#17 Robert Tombs: Learning from history, greatness, academic inertia and more

Professor Robert Tombs is one of the world’s most accomplished historians. Our conversation covered questions not just relevant to today but of concern to prior and future generations. Winston Churchill’s advice is to “Study history, study history. In history lies all the secrets of statecraft” but can we truly learn from history? What is the role of academia and professional historians in informing policy makers and voters? Does greatness play a role or are we all a product of our environment, geography, ideology and culture?From Marxism to the French Revolution and the Physiocrat school he populated the discussion with episodes from the past that serve as stories to guide us in understanding the world.As you will hear, our pilgrimage to Professor Tombs’ rooms in Cambridge included his generosity of insight from a life of study. I’m pleased to be able to share this conversation to a broader audience.Alongside numerous scholarly articles he is author of: That Sweet Enemy: The History of a Love-Hate relationship  (co-written with his Wife Isabel), The English and Their History, and This Sovereign Isle: Britain in and Out of Europe. He is currently working on a history of the Union between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.This podcast was produced by Matt Cooper (https://www.thisismattcooper.com/) with music composed by Loverman (Spotify).