Shows
The Crucible:Conversations for the CuriousS1-E9 | What if belonging is the medicine your addiction is searching for?Highlight"Your path to healing might start with a concerned friend, then maybe a doctor or a family member - each one gently suggesting something isn't right. It could be a coworker, a friend, or even a stranger at a bar. But it's that eleventh person - saying exactly what the other ten said before - 'I think you need help.' And suddenly, the penny drops. It's never about what they say - it's about being ready to hear it. Those first ten people? They planted the seeds that finally bloomed when that eleventh person appears...2024-11-1259 min
Explaining HistorySocialism and Fascism - what they are and are notHi everyone, I get trolled from time to time on Twitter by various far right types who object to a particular video I did years ago which states that Hitler was not, in fact, a socialist and did not , in fact, have socialist ideas. Here I revisit the argument, though I doubt it will do me much good.Anyway, would love to hear your thoughts (unless you want to tell me he is a socialist, and whilst I'm all for free discourse, you should know that I've heard this one before, lots).Thanks2024-02-1430 minExplaining HistorySocialism and Fascism - what they are and are notHi everyone, I get trolled from time to time on Twitter by various far right types who object to a particular video I did years ago which states that Hitler was not, in fact, a socialist and did not , in fact, have socialist ideas. Here I revisit the argument, though I doubt it will do me much good.Anyway, would love to hear your thoughts (unless you want to tell me he is a socialist, and whilst I'm all for free discourse, you should know that I've heard this one before, lots).Thanks2024-02-1430 minExplaining HistoryIsaac Murphy and the Reconstruction Era (1861-96): Explaining History in conversation with Katherine MooneyJoin us in this captivating episode of Explaining History as we delve into the remarkable life of Isaac Murphy, a legendary African American jockey, and his experiences during the Reconstruction Era (1861-96). This week Nick is joined by esteemed historian and author Katherine Mooney, who provides an insightful look into the untold stories of this pivotal period in American history. Together, they discuss the challenges faced by African Americans following the Civil War, the complexities of race relations, and how figures like Isaac Murphy navigated their way through these trying times. 2023-05-0336 minExplaining HistoryIsaac Murphy and the Reconstruction Era (1861-96): Explaining History in conversation with Katherine MooneyJoin us in this captivating episode of Explaining History as we delve into the remarkable life of Isaac Murphy, a legendary African American jockey, and his experiences during the Reconstruction Era (1861-96). This week Nick is joined by esteemed historian and author Katherine Mooney, who provides an insightful look into the untold stories of this pivotal period in American history. Together, they discuss the challenges faced by African Americans following the Civil War, the complexities of race relations, and how figures like Isaac Murphy navigated their way through these trying times. 2023-05-0336 minExplaining HistoryGuadancanal and Ironbottom SoundFollowing the victory over Japan at Midway, the US Navy was unprepared for a devastating defeat inflicted on its landing force at Guadalcanal. The Japanese sought to control islands close to the sea lanes vital to Australia's survival; shutting them off would bring the country to its knees and prevent it becoming a staging post for the liberation of Asia and the Pacific. The commitment of America to Guadalcanal would lead to one of the bloodiest campaigns of the Pacific war. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast...2020-08-2225 minExplaining HistoryCollaboration and Vengeance in Europe 1945In the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, civilian governments struggled to establish law and order and in many cars failed to prevent a wave of vigilante violence against those suspected of collaboration. The complicity in Nazi crimes and the everyday experience of occupation created huge divisions in societies of western and eastern Europe and a deep suspicion on the police, who had often been used by the Nazis and collaborationist governments Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2020-08-1525 minExplaining HistoryThe Battle of MidwayThe Battle of Midway was the first major victory of the US Navy in the Second World War, resulting in the loss of four out of Japan's six carriers. This devastating defeat was not the end of Japan's war in the Pacific, but it signalled the start of a downward trajectory from which Japan would not deviate, despite the ability to inflict losses on America until the end of the war. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2020-08-0525 minExplaining HistoryBritain and the Central African Federation 1951-59During the 1950s, as Britain attempted to hold on to its African colonies, it had to deal with the ambitions of white colonial settlers for domination of the black population on a more explicitly racist model of government, exemplified by apartheid South Africa and the growing force of black nationalism. The British attempted to foster 'moderate' African leaders who might be compliant in a new state, the Central African Federation, which incorporated North and South Rhodesia and Nyasaland. Outmanoeuvred at every turn by the white settlers, the British were forced to accept defeat and see the break up of their...2020-07-2026 minExplaining HistoryAbandoned children in Stalin's Russia 1928-39The rapid industrialisation of the USSR, poor housing, poverty and family breakdown led to countless children being abandoned to fend for themselves by uncaring and cruel parents and step parents. The Soviet state often intervened and prosecuted fathers who refused to pay for the upkeep of their families. