231 | From Cholera to Coronavirus

David talks to the historian Richard Evans about the history of cholera epidemics in the 19th century and what they can teach us for today.  How did contemporaries understand the spread of the disease? What impact did it have on growing demands for democracy?  And who tended to get the blame - foreigners, doctors or politicians?  Plus we discuss whether the political changes being driven by the current pandemic are likely to outlast the disease itself.

176 | Talking Politics Guide to ... The Chinese Communist Party

We talk to historian of China Hans van de Ven about the origins of the CCP and its extraordinary rise to power. How has it managed to adapt to the changes of the last forty years and what lessons will be drawn as it approaches its one hundredth birthday?