Radio Oldie

The Oldie magazine’s podcast featuring discussion and debate around the lead features in the latest magazine, plus live recordings from our famous Literary Lunches. Presented by Harry Mount.

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494 episodes
Updated Thursday

Episodes494

Newest first

Mar 17, 2020 · 25 min
William Wordsworth at 250
The Oldie's Ferdie Rous talks to author and journalist, Frances Wilson, about Wordsworth's idyllic home in the Lake District, his remarkably intense relationship with his sister, Dorothy Wordsworth, and why he was known as the pedestrian poet
Mar 12, 2020 · 30 min
Ed West: 'All conservatives are pessimists'
The Oldie's Ferdie Rous talks to Ed West, the Deputy editor of UnHerd and son of Oldie columnist Mary Kenny, about why all conservatives are pessimists and why men are guided by women in politics
Mar 5, 2020 · 20 min
Does Homer really matter?
Oxford University recently announced that Homer’s Iliad would be dropped from its Classics syllabus. Ferdie Rous speaks to Harry Mount, Oldie editor and author of Amo, Amas, Amat… And All That, who studied classics at Oxford, and James Pembroke, The Oldie’s publisher, and a fellow classics enthusiast.
Feb 27, 2020 · 36 min
50 years on Fleet Street – Mary Kenny
Mary Kenny, one of the founders of the Irish Women’s Liberation Movement, talks to The Oldie’s Ferdie Rous about her fifty years on Fleet Street, gender and Ireland's Brexit moment.
Feb 27, 2020 · 15 min
Sinclair McKay describes the horror of the Dresden firebombing
At the Oldie's February lunch, Sinclair McKay spoke about his new book, Dresden: the Fire and the Darkness.
Feb 27, 2020 · 18 min
Dan Cruickshank – a Londoner through and through
Dan Cruickshank spoke about his new book, Cruickshank’s London: A Portrait of a City in 13 Walks, at the Oldie's February lunch.
Feb 27, 2020 · 15 min
Lord Tugendhat explains the English origins of Nazism
At the Oldie's February lunch, Lord Tugendhat spoke about his new book, A History of Britain Through Books: 1900 ‑ 1964.
Feb 13, 2020 · 48 min
Rupert Bear – Gyles Brandreth's hero
Gyles Brandreth talks to The Oldie's Ferdie Rous about Rupert Bear, his love of words and why Shakespeare matters
Feb 13, 2020 · 12 min
Why Trump will win
James Fletcher, who's making a film, The Accidental President, talks to Harry Mount about the US election Image: A souvenir-seller at the Trump rally in Manchester, New Hampshire. Credit: James Fletcher
Feb 7, 2020 · 12 min
Who will be the Democratic candidate for President?
Oldie Editor Harry Mount talks to Philip Delves Broughton, former New York Correspondent for the Daily Telegraph and Ivo Dawnay, the former Washington bureau chief for the Daily Telegraph, about the Democratic Presidential primary in Iowa.
Feb 6, 2020 · 21 min
Are criminals responsible for their actions?
The Oldie's Ferdie Rous talks to author, former prison doctor and journalist Theodore Dalrymple. Dalrympe tells us about the psychology of crime and addiction, his love of Wales and why he rummages through litter.
Jan 23, 2020 · 24 min
Taking a Walk with Patrick Barkham
Author, Oldie columnist and nature writer Patrick Barkham talks to Ferdie Rous, The Oldie's Editorial Assistant, about the Scottish Highlands, HS2 and the need for parents to stay in touch with nature
Jan 16, 2020 · 22 min
Oberammergau – the town that promised God a play
The Oldie's Editorial Assistant Ferdie Rous talks to journalist, author and travel writer WIlliam Cook about Oberammergau's world-renowned passion play. Every 10 years, 500,000 people descend on this small Bavarian town to watch this extraordinary insight onto the seventeenth century.
Jan 3, 2020 · 26 min
I loved Kenny with all my everything
Actress and costar of the Kenny Everett Show, Cleo Rocos, tells Oldie Editor Harry Mount about her time working with Kenny Everett
Jan 2, 2020 · 28 min
Louis XIV – the king who loved war too much
Ferdie Rous talks to Philip Mansel, co-founder of The Society for Court Studies and the author of King of the World: The Life of Louis XIV, about the Sun King, Versailles and Louis's love of gardening.
Dec 5, 2019 · 19 min
Gyles Brandreth on Dancing by the Light of the Moon
Gyles Brandreth talks about his new book, Dancing by the Light of the Moon, at the Oldie's Christmas lunch. Learning poetry prevents dementia and helps improve language skills. Gyles Brandreth loves it
Dec 5, 2019 · 16 min
Victoria Hislop on Those who are loved
Victoria Hislop presented her book, Those who are loved, at the Oldie's Christmas lunch. The plot centres on Thenis, a woman born in Greece in the 1920s. It tells the story of Greece's twentieth century through the eyes of someone who lived it.
Dec 5, 2019 · 11 min
Philip Mansel on King of the World: The Life of Louis XIV
Philip Mansel talks about his new book, King of the World: The Life of Louis XIV, at the Oldie's Christmas lunch. Louis XIV was perhaps the most powerful person on earth in his day. But there is much more to him than the bon vivant and patron of the arts that we think we know.
Dec 5, 2019 · 46 min
Not the Nine O'Clock News recalled 40 years on
Welcome to the Oldie podcast with Harry Mount, editor of The Oldie. John Lloyd explains the disastrous beginnings of the show and how the 1979 election saved it.
Nov 25, 2019 · 16 min
Venus & Aphrodite: History of a Goddess by Bettany Hughes
Ferdie Rous, The Oldie's editorial assistant, speaks to celebrated historian and broadcaster Bettany Hughes about the extraordinary history of Venus-Aphrodite, the goddess of love. We reference a few paintings and sculptures throughout the podcast. Follow the links to find them. Ishtar, Inanna, Astarte Botticelli – The Birth of Venus; Venus & Mars Knidian Aphrodite Venus de Milo