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2020-07-0625 minExplaining HistoryFrance's road to Dien Bien Phu 1954As French power and influence declined in Vietnam from 1953 onwards, the conflict started to become a proxy for the wider cold war and not simply an anti colonial struggle. The enormous French miscalculation at Dien Bien Phu, where the garrison was surrounded in a north Vietnamese valley by DRV armies came just as France prepared peace talks at Geneva with the government of Ho Chi Minh. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2020-06-2425 minExplaining HistoryFrench political crisis and the First Indochinese War 1951-54Despair and defeatism defined the French political class's response to the worsening situation in Vietnam following the French defeat at Cao Bang in 1950. This lack of hope led to a gradual decline in the necessary resources to defeat the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. At the same time the DRV was becoming an increasingly professional and organised fighting force. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2020-06-1327 minExplaining HistoryHunting Evil: Nazi War Criminals in South America. Explaining History in conversation with historian Guy WaltersIn the half decade after the Second World War, a stream of wanted Nazi war criminals, including Adolf Eichmann and Josef Mengele fled from Germany and escaped via Italy to Argentina and Brazil. They lived relatively openly in the established German communities in both countries and only a handful were ever brought to justice. In this special edition of the Explaining History podcast, we hear from Guy Walters, whose book, Hunting Evil examines the hidden history of this often mythologised chapter of post war history. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted...2020-05-2239 minExplaining HistoryGerman terror bombing and Warsaw 1939The German airforce was designed to support its army on the battlefield and act as a tool for rapid military operations or 'blitzkrieg'. Unlike British and American air fleets that pursued a policy of strategic bombing away from the battlefield, lighter German aircraft were focused on ground support. Their role in the terror bombing of the defended city of Warsaw was to force capitulation of the army and other defenders, but this came at a deliberate massive civilian cost. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy...2020-05-1826 minExplaining HistoryBritain's Europe Referendum 1975In 1973 the Conservative Party and the right of the Labour Party voted to join the European Economic Community or 'Common Market' as it was known. Despite opposition on the right and left, the decision to join was ratified by a referendum in 1975, but the political divisions foreshadowed endless political conflict over the issue of European integration in later decades. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2020-05-0826 minExplaining HistoryFrench Politics and the war in Indochina 1949-54By 1950 the French political establishment was in a state of despair about its prospects in Vietnam. The newly reorganised army of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam had inflicted defeats on France in 1950 ad Cao Bang on the Vietnam/China border. The involvement of the USA in the war brought badly needed military and financial aid, but placed an intolerable burden on French national pride. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2020-05-0426 minExplaining HistoryInternationalism vs Anti Communism in America: 1945-7In the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, the popularity of international, multilateral organisations such as the UN and the Bretton Woods institutions in America was high. Wartime cooperation was looked upon favourably by most Americans, even though there was a considerable minority who favoured a return to isolationism. The Republican Party and right wing journalists and thinkers saw international cooperation, sympathies towards Britain and wartime cooperation with the USSR as ideal material to attack the Democrats with. This was an integral part of the growth of anti communism in the USA in the 1940s and 1950s. ...2020-05-0425 minExplaining History140 Days to Hiroshima Part Two: Explaining History interview with David Dean BarrettThis is the second in our two part interview special with historian David Barrett, whose new book 140 Days to Hiroshima examines the decision making regarding the dropping of the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. This time we examine the factionalism within the Japanese wartime leadership, the impact of the second atomic bomb on the regime's decision making and the role of Emperor Hirohito.You can purchase the book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/140-Days-Hiroshima-Untold-Surrender/dp/1635765811.There are further reviews of the book here: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/david-dean-barrett/140...2020-05-0158 minExplaining HistoryRonald Reagan's conservative transition 1954In the 1930s, Ronald Reagan had been a Roosevelt Democrat supporter and had believed that the role of government in alleviating the crisis of the Great Depression was vital. By the early 1950s, Reagan, a failing actor was moving to the political right and had embraced the Hayekian obsession with reducing the size of the state. As a spokesman for the company GE he toured the USA, speaking to working class Americans who shared his views and in doing so, he prepared for his later political career. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
