History Today Podcast
97 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 3 years ago - ★★★★ - 15 ratingsHistory Today for the airwaves. Interviews with leading historians about their latest work, interspersed with long reads: articles specially selected from the magazine for an eclectic, fascinating and informative mix.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
Medicine Woman
December 18, 2020 15:21 - 22 minutes - 20.2 MB'Doc' Susan Anderson set out to prove that 'a woman could be a good doctor'. She did so in the most difficult surroundings: America's Wild West. An audio long read of the article published in the December issue of History Today. You can read the article online here, or buy a copy of the issue from our website. Written by Susan Jonusas. Read by Greig Johnson. Music: Jan Morgenstern Image: Susan Anderson, c.1900. Wikimedia/Creative Commons. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for mor...
The Crown Lost at Sea
November 27, 2020 15:18 - 31 minutes - 28.6 MBThis year marks the 900th anniversary of the worst maritime disaster suffered by the English Crown and, arguably, by England. The sinking of the White Ship – a vessel carrying the English king Henry I’s sole heir – on 25 November 1120, was a disaster from which anarchy would follow. Join Charles Spencer, author of The White Ship: Conquest, Anarchy and the Wrecking of Henry I’s Dream (William Collins, 2020) in conversation with History Today Editor Paul Lay. Charles ha...
The Wars of the Roses: The Queen who Lost Everything
November 13, 2020 14:05 - 24 minutes - 22.4 MBIn the Wars of the Roses, Margaret is remembered as a warrior queen, the ‘she-wolf of France’. But the means by which she operated in the period of Lancastrian exile from 1461-71 – her unceasing diplomatic efforts in Europe and campaign of resistance in northern England – have tended to be sidelined in histories of this apparently national conflict. The story of Margaret’s campaign to regain the crown for the House of Lancaster is one of daring deeds, admirable courage and tragedy wrenched...
Foreign Correspondents in the Soviet Union
October 30, 2020 07:02 - 33 minutes - 31.1 MBOver the past hundred years, foreign correspondents have been central to the West’s understanding of Russia’s political and cultural turning points, the revolutions, wars and changes in political power. In this episode, History Today Editor Paul Lay is joined by James Rodgers, whose latest book, Assignment Moscow, focuses on the stories of those journalists who have forged this understanding. Assignment Moscow: Reporting on Russia from Lenin to Putin is published by I.B. Tauris. You can r...
Nagorno-Karabakh’s Myth of Ancient Hatreds
October 16, 2020 07:10 - 12 minutes - 11.9 MBDuring the last week of September an Azerbaijani offensive re-ignited a decades-old conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh (‘Mountainous Karabakh’) region. The Nagorno-Karabakh dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan is sometimes explained as a result of ‘ancient hatreds’. In reality, it is nothing of the sort, despite both sides using history to bolster their claims to the region. This article was part of our Miscellanies series. Sign up to receive this free we...
‘The Terrible Lioness’
September 25, 2020 13:01 - 21 minutes - 19.7 MBThe Sikh queen Jind Kaur inherited an empire shaken by unexpected deaths and embroiled in civil war, but her biggest problem was the British. Who was Jind Kaur and how did she become such a formidable woman? This article is from the October issue of History Today: buy a copy of the issue from our website, from newsstands across the UK, or read it via the History Today app, available on Google Play and the App Store. Read by Greig Johnson. Written by Priya Atwal. Music: Kai Engel....
Terror on Wall Street
August 28, 2020 11:38 - 20 minutes - 19 MBA terrorist attack on Wall Street on 16 September 1920 aroused suspicion of anarchists, socialists and foreigners, as America saw danger around every corner. This article is from the September issue of History Today: buy a copy of the issue from our website, from newsstands across the UK, or read it via the History Today app, available on Google Play and the App Store. Read by Greig Johnson. Written by James Crossland. Music: Kai Engel. Image: Aftermath, Wall Street bomb, 16 September 19...
The Power of the Royal Mistress
August 14, 2020 12:21 - 30 minutes - 27.6 MBIn 1660, the Royalist exiles were returning with European languages, manners and culture in tow. Yet, of all the European imports that Charles and his Royalist entourage ferried back to their homeland, it was the courtly position of the maîtresse-en-titre that would prove most significant. Despite the scandalous overtones of adultery inherent in the job title, it was a much sought-after role, offering financial and social opportunities not only to the mistress herself but also to her relat...
The Rise of the Valkyries
July 31, 2020 14:33 - 9 minutes - 8.43 MBLife and death in a Viking battle depended not on military prowess, but on the favour of the valkyries. Why were these mythical figures, who decided a warrior’s fate, female? This article was part of our Miscellanies series. Sign up to receive this free weekly long read in your inbox, at https://www.historytoday.com/miscellanies. Written by Jóhanna Katrín Friðriksdóttir. Read by Greig Johnson. Music: Kai Engel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Henry VIII Meets his Match
July 10, 2020 15:06 - 21 minutes - 19.7 MBShortly after 5pm on 7 June 1520, Henry VIII of England and Francis I of France met for the first time. That first meeting, and their time together over the following fortnight, became known to history as the Field of Cloth of Gold. In a spirit of rivalry and cooperation, the two young Renaissance monarchs asserted their power and authority at one of the last great demonstrations of the chivalric age. This article is from the July issue of History Today: buy a copy of the issue from ou...
