-shaped Victorian politics. The Primrose League signed up a million members and an army of Conservative activists who helped win elections by reaching out to new Tory voters in industrial cities and rural shires.
Today another innovative grass-roots organisation is proving influential. Emerging from Jeremy Corbyn's 2015 leadership campaign, Momentum has proved highly effective at winning over new Labour voters, swapping the magic lantern shows and Stately Home fetes of the Primrose League for a cutting edge social media campaign.
Jonathan Freedland and his guests compare electioneering in the nineteenth century and today and explore the often troubled relationship between grass-roots organisations and the parliamentary parties they support . They also ask whether the Conservatives need a latter-day Primrose League to boost their electoral appeal, particularly with younger, urban voters.
Joining Jonathan are Dr Jon Lawrence of the University of Cambridge, James Kanagasooriam of Populus and the journalists Sebastian Payne and Ellie-Mae O'Hagan. Laura Morgan is the reader.
Producer: Julia Johnson.
Jonathan Freedland compares cyber-attacks today with the Great Siege of Dover Castle in 1216 during which the French used new offensive techniques to try to seize the English throne.
In 1216, Prince Louis of France's near-successful bid for the English throne climaxed in Dover, where his forces used a multitude of techniques in a major assault on the castle - including digging beneath the castle gate and use of the trebuchet to attempt to breach the walls. Jonathan draws on this medieval example to discuss cyber security in the 21st century context.
Joining Jonathan at Dover Castle are medieval historian Marc Morris; General Sir Richard Barrons, former Commander Joint Forces Command, one of the six Chiefs of Staff leading the UK Armed Forces until April 2016; Kenneth Cukier of The Economist; and Sara Perez, ethical hacker at SensePost. Readings are by Hugh Simon who played MI5 Data Analyst Malcolm Wyn-Jones in the popular BBC TV series Spooks.
Producer: Laurence Grissell.
Jonathan Freedland takes the Long View of landmark fires exploring the parallels between the tragedies of the Watson Street fire in Glasgow in 1905 and Grenfell Tower.
In the East End of Glasgow in 1905 a 'Model Lodging House' at 39 Watson Street caught fire. It housed 300 poor working men, many of them migrants from Ireland and the Highlands. The lodging house itself was densely populated with men sleeping in wood lined cubicles and with only one exit to the street through a turnstile. The fire spread very rapidly, trapping those who couldn't escape on the upper floors and 39 people were killed.
The tragedy immediately drew public attention to fire and building regulations and the urgent need to improve them and an Inquiry soon followed.
Jonathan is joined by historian of fires and fire services Shane Ewen, BBC London reporter Anna O'Neil, retired fireman Jim Smith, Secretary of the Royal Incorporation of Scottish Architects Neil Baxter and actor Robin Laing to explore the parallels between the Watson Street and the Grenfell Tower tragedies.
Producer Neil McCarthy.
As we prepare to leave the EU, Jonathan Freedland compares overseas trade in today's Elizabethan age with that of the sixteenth century. In 1570 Elizabeth I was the subject of a Papal Bull of Excommunication, Theresa May must write a letter to Europe to trigger Article 50. Both documents will have a profound impact on trade.
Elizabeth's response to her European troubles was to forge new trade links with the East, sending merchants to Turkey, Persia and North Africa. Today's trade ministers hope to emulate the achievements of their Tudor counterparts, but how important is trade with Europe to our prosperity and how easy will it be to do new trade deals on more distant shores ?
Taking the Long View of trade, Jonathan is joined by Professor Jerry Brotton of Queen Mary University of London, author of 'This Orient Isle:Elizabethan England and the Islamic World'. Discussing today's export markets are the economists George Magnus, Liam Halligan and Dr Monique Ebell and our actor is Anita Dobson.
Jonathan Freedland compares the current wave of fake news stories, particularly those targeted at Muslims and immigrants in the UK, with the anti-Semitic story of an eight-year-old Christian boy, William of Norwich, who was murdered in woodland outside his native city in 1144. His death was later reported as a Jewish conspiracy and ritual, becoming the founding myth of the so-called 'blood libel'. Producer: Tom Alban.
Jonathan Freedland compares Donald Trump's proposed border wall with the impenetrable 2500 mile Great Hedge of India constructed in the 1840s to control trade between British India and the Princely States. Producer: Laurence Grissell.
The Long View of Brexit, comparing it with the English Reformation. Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch is the lead historian explaining that Henry VIII broke away from the Ecclesiastical control of Rome with the help of his 'fixer' Thomas Cromwell. However, Cromwell's ambitions were driven by his Protestantism whereas Henry was interested in securing his legacy and not making substantial changes to the national religion. In the event it wasn't Henry but his second daughter Elizabeth who enshrined Protestantism in English law, with a number of particularly English twists, not least the maintaining of the Cathedral system with its Choirs and Choral tradition that she loved. Very soon there were people complaining that she hadn't pushed far enough with her reforms... and it became clear that rather than break with Europe, the Reformers were keen on a united European religion in the form of Protestantism. Meanwhile, in the longer term the country was split so profoundly that it's echoes were still being felt when the Civil War broke out over a century later. Guests included Pro Brexit MP Crispin Blunt, Pro Brexit Economist Ruth Lea, moderate remainer and briefly Brexit fixer Oliver Letwin MP and Prof David Runciman of Cambridge University. The readings are given by Anton Lesser.
Producer: Tom Alban.