2020-04-2825 minExplaining HistoryThe US Navy and the Battle of MidwayAmerica's war in the Pacific had begun with Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbour and within six months the US Navy inflicted a devastating defeat on Japan at the Battle of Midway. American admirals and aviators learned the rules of naval warfare quickly, despite the fact that Japan initially outclassed America in naval warfare and aviation. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2020-04-2526 minExplaining HistoryPacifism and British Politics 1933-39In the 1930s the deteriorating world situation presented all major political parties in Britain with profound dilemmas, whether to back pacifism, collective security or appeasement. The peripheral British Union of Fascists advocated peace with Nazi Germany in order to allow Hitler to wage his war against Europe's Jews. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2020-04-2428 minExplaining HistorySlave labour and the Nazi Armaments Industry 1942-45In 1942 Heinrich Himmler appointed a new administrator to the head of his concentration camp network, Oswald Pohl. Pohl saw the key to his personal advancement the utilisation of slave labour for arms manufacture. By late 1942 and in early 1943 it was clear that the tide of war was turning against Germany and Pohl believed that the brutal extraction of work from prisoners could contribute to victory. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2020-04-2426 minExplaining HistoryClass origin, social stigma and the Stalin Constitution 1935-39By 1935 the Soviet regime appeared to relax its stance towards citizens deemed to be class enemies and their children. Stalin said: "A son does not answer for the father." However, persecution of former Kulaks and former members of the Tsarist order continued regardless, as many Soviet employers or teachers did not wish to appear lenient towards 'social aliens' in case the political mood changed and they were accused of anti Soviet sympathies. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2020-04-2225 minExplaining History140 Days to Hiroshima: Explaining History Interview with David BarrettThis special episode of the Explaining History Podcast features historian David Barrett, whose new book 140 Days to Hiroshima examines the decision making regarding the dropping of the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. This is the first of two interviews with David and it explores the decisions by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and President Truman to use the bomb instead of an amphibious landing in the Japanese home islands.You can purchase the book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/140-Days-Hiroshima-Untold-Surrender/dp/1635765811.There are further reviews of the book here: https://www.kirkusreviews...2020-04-1744 minExplaining HistoryChina's Neoliberal Turn - 1978In the late 1970s, as Britain, America and other wealthy countries were developing free market solutions to the problems of inflation and low growth, China selected aspects of capitalism to incorporate into its economy, while maintaining the fiction that it was a communist society. This podcast explores how China transformed the world economy in the 1980s as a result. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2020-04-1427 minExplaining HistoryFrance, China and Vietnam 1949-51By 1949 the development of a communist state in China radically changed the fortunes of France in Vietnam, a shift in dynamics that made the war for France virtually un-winnable. In 1950, a well armed Democratic Republic of Vietnam Army inflicted devastating losses on the French along the Chinese border, supported by Chinese supplies and training. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2020-04-0826 minExplaining HistoryThe aftermath of the fall of the Philippines: May 1942By the summer of 1942 the Japanese military was drunk on the victories it had achieved in the previous six months of war. It had over run Singapore, Malaya, Burma and Indochina, and it had dealt America a huge blow at Pearl Harbour and had seized the American protectorate of the Philippines. It was precisely this arrogance and risk taking that would result in a series of naval disasters and defeats in the summer of 1942, starting with setbacks at the Battle of the Coral Sea. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on...2020-04-0125 minExplaining HistoryPoison gas on the Western Front - 1915-18Between 1915 and 1918 all sides in the First World War used poison gas against one another, but it was Germany that was the biggest pioneer of battlefield chemical weapons. The last year of the war saw the highest intensity of gas use as the desperation by all sides for a breakthrough intensified. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2020-03-2625 minExplaining HistoryLeninism and the Communist Party of Great Britain - 1921The Communist Party of Great Britain was established in 1920 and was heavily influenced by Comintern, the Communist International organisation in Moscow. Lenin was interested in shaping the party in Britain and other European countries, imposing the principal of democratic centralism on party members. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2020-03-1826 minExplaining HistoryThe Continuity of Italian fascism after 1945 (Part four)Fascist bombing campaigns and planned coups, leading up to a massacre in Bologna in 1980 brought the threat of splinter group fascism to the Italian government's attention. The MSI (Italian social movement) attempted to broaden its appeal and mask its overtly fascist politics during a period where there was widespread revisionism about the legacy of Mussolini and an attempt to partly rehabilitate the fascist era in mainstream politics and discourse. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2020-03-1025 minExplaining HistoryThe post war decades and the neoliberal turnIn the aftermath of the Second World War a set of global institutions allied with a social democratic shift in several leading world economies to create a relatively stable post war economic order. The long and bitter memories of the 1930s and the destruction of the Second World War gave rise to this post war new order. By the 1970s this had started to fall into decline and provide opportunities for the political and economic insurrectionaries of neoliberalism to seize control of economic agendas around the world. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
