Leadership and History: An Interview with Historian Dr. Andrew Roberts

In this episode, Garrison is joined by renowned British historian Dr. Andrew Roberts. They discuss portions from Dr. Roberts’ latest book “Leadership in War”, particularly Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the Falklands War; portions of Roberts’ most famous work “Churchill: Walking with Destiny” including Churchill’s use of history in overcoming the three great crises of his lifetime; how leadership lessons from these two eminent British leaders (and history broadly) are still relevant to leaders advocating for democracy today; and what role Britain can play in the “Anglosphere” and beyond in its new era of post-Brexit foreign policy. Prof Andrew Roberts took a first class honours degree in Modern History at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge, from where he is an honorary senior scholar and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). He is presently a Visiting Professor at the War Studies Department at King’s College, London and the Lehrman Institute Lecturer at the New-York Historical Society. He has written or edited nineteen books, which have been translated into 23 languages, and appears regularly on radio and television around the world. Based in London, he is an accomplished public speaker (see Speaking Engagements and Speaking Testimonials), and has delivered the White House Lecture, as well as speaking at Oxford, Cambridge, Yale, Princeton and Stanford Universities, and at The British Academy, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Sandhurst, Shrivenham and the US Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He is the Roger and Martha Mertz Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. His biography of Sir Winston Churchill, ‘Churchill: Walking With Destiny’, was published by Penguin in October 2018, became a Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller, was translated into nine languages, and won the ICS Churchill Award for Literacy and the Council on Foreign Relations’ Arthur Ross Prize. ‘In a single volume,’ Henry Kissinger wrote of it, ‘Roberts has captured the essence of one of the world’s most impactful, most memorable statesmen. ‘It is the crowning achievement of his career – and it will become the definitive biography of his subject.’ Roberts is interested in public policy and sits on the boards or advisory councils of a number of think-tanks, including Policy Exchange, The Centre for Policy Studies, The Canadian Institute for Jewish Research, The UK National Defence Association, The London Jewish Cultural Centre, and Intelligence Squared US’s Intelligence Council. He is a Director of the Harry Guggenheim Foundation in New York, a founder member of President Jose Maria Aznar’s Friends of Israel Committee (alongside Vaclav Havel, Lech Walesa), and in 2010 he chaired the Hessell-Tiltman Award for Non-Fiction. He is also Vice President-elect of the Guild of Battlefield Guides and countless other distinguished roles. Prof Roberts has two children; Henry, who was born in 1997 and Cassia, who was born in 1999. He lives in London with his wife, Susan Gilchrist, who is the Chief of Global Clients of the corporate communications firm Brunswick Group, and the Chair of the Southbank Centre. Garrison Moratto is the host of The New Diplomatist Podcast; he graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.Sc. in Government: Public Administration from Liberty University, where he is studying for a M.Sc. in International Affairs. All guest opinions are their own and not that of The New Diplomatist podcast formally.  Please subscribe and leave a review for feedback; join the podcast on Patreon for bonus perks.  Thank you for listening.