Was Wells a bad lad? Did he believe in the horrors of colonialism and eugenics? Is he guilty by association?
Regular listeners will remember that in Chapter 1 we took a deep dive into Victorian Racism, a subject that Wells rubbed shoulders with some of the worst proponents of scientific racism.
BUT as it turns, the answer is a fairly solid no, as it turns out, Wells was often outspoken for socially progressive, going so far as to write public letters calling for the abolition of segregation in America, and creating the blue prints for Universal Human Rights.
For this interlude from our telling of the War of the Worlds, I'm joined by writer and producer Simon Guerrier!
Simon has produced a number of documentaries on the life and times of H.G. Wells including the fabulous BBC Radio 3 documentary, HG and the H Bomb which was used as research for the deep dive in Chapter 6!
You can listen to both of them at the links on them - fancy that!
In this chat we talk about H.G. Wells and his response to eugenics, his love life, and his pursuit to always discover new and challenging ideas. We also have a little chat about Doctor Who and the role Wells played in shaping that.
As well as a producer, Simon is best known for his writing work for Doctor Who audio dramas with Big Finish
Listen to his upcoming episode of Doctor Who: Shadow of the Daleks written during lockdown is out in October and can be heard here
Doctor Who: Wicked Sisters his audio drama trilogy is out in November and get be heard here
Big Finish also have their own adaptation of War of the Worlds The Martian Invasion of Earth
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Credits:
Produced by Edy Hurst
Written by H.G.Wells and Edy Hurst
Theme Song 'The Fall of Saigon' By Ichabod Wolf
All others songs and music produced by Edy Hurst.
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