The Oldie Podcast: BSO Christmas Crackers Concert is in its 5th decade - Harry Bucknall
Pete Harrison, guest conductor for the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra's Christmas Crackers concert tells Harry Bucknall that the show will go on. BSO will welcome audiences to the December 19 Christmas concert which will be streamed live and available for download to enjoy at any time. Singer Laura Tebbutt is thrilled to return to the stage with for the first time since 1st March.  For tickets...
26m Dec 10, 2020
26m
Craig Brown and Friends – a Hilarious Oldie Podcast
Britain's funniest writer, Craig Brown, has asked his pals to record some of his greatest hits. Starring Richard Ingrams as Prince Philip, Eleanor Bron as Jilly Cooper, AN Wilson as Alan Titchmarsh, Craig Brown and Tallulah Brown as Downton Abbey's Lord and Lady Grantham, and Paul Bailey as John Gielgud
55m Nov 20, 2020
55m
Barry Cryer, Comedy Legend – Oldie Podcast
At 85, Barry Cryer has worked with them all, from Bob Hope to Morecambe & Wise. In this uproariously funny interview, he recalls a lifetime of laughs with Harry Bucknall
22m Nov 08, 2020
22m
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
25m Mar 17, 2020
25m
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
30m Mar 12, 2020
30m
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.
21m Mar 05, 2020
21m
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.
36m Feb 27, 2020
36m
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.
16m Feb 27, 2020
16m
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.
18m Feb 27, 2020
18m
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.
15m Feb 27, 2020
15m
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
48m Feb 13, 2020
48m
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
12m Feb 13, 2020
12m
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.
13m Feb 07, 2020
13m
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.
21m Feb 06, 2020
21m
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
24m Jan 23, 2020
24m
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.
23m Jan 16, 2020
23m
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
26m Jan 03, 2020
26m
Louis XIV – the king who loved war too much
Ferdie Rous talks to Philip Mansel (http://www.philipmansel.com/) , co-founder of The Society for Court Studies (http://www.courtstudies.org/about-us.htm) and the author of King of the World: The Life of Louis XIV (https://www.amazon.co.uk/King-World-Life-Louis-XIV/dp/1846145996/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=king+of+the+world&qid=1577967760&sr=8-1) , about the Sun King, Versailles and Louis's love of gar...
29m Jan 02, 2020
29m
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
20m Dec 05, 2019
20m
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.
17m Dec 05, 2019
17m
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.
12m Dec 05, 2019
12m
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.
46m Dec 05, 2019
46m
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 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Ishtar_vase#/media/File:Ishtar_vase_Louvre_AO17000.jpg) , Inanna...
17m Nov 25, 2019
17m
Scott of the Antarctic: hero or bungler?
The Oldie's editorial assistant, Ferdie Rous, talks to acclaimed author and travel-writer Sara Wheeler about 200 years of Antarctic exploration. Sara Wheeler's new book, Mud and Stars: Travels in Russia with Pushkin and Other Geniuses of the Golden Age (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mud-Stars-Travels-Pushkin-Geniuses/dp/0224098012) , published by Jonathan Cape, is out now.
31m Nov 19, 2019
31m
Lloyd George nearly lost us the war
Simon Heffer speaks at an Oldie literary lunch about the Staring at God: Britain during the Great War. He tells of the political class's inability to deal with the pressures of the war, how women were far more than the munitionettes of popular imagination and the extent of the cultural changes brought on by the war.
13m Nov 07, 2019
13m
A Sparrow's Life as Sweet as Ours
John McEwen and Carry Akroyd talk about the bird-infested history of the Douglas Home family, the sex life of the Great Bustard and how best to portray birds in art.
13m Nov 07, 2019
13m
What were the three traumas of London's history?
Simon Jenkins speaks at the Oldie Literary Lunch about the three traumas of London's history, how London was shaped by the free market and the city corporation and the importance of separating money from power.
17m Nov 07, 2019
17m
Troy – the cradle of a thousand heroes and heroines
The Oldie's Editor Harry Mount talks to Times and Telegraph regular Hannah Betts about Troy, Homer and the mixed legacy of Heinrich Schliemann, who rediscovered it. Troy: Myth and Reality is on at the British Museum between 21st November and 8th March 2020
22m Oct 23, 2019
22m
34: Gamesmanship and other Potterisms
Welcome to the Oldie podcast with Harry Mount, the editor of The Oldie. This month we have a fantastic piece by Damian Thompson in the magazine about Stephen Potter, the inventor of Gamesmanship. Damian is a senior journalist who has worked at the Telegraph and the Catholic Herald, and is the associate editor of the Spectator.