As Hillary Clinton becomes the official Democrat candidate for US President, with aim of becoming the first woman to take that role, Jonathan Freedland takes the long view of pioneering women politicians, examining how Nancy Astor became the first woman to take her seat in the House of Commons - in a constituency previously represented by her husband. Astor faced intense press scrutiny, and a presumption that she should focus on issues such as child welfare - but she also enjoyed the renown of the Astor name.
With historians Jacqui Turner and Gary Gerstle, political commentator Kate Andrews, Christiane Amanpour from CNN, Melanie Unwin, deputy curator of the Parliamentary Art Collection and Mari Takayanagi, archivist at Parliament. The reader is Kathy Clugston.
Military drones today and the Nazi V1 and V2 weapons. With Jonathan Freedland
As pre-season training gets underway and transfer business goes on a-pace Jonathan Freedland takes the Long View of celebrity Football management. The new season will see the clash of several of the world's greatest managers lead by Jose Mourinho of Manchester United and Pep Guardiola of Manchester City.
It was a similar story in Manchester back in the mid 1960s. Matt Busby had been at United since the war building championship winning teams and a formidable reputation. City were languishing in the second division. But with the arrival of Joe Mercer and Malcolm Allison, City found a combination to challenge their Manchester rivals. And it really was a case of the Managers being the all important figures. When England won the world cup in 1966 it was Joe Mercer who'd just lead City to the old 2nd Division championship who was part of the BBC Television World Cup panel, endearing himself to the nation by referring to Pele as Peely.
Jonathan is joined by a former City player Paul Hince, Dr Colin Shindler, a screenwriter, academic and fanatic City fan, Sarah Collins who covers the city's sport for BBC local radio and Paul Gilroy of the League Managers Association. They discuss the then and now and the curious way in which - in these two eras - it was the Managers who were in the limelight. Much has changed, not least in terms of global reach, money and the international flavour of the Premiership, but at heart it's the same - the men on the pitch will be playing, and did play, in the shadow of the Celebrity Managers.
Producer: Tom Alban.
Jonathan Freedland focuses on the rise of Donald Trump through the prism of the past, by examining the careers of three high-profile 20th century Americans who became rich, famous and entered the political arena. Jonathan's guests include Professor Anthony J. Badger, former Paul Mellon Professor of American History at Cambridge University; James P. Rubin, who was the Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs under President Bill Clinton; Robert Singh, who is Professor of Politics at Birkbeck, University of London and a specialist in US government and politics and the politics of American foreign policy; Kate Andrews, Head of Communications and Research Fellow at the Adam Smith Institute; she is also a spokesperson for Republicans Overseas UK.
Producer Julia Johnson.
With the annual surge in online dating at the start of the New Year, Jonathan Freedland takes the Long View of internet dating by looking at a social network from 1898 devised to bring strangers together in marriage or companionship.
The 'Round About', set up by newspaper editor and philanthropist WT Stead, encouraged subscribers to submit a profile and a photo and an album of users would be sent out monthly to other subscribers. Potential suitors could then correspond via the "Conductor" at the Central Office of the publication.
The Lonely Hearts Classified Ad was born and took off in popularity at a time when the middle classes in London, living increasingly in suburbia, found it difficult to make romantic acquaintances. It was, however, not without controversy as allegations of moral corruption flew about when it was suspected that illicit liaisons were being sought through the adverts.
Producer Neil McCarthy.
Jonathan Freedland examines current debates about ethical shopping and production, in the light of early 19th century campaigns to boycott goods which involved slave labour.
Producer Clare Walker.
Jonathan Freedland finds out how today's concerns about the privacy of our communications, and debates about encryption, have intriguing precedents in the 17th century.
Producer Clare Walker.
Jonathan Freedland takes the long view of history looking at the past behind the present. On a farm in Cambridgeshire he compares the current Dairy Crisis with the 1930's Wheat Crisis.
Freedland, accompanied by an agricultural historian, rural affairs correspondent, farmer and an actor whose line about "Accrington Stanley" immortalized the Milk Board, compares both crises. Then as now a global glut in supply led to plummeting prices and failing farms in Britain, smaller farms suffered and farmers were forced to diversify. But what lessons can the dairy industry learn from how the wheat crisis was handled in the 1930's? Answers solicited down on the farm.
Producers Neil McCarthy and Kate Lamble.
Jonathan Freedland compares Britain's response to refugees from Vietnam in the 1970s with our reaction to refugees from Syria today.
Thousands of Vietnamese refugees came to the UK from 1979, were placed in camps and then dispersed around the country.
Jonathan and his guests ask how well Britain met the needs of those Vietnamese refugees, how they and their children adapted to life in the UK and what their experience tells us about today's refugee crisis.
Producer Julia Johnson.
Jonathan Freedland and guests use a story from the past to throw light on and inform debate about an event currently in the news.
Jonathan Freedland examines current debates about the "living wage" in the light of a publication by woollen manufacturer, Sir Mark Oldroyd in 1894. As Liberal MP and the owner of a number of mills in Dewsbury in Yorkshire, he delivered a lecture to the Dewsbury Pioneers Industrial Society called "A Living Wage". It said: "A living wage must be sufficient to maintain the worker in the highest state of industrial efficiency, with decent surroundings and sufficient leisure".
Jonathan is joined by Dr Stephen Davies from the Institute of Economic Affairs, Dr Sheila Blackburn from the University of Liverpool, Margaret Watson, former editor of Dewsbury Reporter, Father Simon Cuff, a leader with Citizens UK and actor Barrie Rutter.
En liten tjänst av I'm With Friends. Finns även på engelska.