ChromeRadio

DR HAIAN DUKHAN, Teaching Fellow in International Relations, UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER, on growing up in Palmyra and the role of Syria's tribes in the conflict. PRODUCTION | ChromeRadio in partnership with the INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF WAR AND STRATEGY, UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS | Producer - Catriona Oliphant | Post-production - Chris Sharp.

DR JASMINE GANI, Associate Director of the CENTRE FOR SYRIAN STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS, in conversation with DR CHRIS PHILLIPS, Reader in International Relations, QUEEN MARY, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON and an Associate Fellow, Middle East and North Africa Programme, CHATHAM HOUSE on how a civil conflict became an international proxy war, and the ongoing battle for Syria. PRODUCTION | ChromeRadio in partnership with the INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF WAR AND STRATEGY, UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS | Producer - Catriona Oliphant | Post-production - Chris Sharp.

Welcome to this month's podcast series, a collaboration between ChromeRadio and the INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF WAR AND STRATEGY, UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS. The Syrian conflict has now entered its eighth year.  What began as a series of peaceful protests in March 2011, has now become an international proxy war. Thousands of Syrians are fleeing Eastern Ghouta, currently under attack from regime forces supported by Russia, and Afrin, where NATO member Turkey is fighting the YPG, a Kurdish militia backed by fellow NATO member, the US. DR JASMINE GANI, Lecturer in International Relations, UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS, and Associate Director of the CENTRE FOR SYRIAN STUDIES explores Syria past and present, the role of the al-Assad family in shaping modern Syria, and how the actions of other states have often directed the country's domestic agenda. PRODUCTION | ChromeRadio in partnership with the INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF WAR AND STRATEGY, UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS | Producer - Catriona Oliphant | Post-production - Chris Sharp.

In the third podcast in our THESE ISLANDS series, PETER FIENNES, author of OAK AND ASH AND THORN, explores the ancient woods and new forests of Britain, and the threats they face today. PRODUCTION | ChromeRadio in partnership with THESE ISLANDS | Producer - Catriona Oliphant | Post-production - Chris Sharp.

PANEL DISCUSSION | BRITISH LIBRARY, LONDON | 24.04.17 PANEL: Professor Sir Hew Strachan (Chair) | Professor Phillips O’Brien | Dr Alice Kelly CONTEXT Throughout the First World War, peace negotiations were conducted alongside visceral military conflict. But in December 1916, with President Wilson’s attempt to arbitrate, the serious push for peace began. DISCUSSION SIR HEW STRACHAN (Professor of International Relations, University of St Andrews), PHILLIPS O'BRIEN (Professor of Strategic Studies, University of St Andrews), and DR ALICE KELLY (Rt Hon Vere Sidney Tudor Harmsworth Postdoctoral Research Fellow on the History of the United States and WW1) on the US vision for peace and a new world order, including: (1) the US/British relationship, in particular, the contention that it was British propaganda that brought the US into the war in 1917, and the subsequent British missions to the US led by Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour and the press baron, Lord Northcliffe; (2) how President Wilson’s peace initiative shaped the remainder of the war and influenced the terms of the ultimate peace; and (3) the legacy of the US vision for peace and a new world order in WW1 across the long 20th century. HOW THE PEACE BROKER TURNED BELLIGERENT On 1 May 1915, RMS Lusitania left New York bound for Liverpool. Aboard were 1,959 passengers and crew. Only 764 would survive the voyage. On 7 May 1915, as she rounded the south coast of Ireland, German U-boat 20 torpedoed and sank the pride of the Cunard Line in just 18 minutes. Among the dead were 123 Americans. That evening, as the news broke, Colonel Edward House, President Woodrow Wilson’s right-hand man, was dining with US Ambassador Walter Hines Page in London. ‘We shall be at war within a month’, House declared. But Wilson, holding fast to his vision for peace, refused to be provoked and it was not until almost two years later, in April 1917, that the US finally entered the war. By then, Wilson’s attempt to arbitrate in December 1916 had failed and German provocation could no longer be ignored. Germany was waging unrestricted U-boat warfare and the Zimmerman telegram had exposed German attempts to foment war between Mexico and the US. If the US wanted to secure peace, it would have to enter the war. The peace broker had finally turned belligerent. AUDIO CLIPS from ChromeRadio’s podcast drama, ENTER THE PEACE BROKER by Martyn Wade, will illustrate the panel discussion. Based on contemporary diaries, letters and newspaper reports, the drama brings alive America’s journey into WW1, a compelling story of duplicity and diplomatic intrigue. Made with the support of the ROTHERMERE FOUNDATION, the production includes a selection of WW1 songs arranged and performed by mezzo-soprano JESSICA WALKER with JAMES HOLMES on piano. PRODUCTION | ChromeRadio in partnership with the ECCLES CENTRE FOR AMERICAN STUDIES at the BRITISH LIBRARY | Producer - Catriona Oliphant | Post-production - Chris Sharp.

