Can the West Hold Together? Lessons from WWII with Tim Bouverie and Michael Gove (Part One)

Intelligence Squared

Arts, News, Society & Culture, News Commentary

4.2 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 12 October 2025

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

‘There is only one thing worse than fighting with allies, and that is fighting without them.’ – Winston Churchill In a world where geopolitical alliances are fraying and tensions are rising, what can the fragile coalition that defeated Hitler teach us about the challenges facing the West today? In September 2025 historian Tim Bouverie came to the Intelligence Squared stage to discuss his Sunday Times bestselling book Allies at War: The Politics of Defeating Hitler. In conversation with Editor of The Spectator Michael Gove, Bouverie described how Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin overcame deep ideological differences and strategic rivalries to form a fragile but ultimately victorious alliance against Nazi Germany. Now, with Donald Trump threatening to abandon NATO, Vladimir Putin intent on exploiting Western fissures, and democratic nations questioning their own cohesion, the lessons of WWII’s Grand Alliance have never felt more relevant. ---- s is the first instalment of a two-part episode. If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full ad free conversations, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. For £4.99 per month you'll also receive: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events ... Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series … Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. … Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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0:23.3	like you sign up for your one dollar a month trial at shopify dot com slash setup welcome to
0:30.9	intelligence squared where great minds meet i'm producer mea serenti in a world where geopolitical alliances are fraying and tensions
0:40.3	are rising, what can the fragile coalition that defeated Hitler teaches about the challenges facing the West today?
0:47.3	Today's episode is part one of our recent live event, Can the West Hold Together, with historian Tim Bouvry, an editor of the spectator, Michael Gove.
0:56.4	Live in London in September,
0:58.2	Bovary drew on his new book,
1:00.2	Allies at War, the Politics of Defeating Hitler,
1:03.2	to explore how Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin
1:06.1	overcame deep ideological differences and strategic rivalries
1:10.2	to form a fragile but ultimately victorious alliance
1:13.3	against Nazi Germany. With Donald Trump threatening to abandon NATO, Vladimir Putin intent
1:19.4	on exploiting Western Fishes and democratic nations questioning their own cohesion, the lessons
1:24.7	of World War II's Grand Alliance have never felt more relevant.
1:28.5	If you'd like to listen to this episode in full and ad-free, why not consider becoming
1:32.9	an Intelligence Squared member at Intelligencesquared.com forward slash membership, or you can tap
1:38.5	the IQ2 extra button on Apple. Now, let's join our host, Michael Gove, with more.
1:48.0	Tim's book, Allies at War, is the second in what's envisaged as a trilogy,
	...

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