Welcome back to the home of the oxymoron. Evil genius. He asked the newspaper to print his obituary early so he'd enjoy it. That's like hiding at your own funeral. Yeah, a big, great gig. I'm Russell Kane. Join me to weigh in on whether the biggest players in history are more evil or genius. Becoming that rich, I'd say that is some level of genius. It also helps

it. It's a long time ago, right? It's like the podcast version of telling your kids the ice cream

van plays music when it's out of ice cream. Listen to evil genius on BBC Sounds.

Hello and welcome to the first of a series where we explore how various different professions are portrayed in Shakespeare's plays.

Tonight we're looking at soldiers, and here's a quote to start us off from one of the most famous of them.

And gentlemen in England now abed, shall think themselves a curse they were not

here, and hold their manhoods cheap, while any speaks that fought with us upon St. Crispin's Day.

Now, when Shakespeare put those words into the mouth of Henry V, he created an image of martial

valour that remains very alive in our minds 400 years on.

But Henry wasn't Shakespeare's only happy warrior, or indeed the only troubled one,

from the self-doubt of Othello to the madness of Macbeth.

Taking up arms in his plays has always led to soul-searching as well as sword-bashing.

And today I've got two first-class recruits to discuss the way in which Shakespeare talks about the figure of the soldier in his plays.

First on parade is Colonel Tim Collins, who became a national icon in 2003,

when he made a speech to his men in the Royal Irish Regiment just before the Iraq War.

The lines in that speech, we go to liberate, not to conquer, and we will bring shame on neither

our uniform nor our nation, led some observers to call Tim Henry V in Raybans.

And Professor Emma Smith of Hartford College, Oxford, has just published a new study of Shakespeare's first folia,

and she is, of course, a great expert in general on the poet himself.

So Tim Collins, let me start with you. Many people here will remember that speech you made in 2003.

Did you have Henry V in mind when you put it together?

Regrettably not. No, it was something that happened at the time and it happened because of the

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