The Invention Of... Podcast
Misha Glenny investigates the borders, the histories and the people that make different nations what they are.
Episodes to download
![]()
The Birth and Death of Yugoslavia—The Balkans
Mon 13 Apr 2026
3/3Misha Glenny returns to the Balkans to report on the birth and death of Yugoslavia.
![]()
Episode 2—The Balkans
Mon 6 Apr 2026
2/3Misha Glenny returns to the Balkans on a 19th-century road trip.
![]()
What Are the Balkans?—The Balkans
Mon 30 Mar 2026
1/3Misha Glenny returns to the Balkans, powder keg of eastern Europe.
![]()
Two World Wars and One Failed Revolution—Hungary
Mon 23 Jun 2025
3/3Misha Glenny on Hungary's dramatic and tragic history in two world wars.
![]()
The Butcher and the Poet—Hungary
Mon 16 Jun 2025
2/3Misha Glenny heads to Hungary in a series about history and power.
![]()
Hungary and Mohacs 500—Hungary
Mon 9 Jun 2025
1/3Misha Glenny heads to Budapest to find where Hungary came from.
![]()
Taiwan
Wed 11 Sep 2024
When did countries become countries? Misha Glenny on what is happening in Taiwan now.
![]()
The Life and Times of Chairman Mao—China
Mon 13 May 2024
4/4Misha Glenny completes our travels round China with the story of Chairman Mao
![]()
Imperial Collapse—China
Mon 6 May 2024
3/4Misha Glenny on the end of the Qing, and what happened next.
![]()
To Kowtow or Not Kowtow—China
Mon 29 Apr 2024
2/4Misha Glenny and producer Miles Warde head to Hong Kong.
![]()
The First Emperor—China
Mon 22 Apr 2024
1/4Misha Glenny on where China came from and what it is now.
![]()
Ottoman or Turk—Turkey
Mon 20 Nov 2023
A bonus episode with Hannah Lucinda Smith, Christopher de Bellaigue and Misha Glenny.
![]()
A Balancing Act—Turkey
Fri 10 Nov 2023
3/3Misha Glenny on the birth of Turkey from the ruins of the old Ottoman Empire in 1923.
![]()
The Military—Turkey
Fri 3 Nov 2023
2/3East versus west, secular versus religious, how the empire came to the point of collapse.
![]()
The Ottomans: East or West—Turkey
Fri 27 Oct 2023
1/3Misha Glenny in Istanbul on the 100th anniversary of the Turkish Republic.
![]()
![]()
![]()
The Empire Strikes Back—Russia
Mon 16 Jan 2023
2/4How little Moscow expanded into the biggest country in the world.
![]()
A Tale of Two Ivans—Russia
Mon 9 Jan 2023
1/4What is Russia and where did it come from? Misha Glenny presents.
![]()
![]()
Stalin on One Side, Hitler From the Left—Poland
Mon 11 Apr 2022
3/3In August 1939, the Russians and the Germans agreed to slice Poland up.
![]()
A Nation Without a State—Poland
Mon 4 Apr 2022
2/3For 123 years Poland was divided between Russia, Prussia and Austria - how did it survive?
![]()
Obliterated From the Map—Poland
Mon 28 Mar 2022
1/3Misha Glenny on how Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine were wiped from the map.
![]()
The Narcissism of Small Differences—Scandinavia
Tue 24 Nov 2020
3/3Misha Glenny looks at how Norway emerged as the richest Scandinavian nation of all.
![]()
The Viking Inheritance—Scandinavia
Tue 17 Nov 2020
2/3Why Sweden has not always been the peace-loving nation it is today, with Misha Glenny.
![]()
The Bridge—Scandinavia
Tue 10 Nov 2020
1/3Misha Glenny looks at the people, the borders and the histories of Scandinavia.
![]()
Escalation—Ireland
Tue 1 Oct 2019
Declan Lawn talks to Micha Glenny about the differences between the north and the south.
![]()
Plantation and Conflict—Ireland
Thu 19 Sep 2019
Dr Joan Redmond talks to Misha Glenny about Ireland, England and the early seeds of war.
![]()
Catholics and Protestants—Ireland
Mon 9 Sep 2019
Fintan O'Toole talks to Misha Glenny about Catholics, Protestants, and Top of the Pops.
![]()
So Many Different Little Corners—Britain
Sun 17 Mar 2019
Who are the Scots, the Irish, the English and the Welsh? What do these words even mean?
