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Simon Sebag Montefiore: History Is Not Over

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Feb 4, 2025

Guest

Simon Sebag Montefiore

Simon Sebag Montefiore, an award-winning historian and best-selling author, captivates listeners with fascinating tales of historical figures. He discusses the quirks of leaders like Stalin and Catherine the Great, shedding light on their human complexities. Montefiore also addresses current issues in Israel, the decline of confidence in democracy, and the intricate dynamics of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Through his storytelling, he emphasizes the ongoing relevance of history in understanding identity, politics, and our shared humanity.

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insights

INSIGHT

Crisis of Confidence

Western democracies face a crisis of self-confidence.
This stems from self-doubt about their global role and mission.

insights

INSIGHT

Naivete of 'End of History'

The "end of history" concept now seems naive, given current events.
The enthusiastic election of leaders with different values challenges prior assumptions.

insights

INSIGHT

Golden Age of Jewry

The period from 1947 to October 7th was a golden age for the Jewish people.
This period, like the 70-year world peace, was historically unique.

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Crisis of Confidence in Democracy

03:03 • 13min

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Confronting Historical Narratives

15:38 • 17min

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Revival and Reflections on Jerusalem

32:52 • 9min

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Unraveling the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

41:39 • 14min

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Jewish Identity and Safety in a Complex World

55:37 • 6min

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Rapid Reflections on History, Humanity, and the Divine

01:01:16 • 2min

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A Journey Through Time: Baghdad, Stalin, and Biblical Tales

01:02:52 • 2min

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#3862

• Mentioned in 7 episodes

JERUSALEM

The Biography

Simon Sebag Montefiore

This book chronicles the 3,000-year history of Jerusalem, from King David's establishment of the city as his capital to the modern-day conflicts. Montefiore brings to life the city's many incarnations through the stories of its rulers, conquerors, prophets, and ordinary inhabitants. The narrative spans various epochs, including the periods of Jewish kings, Persian, Macedonian, Roman, Arab, Crusader, and Ottoman rule. The book draws on extensive research, including new archives, current scholarship, and the author's own family history, to provide a balanced and detailed account of Jerusalem's complex and often tumultuous history.

#1508

• Mentioned in 17 episodes

Stalin

The Court of the Red Tsar

Simon Sebag Montefiore

This biography transforms our understanding of Stalin as Soviet dictator, Marxist leader, and Russian tsar. Based on groundbreaking research, Simon Sebag Montefiore reveals the daily life, family relationships, and the brutal cruelty of Stalin's secret world. The book is praised for its elegant prose, rich detail, and the author's ability to humanize Stalin while highlighting his brutal and chilling nature. It is a masterful and terrifying account that has become a classic of modern history writing.

#4155

• Mentioned in 7 episodes

The Romanovs

1613-1918

Simon Sebag Montefiore

This book is an intimate and gripping chronicle of the Romanov dynasty, covering three centuries of their rule. It delves into the lives of twenty tsars and tsarinas, revealing their secret world of unlimited power, ruthless empire-building, palace conspiracies, family rivalries, and sexual decadence. The narrative spans from Ivan the Terrible to Nicholas II, including key figures like Peter the Great and Catherine the Great, and culminates with the tragic end of the Romanov family during the Russian Revolution. Montefiore's work is based on new archival research and provides a vivid portrait of the Romanovs, their court life, and the dynamics of power that defined their reign.

#13274

• Mentioned in 2 episodes

Catherine the Great & Potemkin

The Imperial Love Affair

Simon Sebag Montefiore

This book delves into the extraordinary partnership between Catherine the Great and Prince Grigory Potemkin, one of the most influential figures in Russian history. Montefiore meticulously researches and narrates their love affair, political collaborations, and military conquests. The book reveals the depth of their relationship through their extensive correspondence and details how they navigated the complexities of power, passion, and politics in 18th-century Russia. It also explores Potemkin's significant contributions to Russian expansion and his role as a de facto co-tsar.

#1145

• Mentioned in 20 episodes

The Message

Ta Nehisi Coates

In 'The Message', Ta-Nehisi Coates delves into the intersections of race, power, and identity through three intertwining essays. The book is part memoir, part travelogue, and part writing primer. Coates reflects on his visits to Dakar, Senegal, where he grapples with his Afrocentric roots; Columbia, South Carolina, where he examines the backlash against historical reckoning and book banning; and Palestine, where he critiques nationalist narratives and their impact on reality. The book emphasizes the urgent need to untangle destructive myths and embrace difficult truths to create a more just future.

Did you know that Joseph Stalin could sing with perfect pitch? Or that he was so scared of his wife that he would hide from her in the bathroom? Did you know that Peter the Great liked to surround himself with naked dwarfs? Did you know that Catherine the Great—long smeared as a nymphomaniac—was actually a lovelorn monogamist? Or that King Herod’s genitals once exploded with maggots?

Most historians bore you with dry accounts of battles and treaties, and it’s hard to remember any of it. But not Simon Sebag Montefiore, who writes 900 pages that you cannot put down.

Sebag is one of the most important historians alive today. His many books, like Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar, The Romanovs, and Catherine the Great & Potemkin are essential to understanding power, politics, revolution, dictatorships, and above all, human nature.

While most of Sebag’s books are biographies of people, Jerusalem is a biography of a city—a city, as he writes, that is “the house of the one God, the capital of two peoples, the temple of three religions, and the only city to exist twice in heaven and on earth.” The book takes you through Jerusalem’s 3,000-year history, from King David to Bibi Netanyahu. It is a must-read. It has sold more than a million copies, and it has just been reissued in paperback.

With the ceasefire deal underway in Israel and with Trump a few weeks into his second presidency, we could not think of a better person to talk to than Simon about this moment and how to understand it.

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