346. Arab-Israeli Conflict: From Suez To The ...

What were Mao’s motivations for launching The Cultural Revolution? Who were the Red Guards, and why did Mao indoctrinate teenagers? How did Mao die, and who came next? Anita and William are joined once again by Rana Mitter, author of A Bitter Revolution: China’s Struggle with the ...  Show more

Why did Mao declare war on sparrows as part of The Great Leap Forward? What caused China to attack India in 1962? How did Mao use a swimming pool to embarrass Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev? Anita and William are joined once again by Rana Mitter, author of A Bitter Revolution: C ...  Show more

Best known for his books Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell earned a reputation as chronicler and prophet of modern society. Plagued by illness, he exposed poverty and injustice, satirised the powerful, and took up arms against fascism. Today, his name has become ...  Show more

How did Oleg Gordievsky get recruited to work for MI6? What effect did living in Copenhagen have on his political views? And how did Britain nearly blow the recruitment of one of the most consequential spies in history? Listen as David and Gordon continue their series on Oleg Gor ...  Show more

For decades after the Second World War, the Soviet Union and the United States of America were locked in a conflict of ideology that took the planet to the brink of catastrophe. Known as the Cold War, it was an era of paranoia, fear and mutual suspicion, where the contest for sup ...  Show more

By the late 1980s, Pablo Escobar’s grip on the cocaine trade was unmatched. But a new threat loomed: extradition to the United States. To Escobar, it was a fate worse than death. His answer was brutal - declare open war on the Colombian state. In this episode, Gordon and David tr ...  Show more