Podcast: Exception and Exceptionalism with Dr Helene von Bismarck
An outsider's view of Britain - who the British are, and what we get right & wrong.
Soft Landing’s third podcast episode is out featuring historian, author and foreign policy analyst, Dr Helene von Bismarck. Helene is the author of the just-released book Fantastic Kingdom - A Stranger’s Notes on a Contrary Country, an outsider’s look at this ‘United Kingdom of Contradictions’ (Helene is German).
Helene is a specialist in British history and politics, particularly history of the empire and British foreign policy in the twentieth and twenty-first century. She is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and a Senior Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute and her work has appeared in The Times, the Guardian, the Financial Times, and Die Zeit.
Our discussion is all about Britain’s character:
Britain’s ‘Island Story’ and how geography defines us.
The special case of Northern Ireland
The Second World War as a foundational event and how it defined Britain’s culture differently to others in Europe.
Britain’s quaint old conventions, its contradictions and its constitution.
Our creaking two-party politics and the voting system.
The Monarchy
The podcast is audio-only, but selecting the video option will give you subtitles.
Spotify….
Youtube…
Fantastic Kingdom can be purchased from any good book shop:
https://www.waterstones.com/book/fantastic-kingdom/helene-von-bismarck/9781399824385
I make no money at all from my output and my Substack subscription is free, regardless of what you might pledge. But you can always buy me a coffee (well, a decaf oat latte, if that even counts as coffee).
Helene is a specialist in British history and politics, particularly history of the empire and British foreign policy in the twentieth and twenty-first century. She is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and a Senior Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute and her work has appeared in The Times, the Guardian, the Financial Times, and Die Zeit.
Our discussion is all about Britain’s character:
Britain’s ‘Island Story’ and how geography defines us.
The special case of Northern Ireland
The Second World War as a foundational event and how it defined Britain’s culture differently to others in Europe.
Britain’s quaint old conventions, its contradictions and its constitution.
Our creaking two-party politics and the voting system.
The Monarchy
The podcast is audio-only, but selecting the video option will give you subtitles.
Spotify….
Youtube…
Fantastic Kingdom can be purchased from any good book shop:
https://www.waterstones.com/book/fantastic-kingdom/helene-von-bismarck/9781399824385
I make no money at all from my output and my Substack subscription is free, regardless of what you might pledge. But you can always buy me a coffee (well, a decaf oat latte, if that even counts as coffee).
Helene von Bismarck has a truly impressive intellect, and with her perspective as a friendly outsider, this is a devastatingly brilliant discussion.