16m Oct 16, 2019
16m
Wiliam Dalrymple – The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company
Historian, travel-writer and bestselling author William Dalrymple, talks to the Oldie's Editorial Assistant Ferdie Rous about the rise of The East India Company, corporate violence and imperial nostalgia. Dalrymple's new book, The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company, is published by Bloomsbury. The book tells two stories: the rise of the East India Company and the fall of the...
49m Oct 10, 2019
49m
Was Maggie Thatcher a prude? asks Charles Moore
Charles Moore talks about the third and last part of his biography of Margaret Thatcher at the Oldie's October lunch. Moore talked about Thatcher's innocence of matters sexual, her run in with Monty Python and her meeting with Nelson Mandela.
17m Oct 10, 2019
17m
A N Wilson on the man who saved the Monarchy
A N Wilson talks about Prince Albert: The Man Who Saved The Monarchy at the Oldie's October lunch. We don't appreciate how much Britain owes Albert. From Albertopolis to the Great Exhibition and beyond, Wilson gives a fascinating insight into this short-lived royal.
9m Oct 10, 2019
9m
33: Peter Hitchens: we won the war, or did we?
Welcome to this edition of the Oldie podcast.   Ferdie Rous, The Oldie's Editorial Assistant, speaks to author, commentator and Mail on Sunday columnist, Peter Hitchens, about his new book, The Phoney Victory: The World War II Delusion, which challenges some of our most deeply held beliefs about the Second World War, which began 80 years ago this month.
37m Sep 20, 2019
37m
32: October Issue: Abbey Road – The Beatles's Best Studio Album?
Welcome to the Oldie’s October podcast.   50 years ago, on the 26th September, The Beatles’s Abbey Road album was first released. Today, we are joined by veteran-journalist and the Beatles’s only authorised biographer, Hunter Davies, who shadowed the Beatles as they wrote and recorded what many consider to be their best studio album.
31m Sep 12, 2019
31m
31: October Issue: Dominic Green's Downton Abbey Suit
Oldie Editor, Harry Mount, speaks to Dominic Green – Life & Arts Editor at the Spectator USA and regular contributor to The Oldie's Letter from America Column – about his new suit, which made from the same material used for Lord Grantham's valet in the new Downton Abbey film.
13m Sep 10, 2019
13m
September Issue: Toffs vs Servants in Upstairs, Downstairs and Downton Abbey
Welcome to the Oldie's September podcast with Harry Mount the editor of The Oldie and the actor, Simon Williams, who played Captain Bellamy in Upstairs, Downstairs and has written a piece about the class dynamic in Downton Abbey for the latest issue of The Oldie.
13m Aug 20, 2019
13m
30: David Kynaston and Francis Green on Britain's educational apartheid
What is the funding gap between private and state schools? Is there equal educational opportunity? How can we end Britain's educational apartheid? David Kynaston and Francis Green ask the questions and they have an answer. They examine the impact of private schools on public life. They spoke at the Oldie's August lunch about their book Engines of Privilege: Britain's Private School Problem, pub...
13m Aug 16, 2019
13m
29: Douglas Carswell's manifesto for optimism
The world is getting better. Amid the doom and gloom of the news, things are actually pretty good, says Douglas Carswell. In this talk, Carswell charts the history of human progress and explains how we have held ourselves back. Douglas Carswell spoke at the Oldie's August lunch about his new book Progress vs Parasites: A Brief History of the Conflict That's Shaped Our World, published by Head o...
12m Aug 16, 2019
12m
29: Anne de Courcy on Chanel's saucy secrets
What is the difference between Old Masters and old mistresses? Where did Chanel put her No. 5? Whose yacht was called the 'floating double-bed'? Anne de Courcy examines life in the French Riviera before and during the war. Her new book, Chanel's Riviera: Life, Love and the Struggle for Survival on the Côte d’Azur, 1930–1944, is published by W&N.
