How have artists, filmmakers and photographers shaped our understanding of wars and conflict? Journalist and writer Helen Lewis explores the recently-opened Blavatnik Art, Film and Photography Galleries at Imperial War Museum, London.

From No Man's Land to mushroom clouds, Helen discovers the people that have interpreted over a hundred years of conflict, in this specially-curated tour by James Bulgin, Head of Public History at IWM.

They are joined by Suzanne Plunkett, Reuters' Chief Photographer for the UK and Ireland, and a photojournalist for almost 30 years - and someone who can give us a first hand account of what it’s like to be capturing a seismic event in the moment.

Objects Discussed:

Paul Nash, The Menin Road, 1919

John Armstrong, Pro Patria, 1938 

War Pictorial News No. 21

Mushroom Cloud over Nagasaki, 1945

Suzanne Plunkett, People Covered in Dust and Debris New York, 11 September 2001 - 

© AP (IWM DC 123993)

© AP (IWM DC 124023)

Narrator:  James Taylor. Producer: Matt Hill at Rethink Audio, with support from Eleanor Head, Daniel BenChorin, and the IWM Institute team at Imperial War Museums

More conflicts explained in a brand new series focusing on the role of art, film and photography in depicting warfare across the Twentieth Century. This time featuring:

• Broadcaster Helen Lewis

• Actor Sanjeev Bhaskar

• Comedian Rachel Parris

• Writer Carl Miller (‘The Kill List’)

• Actor Susan Wokoma

• Comedian Geoff Norcott

New episodes from 3rd January - if you know someone who would love our show, please share the news with this link: https://podfollow.com/conflict-of-interest

Narrator:  James Taylor. Producer: Matt Hill at Rethink Audio, with support from Eleanor Head, Daniel BenChorin, and the IWM Institute team at Imperial War Museums

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 shocked the world. But what is the history behind this devastating war, and where did it all begin? In this special episode of Conflict of Interest, we explored Ukraine’s recent past, from the collapse of the Soviet Union to Russia’s annexation of Crimea. Guests in this episode were comedian Sophie Duker, Ukrainian journalist, expert and activist Olga Tokariuk, academic and historian Samir Puri and senior IWM curator Carl Warner.

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CLIPS:

Bird's-Eye View Of 'Euromaidan' Protests In Kyiv - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nNFrvGOb9o&ab_channel=RadioFreeEurope%2FRadioLiberty

Ukraine: 'Full scale invasion' by Russia under way: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzfxkbGtCbY&ab_channel=CNN

Ruslana - Wild Dances (Ukraine) - LIVE - 2004 Eurovision Song Contest - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10XR67NQcAc&ab_channel=EurovisionSongContest

Ukraine's 2004 Orange Revolution | Flashback | NBC News: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nYAM-Jbfh4&ab_channel=NBCNews

Ukraine gun battle caught on camera: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgoHI9A36u4&ab_channel=SkyNews

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Falklands Conflict. But why did the United Kingdom, steered by Margaret Thatcher, send its Navy to defend the Falklands, a tiny group of islands over 8,000 miles from Britain? Why were the islands so important to Argentina and its government? And what are the prospects for reconciliation forty years later?

In this episode we were joined by actor and comedian Katherine Parkinson.

The Vietnam War is one of the twentieth century’s most well-known conflicts. It has become a buzzword for military failure, synonymous with the most horrific aspects of irregular warfare between states and guerilla forces, and has had a profound impact on politics and popular culture in the United States and around the world.

But why did America get involved in the first place? Who were the Viet Cong and the Viet Minh? Why were there mass peace protests back in the US? And what lessons, if any, can be learned from the conflict? 

In this episode we were joined by Cerys Matthews - singer, songwriter, author, and BBC Radio 6 broadcaster, alongside Phan Thi Kim Phuc, better known as the ‘Napalm Girl’, and renowned photographer Don McCullin. 

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CREDITS: 

Excerpt from ‘Eisenhower Two Vietnams’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPet4zFh4sI&ab_channel=M.D.Jones

 

Excerpt from Lyndon B. Johnson-Speech on Vietnam (September 29, 1967) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Tf2xGb5Nsg&ab_channel=MCamericanpresident

 

Excerpt from Kennedy Speaks On Vietnam (1962): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iph_KkKLfcA&ab_channel=BritishPath%C3%A9

 

Excerpt from Behind The Viet Cong Lines (1965)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6sPC1YLIdM&ab_channel=NuclearVault

Excerpt from NBC News Special Report, January 31, 1968 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA8n114eYXc&ab_channel=NewsActive3

 

Excerpt from President Richard Nixon Address to the Nation on the War in Vietnam, November 3, 1969

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPpOBu2LNCo&ab_channel=RichardNixonPresidentialLibrary

 

Exerpt from 50 years ago: Walter Cronkite calls for the U.S. to get out of Vietnam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn2RjahTi3M&ab_channel=CBSEveningNews

Why is Korea divided between North and South? Who was Kim Jong Un’s grandfather Kim Il Sun, and what did he want? Why did the United Nations intervene in Korea? And did the Korean War really almost go nuclear?

