James Naughtie talks to former US Secretary of State John Kerry about his life and political career.At his home in Massachusetts, which he represented in the United States Senate for close to 30 years, Kerry discusses his experiences as a naval officer in Vietnam, how he felt the pull of politics, and what he attempted to achieve. Reflecting on the 2004 presidential election campaign, where he was the Democrat nominee against President George W. Bush, Kerry says it was the first 'fake news election'. In four years as President Obama's Secretary of State, Kerry travelled more than a million miles around the world, and he discusses his experiences negotiating the Iran Nuclear Deal, the decision not to strike Syria, and his friendship with Benjamin Netanhayu. And on domestic politics, Kerry has some striking advice for his party after losing the 2024 presidential election.Producer: Giles Edwards
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Postwar: 20. What if?
David Runciman tells the story of the 1945 election and the dawn of a new age.The 1945 general election was one of the biggest shocks in British parliamentary history: a decisive rejection of Winston Churchill and his leadership. The election of Clement Attlee's Labour government in a landslide marked a break with the past and signalled a strong desire on the part of the British people for something new. But it was also a product of Britain's wartime experiences and revealed the many ways in which the country had already changed.The years that followed -- the postwar years -- would bring about bold and radical reform, the building of a new nation, a 'New Jerusalem'. The Britain of the National Health Service and the welfare state, of nationalised industry and the so-called 'postwar consensus' -- all were ushered into place with this election. This is the Britain that most have us have grown up in and which still shapes an idea of who we think we are.To end the series, a counter-factual: what would Britain have been like if, as almost everyone expected, Winston Churchill had won the 1945 general election?
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Postwar: 19. Post-postwar
David Runciman tells the story of the 1945 election and the dawn of a new age.The 1945 general election was one of the biggest shocks in British parliamentary history: a decisive rejection of Winston Churchill and his leadership. The election of Clement Attlee's Labour government in a landslide marked a break with the past and signalled a strong desire on the part of the British people for something new. But it was also a product of Britain's wartime experiences and revealed the many ways in which the country had already changed.The years that followed -- the postwar years -- would bring about bold and radical reform, the building of a new nation, a 'New Jerusalem'. The Britain of the National Health Service and the welfare state, of nationalised industry and the so-called 'postwar consensus' -- all were ushered into place with this election. This is the Britain that most have us have grown up in and which still shapes an idea of who we think we are.We can fix a start date on the postwar period, but what about an end date? Are we still living in the postwar period? And, if not, when did we leave it?Featuring John Bew, Patricia Clavin, Lucy Delap, David Kynaston, David Reynolds and Robert Saunders.
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Postwar: 18. Churchill: Lion in Winter
David Runciman tells the story of the 1945 election and the dawn of a new age.The 1945 general election was one of the biggest shocks in British parliamentary history: a decisive rejection of Winston Churchill and his leadership. The election of Clement Attlee's Labour government in a landslide marked a break with the past and signalled a strong desire on the part of the British people for something new. But it was also a product of Britain's wartime experiences and revealed the many ways in which the country had already changed.The years that followed -- the postwar years -- would bring about bold and radical reform, the building of a new nation, a 'New Jerusalem'. The Britain of the National Health Service and the welfare state, of nationalised industry and the so-called 'postwar consensus' -- all were ushered into place with this election. This is the Britain that most have us have grown up in and which still shapes an idea of who we think we are.David Runciman tells the story of the 1945 election and the dawn of a new age. What happened to Winston Churchill in the years after the 1945 general election?Featuring David Reynolds.
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Postwar: 17. A New Jerusalem?
David Runciman tells the story of the 1945 election and the dawn of a new age.The 1945 general election was one of the biggest shocks in British parliamentary history: a decisive rejection of Winston Churchill and his leadership. The election of Clement Attlee's Labour government in a landslide marked a break with the past and signalled a strong desire on the part of the British people for something new. But it was also a product of Britain's wartime experiences and revealed the many ways in which the country had already changed.The years that followed -- the postwar years -- would bring about bold and radical reform, the building of a new nation, a 'New Jerusalem'. The Britain of the National Health Service and the welfare state, of nationalised industry and the so-called 'postwar consensus' -- all were ushered into place with this election. This is the Britain that most have us have grown up in and which still shapes an idea of who we think we are.The Clement Attlee government's efforts to renew the nation after 1945 is sometimes referred to as a New Jerusalem. But that reference to William Blake's poem – with its vision of “pleasant pastures” – is also evidence of a certain nostalgia for an idea of Britain – of England – that’s rooted deep in the country’s past. And it gives voice to a central question faced by the Labour government in 1945: how much of Britain’s past were they willing to jettison in order to build Jerusalem in England’s – Britain’s – green and pleasant land.Featuring David Kynaston and Robert Saunders.
France