A revolutionary wave swept through Europe towards the end of the Second World War. In France, communists formed the backbone of the armed resistance to fascism. In Italy, workers occupied the factories, peasants took over the land, and communists led a mass armed partisan force. ...Show more
What would socialism look like?
Most people today are well aware of what they are against, poverty, austerity, racism, imperialism and much more. However, very few people have an idea of what they are fighting for. Politics promises things it can never achieve, demoralising people in the process. This is where ...Show more
March 15th, 44BC. Despite ill omens, Julius Caesar approaches the Theatre of Pompey. But the men inside have sworn an oath. To save the Republic from the hands of this self-styled ‘perpetual dictator', Caesar must die. But where did the Republic start? How did it transform Rome f ...Show more
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the brothers Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus whose names are entwined with the end of Rome's Republic and the rise of the Roman Emperors. As tribunes, they brought popular reforms to the Roman Republic at the end of the 2nd century BC. Tiberius (c163-1 ...Show more
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the brothers Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus whose names are entwined with the end of Rome's Republic and the rise of the Roman Emperors. As tribunes, they brought popular reforms to the Roman Republic at the end of the 2nd century BC. Tiberius (c163-1 ...Show more
What can ancient Rome teach us about American democracy? The Roman Republic fell for a lot of reasons: The state became too big and chaotic; the influence of money and private interests corrupted public institutions; and social and economic inequalities became so large that citiz ...Show more