The Secrets of Statecraft

The Statecraft and Spycraft of MI6’s former Chief

Sir Richard Dearlove was Chief of Operations of MI6 from 1996 to 1999, and its Chief - known as 'C' - from 1999 to 2004. He speaks of the effect of Kim Philby's treachery on the Service, Cold War victories against the KGB, James Bond and John Le Carré, and the rosy prospects for British Intelligence post-Brexit.

The Historical Heritage of Bibi Netanyahu

Bibi Netanyahu grew up in a household in which historical discussion and debate was constant, as his father was a distinguished professional historian. Here he discusses what effect the past has had on his life and career. 

 

Seventy Years on the Throne: Robert Hardman Explains Queen Elizabeth II’s Statecraft

On the occasion of her unprecedented platinum jubilee, Queen Elizabeth’s biographer and star Daily Mail reporter Robert Hardman discusses her use of soft power in Britain’s unwritten constitution.

Peter Robinson on the Art of Writing Ronald Reagan’s Speeches

Ronald Reagan was famously known as the Great Communicator. But who helped the Great Communicator communicate? One of them was Hoover Institution Research Fellow Peter Robinson, who wrote Reagan's “Tear Down This Wall” speech — one of the most famous speeches of the twentieth century. If you have ever been asked to deliver a speech in public (or even if you haven’t), listen to a master of the genre Peter Robinson speak of the humor, honesty, and honing involved in writing over 150 speeches for a U.S. President. 

The Influence of the Past on President Iván Duque of Colombia

In his struggle against the FARC guerrilla movement and his efforts to transform Colombia economically, President Iván Duque has had advisors at his side who include Simon Bolivar and Winston Churchill.

Dambisa Moyo Finds Echoes of the Gilded Age

Zambian-born and Harvard- and Oxford-educated economist Dambisa Moyo is the author of several important books on the interaction between finance and statecraft. Here she examines America’s Gilded Age, and finds a surprising number of comparisons with our own.

 

A Masterclass In History from Dr. Henry Kissinger

How does having made history affect one’s view of the past? The wry yet still spry 98-year-old Henry Kissinger talks about Richard Nixon, Clemens von Metternich, the Chinese view of the 19th century, why Russia invaded Ukraine, and the influence of history on his life and career.  

 

Christopher Buckley on The History of the Social Faux Pas

In this episode of Secrets of Statecraft, actual historian Andrew Roberts talks to humorist and self-appointed “historian” Christopher Buckley about the faux pas and its celebrated and checkered past. This episode is brimming with witty repartee and hilarious anecdotes featuring several historically significant figures, and not one faux pas (that we know about ).