2020-03-0325 minExplaining HistoryThe continuity of Italian fascism post 1945 (part three)In the 1960s, splinter groups from the right wing Italian Social Movement began to believe that only a military coup in Italy could save the country from the threat of communism. By the late 1960s they began actively planning and carrying out bombing campaigns across Italy in order to 'prepare the population' for direct rule by the army. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2020-02-2525 minExplaining HistoryVenizelos, Lloyd George and the Greek annexation of Smyrna: May 1919As the allied powers deliberated at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, David Lloyd George encouraged the Greek prime minister Venizelos to seize the former Ottoman city of Smyrna. The consequences for the city, once a bastion of religious and cultural tolerance, would be tragic, but to the British simply consequence of a wider imperial game in the near east. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2020-02-1126 minExplaining HistorySoviet POWs and commissars: 1941The Nazis always intended to wage a war of annihilation in the Soviet Union and both soldiers and civilians would die in unprecedented numbers. In the Nazi camps Soviet soldiers were left to starve, but the Soviet political officers, the commissars, were targeted for immediate execution wherever they were discovered. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2020-02-0326 minExplaining HistoryThe coup plots against the Wilson Governments 1964-76In the mid 1960s a series of plots were considered, with varying degrees of organisation and commitment, to overthrow the Labour governments of Harold Wilson using the army. Even though a coup failed to transpire, the plots showed that deeply reactionary forces in the army, the City of London and the aristocracy were resistant to the modest reforms of the decade and the social change that accompanied mass affluence. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2020-01-2825 minExplaining HistoryThe continuity of Italian fascism post 1945 (part two)Between the the late 1940s and late 1950s, as Cold War politics swept Europe, the Italian Social Movement, a neo fascist party, tried to merge into the wider parliamentary political right. Using electoral pacts with the other parties of the right, they saw their electability gradually improve, but faced angry resistance on the streets from those with long, bitter memories of Mussolini's crimes. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2020-01-2526 minExplaining HistoryNazi Press Laws 1933-36The coordination and control of the German press by the Nazis took several years to complete as prior to 1933, the German newspaper industry was among the most diverse and vibrant in the world. A process of intimidation and self censorship, combined with Nazi confiscation and theft destroyed German press independence within three years. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2020-01-1425 minExplaining HistoryThe continuity of Italian fascism post 1945In the aftermath of the Second World War, a centre right Christian Democratic Party emerged and by 1947 the Communist Party of Italy had been expelled from its coalition. The far right was able to reinvent itself in the Italian south, but were much diminished by the end of the 1940s. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2020-01-0827 minExplaining HistoryBetrayal, collapse and the fall of Burma 1942When the poorly defended British colony of Burma was attacked by Japan in December 1941 it quickly collapsed. For many Burmese, it was a moment of opportunity and for the British a desperate bid for escape and survival. Racial colonial attitudes soon showed themselves as the million Indians who had served the British in Burma were abandoned by their colonial masters and at least 50,000 died as they walked across the Burmese jungle to the Indian border. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-12-1725 minExplaining HistoryMao and the invention of China's landlordsIn order to rule China, Mao knew he needed to dominate the peasantry. In order to do this he divided Chinese peasant villages, creating new social classes in an otherwise socially conservative world that had little experience of such concepts. Mao created a landlord and poor peasant class and gave the latter free reign to terrorise the former (and in many cases educated them to do so). The result was rural anarchy, which only benefitted the Communist Party. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for...2019-12-0425 minExplaining HistoryNationalisation in Britain after 1945In the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, the new Labour government nationalised Britain's utilities, rail but most importantly its vast coal industry, creating more state employees of a national industry than anywhere else in the industrialised world. The decision to own the once mighty coal industry was part based in Labour's founding traditions but also in a shift towards economic and industrial nationalism that was emerging across the post war world. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-11-1925 minExplaining HistoryFamily Life in Stalinist Russia 1928-41During the 1930s, the pressures on families in the USSR was immense. Men, women and children faced extreme economic hardship and political uncertainty, which in some cases had the effect of making families more cohesive and intimate, and in others tore families apart. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-11-1325 minExplaining HistoryBritain's Class System in the 1930sDuring the 1930s, social class in Great Britain was experiencing a gradual transition away from the dominance that the landed aristocracy had enjoyed during the 19th Century. Instead, a new bourgeoisie was emerging, divided between an upper and lower middle class with different expectations and experiences, but similar political loyalties. