Jonathan Freedland on The Secret Rebels who Defied Hitler (Part Two)

Intelligence Squared

News, Society & Culture, Arts, News Commentary

4.2 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 9 January 2026

⏱️ 36 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist, broadcaster, and author of the widely acclaimed book The Escape Artist which tells the remarkable story of Rudolf Vrba and fellow inmate Alfred Wetzler who became the very first Jews to successfully escape Auschwitz. In October 2025 he came to the Intelligence Squared stage to discuss his new book, The Traitors Circle, an astonishing story from the same era. This is a story of a group of rebels within Germany who had secretly opposed the Nazi regime for the best part of a decade, operating in the shadows, performing perilous acts of resistance, saving lives. It is also the story of their betrayal. In conversation with Jenny Kleeman, Freedland uncovered this almost forgotten story of resistance, bravery and its profound message about choosing to stand up to tyranny, which has a deep moral resonance for our own time. --- 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

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hi everyone, I'm Connor, head of programming at Intelligence Squared. As we head in to the
0:05.5	festive season, what is for many of us a time of comfort, celebration and gatherings round a table,
0:11.9	most of us won't think twice about the clean water running from our taps that make it all possible.
0:17.7	But for millions of people around the world, this is something they simply don't have.
0:23.1	That's why here at the Intelligence Squared podcast, we're proud to partner with WaterAid,
0:27.8	a charity working to change this and to shine a spotlight on something that connects us all.
0:33.2	In a special episode of our podcast, journalist Cocoa Kan speaks to Amica Godfrey, WaterAids Executive Director of International Programs.
0:42.6	Amica has spent more than 25 years working across the world in the water, sanitation and hygiene sector.
0:49.3	She shares powerful stories about how clean water keeps children in school,
0:56.9	helps mothers support their families or run businesses,
0:59.7	and unlocks potential for entire communities.
1:03.5	To hear the full conversation, just search Intelligence Squared, wherever you get your podcasts,
1:05.6	and listen to the episode titled Everything Starts with Water,
1:09.1	released on the 17th of December.
1:11.4	Listen to the full episode now on the Intelligence Squared podcast.
1:15.4	To succeed in the future of work, forward thinkers use AI to deliver measurable results.
1:20.9	Workday is the AI platform for HR and finance that frees you from the mundane so you can focus on more meaningful work. Workday,
1:28.7	moving business forever forward. Welcome to Intelligence Squared, where great minds meet. I'm producer
1:35.3	Mia Serenti. For this episode, we're rejoining for part two of our recent live event with Jonathan
1:41.5	Friedland, the columnist, broadcaster and former foreign correspondent.
1:45.8	Friedland joined us live at the Kielm Theatre in London. He was in conversation with journalist
1:50.9	and broadcaster Jenny Cleman, and he drew on his new book The Traitors Circle to tell the
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Intelligence Squared, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Intelligence Squared and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.