In this episode we were joined by celebrated stand up comedian, writer, actor and activist Eddie Izzard, in a special recording that took place on the ship HMS Belfast.

----    Excerpt from Combat footage, Korean war - newsreel (1950): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF_Ts_6oSi8&ab_channel=MilitaryPublicDomain   Excerpt from Korean War: President Truman Reports - June 1950: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWWiMS1E3nQ&ab_channel=JosephHewes   Excerpt from Inchon Landings - First Pictures (1950) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORilghHW0UQ&ab_channel=BritishPath%C3%A9  

The Mau Mau Uprising was another lesser-known conflict that took place during the end of the British Empire between Kenyan insurgents and British forces. We ask questions like, What does Mau Mau actually mean? What happened in Britain’s detention camps? What was decolonisation? And what is the legacy of the conflict today? In this episode we were joined by renowned poet and writer Nikita Gill.

This episode contains references to racism and sexual violence in conflict. Some listeners may find descriptions distressing.

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CLIPS:

Excerpts from CNN ‘UK settles with Mau Mau victims in Kenya’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izo4JSaQeWY&ab_channel=CNN

Excerpts from 'Mau-Mau (1955) | Early Grindhouse Exploitation Documentary' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fT-cJC4EKAo&t=2188s&ab_channel=reelblack

 

Few are aware of the secretive conflict that took place in the jungles of Malaysia in the 1940s and 1950s between British colonial forces and communist guerillas. So what tactics were used by both sides? Why was it called an Emergency and not a War? What happened to ordinary civilians caught in the crossfire? And why did this conflict become so important for future counterinsurgency campaigns?  In this episode we were joined by stand up comedian Phil Wang.

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CREDITS: 

Excerpt from "Malayan Jungle Patrol Aka Malaya Report (1953)" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo6W2s1_AfY&ab_channel=BritishPath%C3%A9

Excerpt from "Malayan jungle fighting in 1952"  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0PzaBY8-58&ab_channel=MichaelRogge

Excerpt from "Sir Eden introduces new Malaya High Commissioner (1952)"  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4h1zqqttu3c&ab_channel=BritishPath%C3%A9

 

The Berlin Wall was one of the most important symbols of the Cold War, signifying the division of Europe into communist East and capitalist West.

But why was the Wall built? How did it affect the lives of ordinary Berliners? And how did it come crashing down in 1989? 

In this episode we were joined by Russell Tovey, renowned actor who has starred in Being Human, The History Boys and Him & Her. 

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CREDITS: 

Excerpt from Ronald Reagan: "Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall!" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCO9BYCGNeY&ab_channel=NRCCCommunications

Excerpt from John F. Kennedy's Speech at the Berlin Wall: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBQvKXIDiuc&ab_channel=NBCNewsLearn

Excerpt from Vollständige Pressekonferenz Günter Schabowski / Full press conference Günter Schabowski 1989: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F65XKAc4BrA&ab_channel=historictv.

Excerpt from Berlin Airlift - The Story Of A Great Achievement (1949)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nHdB1vJNsg&ab_channel=AIRBOYD

Excerpt from Nikita Khrushchev's speech at the United Nations in 1960.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8BZlTxRQuU&list=PLA50AB7N5S7dxS68CKFmhSkjRzCj-LSnd&index=17&ab_channel=jabarbadi

Excerpt from David Bowie Heroes - Live front of the Reichstag in Berlin 1987

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCI9o5IErwc

In this brand new series of Conflict of Interest, high-profile guests ask the simple questions about the world’s most complex conflicts from the Cold War era.

 

 

Singer and guitarist Jake Shuker was nine when he first discovered death metal, despite the genre being banned in Syria. From that moment on he was hooked. He formed death metal band Maysaloon as a teenager living in Damascus, before being forced to leave the city as war escalated around him.

 

If you’d like to see a visualisation of Jake’s story, head over to @thefakepan.

 

To learn more about the war in Syria, check out our main podcast feed.