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-11-1125 minExplaining HistoryNazi Propaganda and Radio BroadcastingEven before 1933, the Nazis were aware that radio offered then unprecedented opportunities to shape public thought. However, the use of radio did not quite have the power to create the type of existential and cultural revolution that Goebbels and Hitler had envisaged. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-11-0424 minExplaining HistoryUS anti communism and the Republican Party 1945-50 (Part One)This is the first of a series of podcasts on the development of anti communism in the 1940s in the USA and the role that the Republican Party played. By 1945 a fear of communism and also the suspicion that the Democrats had been too easy on communists led to the development of deep changes in the public perception of communism and fears that communists might be operating in the USA. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-10-1925 minExplaining HistoryThe Roots of German and Italian FascismThis podcast is a continuation of a series on the origins of fascism and it examines the development of fascist ideas in interwar Italy and Germany. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-10-1525 minExplaining HistoryGerman Bombing Raids on London and Paris 1917-18Strategic bombing of the enemy's home front began in earnest in the second half of the First World War, with London facing a near collapse of its air defences in early 1918. This podcast focuses on the development of German strategic bombing and the British and French anti aircraft responses. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-10-0825 minExplaining HistoryComintern agents between the warsDuring the 1920s and 1930s, communist parties across Europe and beyond fell under the control, often voluntarily, of Comintern, the Soviet body dedicated to foreign subversion. This podcast explores the prominence that Comintern agents rose to in Eastern Europe after the Second World War how non 'Moscow Communists' were viewed with suspicion by Moscow. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-10-0124 minExplaining HistoryRenunciation in Stalin's RussiaDuring the Stalin era, those accused of counter revolutionary crimes and their family members were desperate to be relieved of the stigma of being a class enemy and the punishments that accompanied it. One approach to dealing with the threat of being disenfranchised was to renounce ones class origins, even if this meant renouncing ones family, community, spouse or religion. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-09-2424 minExplaining HistoryPolitics, class and democracy in interwar Britain 1918-39During the interwar years Britain became a dramatically more democratic society, following the extension of the franchise in 1918 and 1928. British society began to change gradually with the challenges of modernity and mass democracy, but many traditional deferential values endured. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-09-1819 minExplaining HistoryCzechoslovakia's anti German ethnic cleansing 1945At the end of the Second World War, Czech prime minister in exile Eduard Benes petitioned both western allies and the USSR to expel all ethnic Germans from Czechoslovakia. This permission was granted and the result was the ethnic cleansing of the Sudetenland. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-09-1623 minExplaining HistorySpecial Update: Report on the Coup: Part TwoThe second in my reports on the current political crisis here in Great Britain. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-09-1121 minExplaining HistoryTruman's Domestic Failures 1945-52By 1945 the political landscape in America was changing in ways that would be far less favourable to Truman than the previous years had been to Roosevelt. An impressive and far reaching domestic agenda for reform was sabotaged by conservative and business interests on Capitol Hill throughout the seven years of his time in office. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-09-0423 minExplaining HistorySpecial Update: Report from the coup August 2019This is an unprecedented podcast for Explaining History, but in 2019 here in Britain we're in uncharted constitutional territory. I try not to engage too much in political podcasting because I wanted the podcast to connect with a broad audience but I feel it would be intellectually dishonest to talk about political history each week and ignore the crisis in Britain at the moment. To listeners around the world who want to understand why an unelected British Prime Minister is planning to suspend the country's parliament, here is a brief explainer. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com...2019-09-0227 minExplaining HistoryThe Origins of Fascism: Part ThreeContinuing the study of the background to European fascist thinking, this episode focuses on the impact of the ideas of Friedrich Nietzsche on fascist thinking and ideas. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-09-0224 minExplaining HistoryStalinist social cleansing 1929-37The Stalinist regime, in the mid 1930s brutally purged towns and cities of those they considered to be socially deviant. Beggars, gypsies, prostitutes and thieves were exiled and sent to labour colonies and camps in a bid to change them into 'productive' soviet citizens and to socially change the nature of soviet towns and cities. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-09-0124 minExplaining HistoryBritish Society on the eve of World War Two (Part Two)This podcast continues the examination of Britain's social, economic and political circumstances on the eve of the First World War. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-08-2025 minExplaining HistoryThe Aftermath of Pearl Harbour 1941Following the surprise attack on Pearl Harbour on December 7th 1941, the strategic decision making of America, Japan, Germany and Britain shaped the eventual outcome of the war itself. Japanese military planners realised they had begun a war they had no chance of winning and while Churchill rejoiced in this fact, he was also aware that a 'Japan first' strategy might divert badly needed American aid away from Britain. