The History Podcast

• Invisible Hands: 5. The Lucky Gambler

  James Goldsmith was a billionaire tycoon who thrived in the free-market revolution. He was a corporate raider who conquered both the City of London and Wall Street. He was a playboy – four wives, a host of mistresses and a reputation as outsized as a Bond villain. Then in 1987 he predicted a stock market crash and disappeared from the world stage. A few years later he turned up again, ready to tell the world something shocking. That everything he had believed about the free market was wrong. That a global elite had rigged the system and global capitalism was now stifling the very freedoms it promised to protect. That global free trade had led to a hollowing out of manufacturing towns and communities. That the nation state itself was being undermined.Then in 1997 he saw there was an election coming up in Britain. An election where he could spread his message that globalisation and global free trade had failed. An election that perhaps, more than any other, set the stage for Donald Trump. David Dimbleby traces the history of an idea that charts his lifespan. It started on a chicken farm in Sussex, gained traction in the shadows of post-war London and rose to heights of excess in the new champagne bars of the City. But who are the little-known people behind it? What did they want? And is the free market here to stay? Or are we entering a new era?Presenter: David Dimbleby Producer: Jo Barratt Sound Design: Peregrine Andrews Executive Producers: Joe Sykes and Dasha Lisitsina Story Editors: Joe Sykes and Dasha Lisitsina Commissioning Editor: Dan ClarkeA Samizdat Audio production for BBC Radio 4

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• Invisible Hands: 4. The Big Bang

  Thatcher and her capitalist dreamers' next big gamble was a radical shake-up of London’s financial sector. They called it Big Bang. Seemingly overnight, the stuffy old City of London was replaced by a fast-paced world of risk-takers, rule-breakers, and yuppies brandishing mobile phones the size of their head. It was a golden age of capitalism, where fortunes were made at lightning speed and the stakes were just as high. Nick Leeson was a working-class kid from Watford who arrived at just the right time. By 1995 he was a superstar trader. He was a poster boy for Thatcher’s Britain. Poor kid gets rich. But then something happened that turned him from a hero to a criminal on the run. Did the very thing that spurred on his success precipitate his downfall? And what did that mean for the Thatcherite revolution. This is a story of the boom and bust of the 80s.David Dimbleby traces the history of an idea that spans his life. It started on a chicken farm in Sussex, gained traction in the shadows of post-war London and rose to heights of excess in the new champagne bars of the City. It's 2025 and this once radical idea now defines every aspect of life in Britain. An idea that transformed the economy, politics and, ultimately, society itself.But how did it happen? Who are the little-known people behind it? What did they want? And - as Donald Trump threatens to overturn the global economic system - is the free market here to stay? Or are we entering a new era?Presenter: David Dimbleby Producer: Jo Barratt Executive Producers and Story Editors: Joe Sykes and Dasha Lisitsina Sound design: Peregrine Andrews Commissioning Editor: Dan ClarkeA Samizdat Audio production for BBC Radio 4

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• Invisible Hands: 3. Selling The Silver

  A young banker sits in front of a book full of balance sheets. Boring work. But he has come to a realisation. And it’s a realisation that will, in a few short years, transform Britain. This banker - John Redwood - had realised that the best way to turn the country into a free market paradise was to sell all the big industries owned by the state to the people of Britain. To create a nation of shareholders. The only problem? No one wanted to listen to him. This is the story of a radical experiment in free market capitalism. One that had never been tried before. And of one man with a vision and a set of spreadsheets. To remake the country and sell capitalism to the masses.David Dimbleby traces the history of an idea that spans his life. It started on a chicken farm in Sussex, gained traction in the shadows of post-war London and rose to heights of excess in the new champagne bars of the City. It's 2025 and this once radical idea now defines every aspect of life in Britain. An idea that transformed the economy, politics and, ultimately, society itself.But how did it happen? Who are the little-known people behind it? What did they want? And - as Donald Trump threatens to overturn the global economic system - is the free market here to stay? Or are we entering a new era?Presenter: David Dimbleby Producer: Jo Barratt Executive Producers and Story Editors: Joe Sykes and Dasha Lisitsina Sound design: Peregrine Andrews Commissioning Editor: Dan ClarkeA Samizdat Audio production for BBC Radio 4

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• Invisible Hands: 2. The Mad Monk

  A man throws up in a taxi on his way to an interview. He is nervous because he is about to make an argument. It’s an argument that would change politics forever.His name was Keith Joseph. And this would be the start of a radical journey - from conventional conservative politician to ideological warrior and guru for Margaret Thatcher. Joseph set out on a tour of the country. He had eggs thrown at him, Marxist flags waved in his face. He was spat at. Heckled. All because he was arguing for one thing - the free markets.David Dimbleby traces the history of an idea that spans his life. It started on a chicken farm in Sussex, gained traction in the shadows of post-war London and rose to heights of excess in the new champagne bars of the City. It's 2025 and this once radical idea now defines every aspect of life in Britain. An idea that transformed the economy, politics and, ultimately, society itself.But how did it happen? Who are the little-known people behind it? What did they want? And - as Donald Trump threatens to overturn the global economic system - is the free market here to stay? Or are we entering a new era?Presenter: David Dimbleby Producer: Jo Barratt Executive Producers and Story Editors: Joe Sykes and Dasha Lisitsina Sound design: Peregrine Andrews Commissioning Editor: Dan ClarkeA Samizdat Audio production for BBC Radio 4

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• Invisible Hands: 1. The Chicken Farmer

  A fighter pilot watches his brother plunge to his death in the Second World War. Grief-stricken, he vows to fight until his dying day for the cause of freedom. This man would return from war transformed and set out on a journey that would change Britain forever. He would dedicate his life to an idea. An idea that at the time was almost laughed at. That no one in positions of power dared talk about. That idea? Free-market capitalism. This is the story of the war hero turned chicken farmer who set the stage for Margaret Thatcher. In this new narrative series, David Dimbleby traces the history of the hidden force that changed Britain - the free market revolution - and the invisible hands that shaped it. It started on a chicken farm in Sussex, gained traction in the shadows of post-war London and rose to heights of excess in the new champagne bars of the City. It's 2025 and this once radical idea now defines every aspect of life in Britain. An idea that transformed the economy, politics and, ultimately, society itself. But how did it happen? Who are the little known people behind it? What did they want? And - as Donald Trump threatens to overturn the global economic system - is the free market here to stay? Or are we entering a new era?Presenter: David Dimbleby Producer: Jo Barratt Sound Design: Peregrine Andrews Executive Producers: Joe Sykes and Dasha Lisitsina Story Editor: Joe Sykes and Dasha Lisitsina Commissioning Editor: Dan ClarkeA Samizdat Audio production for BBC Radio 4

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