12m Aug 16, 2019
12m
28: August Issue: Granny, I hardly knew you
Welcome to August Issue of the Oldie podcast. George Courtauld, a former Queen's messenger and bestselling writer of The Travels of a Fat Bulldog, has penned a delightful piece about discovering his grandmother Daisy Dobell's diaries in his attic. He speaks to The Oldie's editorial assistant Ferdie Rous about his grandmother: her childhood, why she earned the nickname – 'Naughty Daisy' – and he...
15m Jul 12, 2019
15m
27: Tim Waterstone on how he built his brand
Introduced by Barry Cryer, Sir Tim Waterstone spoke at the Oldie's July lunch about what inspired him to create Waterstones, the difficulty of getting funding for it and a set-to with a journalist in the 90s. His book is The Face Pressed Against a Window: A Memoir.
13m Jul 12, 2019
13m
Antony Beevor on the British obsession with Operation Market Garden
Introduced by Barry Cryer, Sir Antony Beevor spoke at the Oldie's July lunch about the British fascination with defeat, the disaster at Arnhem bridge and Field Marshal Montgomery's appalling behaviour before, during and after the battle. Antony Beevor's book is Arnhem: The Battle for the Bridges, 1944.
14m Jul 12, 2019
14m
26: Anna Pasternak speaks about the kindhearted Wallis Simpson
Introduced by Barry Cryer, Anna Pasternak speaks at the Oldie's July lunch. Looking past the steely scheming facade that is so familiar  the public, Pasternak praised the better side of one of the most hated royals. Anna Pasternak's book is Untitled: The Real Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor.
12m Jul 12, 2019
12m
25: July Issue: Barry Cryer on 60 years in comedy
Welcome to the July issue of the Oldie podcast. Harry Mount editor of The Oldie speaks to the comic genius Barry Cryer, who has been working in comedy since 1957. Here Barry Cryer talks about his life as a raconteur, the art of the perfect punchline and the beginnings of any good gag.
28m Jun 11, 2019
28m
25: Why did Lord Carrington hate Boris Johnson?
Christopher Lee speaks at the Oldie Literary Lunch about Lord Carrington: his peculiarly-named dogs, how he came to be 'an honourable man', and why he hated Boris. His new book Carrington: An Honourable Man was published by Viking books.
10m Jun 11, 2019
10m
24: Rachel Kelly outlines the three things that helped her beat depression
Introduced by Barry Cryer, Rachel Kelly spoke about her experiences with depression and anxiety, and how she beat them. Her new book, Singing in the rain: A Happiness Workbook​,​ published by Short books, outlines a series of exercises that can give you a sense of purpose.
11m Jun 11, 2019
11m
23: Chris Mullin on the prescience of A Very British Coup
Introduced by Barry Cryer, former MP Chris Mullin speaks at the Oldie's  June lunch about an encounter with George W Bush, the story behind his bestselling hit, A Very British Coup, and why he wrote a sequel to it. His new book, The Friends of Harry Perkins, was published by Scribner UK.
11m Jun 11, 2019
11m
22: Sara Lodge on singing Edward Lear
Sara Lodge, former speechwriter to Kofi Annan and author of Inventing Edward Lear, speaks at the Oldie Literary Lunch at Cholmondeley Castle about the hidden gems of Edward Lear: the links between pathos and absurdity in his poetry, his under-regarded art and the Owl and the Pussycat's sombre sequel.
11m May 22, 2019
11m
21: Adrian Tinniswood on the Queen Mother's steady drinking
Adrian Tinniswood, author of Behind the Throne: A Domestic History of the British Royal Household, speaks about the man who got Prince Albert killed, the steady drinking of the Queen Mother and what makes the sovereign different, at the Sandstone Ridge Festival's Oldie Literary Lunch.
12m May 22, 2019
12m
20: Getting through D-Day – Giles Milton talks Eisenhower, Pegasus Bridge and Rommel
Welcome to the Oldie's June Podcast. D-Day took place 75 years ago on the 6th June. It was the largest invasion in military history. 7,000 vessels, 156,000 personnel and 1,200 planes and gliders were involved. Historian and bestselling author of D-Day: The Soldiers' Story (https://www.amazon.co.uk/D-Day-Soldiers-Story-Giles-Milton/dp/1473649048/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_2_sspa?keywords=D-Day%3A+The+S...
22m May 14, 2019
22m