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-08-2025 minExplaining HistoryMaoist social cleansing 1949In the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War, the beginnings of dramatic and brutal social change in China were evident in Mao's attitudes towards the urban poor. Those deemed socially unproductive, beggars, rickshaw pullers, hawkers and prostitutes were sent to re-education camps. The ultimate goal of the regime was to socially re-order urban life and to eliminate politically unwanted and seemingly socially useless or deviant labour. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-08-2025 minExplaining HistoryTalking History: The Five by Hallie RubenholdA new feature on the Explaining History Podcast, Talking History is our opportunity to hear from teachers, researchers, writers and academics about the history books they value and how they have engaged with them. Today's guest is history teacher Siobhan Profaska who has chosen The Five by Hallie Rubenhold to discuss. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-08-1320 minExplaining HistoryEastern Europe's 'little Stalins' - Ulbricht, Beirut, RakosiThe origins of Stalin's imitators, admirers and henchmen in Eastern Europe is explored in this podcast. Walter Ulbricht of East Germany, Boleslaw Beirut of Poland and Matyas Rakosi of Hungary respectively were the first generation of post war Stalinists to rule Eastern Europe, but their long association with Soviet communism from 1919 onwards through Comintern made them trusted and loyal candidates for power. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-08-1325 minExplaining HistoryBritish society during the 1930sBy the eve of the Second World War, Great Britain had been economically eclipsed by the USA, but it was still the most industrialised and urbanised nation in the world and experienced a transition away from heavy to light industry. In the fields of aviation, mass media and scientific discovery, Britain continued to be a world leader. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-08-0924 minExplaining HistoryThe Nazi Cultural Revolution 1933-39Seizing political power was just the beginning of the Nazi programme, creating a profound and lasting cultural change among Germans to undo the perceived corruption of Germanic culture by the Weimar Republic was the longer struggle. Hitler's war on liberal democracy and socialism was in his view a bid to reclaim the essence of German identity from false and foreign ideas. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-08-0724 minExplaining HistoryThe Origins of Fascism: Part TwoThis is the second in a series on the development of fascism in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. In this podcast we examine the legacy of racial thinking, imperialism and the interaction of romantic nationalism and racial thought. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-08-0123 minExplaining HistoryGerman and Austro-Hungarian military planning 1906-1914Germany and Austria were outnumbered in terms of troops and cavalry by nearly 2:1 in 1914 and desperately needed to win a rapid war on the western front if they stood any chance of victory. For both powers a long drawn out conflict would result in social unrest, economic ruin and revolution. For both powers, following the failure to encircle and destroy the French and British armies in 1914, this was the inevitable outcome. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-08-0125 minExplaining HistorySpain's state of emergency and the Falange Party - 1934In 1934 a new interior minister in the right wing government that took power in late 1933, Salazar Alonzo, declared a state of emergency and the right wing CEDA movement that supported the government demanded extreme action against striking peasants and workers. A new fascist party, the Falange, formed in early 1934 to wage a bloody war against the left, believing in the 'bullet and the fist' as tools to preserve Spain from the spectre of socialism. The Falange would usher in a new phase of violent class confrontation in Spain. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.2019-07-3024 minExplaining HistoryExile and deportation in Stalinist Russia 1928-41Administrative exile had been used by the Tsarist regime against political dissidents and the revolutionary intelligentsia, however the mass deportation of entire ethnic and social groups was a new phenomenon under the Stalinist regime. This podcast explores the exile and deportation of class groups and nationalities and the mass dekulakisation campaigns. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-07-2325 minExplaining HistoryBritain, America and Palestine 1939-42During the Second World War, the fate of British and French mandates in the Middle East was a constant pressure on war time diplomacy and on American domestic policy. The legacies of the Anglo-French carve up of the Middle East after the war and the pressures placed on both empires by the Axis powers gave Jewish nationalism and the careerism of Roosevelt's chief rival Wendell Wilkie new opportunities. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-07-2325 minExplaining HistoryThe Nazi Quarry Camps 1938-40Hitler's vision of a new Germany, built in vast neoclassical grandeur, required stone to be quarried and bricks to be manufactured in vast quantities. Three camps, Flossenburg, Mauthausen and Orianenburg were created to supply these materials. They were significantly different from the existing network of camps and far more lethal in the 18 months before the outbreak of the Second World War. Listen to the full podcast now. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-07-2124 minExplaining HistoryThe origins of fascism: part oneIn the late 19th Century a series of intellectual and ideological movements coalesced into the beginnings of fascist thought. Romanticism, nationalism and racial thinking created the intellectual climate for authoritarian creeds based around race, identity and a rejection of materialism and modernity to develop. