Frederick the Great of Prussia
You're Dead to Me
BBC
4.7 • 11.8K Ratings
🗓️ 10 June 2022
⏱️ 62 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Greg Jenner is joined by special guests Stephen Fry and Dr Bodie Ashton as they travel back to 18th-century Prussia to meet Frederick the Great.
Widely known for making Prussia a military power while modernising and liberalising culture, Frederick was a complicated character, shaped by a tragic childhood ruled by his cruel father. We uncover why he wasn’t the greatest ally to neighbouring countries, and why forks enraged his father - and answer the crucial question of whether it's King of Prussia or King in Prussia.
Written and produced by Emma Nagouse and Greg Jenner Assistant Producer: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow Research by Claudia Treacher Project Management: Siefe Miyo Audio Producer: Abi Paterson
The Athletic production for BBC Radio 4
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds Music Radio Podcasts |
| 0:06.0 | Hello and welcome to your Dead To Me, the Radio 4 comedy podcast that takes history seriously. |
| 0:11.2 | My name is Greg Jenner, I'm a public historian, author and broadcaster and I was the chief |
| 0:15.6 | nerd on the BBC comedy show Horrible Histories. |
| 0:18.4 | And today we are promenading into the 18th century to Prussia to uncover the fascinating |
| 0:23.0 | life of King Frederick the Great and to do that I am joined by two very special guests. |
| 0:29.1 | In History Corner, he is a lecturer in modern German history at the University of |
| 0:32.5 | Earthfoot in Germany with expertise in political, social and LGBTQ histories. |
| 0:38.8 | He has written a ton of academic publications including his book The Kingdom of Verson |
| 0:43.1 | Burg and the Making of Germany. |
| 0:45.3 | It's Dr Bodhi Ashton, welcome Bodhi. |
| 0:47.6 | Hi Greg, it's pleasure to be here in spite of your German pronunciation. |
| 0:51.3 | Oh come on, I did my best. |
| 0:55.7 | And in Comedy Corner, well it's a man who needs no introduction. |
| 0:58.5 | He is simply one of the finest comic minds of my lifetime. |
| 1:01.2 | He's a writer, performer, broadcaster, director and of course internationally renowned tap |
| 1:05.3 | dancer. |
| 1:06.3 | Okay, maybe not the last one. |
| 1:07.8 | Welcome to the podcast, Mr Steven Fry. |
| 1:10.1 | Thank you very much, you pronounced every word perfectly I thought. |
| 1:13.6 | Thank you. |
| 1:15.6 | Yeah, it's Stefan Fri, right? |
... |
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