I am a huge fan of John McWhorter and have come to have great respect for Scott Sumner's knowledge and judgement when it comes to movies. It was a real pleasure to get them together to chat about favourite movies, directors and genres. 

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Frank Dikötter returns to the show to talk about dictators and in particular how they use the cult of personality to crush friends and enemies alike. HIs book on dictators is an elightening tour of some of the worst men of the 20th century - horribly enjoyable!

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If, like me, your idea of East Germany is dominated by spy movies and and you think that perhaps it was nothing more than a open air prison with the Stasi round every corner then Katja Hoyer's remarkable book Beyond the Wall is an ideal corrective. Katja blends personal tales (some happy and some utterly tragic) with an analysis of the wider geopolitical scene. Above all it is fantastically readable and unsurprisingly is on pretty much every 'book of the year' list in the newspapers. She was a great guest and I very much hope you will enjoy listening to her.

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Giles Milton is one of my favourite authors producing narrative history today. The stories he tells are just jaw dropping. We talked about his book White Gold which tells the stories of Thomas Pellow who was seized and taken off into slavery in 1714. Looming large in the story is the remarkable Moulay Ismail, ruler of Morroco at the time. He makes his entrance on his chariot pulled by some of his eunuchs and some of his 500 wives. A brutal and cruel ruler but a fascinating character.

The title of the podcast refers to the song Rule Britannia, written around this time. Its boast was that Britons never, never will be slaves. Well they were, and in large numbers.

Giles is in great form here - he is a compelling storyteller in his books and he repeats the trick for the podcast.

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David Parnell and I wrap up the story of Belisarius and Antonina. We are now on to the liberation of Italy and by the end I felt the Romans there might have preferred to have been left alone.

 It is a huge subject and we couldn't do more than give an overview. If you want more David's book is terrific. We are very lucky with our sources for this period which allow us to know so much about this fascinating period of European history.  David does the story full justice!

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David Parnell has a wonderful new book out called Belisarius and Antonina. This is the story of a real husband and wife partnership. Belisarius was perhaps the greatest Roman general of the 6th century and his wife Antonina accompanied him and was intimately involved in his campaigns. 

I really enjoyed speaking to David about the twists and turns of the story. Hearing about the Nika riots was a particular (bloody) highlight. The podcast ran long as there was so much to discuss so I have divided it into two. The first part takes us up to the attack on Vandal Africa and the second part will cover the campaigns in Italy. 

The book is terrific - a really well judged mix of breathless action and scholarly insights. We only scratched the surface in the podcast and I highly recommend seeking it out.

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This is the story of Anson's voyage around the world in the 1740's. In particular it is about the ship the Wager and the crew's incredible bravery, endurance and ingenuity in appalling conditions. And it is about shipwreck, murder and mutiny.

David Grann's book tells the story brilliantly. You will never want to get on a boat again!

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Jasper Sharp is probably the UK's leading expert on Japanese film and he joined me on the show today with Scott Sumner. Scott has a famous economics blog that has a side line in movie reviews. The pair of them were on really good form discussing a list of six movies that Jasper came up with. I think that even people unfamiliar with Japanese film should have fun!

The films we discussed were:

Equinox Flower
The Ballad of Narayama
Hanagatami
Branded to Kill
Ghost in the Shell 2
Giants and Toys

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John McWhorter and Tom Holland are a perfect pairing. They are absolutely delightful company both with a dry sense of humour. I was keen to bring them together because I learned they share a love a dinosaurs. Absolute fanatics it turns out. I got the sense they really enjoyed chatting to each other and I hope you will enjoy listening. An interest in dinosaurs helps but is not required!

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