The Invention Of... Folgen

The Swedes are very proud that they have not fought in a war since 1814, but they have not always been the knitwear pacifists they are today. Following a traumatic moment in their history - the Stockholm Bloodbath of 1520 - they set off on a two century rampage fuelled by religion and military skill. This reached a crazy crescendo when - like Napoleon and Hitler - King Charles XII of Sweden took on the Russians in what some have described as a defensive war. The Swedes don't talk much about this period today.With brilliant contributions from Erika Sandstrom, Gunnar Wetterberg, Peter Wilson, Anna Toon, Michael Pye and Ulf Zander.The producer in Bristol is Miles Warde

In a brief September window, Misha Glenny and Miles Warde flew into Copenhagen to begin work on a new Invention of ... series. The plan - find out why Denmark, Sweden and Norway had responded to the pandemic in such different ways. Denmark was one of the first countries in Europe to lock down. Sweden famously took another route. This is the ninth Invention series, and the aim is to understand what these three countries are - their people, the borders, the stories they tell themselves. Can history explain what is happening now? With contributions from the novelists Dorthe Nors, Linn Ullman, and Carsten Jensen; historians Erika Sandstrom, Ulf Zander and Gunnar Wetterberg; tour guide and journalist Anna Toon; and author Michael Booth, author of The Almost Nearly Perfect People - Behind the Myth of the Scandinavian Utopia.Presenter Misha Glenny is an award-winning reporter and author of McMafiaThe producer for BBC Audio in Bristol is Miles Warde

Declan Lawn talks to Micha Glenny about the differences between the north and the south and, in particular, the border.