AfterWords

In February 1910, the future Virginia Woolf played the most famous practical joke in British military history. Blackening her face and masquerading as an Abyssinian prince, the young writer and her friends conned their way onto HMS Dreadnought, the Empire’s most powerful battleship. 'The Girl Prince' is a tantalisingly fresh take on the iconic writer and her deeply problematic stunt, as well as he...

Born in Kolkata shortly before Indian independence, Mihir Bose still feels enormous gratitude towards Mr Crombie of the UK’s Home Office, who confirmed his permanent resident’s rights in 1975. In this episode, join Mihir, the BBC’s first sports editor and first non-white editor, and Sarah Sands, author and Deputy Chair of the British Council, in conversation about his book ‘Thank You Mr Crombie’....

In an increasingly dystopian world, 'Negotiating with the Devil' by Pierre Hazan takes readers inside the world of armed conflict mediation, offering insight into the political and ethical ‘red lines’ that shape talks with armed interlocutors, be they states or insurgents. In this episode, listen to Pierre and Victor Mallet in conversation about the high-stakes process of conflict mediation, the r...

'The Great Indian Food Trip' is an entertaining, erudite adventure of eating, drinking and travelling. This is how Swedish novelist, rock musician and author Zac O’Yeah has come to understand the Indian subcontinent, his home of thirty years. In this episode, listen to Zac in conversation with writer and journalist Samanth Subramanian about the book, Zac’s love of food, his most memorable meals du...

We are in a new age of terror, with self-radicalising, hard-to-categorise individuals planning violence. Since the Westminster Bridge attack in 2017, more than 40 terror attacks have been foiled by the security services. 'Plotters' by journalist Lizzie Dearden is an eye-opening account of the British terror attacks you’ve never heard of—because the perpetrators were caught in time. In this episode...

As floods and fires rage across the planet, more people are embracing nonviolent action to achieve political change. Can it work? In ‘Sorry for the Inconvenience But This Is an Emergency’ doctor and aid worker Lynne Jones offers a compelling, ground-level account of the last five years of UK protests, exploring how and why ordinary citizens have adopted extraordinary methods to confront the climat...

From Brazilian favelas and campgrounds in Nigeria to megachurches in Ukraine and South Korea, Pentecostal Christianity is taking over the world. ‘Beyond Belief’ by writer and journalist Elle Hardy exposes the Pentecostal agenda and its sway over politics and society around the world. In this episode listen to Elle in conversation with journalist and author Katherine Stewart about how Pentecostalis...

You cannot understand the historic events of 2022 without understanding Volodymyr Zelensky. But the Zelensky effect is less about the man himself than about the civic nation he embodies: what makes Zelensky most extraordinary in war is his very ordinariness as a Ukrainian. ‘The Zelensky Effect’ by Olga Onuch and Henry E. Hale tells the story of Ukraine through the journey of the man who has come t...

Please note that this episode contains graphic depictions of violence, racism, and sexual assault, which listeners may find disturbing. Rohingya men, women and children have been fleeing their homes for forty years and are now almost entirely in exile. ‘I Feel No Peace’ by Guardian journalist Kaamil Ahmed is the first book-length exploration of Rohingya lives abroad, drawing on hundreds of hours o...

Has any war in history gone according to plan? Monarchs, dictators and elected leaders alike have a dismal record on military decision-making, from over-ambitious goals to disregarding intelligence, terrain, or enemy capabilities. ‘How to Fight a War’ by former army officer and author Mike Martin is a crisp indispensable guide to understanding modern warfare. In this episode, listen to Mike in con...

Maharajah Ranjit Singh’s Sikh Empire stretched throughout north-western India into Afghanistan and Tibet. But how did one royal family come to achieve such pre-eminence over this entire region? Historian Priya Atwal’s dazzling book ‘Royals and Rebels: The Rise and Fall of the Sikh Empire’ blasts through centuries of Orientalist and misogynist history to shed new light on the forgotten royals who a...

Over Britain’s first century of mass democracy, politics has lurched from crisis to crisis. A Times Book of the Year, ‘The Death of Consensus’ by writer and documentary-maker Phil Tinline brings to life those times, past and present, when the consensus—or the great compromise holding democracy together—has come apart, and the political class has been forced to make a choice of nightmares. In this...

