Ideas Podcast Politics
A statue to East German Hans Konrad Schumann, who defected to West Germany during the construction of the Berlin Wall (Photo: Getty Images)

The CapX Podcast: Alex Deane on Lessons from History

John Ashmore
1 October 2021
A statue to East German Hans Konrad Schumann, who defected to West Germany during the construction of the Berlin Wall (Photo: Getty Images)

Share this article

set page as preferred source in google set page as preferred source in google

Most us know about Henry VIII, Napoleon and Churchill, but what about history’s unheralded heroes?

For the latest CapX podcast we welcomed political commentator, former Tory adviser and self-declared amateur historian Alex Deane, whose new book Lessons from History shines a light on the less-known characters who have helped shape our world.

From sharp-shooting barons to self-medicating surgeons, to the Lion of Africa and a bear who nearly caused a nuclear war, this is history in all its technicolour glory with an unforgettable cast of characters.
.

.

Share this article

set page as preferred source in google set page as preferred source in google

Written by

John Ashmore

@JohnAshmore
John Ashmore is Editor of CapX.

CapX depends on the generosity of its readers.

If you value what we do, please consider making a donation.

Amount
Period

Your message has not been sent.

More Ideas

SpaceX is capitalism's greatest vindication
Innovation

SpaceX is capitalism’s greatest vindication

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has launched the largest ever public offering of stock today, selling $75 billion worth of shares. SpaceX emphasised its remarkable achievements in its IPO filing: ‘We are the primary launch provider for the US government. In 2025, we launched 11 of 12 National Security Space Launch (‘NSSL’) medium and heavy lift missions […]

Popular
Politics

Our politicians need to get off the hamster wheel

September 2023: what a time that was to be alive. Aerosmith began their final ever tour, Kim Jong-Un arrived in Russia for an audience with Vladimir Putin and Rupert Murdoch stepped down from the boards of Fox and News Corp. It was a good month for news.  Yet that month another turning point in world […]

Ideas

What happens when liberalism loses?

June 4 marked the 37th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. It has been a long time since the China of reform and opening-up gave way to one of the strangest regimes of our age: a country with the political freedoms of the Soviet Union but economic power approaching that of the United States, capable […]

THE CAPITALIST

FOLLOW US

© 2026 CapX