How to Invent a Country Podcast
When did countries become countries? Misha Glenny on the borders, the stories and the people of countries worldwide.
Episodes to download
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How to Invent a Country: Taiwan
Last Thursday
They look so sturdy on the map, but what is a country and when do they take shape?
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China: The Life and Times of Chairman Mao
Fri 24 May 2024
The Long March, the Civil War, the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution
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China: imperial collapse
Mon 13 May 2024
The end of the Qing and the troubled birth of the republic under Dr Sun Yat-sen
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China - to kowtow or not to kowtow
Sat 4 May 2024
Find out how the world's greatest civilisation found itself dragged into two opium wars
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China - the first emperor
Fri 3 May 2024
Misha Glenny and Miles Warde head east to find out what is China and where it came from?
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Turkey - Ottoman or Turk
Mon 20 Nov 2023
A bonus episode with Hannah Lucinda Smith, Christopher de Bellaigue and Misha Glenny
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Turkey - A Delicate Balancing Act
Fri 27 Oct 2023
Ep 3 - How the republic of Turkey emerged from the ruins of World War One
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Turkey - The Military and Decline
Fri 27 Oct 2023
EP 2 - The Invention of Turkey and slow decline of the empire from the siege of Vienna
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Turkey - The Ottomans: East or West
Fri 27 Oct 2023
Ep1 - Istanbul and Mehmet the Conqueror. Misha Glenny on the birth of the Ottoman empire
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Russia - the sacred song of war
Mon 9 Jan 2023
Ep 4 - The Invention of Russia, presented by Misha Glenny and produced by Miles Warde
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Russia - the bear moves west
Mon 9 Jan 2023
Ep 3 - The Invention of Russia and Catherine the Great, presented by Misha Glenny
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Russia - the Empire Strikes Back
Mon 9 Jan 2023
Ep 2 - The Invention of Russia and the expansion east to Siberia, west into Ukraine
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Russia - A Tale of Two Ivans
Mon 9 Jan 2023
Ep 1 The Invention of Russia ... told from a time when it was still very small
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Poland - Stalin on one side, Hitler to the left
Fri 8 Apr 2022
Ep 3 - Poland reborn and invaded again. Misha Glenny presents, Miles Warde holds the mic.
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Poland - a nation without a state
Mon 28 Mar 2022
EP 2 - Misha Glenny on Poland's 123 year absence from the map, produced by Miles Warde
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Poland - Obliterated from the map
Mon 28 Mar 2022
Ep 1 - how Europe's largest state was sliced and diced by Russia, Prussia and Austria.
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Scandinavia - the narcissism of small differences
Tue 24 Nov 2020
Ep3 Norway and fish, followed by oil
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Scandinavia - The Viking Inheritance
Tue 17 Nov 2020
The Swedish Baltic Empire ... why it's not all Abba and social democracy with the Swedes
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Scandinavia - The Bridge
Tue 10 Nov 2020
Ep 1 "Danes talk about Swedes all the time. Swedes don't talk about Danes so much."
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Ireland - escalation!
Tue 1 Oct 2019
"The thing about the border - we've lived it. It doesn't feel like history to us."
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Ireland - plantation and conflict
Thu 19 Sep 2019
Dr Joan Redmond talks to Misha Glenny about Ireland, England and the early seeds of war
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Ireland - we used the word pagan as kids!
Mon 9 Sep 2019
Fintan O'Toole talks to Misha Glenny about Catholics, Protestants, and Top of the Pops
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The Invention of Britain #4 - so many different little corners!
Sun 17 Mar 2019
Scotland, England, Ireland, Wales - why all these borders, and what do they mean?
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The Invention of Britain #3
Sun 10 Mar 2019
Insecurity - from Dover to Dublin, presented by Misha Glenny and produced by Miles Warde
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The Invention of Britain #1- like quicksand for the uninitiated
Sun 24 Feb 2019
What is Britain? Who are the Scots, the Welsh, the Irish, the English?
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Italy - Garibaldi's Grand Scheme #2
Mon 7 Jan 2019
Are we Italian or not? With Leoluca Orlando, Lucy Riall, Tim Parks, Lucy Hughes-Hallett.
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