AfterWords returns on 20th October 2023. In this series, listen to lively discussions between Hurst authors, journalists and leading experts as they interrogate the stories behind thought-provoking books. You’ll hear about how Pentecostal Christianity is taking over the world; the rise and fall of the Sikh empire; a hundred years of British political nightmares; whether any war in history has gone...

From Notre-Dame cathedral to the Houses of Parliament, the buildings Europeans have come to love may not be so European after all. A Spectator ‘Book of the Year’, Stealing from the Saracens by Diana Darke is the fascinating tale of cultural exchange, shedding new light on some of Europe’s greatest landmarks. In today’s episode Diana and Quilt. Ai’s Angad Singh Chowdhry will be discussing the ‘borr...

We live in an era of big brands. Companies that wield incredible power and influence around the world. But as we all know, with great power comes great responsibility… Can companies do more than generate profits in the poorest and most fragile parts of the world? Should they move beyond simply ‘doing no harm’? In her book 'Corporate Peace', Mary Martin shows how big business is increasingly import...

China’s millennials feel stuck. They are caught between the country’s authoritarian politics, hypermodern technology, and economic boom. In her raw and revealing memoir, Under Red Skies, Karoline Kan turns to the three generations of women in her family to understand the ever-changing China she grew up in. In this episode, listen to Karoline in conversation with Quilt. Ai’s Angad Singh Chowdhry ab...

Artificial Intelligence is going to war … but what happens to the ‘art of war’ as machines enter the battlefield? ‘I, Warbot’ by Kenneth Payne is an engrossing look at the new frontier in AI, and how it will change conflict forever. In this episode, listen to Kenneth in conversation with Angad Singh Chowdhry, co-founder of Quilt. AI, about how Artificial Intelligence and war have been shaped by on...

When it comes to climate change, we’re not all in it together. From New Orleans to Bangladesh, women—especially poor women of colour— are suffering most from a crisis they have done nothing to cause. ‘How Women Can Save The Planet’ by Anne Karpf is a smart, bold and inclusive call to arms: we can fix the climate emergency by fighting for gender equality. In this episode, listen to Anne Karpf in co...

‘The People on the Beach’ by Rosie Whitehouse is a vivid history tracing the Holocaust survivors who risked everything for a new life in Palestine. Listen to Rosie in conversation with Angad Singh Chowdhry, co-founder of Quilt. AI, about who the people on the beach were, how they fled Europe—and why—and the way in which the Holocaust is remembered today. For more visit hurstpublishers.com

Season 3 is hosted by Dr Angad Singh Chowdhry, anthropologist, entrepreneur, and the co-founder of Quilt. AI, a tech company that uses data and artificial intelligence to understand people better. In each episode, Angad will be in conversation with one of our authors as they explore human behaviour. Learn about the Holocaust survivors who risked everything for a new life in Palestine with Rosie Wh...

Kim Jong Un and the Bomb by Ankit Panda is the extraordinary story of how a small, poor country became a nuclear power—and why we will have to live with it. Listen to Ankit in conversation with Tom Plant, director of proliferation and nuclear policy at RUSI, about the history of nuclear weapons in North Korea, why the programme is so important to Kim Jong Un, and what a nuclear armed North Korea m...

The Great Decoupling by Nigel Inkster explores the growing technological rivalry between China and the United States. Listen to Nigel in conversation with Kerry Brown, specialist in Chinese international relations, history and politics, about the contest between the two countries and how the outcome will shape twenty-first century geopolitics. For more visit hurstpublishers.com

African Europeans by Olivette Otele is a dazzling history revealing old and diverse links between the two continents. In this episode, listen to Olivette and historian and broadcaster Kate Williams discuss a landmark account of a crucial thread in Europe’s complex history. For more visit hurstpublishers.com

The Son King by Madawi Al-Rasheed is a blistering new book revealing the ruthless repression in MBS’ Saudi Arabia. In this episode, listen to Madawi in conversation with writer and historian Justin Marozzi about the dangerous contradictions at the heart of the Saudi regime.