2014 Programme
Event #39
Alessandro Barbero
How Do Wars Break Out? The Falklands War
On 2 April 1982 Argentine troops landed on the Falkland Islands, a British colony that Argentina had always laid claim to. The military junta, which already had thousands of desaparecidos on its conscience, hoped to muster up the consensus of a country crushed by inflation running at 600%, and did not imagine that a modern European democracy could react with a declaration of war. Instead that’s just what happened: the British government led by Margaret Thatcher sent out its fleet to recapture the islands. But in what way did the mechanisms of politics, pressure from public opinion and the game of international alliances lead the Argentine generals to get their calculations wrong, and the United Kingdom government to take on the responsibility for a war?
Alessandro Barbero, historian and writer, is Professor of Medieval History at the University of Eastern Piedmont and Vercelli. He contributes to the programmes “Passato e presente” and “a.C.d.C.” aired on Rai Storia. Since 2023 he has been the star of the programme “In viaggio con Barbero”, on LA7. In the same year he started for Chora Media “Chiedilo a Barbero”, a podcast in which he answers questions on history sent in by listeners. Among his publications: “Le parole del papa” (2016), “Caporetto” (2017), “Dante” (2020), 2All' arme! All'arme. I priori fanno carne” (2023), published by Laterza; “Gli occhi di Venezia” (2011) and “Le Ateniesi” (2015), published by Mondadori; “Costantino il vincitore” (Salerno, 2016); “Il divano di Istanbul” (2011), “Alabama” (2021), “Poeta al comando” (2022) and “Brick for stone” (2023), published by Sellerio.
Event #20
Paolo Cornaglia Ferraris, Marcello Massimini
The Secret of the Consciousness and its Measurement
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