The 90s: A Holiday from History

Available for over a year

Jonathan Freedland re-examines the 1990s from a new angle - recalling it as a rare period of peace and prosperity. But could it also be the decade which ultimately led to Trump and Brexit? Sandwiched between the end of the Cold War and the war on terror, the 1990s now look like an oasis of calm. The decade witnessed the end of apartheid in South Africa, the fall of the Soviet Union and peace in Northern Ireland. As a result, people became preoccupied by more domestic dramas. Just as the UK was gripped by the saga of Charles and Diana's marriage, the Americans were hooked on the OJ Simpson trial. Jonathan unearths a rich selection of archive and hears from MPs John Redwood and Harriet Harman about their perspectives on this most unusual decade. But he also argues that some of the forces unleashed in that decade would only start to manifest themselves in the middle of the 2010s - with the rise of Donald Trump and the UK's decision to leave the EU. Producer: Laurence Grissell. First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2017.