Lady Carnarvon’s Castle Conversations
Why not join me to enjoy a plethora of fascinating topics and guests from the world of Highclere Castle, the real Downton Abbey?
Whether you love movies or care about the planet; wish to discover the best gardening or cooking tips; hear about innovation, music or the history of flight. I hope you will thoroughly enjoy the library we have created.
Explore Podcasts by Category
Tuesday, 2 June, 2026
Survival of the Friendliest: Lady Carnarvon talks to Rutger Bregman about the “real” Lord of the Flies and the power of kindness.
I welcome Dutch historian Rutger Bregman to the podcast after first messaging him on Instagram and we talk about what I took from his book Humankind and my own wish to bring people together to remember friendship and kindness.
Rutger reflects on Dutch directness and equality shaped by living with water, from the 1953 flood to the Delta Works, and shares why he writes for a general audience about big questions of human nature.
We discuss his challenge to the “veneer theory” and his belief in “survival of the friendlies,” alongside a real shipwreck story near Tonga where six boys survived 15 months through cooperation. Our conversation turns to bullying, family and attachment, the Second World War and Rutger’s research for Moral Ambition on how resistance spreads simply by asking others to help.
Monday, 1 January, 2024
Historian Bettany Hughes
LADY CARNARVON'S PODCAST
Happy New Year! What better way to start 2024 than by welcoming historian, author, broadcaster and good friend Bettany Hughes to 'the real Downton Abbey'.
Thursday, 5 November, 2020
Night Bomber: Colin Bell
LADY CARNARVON'S PODCAST
Flight Lieutenant Colin Bell DFC AE FRICS RAF (retired) served in WW2 as a Mosquito Bomber Pilot. Celebrating his 100th Birthday next March, he talks all about his experiences as a pilot in WW2. His flying training was carried out in 1941 in the United States and he stayed there serving as a flying instructor until 1943. On his return to the United Kingdom in 1943 he converted to twin engine Mosquito Bombers and joined 608 Squadron (Pathfinder Group) based at Downham Market in Norfolk. During his operational tours he carried out 50 bombing raids over Germany, 13 of them over Berlin. He experienced much action and survived many close scrapes. This inspirational talk takes place in the Smoking Room at Highclere Castle, and was recorded for video as well as podcast as part of the History at Highclere weekend.