Celebrating Ho Chi Minh and Bob Dylan (E334)

Ho Chi Minh was born 130 years ago last week. From baker in the United States to dishwasher in London, Ho Chi Minh went on to liberate Vietnam and make it into the country it is today. Revolutions after 1917 saw the colonised and oppressed people fight to build a new society; Vietnam was no exception, first taking on the French and then the might of the US. Today, Vietnam is one of the few countries which has not seen one single Covid-19 death. So, we asked Vijay Prashad, historian and journalist, why there is a dearth of literature on this important historical figure.

Another birthday being celebrated in May is that of Bob Dylan. For many he is one of the most significant writers in the English language since William Shakespeare. A man who transcends the title of 1960s cultural personality, he is the epitome of an “enemy of the unexamined life.” So just how did he get to be so Socratic? Since 2009, Professor Lisa O’Neill Sanders has taught philosophy at St. Peter’s University; she is also the founder of the Dylan Review, so we invited her to join us on Sputnik to ask this and much more.

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Podcast https://soundcloud.com/rttv/sets/sputnik-orbiting-the-world