History: what is it good for?

Even since the Black Lives Matter protests and the tearing down of the Edward Colston statue in Bristol, there have been calls for a reckoning with Britain’s history - for a decolonising of the curriculum and a greater understanding of our past. That in turn has spurned a backlash, with a defence of Britain’s empire and a rallying around the flag. But what exactly does our curriculum say? What should we be teaching? And should history create some form of national identity or simply give us a better sense of our place in an ever-changing world? In this podcast, we ask: what’s the point of history?