The Oldie Podcast

The Oldie's Ferdie Rous talks to author, former prison doctor and journalist Theodore Dalrymple. Dalrympe tells us about the psychology of crime and addiction, his love of Wales and why he rummages through litter.

Author, Oldie columnist and nature writer Patrick Barkham talks to Ferdie Rous, The Oldie's Editorial Assistant, about the Scottish Highlands, HS2 and the need for parents to stay in touch with nature

The Oldie's Editorial Assistant Ferdie Rous talks to journalist, author and travel writer WIlliam Cook about Oberammergau's world-renowned passion play. Every 10 years, 500,000 people descend on this small Bavarian town to watch this extraordinary insight onto the seventeenth century.

Actress and costar of the Kenny Everett Show, Cleo Rocos, tells Oldie Editor Harry Mount about her time working with Kenny Everett

Ferdie Rous talks to Philip Mansel, co-founder of The Society for Court Studies and the author of King of the World: The Life of Louis XIV, about the Sun King, Versailles and Louis's love of gardening.

Gyles Brandreth talks about his new book, Dancing by the Light of the Moon, at the Oldie's Christmas lunch. Learning poetry prevents dementia and helps improve language skills. Gyles Brandreth loves it

Victoria Hislop presented her book, Those who are loved, at the Oldie's Christmas lunch. The plot centres on Thenis, a woman born in Greece in the 1920s. It tells the story of Greece's twentieth century through the eyes of someone who lived it.

Philip Mansel talks about his new book, King of the World: The Life of Louis XIV, at the Oldie's Christmas lunch. Louis XIV was perhaps the most powerful person on earth in his day. But there is much more to him than the bon vivant and patron of the arts that we think we know.

Welcome to the Oldie podcast with Harry Mount, editor of The Oldie. John Lloyd explains the disastrous beginnings of the show and how the 1979 election saved it.

Ferdie Rous, The Oldie's editorial assistant, speaks to celebrated historian and broadcaster Bettany Hughes about the extraordinary history of Venus-Aphrodite, the goddess of love. We reference a few paintings and sculptures throughout the podcast.  Follow the links to find them. Ishtar, Inanna, Astarte Botticelli – The Birth of Venus; Venus & Mars Knidian Aphrodite Venus de Milo

The Oldie's editorial assistant, Ferdie Rous, talks to acclaimed author and travel-writer Sara Wheeler about 200 years of Antarctic exploration. Sara Wheeler's new book, Mud and Stars: Travels in Russia with Pushkin and Other Geniuses of the Golden Age, published by Jonathan Cape, is out now.

Simon Heffer speaks at an Oldie literary lunch about the Staring at God: Britain during the Great War. He tells of the political class's inability to deal with the pressures of the war, how women were far more than the munitionettes of popular imagination and the extent of the cultural changes brought on by the war.

John McEwen and Carry Akroyd talk about the bird-infested history of the Douglas Home family, the sex life of the Great Bustard and how best to portray birds in art.

Simon Jenkins speaks at the Oldie Literary Lunch about the three traumas of London's history, how London was shaped by the free market and the city corporation and the importance of separating money from power.

The Oldie's Editor Harry Mount talks to Times and Telegraph regular Hannah Betts about Troy, Homer and the mixed legacy of Heinrich Schliemann, who rediscovered it. Troy: Myth and Reality is on at the British Museum between 21st November and 8th March 2020

Welcome to the Oldie podcast with Harry Mount, the editor of The Oldie. This month we have a fantastic piece by Damian Thompson in the magazine about Stephen Potter, the inventor of Gamesmanship. Damian is a senior journalist who has worked at the Telegraph and the Catholic Herald, and is the associate editor of the Spectator.

Historian, travel-writer and bestselling author William Dalrymple, talks to the Oldie's Editorial Assistant Ferdie Rous about the rise of The East India Company, corporate violence and imperial nostalgia. Dalrymple's new book, The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company, is published by Bloomsbury. The book tells two stories: the rise of the East India Company and the fall of the Mughal Empire. The latter had dominated the subcontinent for over three centuries by the time that the company arrived on Indian shores. Note: the Diwani, referenced at (22:45), later known as the Treaty of Allahabad, was a permit granted by Shah Alam, in 1764, to the East India Company that allowed them to tax the provinces of  Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.

Charles Moore talks about the third and last part of his biography of Margaret Thatcher at the Oldie's October lunch. Moore talked about Thatcher's innocence of matters sexual, her run in with Monty Python and her meeting with Nelson Mandela.

A N Wilson talks about Prince Albert: The Man Who Saved The Monarchy at the Oldie's October lunch. We don't appreciate how much Britain owes Albert. From Albertopolis to the Great Exhibition and beyond, Wilson gives a fascinating insight into this short-lived royal.

Welcome to this edition of the Oldie podcast.   Ferdie Rous, The Oldie's Editorial Assistant, speaks to author, commentator and Mail on Sunday columnist, Peter Hitchens, about his new book, The Phoney Victory: The World War II Delusion, which challenges some of our most deeply held beliefs about the Second World War, which began 80 years ago this month.