Alwyn Turner, author of Little Englanders: Britain in the Edwardian Era, speaks to Paul Lay about the early 20th century, an age of anxiety.

Image: Street musicians in London in the Edwardian era. Credit: KGPA Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo 

From the Engelsberg Ideas Archive. The organisation that emerged under the name ISIS is not simply a terrorist group. It is a hybrid organisation comprised of a proto-state, a millenarian cult capable of attracting recruits from far beyond its borders, a network of Salafi jihadist groups, an organised criminal ring and an insurgent army led by highly skilled former Baathist military and intelligence personnel. Read by Leighton Pugh.

Image: Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant fighters shown in propaganda photos released by the militants. Credit: Handout / Alamy Stock Photo 

Ahron Bregman, author of Cursed Victory: A History of Israel and the Occupied Territories, outlines his vision for a lasting peace between Israel, Palestinians and the Arabs.

Image: An Israeli flag is seen through a dust cloud near the border with the Gaza strip. Credit: Eddie Gerald / Alamy Stock Photo 

By the time Kennedy and Johnson held the presidency in the 1960s, the definition of US national security had been stretched and expanded in previously unimaginable ways. It was not unusual for Americans to perceive their security frontiers as global – indeed, it was considered natural. But it hadn’t always been thus. Read by Leighton Pugh.

Image: Poster showing the American flag waving among clouds.  Credit: World History Archive / Alamy Stock Photo 

Daniela Richterova, Senior Lecturer in Intelligence Studies at the Department for War Studies, King's College London, reflects on the efforts the Soviet Union made to court African states and liberation movements during the Cold War and draws parallels with China and Russia's new scramble for Africa.

Image: A monument to Arab-Soviet Friendship at the Aswan dam, Egypt. Credit: Matyas Rehak / Alamy Stock Photo 

Thinking about 'war in our time' and our region is no longer an activity restricted to historians or military planners. Politicians and citizens in the countries bordering the Baltic Sea have been forced to accept that it has become necessary to prepare for an unwelcome guest: war. Read by Leighton Pugh.

Image: A naval operation staged as part of the Freezing Winds military exercise, led by the Finnish Navy. Credit: Sipa US / Alamy Stock Photo 

Alastair Benn is joined by Christopher Harding, cultural historian of Japan and author of The Light of Asia: A History of Western Fascination with the East, to discuss the life and work of celebrated animator Mayazaki Hayao, co-founder of Studio Ghibli, and his latest (and last?) film, The Boy and the Heron, a semi-autobiographical exploration of wartime bereavement, courage and ultimate redemption.

Image: A still from The Boy and the Heron directed by Miyazaki Hayao. Credit: BFA / Alamy Stock Photo 

The United States, still the dominant military power in the world, is immersed in a new era of warfare that it has not yet recognised as endemic and enduring. America is losing its wars to less powerful but more adaptable adversaries, while preparing inadequately for future inter-state conflicts. Read by Leighton Pugh.

Image: Posters of slain Iranian Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani. Credit: Associated Press / Alamy Stock Photo 

In December 1941, the Japanese military attacked Pearl Harbor, making the Second World War a truly global conflict. Paul Lay is joined by Charlie Laderman to discuss a month that shook the world.

Image: Three US battleships stricken during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941. Credit: GRANGER - Historical Picture Archive / Alamy Stock Photo 

Political success for the global insurgents can arise not only from a military victory on the ground, but from a military stalemate and even a military defeat. Read by Leighton Pugh.

Image: Mock Houthi-made drones and missiles are set up in a city square in Yemen. Credit: Zuma Press / Alamy Stock Photo