What If? returns to BBC Radio 4

[David S Poepoe]

The BBC Radio 4 history show What If? has returned and this time they're covering the following:

Programme 1. Nazi Occupation
What If Hitler had successfully implemented his plan for the occupation of Britain in 1940. Would we really have fought them on the beaches? Would there have been an English resistance movement? What would have happened to Britain's Jewish population and how would the Nazis have dealt with the Royal Family and the BBC? With Mark Seaman, Madeleine Bunting and Terry Charman.

Programme 2. Elizabeth I had married
What If Elizabeth I had married? Professor Christopher Andrew and his guests, Lady Antonia Fraser, John Guy and Derek Wilson discuss what might have happened if the Virgin Queen had taken a husband. Would a Catholic bridegroom have plunged England into a religious civil war ? Would a foreign match have robbed England of Gloriana and the Golden Age over which she reigned ? With Lady Antonia Fraser, John Guy and Derek Wilson.

Programme 3. Tiananmen Square
What if the Chinese authorities had not sent tanks into Tiananmen Square in June 1989 ? Would the pro-democracy demonstrators have won the day and set China on the road to political reform ? Or would any loosening of central control have seen the country spiral into violent chaos ? In this week's edition of the programme that rewrites history, Professor Christopher Andrew and his guests - Jonathan Mirsky, Steve Tsang and Humphrey Hawksley - imagine how the People's Republic might look today if the students' demands for change had been met, not with gunfire, but with concessions. With Jonathan Mirsky, Steve Tsang and Humphrey Hawksley.

Programme 4. Rorke's Drift
What If the Zulus had defeated the British in 1879 ? In this week's edition of the programme which rewrites history, Professor Christopher Andrew and his guests imagine the consequences for the British Empire and for Southern Africa of a Zulu victory. With Saul David, Ian Knight and Joanna Lewis.

[Chewy]

Thanks for the info, should be good. Do you know when its on. I really should listen to the radio more. If your interested you can get listen to previous programmes on
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/..._archive.shtml

[David S Poepoe]

I just download the program and listen to it via my RealPlayer. Tho is seems to be first aired on Mondays at 8pm GMT and probably available on the Internet by Tuesday morning.