
Mishal Husain's ancestors ‘were in the room' at birth of the USA
In her memoir, Mishal Husain, the former BBC journalist, traced the story of her four grandparents.
Husain's Broken Threads was praised by The Times for its 'arresting … vivid' account of two maverick marriages set against the drama of Indian partition.
Now Husain, 52, who presented Today on Radio 4 for 11 years, has delved further into her family history for the BBC's Who Do You Think You Are? The series starts on Tuesday night and Husain will feature next week. She was surprised to find she had American ancestors who were 'in the room' at the start of the American Revolution in 1775.
'It has given me a much broader sense of myself,' she said. 'To realise that I had a connection to the
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Tatler Asia
3 days ago
- Tatler Asia
11 films with love triangles to get you ready for ‘Materialists'
Past Lives (2023) Above The film stars Greta Lee, Teo Yoo and John Magaro (Photo: IMDb) In Materialists director Celine Song's feature film debut, two childhood friends contemplate the nature of their relationship as they grow apart, live separate lives and finally reunite. The film stars Greta Lee, Teo Yoo and John Magaro. The Notebook (2004) Above The film stars Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams, James Marsden and James Garner (Photo: IMDb) A young couple in the 1940s falls passionately in love despite obstacles trying to keep them apart. Directed by Nick Cassavetes, the film stars Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams, James Marsden and James Garner. The Dreamers (2003) Above Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, the film stars Eva Green, Louis Garrel and Michael Pitt (Photo: IMDb) Set against the backdrop of the 1968 Paris student riots, a young American student becomes entangled in a strange dynamic with a French brother and sister. Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, the film stars Eva Green, Louis Garrel and Michael Pitt. Y Tu Mamá También (2001) Above The film stars Diego Luna, Gael García Bernal and Maribel Verdú (Photo: IMDb) In this seminal coming-of-age drama, two teenage best friends embark on a road trip with an older woman across rural Mexico. Directed by Alfonso Cuarón, the film stars Diego Luna, Gael García Bernal and Maribel Verdú. Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) Above The film stars Renée Zellweger, Colin Firth and Hugh Grant (Photo: IMDb) Bridget Jones, a thirty-something single woman in London, decides to start keeping a diary while she searches for love. Directed by Sharon Maguire, the film stars Renée Zellweger, Colin Firth and Hugh Grant. My Best Friend's Wedding (1997) Above The film stars Julia Roberts, Dermot Mulroney and Cameron Diaz (Photo: IMDb) A New York City food critic attempts to sneakily sabotage her lifelong best friend's wedding to a wealthy college student. Directed by PJ Hogan, the film stars Julia Roberts, Dermot Mulroney and Cameron Diaz. The Age of Innocence (1993) Above The film stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder and Michelle Pfeiffer (Photo: IMDb) Based on the novel by Edith Wharton, this Gilded Age romance follows a wealthy lawyer drawn to a mysterious countess despite his engagement to her cousin. Directed by Martin Scorsese, the film stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder and Michelle Pfeiffer. Sabrina (1954) Above The film stars Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart and William Holden (Photo: IMDb) A chauffer's daughter returns home from Paris and catches the attention of both a playboy bachelor and his business-minded brother. Directed by Billy Wilder, the film stars Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart and William Holden. The Earrings of Madame de… (1953) Above The film stars Charles Boyer, Danielle Darrieux and Vittorio de Sica (Photo: IMDb) An aristocratic woman sets off a series of unexpected events after she sells a pair of earrings given to her by her husband. Directed by Max Ophüls, the film stars Charles Boyer, Danielle Darrieux and Vittorio de Sica. Gone with the Wind (1939) Above The film stars Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable and Leslie Howard (Photo: IMDb) This historical epic follows a manipulative Southern belle and a roguish bachelor as they endure the collapse of their high-class society during and after the American Civil War. Directed by Victor Fleming, the film stars Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable and Leslie Howard. NOW READ 12 best Hollywood films about Hollywood 10 inspirational sports films to watch 7 times that 'Oscar baiting' worked for films


Indian Express
13-06-2025
- Indian Express
Vikrant Massey's family friend was first officer of Air India flight that crashed in Ahmedabad: ‘It pains me even more…'