PANEL DISCUSSION | UNIVERSITE PARIS-SORBONNE | 25.11.17 PANEL: Professor Sir Hew Strachan(Chair) | Professor George-Henri Soutou | Professor Jennifer Keene CONTEXT Peace negotiations were conducted alongside military conflict from the outset of WW1, but it was President Wilson’s attempt to arbitrate in December 1916 that initiated the serious push for peace. By then, the fighting on the Western Front had revealed the full horror of modern industrial warfare. However, Wilson discovered that to secure peace America would have to join the fight. DISCUSSION SIR HEW STRACHAN (Professor of International Relations, University of St Andrews), GEORGES-HENRI SOUTOU (Professor Emeritus, Paris-Sorbonne, Institut de France) and PROFESSOR JENNIFER KEENE (Chair, Department of History, Chapman University) on: (1) the Franco-American relationship prior to American entry into WW1; (2) America's entry into WW1 in April 1917, including the arrival of American troops in France, and their reception; and (3) the legacy of American engagement in France 1917-1918. HOW THE PEACE MAKER TURNED BELLIGERENT On 7 May 1915, RMS Lusitania was sunk by a German U-boat off the southern coast of Ireland. Among the dead were over 120 Americans. As news reports came in that evening, Colonel House, President Wilson’s right-hand man, was dining with US Ambassador Walter Page in London. “We shall be at war with Germany within a month”, declared House. In fact, some two years would elapse before America finally entered the War on April 6, 1917. AUDIO CLIPS from ChromeRadio’s podcast drama, ENTER THE PEACE BROKER by Martyn Wade, will illustrate the panel discussion. Based on contemporary diaries, letters and newspaper reports, the drama brings alive America’s journey into WW1, a compelling story of duplicity and diplomatic intrigue. Made with the support of the ROTHERMERE FOUNDATION, the production includes a selection of WW1 songs arranged and performed by mezzo-soprano JESSICA WALKER with JAMES HOLMES on piano. PRODUCTION | ChromeRadio in partnership with the UNIVERSITE PARIS-SORBONNE | Producer - Catriona Oliphant | Post-production - Chris Sharp.

PANEL DISCUSSION | NATIONAL WWI MUSEUM AND MEMORIAL, KANSAS CITY | 2.11.17 PANEL: Lora Vogt (Moderator) | Professor Jay Sexton | Professor Jennifer Keene CONTEXT Peace negotiations were conducted alongside military conflict from the outset of WW1, but it was President Wilson’s attempt to arbitrate in December 1916 that initiated the serious push for peace. By then, the fighting on the Western Front had revealed the full horror of modern industrial warfare. However, Wilson discovered that to secure peace America would have to join the fight. DISCUSSION PROFESSORS JAY SEXTON (Kinder Institute Chair in Constitutional Democracy, University of Missouri) and JENNIFER KEENE (Chair, Department of History, Chapman University) on Wilson’s vision for peace and a new world order, US military preparedness in 1917, and domestic reactions to US entry into the War. HOW THE PEACE MAKER TURNED BELLIGERENT On 7 May 1915, RMS Lusitania was sunk by a German U-boat off the southern coast of Ireland. Among the dead were over 120 Americans. As news reports came in that evening, Colonel House, President Wilson’s right-hand man, was dining with US Ambassador Walter Page in London. “We shall be at war with Germany within a month”, declared House. In fact, some two years would elapse before America finally entered the War on April 6, 1917. AUDIO CLIPS from ChromeRadio’s podcast drama, ENTER THE PEACE BROKER by Martyn Wade, will illustrate the panel discussion. Based on contemporary diaries, letters and newspaper reports, the drama brings alive America’s journey into WW1, a compelling story of duplicity and diplomatic intrigue. Made with the support of the ROTHERMERE FOUNDATION, the production includes a selection of WW1 songs arranged and performed by mezzo-soprano JESSICA WALKER with JAMES HOLMES on piano. PRODUCTION | ChromeRadio in partnership with the NATIONAL WWI MUSEUM AND MEMORIAL | Producer - Catriona Oliphant | Post-production - Chris Sharp.

In the fourth podcast in our THESE ISLANDS series, writer, broadcaster, and musician PHILIPPE AUCLAIR, speaks up for THE 3 MILLION: BRITAIN'S INVISIBLE MINORITY, reflecting on his time as a philosophy student in Paris, how his love of music and football brought him to London, and why he calls THESE ISLANDS home. MUSIC: MY ENGLAND from THE WONDER OF IT ALL by LOUIS PHILIPPE. PRODUCTION | ChromeRadio in partnership with THESE ISLANDS | Music with thanks to PHILIPPE AUCLAIR, who kindly granted us permission to use his song, MY ENGLAND | Recorded at The Star of Kings, Kings Cross with thanks to our excellent hosts | Producer - Catriona Oliphant | Post-production - Chris Sharp.

In the second podcast in our THESE ISLANDS series, NIGEL BIGGAR, Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology at Christ Church, University of Oxford, reflects on what the United Kingdom is good for. PRODUCTION | ChromeRadio in partnership with THESE ISLANDS | Producer - Catriona Oliphant | Post-production - Chris Sharp.

Welcome to this month's podcast series, a collaboration between ChromeRadio and THESE ISLANDS, about the United Kingdom, past and present, and how we can best forge a future that benefits everyone. In our first podcast, UNITING, NOT DIVIDING, historian and author TOM HOLLAND - who grew up in Wiltshire - and ALI ANSARI, Professor of Iranian History at the University of St Andrews - who arrived in the UK following the Iranian Revolution - talk about the impetus behind THESE ISLANDS, and why they believe the United Kingdom is worth fighting for. PRODUCTION | ChromeRadio in partnership with THESE ISLANDS | Producer - Catriona Oliphant | Post-production - Chris Sharp.