Cuba, cold war and RAF Fylingdales
Arts & Ideas20 Syys 2022

Cuba, cold war and RAF Fylingdales

Ian McEwan's new novel Lessons sets a relationship against the backdrop of the Cuban missile crisis and the fall of the wall in Berlin. Researcher and artist Michael Mulvihill, from the University of Newcastle, has been recording the sounds of radar interference and uncovering the archives held at RAF Fylingdales in Yorkshire which depict the replacement of the "golf balls" and the technology involved in operating the early warning systems. Jessica Douthwaite, University of Stirling, is looking at how the cold war is collected and represented in museum collections across the UK and is a historian of civilian experiences of the cold war in Britain. Christoph Laucht, from Swansea University, researches responses the the nuclear threat They join Anne McElvoy to discuss the impact of the Cuban missile crisis in October 1962 and public fears about nuclear conflict.

You can find out more at https://fylingdalesarchive.org.uk/ Operations began there on 17th September 1963 and about Michael Mulvihill's Arts and Humanities Research Council project at https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FS013067%2F1

Lessons by Ian McEwan is published in September 2022. His other books include On Chesil Beach set 3 months before the Cuban missile crisis.

Producer: Ruth Watts

You can find other discussions about history in the Free Thinking archives including an episode looking at the Stasi poetry circle https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001556q

Jaksot(2000)

Friendship

Friendship

The French philosopher Michel Foucault though friendship could be one of the most subversive relationships around. Our friends can be the most important people in our lives. But managing friendships c...

11 Heinä 202556min

Censorship, editing and self-censorship

Censorship, editing and self-censorship

Shahidha Bari looks at censorship, editing and self-censorship with guests including historian of China, Rana Mitter, Jemimah Steinfeld of Index on Censorship and Nigel Warburton, host of the Philosop...

4 Heinä 202557min

Christian faith, politics and culture

Christian faith, politics and culture

Anne McElvoy and guests explore the intersections between Christian faith and political decision-making and look at some recent dramas which explore the impact of belief.Chine McDonald is director of ...

27 Kesä 202556min

Language

Language

Journalists Peter Hitchens and Oliver Kamm, radio presenter and comedian Ellis James, languages expert Ross Perlin, Diana Sutton director of The Bell Foundation and podcaster and academic Reetika Reva...

20 Kesä 202556min

Failure

Failure

"Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." The words of Samuel Beckett from a 1983 short story Worstward Ho inspire a Free Thinking conversation about failure chaired by...

13 Kesä 202556min

Podcasting difficult histories

Podcasting difficult histories

Personal Identity is at the heart of contemporary culture. Political philosophies are built around it and family history is a hobby undertaken by hundreds of thousands. Understanding where you came fr...

6 Kesä 202556min

Common Sense

Common Sense

What do we mean by 'common sense'? In 1925 the philosopher GE Moore wrote a Defence of Common Sense which argued against philosophical idealism, on the grounds that it seemed to deny a set of proposit...

4 Kesä 202556min

Power: A User's Guide

Power: A User's Guide

Political power can take many forms, from the top-down model of the Roman Empire, to operating in the democratic politics of today, to the possibilities offered by new technologies for more horizontal...

4 Kesä 202557min

Suosittua kategoriassa Yhteiskunta

sita
olipa-kerran-otsikko
kaksi-aitia
siita-on-vaikea-puhua
i-dont-like-mondays
uutiscast
gogin-ja-janin-maailmanhistoria
poks
antin-palautepalvelu
kolme-kaannekohtaa
mamma-mia
rss-murhan-anatomia
rss-nikotellen
yopuolen-tarinoita-2
aikalisa
meidan-pitais-puhua
rss-palmujen-varjoissa
naakkavalta
mystista
loukussa