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-07-0924 minExplaining HistoryForced labour and the Nazi camp systemDuring the 1930s the Nazi regime attempted to exploit prisoners for their labour but there were few examples of successful profiteering and as the decade wore on prisoners were mainly forced to build the infrastructure of the Nazi camp system itself. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-07-0823 minExplaining HistoryTruman and Congress 1945-46In 1945 Truman inherited from Roosevelt a more prosperous America, but one which had moved politically to the right. Rising living standards and the Republican Party's successful capture of anti communist sentiment made for a difficult environment for New Deal liberalism to thrive in. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-07-0825 minExplaining HistoryBuilding Mao's police state 1949Initially, Mao proceeded with caution against the social enemies of the Communist Party, using the tools of state repression left behind by Chiang Kai Shek's Kuomintang. Assigning a new legal social class status to all Chinese citizens saw many later condemned to forced labour, imprisonment Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-07-0825 minExplaining HistoryIntelligence gathering and the First World WarDuring the four years of the First World War, intelligence gathering from informants, captured soldiers, aerial reconnaissance and signals traffic developed in sophistication. In addition, the methods used to keep secrets secure kept up as an intelligence 'arms race' changed the nature of information gathering and warfare. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-07-0725 minExplaining HistoryExpulsion, disenfranchisement and class war in Stalinist RussiaBy the late 1920s alinist fears of subversion by enemy social classes saw the disenfranchisement and expulsion from jobs and homes of members of the former bourgeoisie. This policy had both supporters and opponents in local and national government. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-07-0123 minExplaining HistoryThe RAF, empire and strategic bombing 1918-39In the inter war years as air policy developed in Britain, 'air policing' of the British Empire was a strategy adopted by the RAF in order to wage aerial warfare against colonised peoples in Africa and Asia. The same principals were applied later to Germany, in the flawed belief that strategic bombing would work in a similar way Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-07-0124 minExplaining HistoryThe advance of the fascist right in Spain 1933-4In November 1933 the reactionary movement CEDA became the a key part of a new right wing government. CEDA actively proposed a violent fascist coup and began to prepare a militia to achieve this. The socialist party the PSOE threatened revolution in response but in reality lacked the determination or the means to carry it out. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-06-2524 minExplaining HistoryThe Marshall Plan 1947-2The Marshall Plan was the most successful use of American soft power in the country's history. By offering $13 billion in economic aid to rebuild western Europe, America stabilised half the continent and created new markets for American corporations. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-06-2424 minExplaining HistoryAmerican air doctrine and the B-17a bomberThe development of air power in the USA from 1938 onwards in the shape of the B-17a four engine bomber was not matched by an official air doctrine, but a belief in the importance of mass bombing of industrial areas was emerging from planners, air force generals and junior officers throughout the decade. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-06-2424 minExplaining HistoryClass persecution and former people in Stalinist Russia 1928-39In the USSR during the Stalinist era, class origins defined all aspects of an individual and by the end of the decade were a matter of life and death. This podcast explores how 'former people' from enemy classes were treated and excluded from society. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-06-2424 minExplaining HistoryThe militarisation of the SS 1933-39By 1939 the Camp SS, normally responsible for controlling prisons such as Dachau was equipped and trained to fight at the front line. This podcast explores the evolution of its role. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-06-1824 minExplaining HistoryMao's Famine and Szechuan Province 1958-62In four years between 1958-62 a catastrophic famine in China killed 40 million people and a quarter of those died in Szechuan, a food rich province. This podcast explores the wilful blindness of Mao and the corruption of the communist party that cost so many lives. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-06-1725 minExplaining HistoryIndian soldiers and the defence of Egypt in 1914-15At the start of the First World War, Egypt and the Suez Canal were vital to the functioning of the British Empire and were under huge pressure from an Ottoman offensive. However, it was Muslim, Seikh and Hindu Indian soldiers from a British India riven with nationalist revolutionary politics that were deployed to hold the British Empire together in the Sinai. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-06-1724 minExplaining HistorySocial conflict in Spain 1933After two short years of social reform under the socialist PSOE party in Spain a new right wing government came to power led by the conservative party CEDA. In the following two years poverty, hunger and violence tore apart the modest gains made by Spain's peasants and workers Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-06-1525 minExplaining HistoryThe escalation of the French Vietnamese War 1946-9By the end of 1946 a guerrilla war was being waged by the new Democratic Republic of Vietnam against the colonial French in the south, but developments over the next three years would radically expand the scope of the conflict to make it the 'first total war of the anti colonial era'. