#594: How Churchill (and London) Survived the Blitz of 1940

The Art of Manliness

Society & Culture, Education, Philosophy

4.7 • 14.5K Ratings

🗓️ 18 March 2020

⏱️ 48 minutes

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Summary

A few months after Winston Churchill took office as prime minister, the German military began an eight month-long bombing campaign on the United Kingdom which became known as the Blitz. The bombing, which lasted for 57 consecutive days and nights, killed 45,000 Britons. What was life like for the people who experienced the Blitz? My guest today zoomed in on this question by looking at the lives of Winston Churchill and his inner circle during this precarious year of the war. His name is Erik Larson, and in his latest book The Splendid and the Vile, he shows readers how the Blitz could be absolutely terrifying, unexpectedly normal, and strangely beautiful at the same time, and does so by profiling how Churchill, as well as his family members and advisers, handled both the unexpected horrors of war and the predictable pickles of interpersonal drama. We begin our conversation discussing the extent of the Blitz, and then spend the rest of our conversation discussing key members in what Churchill called his "sacred circle." We learn how Churchill's wife Clementine supported her husband during the Blitz, how his son Randolph created trouble with his gambling and affairs, how his teenage daughter Mary managed to keep doing typically adolescent activities even while bombs fell on England, and how his advisors contributed to his leadership. These characters offer a great lesson in how life goes on even in the midst of a crisis, and how one can be fearless even in the face of a threat. Get the show notes at aom.is/larson.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Brett McKay here and welcome to know the edition of the Art of Manliness Podcast.
0:11.2	A few months after Winston Churchill took office as Prime Minister, the German military
0:14.8	began an eight-month-long bombing campaign on the United Kingdom which became known
0:18.3	as the Blitz.
0:19.3	The bombing, which lasted for 57 consecutive days and nights of a London, killed 45,000
0:24.2	Britons.
0:25.2	What was life like for the people who experienced the Blitz?
0:27.5	My guest stays zoomed in on this question by looking the lives of Winston Churchill and
0:30.8	his inner circle during this precarious year of the war.
0:33.5	His name is Eric Larson and in his latest book, The Splendid in the Vile, he shows readers
0:37.2	how the Blitz could be absolutely terrifying, unexpectedly normal, and strangely beautiful
0:41.3	at the same time, and does so by profiling how Churchill, as well as his family members
0:45.4	and advisors, handle both the unexpected horrors of war and the predictable pickles of interpersonal
0:50.0	drama.
0:51.0	We began our conversation discussing the extended blitz and then spent the rest of our conversation
0:54.5	discussing key members and what Churchill called his sacred circle.
0:57.4	We learned how Churchill's wife Clementine supported her husband during the blitz, how his
1:00.9	son Randolph created trouble with his gambling and affairs, how his teenage daughter Mary
1:04.8	managed to keep doing typically adolescent activities, even while bombs fell on London, and
1:08.8	how his advisors contributed to his leadership.
1:11.2	These characters offer a great lesson in how life goes on, even in the midst of a crisis,
1:15.2	and how one can be fearless, even in the face of a threat.
	...

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