RN Presents

Dec 18 2024 71 ep. 31 mins 2.7k
RN Presents Podcast artwork

For Radio National Summer, a special series The Books That Changed Us. The Books That Changed Us asks how and why some books rose above others to shape the collective mind of the 20th century.  From stories of disease outbreaks to myths of war and understanding how power actually works — RN Presents is the home of great storytelling that helps you better understand what’s going on in the world.

  Society & Culture
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05 The Books That Changed Us — The Female Eunuch

Dec 18 2024 28 mins  
She told women they'd been objectified, stereotyped, sold a middle-class myth of romance and marriage and that another, better, life could be had. The Female Eunuch by the Australian feminist Germaine Greer was published in 1970 and became a blockbuster feminist text. Greer's defiant and controversial thinking reframed relationships between women and men, but 55 years on, how doe

04 The Books That Changed Us — Silent Spring

Dec 18 2024 28 mins  
The extraordinary story of a lowly-paid public servant who launched an environmental conservation movement and became an unlikely 1960s pop culture icon. Using a combination of lyrical writing and fact driven journalism, when Rachel Carson's Silent Spring was published in 1963 it alerted the world to the dangers of the overuse of the pesticide DDT. The book was embraced by the bur

03 The Books that Changed Us — Hiroshima

Dec 18 2024 28 mins  
John Hersey's Hiroshima revealed the true horror of the 1945 nuclear bombing of Japan. Following the lives of six ordinary people from the moment of impact, the American journalist brought home the reality of the destruction and suffering caused by the atomic bombings. First published in The New Yorker Magazine in 1946 it soon came out as a standalone book and became a bestseller

02 The Books That Changed Us — How to Win Friends and Influence People

Dec 18 2024 28 mins  
Championed by business tycoon Warren Buffett, utilised by former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and exploited by the murderous cult leader, Charles Manson, the self help book, How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie is almost 90 and has sold many millions of copies since 1936. It was a surprise bestseller when it was first published in depression era United Stat

01 The Books that Changed Us — The Interpretation of Dreams

Dec 18 2024 28 mins  
The Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud introduced us to the concepts of the unconscious, hidden desires and repressed sexuality and is the first in our new series, The Books That Changed Us which takes a fresh look at five influential books of the 20th century. The series begins with a book that was published at the dawn of the 20th century and is coming up to its 125th ann

06 | The King of Kowloon — Reinvention

Aug 04 2022 31 mins  
In this final episode of The King of Kowloon, Hong Kong is being remade at warp speed. In this national security era, its politicians have been jailed and its citizens are moving overseas into exile. Yet even in this new age, there is a resurgence in interest — and attention — in that eccentric old icon, the King of Kowloon, who still has lessons for Hong Kongers. With thanks

05 | The King of Kowloon — Defiance

Jul 28 2022 28 mins  
On June 9, 2019, Hong Kong convulses, as a million people march on the streets in protest against a proposed extradition law. The King had used his misshapen calligraphy to speak of dispossession, and now his descendants are doing the same. Millions of colourful post-it notes cover the city, protesting the end of Hong Kong's autonomy and rule of law. Art is everywhere, serving as a

04 | The King of Kowloon — Legacy

Jul 21 2022 28 mins  
The King of Kowloon is an old man now; lying frail in a hospital bed. Outside, on the streets, there is trouble. A protest at the demolition of Queen's Pier, then another at a street famous for printing wedding cards. Popular anger coalesces around the destruction of physical sites, then shifts into a battle about ideas and values. Hong Kongers begin to discover their legacy of res

03 | The King of Kowloon — Search

Jul 14 2022 26 mins  
In 2000, Hong Kong has been under Chinese rule for three years. At first glance, it seems that not much has changed. The King's star continues to rise — no longer seen as a dishevelled old crank, he is an artist, a fashion muse, a star of TV advertisements. The King is now a commodity — loved by everyone. Except for those that matter most to him.

02 | The King of Kowloon — Transition

Jul 07 2022 29 mins  
As Hong Kong hurtles towards the transition from British colony to Chinese territory, the king becomes an unlikely celebrity artist. Governor Chris Patten prepares to hand back Hong Kong to the Chinese, and as talks between the global powers take place, the people of Hong Kong are consigned to be spectators, powerless over their own future. Louisa continues her quest to discover th