The tragic Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad on June 12 was personal for actor Vikrant Massey. He took to his Instagram story to share that his family friend, Clive Kunder, was among those who lost their lives in the tragedy. Vikrant also shared in his post that Clive Kunder was the first officer on the flight, which crashed moments after takeoff. On Thursday night, Vikrant shared a note via his Instagram story that read, 'My heart breaks for the families & loved ones of the ones who lost their lives in the unimaginably tragic air crash in Ahmedabad today. It pains even more to know that my uncle, Clifford Kunder, lost his son, Clive Kunder, who was the 1st officer operating on that fateful flight.' 'May God give strength to you and your family uncle and to all deeply affected,' concluded the actor. See Vikrant Massey's post here: Soon after, the actor shared another post clarifying that the Clive Kunder wasn't his cousin, but they are his 'family friends'. 'Dear friends in the media & elsewhere, The unfortunately deceased Mr. Clive Kunder was NOT my cousin 🙏🏽 The Kunders are our family friends. Request no more speculations & let the family and loved ones grieve in peace,' shared the actor. See Vikrant Massey's second post here: The crash has sent shockwaves across the nation and the global aviation industry. Air India Flight AI171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner', had 242 souls on board, including 12 crew members, including 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian. The flight took off from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at 1:38 PM local time, bound for London Gatwick Airport but it went down at approximately 1:56 PM, claiming the lives of over 200 individuals, including crew and passengers. Former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, who was reportedly traveling to London to visit family, was also among the deceased. The crash took place near BJ Medical College and Hospital and The Indian Medical Association in Gujarat reported that three MBBS students died in the incident, while 45 others from a nearby hostel were admitted to hospitals with injuries. One person miraculously survived the crash. Kriti works as a Copy Editor for the Entertainment section of Indian Express Online ( She is great at web stories, galleries, and Express Archive's photo stories. She is good at spotting stories from social media posts. She makes the copies well-loaded with content, photos, tweets, and other related social media posts to make it interesting for the readers. An alumnus of Asian College of Journalism, Chennai (Specialization in New Media), Kriti has been a part of the organisation since November 2015. She took a transfer from Delhi to Bengaluru in April 2017. ... Read More

Sydney Morning Herald
13-06-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
The scariest thing about Trump? Nothing he does can shock us any more
For a president famed for his shock value, the dog days of June have actually been some of the least shocking of his tenure. The break-up of Donald Trump and Elon Musk must have been on everyone's bingo card. Surely no one was surprised when their divorce exploded on social media, and we feasted on a pass-the-popcorn moment writ large in Trump-scale signage. A trope of the Trump years is that a Hollywood scriptwriter would be laughed out of town for authoring such a madcap screenplay. America is in its final season, goes the joke, and the showrunners have completely jumped the shark. On this occasion, however, they would have been sent back to the writing room, and told to try harder. The personal insults. The threats of cancelled government contracts. Even Musk's taunt about the Jeffrey Epstein files felt cliched. I would not even have been surprised if either Trump or Musk had sought to monetise their row by launching a crypto coin in the shape of a broken heart. That is a measure of how, in the 10 years since Trump descended that golden escalator, the abnormal has been normalised. The chaos in Los Angeles was also entirely foreseeable. A crackdown on protesters in a Democratic-run city in a Democratic-run state was always going to be an obvious Trump play. Better still, the faux flashpoint came when agents from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) tried to arrest and expel unauthorised immigrants. For Trump, the staging for this American passion play could hardly have been more perfect. And what a dramatis personae and props. An African-American Democratic mayor, Karen Bass. A liberal Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, with a surname that lends itself to the playground slur 'Newscum' which Trump rejoices in using. A Democratic US senator, Alex Padilla, being bundled out of a press conference and then handcuffed after trying to ask Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem a question. Protesters waving the national flag of Mexico. And a big beautiful battalion of federalised National Guard, under the president's command and control, with 700 US Marines standing by on the fringes of the city. 'Lights! Camera! Action!' A Hollywood summer blockbuster executive produced by the country's most powerful executive. Nor should we overlook how the Democratic Party, and the Biden administration in particular, was crucial in the plot development. 'Democrats have gotten the border issue so wrong, for so long, that it amounts to political malpractice,' wrote W ashington Post columnist David Ignatius, a frequent Trump critic. Loading The Musk meltdown and Los Angeles showdown are, of course, linked. Trump, whose personal approval ratings have slumped sharply, needed a distraction after the breakdown of his billionaire bromance, and Musk's complaints that the 'One Big Beautiful Bill' would add $2.4 trillion to the deficit. So Trump became the first US president since 1965 to federalise the National Guard without the agreement of a state governor. Back then, in one of the most climactic showdowns of the civil rights era, president Lyndon Johnson did so to protect black protesters marching between Montgomery and Selma, who had been bludgeoned by Alabama state troopers on 'Bloody Sunday'. Johnson's opponent was George Wallace, the white supremacist governor of Alabama, a 'Dixie' demagogue often viewed as a populist forerunner of Trump. Wallace would have applauded the president's announcement this week restoring the names of seven army bases which honoured Confederate leaders.