The obituarist here is the great Mark Steyn. When not contemplating the dishonesty of the left and the decline of western civilization, he writes some of the most interesting and most entertaining obituaries ever published. Here he is visiting with us in 2007 and chatting about various exemplary and appalling recently concluded lives including Ronald Reagan, Princess Margaret, Idi  Amin, Bob Hope, the son of Benito Mussolini, and the guy who invented Cool Whip.

…is either directly or inversely related to its length. Thus, taking two great clichés about history, if Santayana  (“those who forget history are condemned to repeat it”) is true or false then Henry Ford (“history is bunk”) is correspondingly false or true. Whether concerning history, politics, love, wealth or life itself (“life is a bitch and then you die”), the thousands (millions?) of aphorisms, maxims and wise saws are the stuff of conversation and argument.

Our guest Professor Gary Saul Morson collects them and writes books about them and in this conversation we kick many of them around, pondering their correct attribution and incidentally asking: Is it true or false, partially or universally, and who handled the truth of the matter better than this?

Robert Hughes was for many years the art critic for Time magazine. At the same time he was, as an Australian, an émigré to the United States who studied and deeply understood our culture, history and politics. He was one of the most fascinating talkers we ever had on the program and here he is in brilliant form, in a 2006 conversation.

…the more it will go on changing. That is the one great truth that stands out when historians examine one another on their respective fields. Here from a 2005 conversation we bring together an historian of Russia, another who specializes in Tudor England, and a third who specializes in Catholicism in 19th century France. Great stories abound and the tale goes on, as yesterday continues to shape today.

Thus from the beginnings of World War II to Blair’s entry of the UK into Iraq. One of the great generation of post-war British historians, Cannadine in this 2003 conversation combines wonderful stories in high narrative style with a rich theory of the changing nature of British politics and culture. The show includes some wonderful sound clips of Churchill at the top of his form as war leader.