The division of the Indian subcontinent in 1947 into India and Pakistan saw millions uprooted and resulted in unspeakable violence. It happened far away, but it would shape modern Britain. In this week's episode Kavita Puri speaks to Rajini Vaidyanathan about how she tracked down and uncovered remarkable testimonies from former subjects of the Raj who are now British citizens - and persuaded them to break their silence. To find out more about Kavita Puri's book click here: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/partition-voices-9781408899069/.

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Partition Voices, with Kavita Puri and Rajini Vaidyanathan

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As a performer, London-based George the Poet has helped elevate genres ranging from traditional spoken word to rap and grime over recent years as well as having become a well-known voice commentating on social issues. He has a popular BBC podcast, Have You Heard George's Podcast?, which won the Peabody Award. Plus, last year he curated the writing collection Part of a Story That Started Before Me: Poems about Black British History. This year he returns with a new book – a memoir – Track Record: Me, Music, and the War on Blackness. As well as reflecting on George Mpanga’s own life, it’s a study of broader issues including the cultural forces shaping the music industry and the inherent discrimination within wider capitalism. Joining him in conversation for this episode is Symeon Brown, the award-winning journalist whose work often focuses on how culture and technology interacts with race and class. Brown is a correspondent for Channel 4 News and the author of Get Rich Or Lie Trying, his book focusing on the influencer economy.
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George the Poet on Combatting the War on Blackness

Englishness has been hijacked by the right. The flag of St. George’s Cross is proudly waved at far-right rallies. Conservative politicians insult the Left as being anti-English. And our history has been weaponised by cheerleaders for Brexit, exceptionalism and imperial nostalgia. That's the argument of Caroline Lucas, who came to the Intelligence Squared stage in April 2024 to offer us a radically new way of viewing England and Englishness. Lucas has long been at the forefront of progressive politics in the UK, having twice led the Green Party. Discussing her new book, Another England: How to Reclaim Our National Story with political commentator Grace Blakeley, Lucas explores how to redefine nationalism by centering the English people’s history of radical inclusivity, deep-rooted commitment to the natural world and long struggle to win rights for all. These often overlooked stories place the Chartists, the Diggers and the Suffragettes alongside Nelson and Churchill, and draw on a rich literary history to explore our shared challenges of identity and equality today.

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Searching for Another England, with Caroline Lucas and Grace Blakeley, Part Two

Searching for Another England, with Caroline Lucas and Grace Blakeley, Part One

Regularly embroiled in international conflicts – both militarily and diplomatically – and locked in a cycle of protest and heavy government crackdowns on the domestic political front, Iran has rarely been out of the international spotlight over the past decades. The protests in recent years that were initially sparked in resistance to the oppression of women formed the inspiration for writer and historian Arash Azizi's latest book, What Iranians Want: Women, Life, Freedom. The book asks whether a cohesive movement could eventually be formed out of the many voices of dissent in the country to bring about real change. Joining Azizi to discuss it for this episode is the journalist, audio producer and book critic Mythili Rao.
This episode was recorded in early March 2024, prior to the most recent military conflict between Iran and Israel.
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Arash Azizi on Iran's Turbulent Past and its Uncertain Future

For this episode, particle physicist Harry Cliff takes us on a deep dive into some of the universe's most perplexing scientific mysteries. His recent book, Space Oddities, draws on many findings found during his work at the University of Cambridge. Why are stars flying away from us faster than anyone can explain? What are the source of mysterious particles found to hold huge amounts of energy trapped beneath Antarctic ice? What really goes on at the CERN Large Hadron Collider? – another place where Cliff does much of his work. Joining him in conversation for this episode is Alex Wilkins, reporter for New Scientist. 
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Partition Voices, with Kavita Puri and Rajini Vaidyanathan

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