Episode description

Is Britain Exceptional? Historian, author and Sunday Telegraph columnist Zoe Strimpel believes so, and sifts through the layers of Britain’s culture, politics and religious history to find the roots for the nation’s scientific, intellectual and cultural dynamism and the germ for today’s culture wars. With the help of leading historians, political activists and scientists, Zoe examines whether Britain's obsession with the glories of 'our finest hour': WWII determined a version of history that eclipsed inconvenient truths that contradict our national myths and identity. She asks whether Britain's 'long island story' has really been as unruptured and stable as commonly believed, revealing a much more compelling Britishness forged out of military conflict abroad and religious and political turmoil at home.

Does the secret to Britain's historical dynamism in scientific discovery, philosophy and culture reside in dissent from religious and political orthodoxy, rather than unstinting allegiance? Has the hidden history of religious noncomformity - a rebellion within a rebellion - been the hothouse encouraging creative genius to flourish? Zoe meets the modern-day heirs to noncomformity to examine how Britain's unwillingness to put culture at the heart of our holdall national identity has led to tolerance and cultural diversity on the one hand, but also an acceptance of inequality. This might be the cause of our lost sense of who we are and what Britain is now for; perhaps we need to learn from and incorporate our unexamined history to shake off self-loathing, embrace eccentricity and regain the creative dynamism we now lack.

Presenter: Zoe Strimpel Producer: David Reid Editor: Clare Fordham