Rethinking the Swinging Sixties with Peter Doggett

The 1960s have passed into popular legend as the era of creative freedom and sexual liberation. Much of that is true, but there was also a dark side to that revolution.

Peter Doggett, author of Growing Up: Sex in the 1960s, explores the ambiguous legacy of that golden age – how it freed some people from prejudice, while exposing young women to a culture of sexual exploitation.

Join Peter in conversation with historian Maurice Casey for a new perspective on the “Swinging Sixties”. 

Peter Doggett has been writing about popular music and cultural history for more than 40 years. He is best known for his book about the break-up of the Beatles and its aftermath, You Never Give Me Your Money. His most recent book, Growing Up, is a portrait of the sexual culture of the 1960s and its awkward blend of liberation and exploitation.

Maurice J. Casey is a Belfast-based historian and writer originally from Cahir, Co. Tipperary. Maurice, who completed his PhD in History in Oxford University in 2020, has completed fellowships at US and UK universities, including Stanford University, Queen’s University Belfast and – most recently – Cambridge University. His debut book Hotel Lux: An Intimate History of Communism’s Forgotten Radicals was published in 2024 by Footnote Press. It was shortlisted for History Book of the Year at the 2024 Irish Book Awards. His writing has also appeared in outlets including The Guardian and The Irish Times. Maurice is currently working on a radio documentary commissioned by the BBC. It tells the story of how he uncovered a remarkable anti-Nazi newspaper handwritten by two young girls in the 1930s.