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Professor Peter Hennessy is one of the UK\\u2019s leading contemporary historians. He has written acclaimed and important books about politics, the civil service, the intelligence agencies and the British constitution on which he is an expert.

Peter was born in London in 1947 and read history at St John\\u2019s College, Cambridge. He started writing for the Times in the mid-1970s, covering the inner workings of Whitehall whose activities at that time were shrouded in secrecy. Peter says he approached his journalism like an amateur anthropologist trying to discover more about an unknown culture. His reports were viewed with suspicion by some members of the civil service and Harold Wilson, the then prime minister, issued an edit banning them from talking to him.

In 1986 Peter co-founded the Institute of Contemporary British History, and in 1992 he moved from journalism to academia at Queen Mary, University of London where he is Attlee professor of contemporary British history. He is a fellow of the British Academy and was made a crossbench life peer in 2010. During the COVID-19 pandemic he started keeping a diary which he describes as an \\u201caid to humility\\u201d with the aim of assessing post-world war history as BC (Before Covid) or AC (After Covid).

Peter lives in London with his wife Enid.

DISC ONE: Slow Train - Flanders & Swann\\nDISC TWO: Italian Concerto in F, BWV 971, composed by Johann Sebastian Bach and performed by George Malcolm \\nDISC THREE: Why Don\\u2019t Women Like Me? - George Formby\\nDISC FOUR: Schubert String Quintet In C Major,D. 956 - 2. Adagio, composed by Franz Schubert, performed by Robert Cohen (cello) and Amadeus Quartet \\nDISC FIVE: The Elements - Tom Lehrer\\nDISC SIX: London Girls - Chas & Dave\\nDISC SEVEN: Skye Boat Song - The Pipes and Drums Of Leanisch \\nDISC EIGHT: How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place, composed by Johannes Brahms, performed by Festival Choir And Orchestra, conducted by Thomas D. Rossin\\n \\nBOOK CHOICE: Poetry in the Making by Ted Hughes\\nLUXURY ITEM: A fountain pen, ink and paper\\nCASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: London Girls - Chas & Dave

Presenter Lauren Laverne\\nProducer Paula McGinley