253 | Britain Wrestles with its Past

We talk with the writer and political commentator Fintan O'Toole about how British politics can and should deal with its imperial past in the age of Brexit.  From battles over statues to fights over nationalism we explore whether history has become the new democratic divide.  Why does Churchill loom so large over our politics?  Can Labour reclaim the mantle of patriotism?  Will the Union survive the history wars?  Plus we ask whether there has been a generational shift in attitudes to race and identity.  With Helen Thompson.

246 | Bread, Cement, Cactus

David talks to the writer Annie Zaidi, winner of the Nine Dots Prize, about her remarkable memoir of life in India and the search for identity.  It's s story of conflict, migration, belonging and the idea of home.  We also discuss what home means for Indians now the country is under lockdown and Annie tells us how life is in Mumbai.