大象传媒

Timothy's Snyder's new book explores the meaning of freedom. Today, the historian and intellectual turns his attention to Vaclav Havel and the high price he and fellow dissidents paid for making the case for human rights under an authoritarian regime. Read by Kyle Soller.

Timothy Snyder is an historian and public intellectual writing on Ukraine, American politics, strategies for averting authoritarianism, digital politics, health, and education. He is the recipient of numerous awards and honours including the Emerson Prize in the Humanities, the V谩clav Havel Foundation prize, and the Hannah Arendt Prize in Political Thought. He teaches history and global affairs at Yale University and his books include Bloodlands, Black Earth and On Tyranny.

On Freedom is his latest book. Here he looks at how freedom has been misunderstood and is leading society into crisis. He takes issue with the deep seated notion that freedom is about the right of the individual to behave and speak however they wish, where its understood as protection from outside forces, and interference from others. Instead, he invites us to look at in a different way, not as freedom 'from', but freedom 'to'. He asks us to look at freedom as a foundational value that allows all people to thrive, to take risks and to work together to ensure a bright future for everyone.

Kyle Soller is an award winning actor well known for his work in the theatre - Long Day's Journey Into Night, Hedda Gabler The Inheritance - on the small screen - Poldark, The Hollow Crown, Andor, and on radio - Giovanni's Room, Losing Earth, People Who Knew Me.

Abridged by Katrin Williams.
Produced by Elizabeth Allard