In the latest in our trawl through the treasure trove of rare Welsh videos to be found online, we present a fascinating interview with one of the twentieth century’s most influential thinkers, writers and activists, Sir Bertrand Russell. Back in the day when the “public intellectual” was still very much a vital part of any progressive society, Russell was a leader in socialist liberal democratic pacifist movements. In this Face to Face interview from 1959, an 87-year-old Russell is as spry and engaged as he was when he wrote his seminal work, Mathematica Principa, in the 1890s.
Joan Bakewell’s introduction to this film is an excellent way in for anyone who knows little of Bertrand Russell’s work or, perhaps just as importantly, his character. Perhaps one of the great recommendations of this film is that it gives us an opportunity to spend a bit of time in the great man’s company.
To find out more about Sir Bertrand Russell, visit his page on the Nobel Prize’s website.
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Wales Archive | Megan Lloyd George: Happy New Year 1947
Megan Lloyd George was a great deal more than just the daughter of one of Britain’s great Prime Ministers. She also served as Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party and began Wales’ first female MP. In this extremely rare Pathé News clip, in which she records a New Year’s message from Wales to Wales, we see her deliver messages of hope to a country reeling from the recent war with Nazi Germany. Much of what she says resonates very strongly as a message relevant for today.
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