An evening with Kim Philby (186)

Cold War Conversations - "vivid & compelling" The NY Times

Ian Sanders

History, Documentary, Society & Culture

4.8 • 865 Ratings

🗓️ 6 July 2021

⏱️ 59 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Ben Brown is the writer of A Splinter of Ice, a play that portrays the meeting in Moscow in 1987 of one of the greatest novelists of the 20th century, Graham Greene and his old MI6 boss, Kim Philby, one of Britain's most notorious spies... and a traitor. Graham Greene never divulged any details of the meeting and Ben’s play imagines what might have been. We discuss the play, as well as how Philby and Greene’s lives intertwined. It’s a story of two men catching up on old times, but with a new world order breaking around them how much did the writer of The Third Man know about Philby's secret life as a spy? Did Philby betray his friend as well as his country..? A trailer and other videos are available in our episode notes here www.coldwarconversations.com/episode186/ If you have listened this far, I know you are enjoying the podcasts so I’m asking for one-off or monthly donations to support my work and enable me to continue producing the podcast. If you become a monthly supporter, you will get the sought after CWC coaster as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history. Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show. I am delighted to welcome Ben Brown to our Cold War conversation… There’s further information on this episode here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode186/ If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook. 0:00 Introduction to the episode and discussion on "A Splinter of Ice" 3:07 Deep dive into Kim Philby’s life, his relationship with Graham Green, and their portrayal in the media 17:25 Exploration of Philby's rise in the security services and overlooked communist credentials 25:05 Discussion on why Green left MI6 and the research used for the play 31:05 Examination of John La Carre's opinion of Philby and his influence on La Carre's work 35:04 Discussion on the political climate in the 1930s, the rise of fascism and its impact 44:59 Discussion on actors' preparation for their roles in the play 51:35 Exploration of Philby's life in Russia, his struggles and the role of Ruth in his life Table of contents powered by PodcastAI✨ Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/ Youtube https://youtube.com/@ColdWarConversations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Cold War Conversations, the home of real stories of the Cold War.
0:06.5	Tell me, Graham, why did you really come here?
0:09.9	What are you asking for, Graham?
0:12.4	My confession. Just the truth.
0:14.8	Now we're staying into forbidden territory.
0:20.4	This is Cold War Conversations. This is Cold War Conversations.
0:26.0	If you're new here, you've come to the right place to listen to first-hand Cold War history accounts.
0:32.7	Do make sure you follow us in your podcast app so you don't miss out on future episodes. Ben Brown is the
0:39.9	writer of A Splinter of Ice, a play that portrays the meeting of one of the greatest
0:45.5	novelists of the 20th century, Graham Green, and his old MI6 boss, Kim Filby, one of Britain's
0:52.9	most notorious spies and traitor.
0:57.2	Graham Green never divulged any details of the meeting, and Ben's play imagines what might have been.
1:04.2	We discussed the play, as well as how Philby and Green's lives were intertwined.
1:11.6	The play is set in Moscow in 1987 and it's a story of two men catching up on old times,
1:19.6	but with a new world order breaking around them,
1:22.6	how much did the writer of the third man know about Philby's secret life as a spy?
1:29.4	And did Philby betray his friend, as well as his country?
1:34.4	Cold War Conversations listeners can watch the play for only £12, discounted from £20.
1:41.9	Just go to our episode notes at cold warconversations.com slash episode 186.
1:50.2	If you've listened so far, I know that you are enjoying the podcast, so I'm asking for one-off
1:56.1	or monthly donations to support my work and enable me to continue producing the podcast. If you become a
2:04.0	monthly supporter, you will get the sought after Cold War Conversations coaster as a thank you
	...

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