Roald Dahl: Genius and Bigot

Breaking History

The Free Press

History

4.8 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 7 May 2026

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

For tickets to our live recording with Jon Meacham in Philadelphia, click here and register. Use code TFP for a 20 percent discount. Roald Dahl gave the world Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He was also a vicious antisemite. A Broadway play about Dahl’s legacy; the new Michael Jackson biopic; Kanye West’s attempted redemption arc; all of these have the culture asking again: How do we approach brilliant art produced by morally compromised artists? Throughout history, some of the world’s preeminent literary geniuses have also been deeply bigoted, even monstrous people. In this episode, Shilo is joined by Eli Lake, host of Breaking History, for a conversation about these geniuses, from Voltaire to Norman Mailer, and why we should read their work despite their odious prejudices. Old School is proudly brought to you by the Jack Miller Center. If you believe in the importance of civic education and want to help prepare the next generation to carry on our democracy, join us at JackMillerCenter.org. Become a paid subscriber to The Free Press today to enjoy exclusive bonus episodes and reduced ads. Click here to subscribe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, Shiloh here with an invitation for all my old school listeners.
0:03.8	I'm going to be taping a live episode of Old School at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia,
0:08.6	hosted by the Jack Miller Center as part of their national summit on civic education.
0:12.9	I'll be sitting down with the incredible historian and Pulitzer Prize winning author,
0:16.6	John Meacham to talk history, leadership, and the future of our republic.
0:21.3	Tickets include a reception and a three-course dinner before the show.
0:24.9	And the best part, listeners get $50 off tickets with code T-F-P, T-like Tim, F-like Frank, P-like Pam.
0:33.3	Don't miss it.
0:34.2	Grab your tickets now at the link in the show notes.
0:36.8	See you in Philly.
0:37.4	There's a play that came to Broadway in March called Giant about Roll Dahl. Don't miss it. Grab your tickets now at the link in the show notes. See you in Philly.
0:42.4	There's a play that came to Broadway in March called Giant about Roald Dahl and its complicated legacy. Roll Dahl, of course, is the author of beloved children's classics, Matilda, James
0:47.4	and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He's a writer of skill, merit, but he's also
0:52.9	a serious anti-Semite. He told a reporter in 1983, merit, but he's also a serious anti-Semite.
0:54.2	He told a reporter in 1983, quote,
0:56.9	There's always a reason why anti-anything crops up anywhere.
1:01.0	Even a stinker like Hitler didn't just pick on them for no reason.
1:04.5	Just before he died in 1990, he told another reporter explicitly he was anti-Semitic.
1:09.4	The play about Roald Dahl, the Michael Jackson biopic
1:12.5	that came out last week, Kanye West's redemption arc, all of these have resurfaced the great debate
1:17.1	about whether art can be separated from the artist. In my view, the answer to this question is yes.
1:23.8	Today I want to learn more about some of history's most notable literary and artistic geniuses,
	...

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