Winston Churchill has been the Anglotopia Podcast’s most persistent obsession. Over a dozen episodes we’ve sat down with the archivists, curators, biographers and museum directors who know him best — and asked the awkward questions as often as the admiring ones.
From the wilderness years at Chartwell to the D-Day war rooms, from the paintings he made in secret to the myths that still cling to his name, this is the whole collection in one place.
‘The Roaring Lion’, Ottawa, 30 December 1941. Photograph by Yousuf Karsh — public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
No figure in British history is quoted more often, or understood less well, than Winston Churchill. He is a wartime broadcast, a statue on Parliament Square, a face on the five-pound note — and, increasingly, an argument. We started this series because the arguing had almost entirely replaced the listening.
So we went to the people who work with the evidence. Allen Packwood, who runs the Churchill Archives Centre at Cambridge, walked us through the decisions behind D-Day. Katherine Carter, who looks after Chartwell for the National Trust, showed us the 1930s house where a supposedly finished politician quietly built the network that would carry him back to power. Justin Reash of the International Churchill Society took on the myths — the drinking, the depression, the racism — without flinching from the difficult parts.
And because Churchill was never only a war leader, we went sideways too: to Blenheim Palace where he was born, to a Christopher Wren church shipped stone by stone from London to Missouri, to a Nobel Prize in Literature, to a war-debt showdown with an American Treasury Secretary, and to an easel in a garden studio in Kent where he painted more than five hundred canvases he mostly kept to himself.
Whether you arrive as an admirer, a sceptic, or simply curious, start anywhere below. Every episode stands on its own.
If you only have time for a few, these are the ones we’d hand a newcomer.
This week, we will talk about Sir Winston Churchill, the myths about him, and the upcoming Churchill conference in London with Justin Reash. Justin is the…
Listen to this episode →
In this episode of the Anglotopia podcast, Jonathan Thomas takes listeners on a journey through significant locations in Britain associated with Sir Winston Churchill. The discussion…
Listen to this episode →
In this episode of the Anglotopia podcast, historian and author Katherine Carter offers a fascinating look into her new book, Churchill's Citadel, which examines Winston Churchill's…
Listen to this episode →Every Churchill episode in broadcast order, in one player. Press play and let it run.
Aug 23, 2024 • 49:10
This week, we will talk about Sir Winston Churchill, the myths about him, and the upcoming Churchill conference in London with Justin Reash. Justin is the executive director of the International Churchill Society, and we discuss the work of the...
Sep 13, 2024 • 51:05
As part of our ongoing series about Winston Churchill in the lead-up to the International Churchill Society Conference in London in October, this week we interview author Robert Schmuhl about his new book ‘Mr. Churchill in the White House.’ The...
Sep 27, 2024 • 44:10
As part of our ongoing series of special podcasts about Winston Churchill in the build-up to the International Churchill Conference in October, this week we interview Timothy Riley, the Sandra L. and Monroe E. Trout Director and Chief Curator of...
Nov 8, 2024 • 47:09
In this episode of the Anglotopia podcast, historian and author Katherine Carter offers a fascinating look into her new book, Churchill's Citadel, which examines Winston Churchill's pivotal “wilderness years” of the 1930s. Katherine shares her...
Jan 24, 2025 • 54:11
In this episode of the Anglotopia podcast, host Jonathan Thomas speaks with Allen Packwood, director of the Churchill Archives Center at Cambridge, about Winston Churchill's role during the D-Day landings. They explore the complexities of military...
Apr 11, 2025 • 35:49
This conversation explores the complex relationship between American Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon and British Chancellor of the Exchequer Winston Churchill during the post-World War I era, an underexplored era of Churchill’s career that foretold future Anglo-American relations during World War II. The discussion delves into their rivalry over war debt…
Aug 15, 2025 • 48:11
In this episode of the Anglotopia podcast, host Jonathan Thomas speaks with Carmen Alvarez, the collections and conservation manager at Blenheim Palace. They discuss the significance of Blenheim Palace, its new exhibitions, the challenges of conserving historical garments, and the evolution of public engagement in heritage conservation. Carmen shares insights…
Nov 7, 2025 • 33:09
In this episode of the Anglotopia podcast, Jonathan Thomas takes listeners on a journey through significant locations in Britain associated with Sir Winston Churchill. The discussion begins with key sites in London, including the Houses of Parliament, Downing Street, and the Cabinet War Rooms, highlighting their importance in Churchill’s life…
Nov 21, 2025 • 1:00:54
In this episode, historian Dr. Chris Smith discusses the Coventry Blitz, marking its 85th anniversary. He explores the myths surrounding the event, particularly the narrative that Churchill sacrificed Coventry to protect intelligence secrets. The conversation delves into the scale of the bombing, the city’s industrial significance, the immediate aftermath, and…
May 22, 2026 • 1:05:29
In this episode of the Anglotopia Podcast, Jonathan Thomas sits down with Dr. Gary L. Stiles — physician, medical researcher, former Distinguished Professor of Cardiovascular Research at Duke University, and lifelong Churchill scholar — to discuss his new book A Prelude to Immortality, published by Unicorn Publishing Group. Gary’s book…
Jun 12, 2026 • 54:09
Did you know that in addition to saving the free world, Churchill was also an accomplished painter? In this episode of the Anglotopia Podcast, Jonathan Thomas sits down with Dr. Lucy Davis — curator of paintings at the Wallace Collection in London and co-curator of Winston Churchill the Painter, the…
Jul 10, 2026 • 58:56
In this episode of the Anglotopia Podcast, Jonathan Thomas sits down with Jonathan W. Jordan — New York Times bestselling military historian, Wall Street Journal book critic, and now federal judge — to discuss his richly researched new book Ike and Winston: World War, Cold War, and an Extraordinary Friendship.…
In the order we recorded them, oldest first.
