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When Greeks Flew Kites Podcast

When Greeks Flew Kites

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Monthly series in which Sarah Dunant finds stories from the past to help frame the present

Monthly series in which historical novelist Sarah Dunant delves into the past for stories and moments that help frame the present, bringing to life worlds that span the centuries.

When Greeks Flew Kites: This Old Year

Factual: History

31/12/2017

This Old Year

BBC Radio 4 - When Greeks Flew Kites, This Old Year

Sarah Dunant delves into the past for alternative stories to help frame 2017.

Sarah Dunant delves into the past to help frame moments from an eventful past 12 months, from Donald Trump and fake news to Brexit.

In this final episode of 2017, broadcaster and acclaimed historical novelist Sarah Dunant, delves into the past to help frame moments from the year, as picked by historians, bringing to life worlds that span the centuries.

From the East India Company in the 17th Century to corporate power in the White House of 2017; from the second coming of the Ku Klux Klan and an immigration ban in 1920, via fake news in 17th century France to an Irish history lesson that's become vital in this month's Brexit negotiations.

The programme takes its name from the industrialist Henry Ford who, in 1921, reportedly told the New York Times, "History is Bunk" and asked "What difference does it make how many times the ancient Greeks flew kites?"

Presenter: Sarah Dunant 
Producers: Katherine Godfrey and Nathan Gower
Executive Producer: David Prest
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

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