Encore: Charles Dickens | Dickensmania | 2

On a spring morning in 1986 one of the most catastrophic events in global history occurs - Chernobyl. It brings chaos to the environment, chaos to Europe and chaos to Mikhail Gorbachev's premiership. Will he survive this?Stay connected with LegacyFollow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops: Instagram: @originallegacypodcast | BlueSky: @legacy-productions.bsky.social | TikTok: @legacy_productionsExplore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas: Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With the levers of power now in his control, Gorbachev steps out on the international stage with one aim: to avoid a nuclear war. He forges a new relationship with US President Reagan, but will it be enough to remove the shadow of armageddon? Stay connected with LegacyFollow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops: Instagram: @originallegacypodcast | BlueSky: @legacy-productions.bsky.social | TikTok: @legacy_productionsExplore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas: Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shaped by the brutality of the Stalin regime, Gorbachev’s childhood was one of poverty and hardship. But the communist system also works to his strengths, and allows him to reach the very top. All along, he remains a true believer but knows change must happen.  Stay connected with LegacyFollow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops: Instagram: @originallegacypodcast | BlueSky: @legacy-productions.bsky.social | TikTok: @legacy_productionsExplore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas: Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At the height of his fame, Dickens falls in love with a young woman (Nelly Ternan) and a city (Paris). He survives a train crash and public disapproval over his separation from his wife. People turn out in droves to see him perform his works on stage. But his lifestyle is catching up with him and his health is failing. What is his final scene to be? We look back at his life and try to work out what “Dickensian” really means.Stay connected with LegacyFollow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops: Instagram: @originallegacypodcast | BlueSky: @legacy-productions.bsky.social | TikTok: @legacy_productionsExplore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas: Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“A Merry Christmas to us all; God bless us, everyone!” A Christmas Carol is a huge success and Dickens is an international celebrity. There’s lots of money coming in – Bleak House, Hard Times, David Copperfield all do well - but he has a big family and a lavish lifestyle to fund, as well as his Home for Homeless Women. Plus, there’s trouble in his marriage when Dickens’ eye is caught by the turn of a pretty ankle.Stay connected with LegacyFollow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops:Instagram: @originallegacypodcast | BlueSky: @legacy-productions.bsky.social | TikTok: @legacy_productionsExplore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas: Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dickens’ star is on the rise. Sketches by Boz is a success and he publishes The Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist and more. Plus, he is a hit on both sides of the Atlantic with ‘Dickensmania’ sweeping the United States. But there is tragedy at home. And when his new novel doesn’t do as well as he’d hoped, he needs a new idea. Something to do with Christmas maybe?Stay connected with LegacyFollow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops:Instagram: @originallegacypodcast | BlueSky: @legacy-productions.bsky.social | TikTok: @legacy_productionsExplore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas: Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A young Charles is filled with imagination and ambition, but his childhood with humiliation and uncertainty. His father is in and out of debtors’ prison and he is forced to sacrifice his education for a string of menial jobs to make ends meet. But he discovers he has a skill. He can paint pictures with words like no one else can. Could this be his destiny?Stay connected with LegacyFollow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops: Instagram: @originallegacypodcast | BlueSky: @legacy-productions.bsky.social | TikTok: @legacy_productionsExplore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas: Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Booker Prize winning author - Marlon James joins Afua and Peter to tear open Jane Austen’s world — from slavery shadows to savage social critique — and reveal why her novels still cut like a knife.Stay connected with LegacyFollow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops:Instagram: @originallegacypodcast | BlueSky: @legacy-productions.bsky.social | TikTok: @legacy_productionsExplore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas: Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jane Austen wrote about drawing rooms, dances, and marriage plots — but beneath the lace and manners she was dissecting power, class, gender, and the world-changing revolutions unfolding outside her window. In this episode, Peter and Afua explore the sharp politics, hidden tensions, and unexpected radicalism behind Austen’s most “polite” novels.Stay connected with LegacyFollow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops: Instagram: @originallegacypodcast | BlueSky: @legacy-productions.bsky.social | TikTok: @legacy_productionsExplore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas: Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jane Austen’s world wasn’t quiet, genteel, or boring — it was full of scandal, class tension, family drama, and the pressures that shaped one of literature’s sharpest minds. In this episode, we trace the messy, revealing early life that forged the writer who made the small things enormous.Stay connected with LegacyFollow us for clips, behind-the-scenes stories, and new episode drops: Instagram: @originallegacypodcast | BlueSky: @legacy-productions.bsky.social | TikTok: @legacy_productionsExplore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas: Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.