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-06-1424 minExplaining HistoryCreating a new podcast for Explaining History - an appeal to listenersHi everyone, I'm sending out this podcast today to invite you all to collaborate in the creation of a new podcast focusing on contemporary political, social, environmental and other crises, challenges and debates. Please get in touch if you'd like to become involved. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-06-1310 minExplaining HistoryThe Fall of Singapore 1942The island fortress of Singapore was meant to be an unassailable bastion of British imperial power in Asia. Its fall in February 1942 was the biggest humiliation for the British of the entire war and doomed the British empire in Asia. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-06-1225 minExplaining HistoryThe Truman Doctrine 1947In 1947 US President Harry Truman was forced to commit to the defence of Greece and Turkey against the possibility of communist victories in the Greek civil war and the threat of Soviet pressure on Turkey. The British had been forced to end their commitments to both countries, placing the eastern Mediterranean in danger and as a result the flow of Middle Eastern oil to Europe and America. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-06-1225 minExplaining HistoryNazi Propaganda and the camp system 1933-39By the end of the 1930s the Nazi regime had successfully directed public opinion in favour of the concentration camp system. As the decade wore on gradual apathy and disinterest in the camp system was a defining feature of public attitudes towards mass social and political incarceration. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-06-1125 minExplaining HistoryErnest Bevin and Britain's World Role 1945-48In 1945 a Labour Government swept to power at the end of the Second World War, it had an agenda of domestic social reform but considerable foreign policy commitments. Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin was an advocate of National Service to meet Britain's military manpower needs. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-06-1125 minExplaining HistoryBritain, France and Vietnam 1945-7In the aftermath of the Second World War the British gave assistance and support to the French in their attempts to recolonise Vietnam. French colonialists deliberately sabotaged negotiations with Ho Chi Minh and led to the outbreak of war in December 1946. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-06-0425 minExplaining HistoryMao and 'Red Star over China' 1936One book more than any other propelled Mao to global significance, 13 years before he seized power in China. It was called Red Star Over China and was written by an ambitious and often naive American journalist, Edgar Snow. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-06-0324 minExplaining HistoryThe Fall of Malaya 1941In December 1941, hours before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour, a naval invasion of Malaya began. Poor planning and a collective denial on the part of British colonialists that the Japanese were a serious threat led to the rapid collapse of Britain's colonies in Malaya, Singapore and Burma. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-06-0325 minExplaining HistorySoviet Occupation and Liberation 1945How did everyone from German citizens to concentration camp survivors, war ravaged citizens of Poland and partisans across eastern Europe encounter the Red Army in 1945? In some cases violent conquerors and in others as liberators. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-05-2825 minExplaining HistoryChurchill's government and the Nazi invasion of the USSR 1941In 1941, despite believing that thee USSR could not last against a Nazi invasion for more than a month, Churchill and his cabinet rejoiced at the news that they were no longer fighting the war alone and planned to offer the USSR whatever assistance they could. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-05-2825 minExplaining HistoryAustria, Germany and popular attitudes in the July Crisis 1914What did ordinary Austrians and Germans think, feel and believe during the July Crisis of 1914? This podcast explores how the murder of a widely disliked archduke who was assassinated in 1914 presents largely apathetic populations in both countries with the pretext for war. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-05-2826 minExplaining HistoryThe Nazi Camps and the 'workshy'For those unable or unwilling to offer manual labour in service of the Nazi volksgemeinschaft, mass arrests and imprisonment in the growing camp system was an ever present threat. The Nazi camps by 1938 were full of 'asocial' prisoners who were arrested largely on the basis of poverty, vagrancy or the inability to fit into the new world of the Third Reich. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-05-2125 minExplaining HistoryLenin, Stalin and the Soviet Peasants 1918-27By 1927 the situation of the Soviet peasantry had just about stabilised from the famine years of the Russian Civil War. However, both Lenin and Stalin looked upon the peasantry and especially the wealthier peasants with barely concealed disgust and suspicion. In Bolshevik thinking, the peasants represented an existential threat to the revolution and would be subsequently broken by Stalin after 1928. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-05-2125 minExplaining HistoryThe Nazi Soviet PactWhy did Stalin and Hitler, mortal enemies, sign a non aggression pact in 1939 on the eve of the Second World War? This podcast explores the origins and the consequences of the pact. If you'd like to know more you can check out my ebook Hitler, Stalin and the Destruction of Poland: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hitler-Stalin-Destruction-Poland-Shepley-ebook/dp/B00E0KVDFW Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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