EXPLORE
LANGUAGE & RHETORIC
SONGS OF CHANGE
Music to anger, unsettle, and inspire social change.
WHAT MAKES A GREAT SPEECH?
Mary Beard examines public speaking from Demosthenes to Obama.
POWER OF THE PROTEST
"A riot is the language of the unheard."
WHY YOU THINK YOU'RE RIGHT - EVEN IF YOU'RE WRONG
THE LANGUAGE OF PROPAGANDA
A look at the 10 best UK election posters
HATE SPEAK IS ALL THE RAGE
Caitlin Moran on a new language that’s online and turbo-charged with hate and rage.
ANGELA DAVIS
Black activist, Angela Davis, was acquitted after a 13 week trial and gave this powerful speech on her release.
FIDEL CASTRO
A HERO OR A TYRANT?
Rupert Cornwell examines Fidel Castro's legacy.
READ 'HISTORY WILL ABSOLVE ME'
The speech given by Fidel Castro in his own defence in court in 1953
CHAIM RUMKOWSKI
CHRONICLE OF THE LODZ GHETTO
An account of life in the second biggest Jewish ghetto in Nazi Europe.
READ 'GIVE ME YOUR CHILDREN'
1942: Chaim Rumkowski addresses the Jews imprisoned by the Nazis in Łódź Ghetto
MONICA LEWINSKy
SIGNS OF PROGRESS
How have things changed in the 20 years since the Clinton / Lewinsky affair?
READ 'PATIENT ZERO'
The speech made by Monica Lewinsky given in Cannes, France in June 2015.
REACTIONS TO MONICA LEWINSKY'S SPEECH
With Amanda Abbington and members of the Almeida's Young Artists.
EDITH SAMPSOn
TIME TO GET UNCOMFORTABL
Brigid Delaney on our new echo chambers.
READ 'CHOOSE ONE OF FIVE'
Read Edith Sampson's commencement speech from May 1965.
CHARLES LINDBERGH
'AMERICA FIRST' BEFORE TRUMP
The theme of President Trump’s administration is "America First," a notion that some say echoes ominously from the past.
READ 'WHO ARE THE WAR AGITATORS?'
Charles Lindbergh's keynote speech at an America First rally at the Des Moines Coliseum.
REACTIONS TO CHARLES LINDBERGH'S SPEECH
with the Almeida Young Leaders.
Harold Macmillan
FROM EMPIRE TO EUROPE
Macmillan's speech marked the moment a liberal Britain decided to pivot away from empire.
IN RESPONSE TO CHANGE
South Africa Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd's response to Macmillan's speech.
READ 'THE WINDS OF CHANGE'
The speech given by Harold Macmillan to the Parliament of South Africa on 3 February 1960.
REACTIONS TO HAROLD MACMILLAN'S SPEECH
with John Heffernan and the Almeida Young Company.
Margaret Sanger
EMPOWERMENT IN CONTRACEPTION
Melinda Gates, wife of Microsoft founder Bill, is on a mission to use her husband’s $89 billion to get birth control to millions of women.
READ 'THE MORALITY OF BIRTH CONTROL'
Margaret Sanger's speech from the first American Birth Control conference.
REACTIONS TO MARGARET SANGER'S SPEECH
with Noma Dumezweni and members of Women Inspiring New Generations.
Socrates
A MAN FOR OUR TIME
He was condemned to death for telling the ancient Greeks things they didn't want to hear, but Socrates' views on trial by media are just as relevant today.
LIFE THAT DOESN'T END WITH DEATH
Anthropologist Kelli Swazey takes a look at other cultures approach to death.
READ 'I GO TO DIE'
The final speech given by Socrates before his death.
REACTIONS TO SOCRATES' SPEECH
with Derek Jacobi and members of the Finsbury Park Death Cafe and Gentle Dusk community.
MALCOLM X
THE AGE OF RAGE
We live in a global ‘age of rage’ – and it’s entering a new phase.
READ 'THE LANGUAGE OF VIOLENCE'
One of the final speeches given by Malcolm X, speech at the Ford Auditorium in Detroit.
REACTIONS TO MALCOLM X'S SPEECH
Members of Freedom from Torture discuss Malcolm X's The Language of Violence with Cush Jumbo.
HARVEY MILK
HARVEY MILK'S LEGACY
Can the election of a single person matter?
READ 'THE HOPE SPEECH'
Harvey Milk's speech on celebrating differences and offering hope.
REACTIONS TO MILK'S SPEECH
Members of North London's LGBT+ community discuss The Hope Speech with Ian McKellen.
VIRGINIA WOOLF
"IF I WAS A MAN, WOULD THIS BE HAPPENING TO ME?"
While Woolf was asking these questions in 1929, they feed into questions women ask themselves frequently today.
READ 'SHAKESPEARE'S SISTER'
Part of Virginia Woolf's essay A Room of One's Own.
WORDS FAIL ME
The only surviving recording of Virginia Woolf
REACTIONS TO WOOLF'S SPEECH
A group of women writers at Clean Break - a theatre company working with women in the criminal justice system - discuss 'Shakespeare's Sister' with Fiona Shaw.
NELSON MANDELA
SELF-SACRIFICE
What does it take to die for an ideal?
A HEAVYWEIGHT WITH A LIGHT TOUCH
Mandela's greatest legacy may be his profound commitment to democracy.
READ 'I AM PREPARED TO DIE'
Nelson Mandela's speech from the dock of the defendant at the Rivonia Trial.
REACTIONS TO MANDELA'S SPEECH
Students at City and Islington College discuss 'I Am Prepared to Die' with Lucian Msamati.
ELIZABETH GLASER
WHAT IS 'CARE'?
Untangling the many definitions of 'care'.
APATHY PLUS HIV KILLS
In the 1980s, the stigma associated with HIV was crushing.
READ 'AMERICA, WAKE UP'
Elizabeth Glaser's landmark speech on the AIDS epidemic.
REACTIONS TO GLASER'S SPEECH
Members of a local mother and daughter community project discuss 'America, Wake Up' with Nicola Walker.
NEIL KINNOCK
A THOUSAND GENERATIONS
Kinnock spoke for everyone who desperately wanted their children to have the opportunities so systematically denied to them.
READ 'COLLECTIVE STRENGTH'
Neil Kinnock's speech as Labour leader when he attempted to rebuild the Labour Party.
REACTIONS TO KINNOCK'S SPEECH
Students from St Mary Magdalene Academy discuss 'Collective Strength' with Ashley Walters.
Teacher Resources
Find dedicated lesson plans to help analyse and explore the thematic content of each speech. These resources are ideal for teachers of English Language and Literature, History and Philosophy and Ethics.