This week, we will talk about Sir Winston Churchill, the myths about him, and the upcoming Churchill conference in London with Justin Reash. Justin is the…
Listen to this episode →
As part of our ongoing series about Winston Churchill in the lead-up to the International Churchill Society Conference in London in October, this week we interview…
Listen to this episode →
As part of our ongoing series of special podcasts about Winston Churchill in the build-up to the International Churchill Conference in October, this week we interview…
Listen to this episode →
In this episode of the Anglotopia podcast, historian and author Katherine Carter offers a fascinating look into her new book, Churchill's Citadel, which examines Winston Churchill's…
Listen to this episode →
In this episode of the Anglotopia podcast, host Jonathan Thomas speaks with Allen Packwood, director of the Churchill Archives Center at Cambridge, about Winston Churchill's role…
Listen to this episode →
This conversation explores the complex relationship between American Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon and British Chancellor of the Exchequer Winston Churchill during the post-World War I era,…
Listen to this episode →
In this episode of the Anglotopia podcast, host Jonathan Thomas speaks with Carmen Alvarez, the collections and conservation manager at Blenheim Palace. They discuss the significance…
Listen to this episode →
In this episode of the Anglotopia podcast, Jonathan Thomas takes listeners on a journey through significant locations in Britain associated with Sir Winston Churchill. The discussion…
Listen to this episode →
In this episode, historian Dr. Chris Smith discusses the Coventry Blitz, marking its 85th anniversary. He explores the myths surrounding the event, particularly the narrative that…
Listen to this episode →
In this episode of the Anglotopia Podcast, Jonathan Thomas sits down with Dr. Gary L. Stiles — physician, medical researcher, former Distinguished Professor of Cardiovascular Research…
Listen to this episode →
Did you know that in addition to saving the free world, Churchill was also an accomplished painter? In this episode of the Anglotopia Podcast, Jonathan Thomas…
Listen to this episode →
In this episode of the Anglotopia Podcast, Jonathan Thomas sits down with Jonathan W. Jordan — New York Times bestselling military historian, Wall Street Journal book…
Listen to this episode →We turn our favourite conversations into full feature articles — the same material, written up properly, for people who’d sooner read than listen.
It's one of the most enduring anecdotes about the Special Relationship: Winston Churchill, emerging naked from his bath at the White House, encounters President Franklin D.…
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Winston Churchill remains one of history's most studied, most quoted, and most mythologized figures. But how much of what we think we know about him is…
Read the article →Two decades of Churchill writing from our sister sites — his houses, his paintings, his London, and the places you can still visit today.
I came across this pretty interesting blog post the other day. Daily Routines is a blog that posts about the daily routines of famous…
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Universally renowned as an inspirational statesman, writer, orator and the man who led Britain to victory in the Second World War (1939-45), what may…
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Winston Churchill led Britain through its darkest hour, served twice as Prime Minister, won the Nobel Prize for Literature, and shaped the course of…
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The Cabinet War Rooms, also known as the Churchill War Rooms, is part of the Imperial War Museums and served as the British government’s…
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Photo Credit: Yousuf Karsh ‘Roaring Lion’ Portrait In the pantheon of 20th-century leaders who shaped the destiny of nations, few figures loom as large…
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Certainly one of the greatest Prime Ministers in the history of the United Kingdom, Winston Churchill cemented his place in the annals of Britain…
Read on Londontopia →Six places where the story is still standing. Episode 77 is our full travel guide to all of them.
The house he bought in 1922 and never really left — studio, garden walls he built himself, and the view he called the finest in England. Now National Trust.
His birthplace in 1874, and the Vanbrugh palace whose collections we explored in Episode 66. He proposed to Clementine in the grounds.
The underground bunker beneath Whitehall, left much as it was on the day the lights went out in 1945.
The village churchyard a short walk from Blenheim where Churchill is buried, alongside his parents and Clementine.
A million documents at Churchill College — the raw material behind almost every book written about him.
A bombed Christopher Wren church moved stone by stone from London to Fulton, where he gave the Iron Curtain speech. The story is Episode 34.
New episodes every Friday. Churchill turns up more often than you’d think. Follow the show wherever you listen — it’s on just about everything.
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