Hi everybody, welcome to Dance to Knows History. You all know that I love talking about the

British Empire. I was raised on stories about Empire. I wrote my first book about the British

Empire in Canada during the Seven Years War, the French Indian War, and I'm fascinated

in watching how the public debate around Empire develops. Some scholars are shining a light

on hitherto overlooked periods of imperial history. The involved, well, crimes, crimes

against humanity. Other scholars here in elsewhere have responded by rallying to the cause

of empire, saying it was not as dark, evil as it's now occasionally portrayed.

Satnam Sangheera is a writer, he's a historian, he's a leading British journalist, and he's

written the best of the book, Empire Land, how imperialism has shaped modern Britain,

and he's just released a children's book in which he sets out how we think we should

talk to the next generation about Empire. It's great to have Satnam back on the podcast.

To talk about how we teach Empire, how we taught it in the past, how we teach it in the

moment, and how we teach it in the future. It turns into a bit of a therapy session this

one. For all those listening who let me grow up with stories of Empire and took great pride

in imperial episodes, well, this podcast is for you. How should we think about Empire?

We love to celebrate bits of it, aspects of it, certain individuals, or do we have to

consign it all to the historical dustbin. Satnam Sangheera helps me work it out, enjoy.

Satnam, thanks very much for coming back on the pod. My favorite podcast, so, it's a privilege.

You're saying that to everyone, I'm sure. You know me, you and I have talked about this

a lot before. I find this a very difficult discussion. I find all of this very difficult.

In the book, you talk about our own story, which was a huge, tome, staple for a certain

generation and class of British child. My dad read it. He's memorized it. You love the

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