Main content

What is history for?

Live debate examining the moral issues behind one of the week's news stories.

Who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf? Well, Camden Council for a start, who’ve put a QR code on her statue in Bloomsbury explaining that some of views and actions of the prototype feminist, widely regarded as one of the leading modernist writers of the 20th century, are now considered β€œoffensive” and β€œunacceptable”.
Funny how we look back for drama and moral clarity, not just judging the past by the prejudices of the present, but affecting to see in its messiness either inevitable progress, or relentless decline. More and more, it seems, history is a weapon with which to fight today’s battles.
What should history teach us?

Witnesses:
Professor Ada Palmer
Professor Kehinde Andrews
Dr Amanda Foreman
Professor Robert Tombs

Panellists:
Anne McElvoy
Ash Sarkar
Tim Stanley
Matthew Taylor

Presenter: Michael Buerk

Producers: Catherine Murray & Peter Everett
Assistant Producer: Ruth Purser
Editor: Tim Pemberton

Available now

57 minutes

Last on

Sat 6 Jul 2024 21:00

Broadcasts

  • Wed 3 Jul 2024 20:00
  • Sat 6 Jul 2024 21:00

The Evidence Toolkit

The Evidence Toolkit

Check out the claims made in news stories with this interactive tool.

Podcast