A History of the Oceans
June 26, 2020 17:12 - 28 minutes - 25.9 MBIn this podcast, History Today Editor Paul Lay is joined by David Abulafia, winner of the 2020 Wolfson History Prize, for his book The Boundless Sea. The Boundless Sea traces the history of human movement and interaction around and across the world's greatest bodies of water, charting our relationship with the oceans from the time of the first voyagers. David also wrote an article for the November 2019 issue of History Today, which you can read on our website: https://www.historytoday.com...
The Wrongful Death of Toussaint Louverture
June 12, 2020 14:27 - 23 minutes - 21.4 MBThe hero of the Haitian Revolution’s lonely death in a French prison cell was not an unfortunate tragedy but a cruel story of deliberate destruction. This article is from the June issue of History Today: buy a copy of the issue from our website, or read it via the History Today app, available on Google Play and the App Store. Introduced by History Today editor, Paul Lay. Read by Greig Johnson. Written by Marlene L. Daut. Music: Kai Engel. Image: Portrait of Toussaint Louverture, chromoli...
Toussaint Louverture and the Haitian Revolution
June 12, 2020 14:05 - 27 minutes - 25.6 MBJoin Marlene Daut in conversation with History Today Editor, Paul Lay, as they discuss the background of the Haitian Revolution, Toussaint Louverture, and the revolution's legacies. Marlene has written an article for the June issue of History Today on 'The Wrongful Death of Toussaint Louverture', which is also available to listen to as an audio long read on our podcast. Buy a copy of the June issue from our website, or read it via the History Today app, available on Google Play and the App...
Thebes: The Forgotten City
May 29, 2020 12:49 - 24 minutes - 22.4 MBThe city of Thebes was central to the ancient Greeks’ achievements in politics and culture. For many centuries it has been largely – and often deliberately – forgotten. Join Paul Cartledge in conversation with History Today Editor, Paul Lay, as they discuss Paul Cartledge's article on 'Thebes: The Forgotten City', which is in the June issue of History Today. Buy a copy of the June issue from our website, or read it via the History Today app, available on Google Play and the App Store. Pau...
The Great Migration Mystery
May 15, 2020 14:40 - 16 minutes - 15.3 MBIn the 17th century, fanciful solutions to the mystery of the swallow’s whereabouts were the result of an intense battle over the nature of scientific reasoning, which had been raging for centuries – and which is still raging today. This article is from the May issue of History Today. Buy a copy of this issue from our website, or read it via the History Today app, available on Google Play and the App Store. Written by Alexander Lee. Read by History Today Editor, Paul Lay. Hosted on A...
The State of Myanmar
May 01, 2020 13:20 - 10 minutes - 9.79 MBMyanmar’s colonial legacy includes racial hierarchies and authoritarian government. In the new nation state, not everyone is welcome. To understand why Rakhine State is in such turmoil we need to follow the threads of ethnic nationalism back to before Myanmar existed. This article is from the May issue of History Today. Buy a copy of this issue from our website, or read it via the History Today app, available on Google Play and the App Store. Introduced by History Today editor, Paul ...
What can History tell us about Epidemics?
April 10, 2020 14:36 - 11 minutes - 10.8 MBFour historians discuss what we learn from history about how diseases spread, and how we respond to them. Buy a copy of the April issue of History Today from our website: www.historytoday.com John Henderson: ‘Strategies to cope with plague have formed the basis for later policies’. Read by Paul Lay. Patricia Fara: ‘Fear and suspicion multiply more rapidly than any virus’. Read by Katie Holyoak. Samuel Cohn: ‘Epidemics strike from the outside and are carried in’. Read by Paul Lay. Sandra...
The Rights of France
March 27, 2020 11:46 - 23 minutes - 21.2 MBFrance’s attraction to right-wing populism has been a constant, if shape-shifting, presence in its politics since the end of the 19th century. This article appeared in the April 2020 edition of History Today. Read the article online or buy a copy of this issue from our website. Written by Martin Evans Read by Greig Johnson Produced by History Today Music by Kai Engel Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Soviet Super Sniper
March 13, 2020 12:16 - 19 minutes - 17.5 MBIn 1942, Lieutenant Lyudmila Pavlichenko, a Soviet frontline sniper, was sent on a mission to convince US and British allies to open up a Second Front against Hitler’s forces. Her arrival in Washington DC coincided with a historic moment of American-Soviet friendship, even while the press found the female sniper, with her claimed tally of 309 German kills, rather shocking. Historian Dr Julie Wheelwright in conversation with History Today Editor, Paul Lay. Julie's Article 'A Woman's Place'...
Sexual Eeling
February 28, 2020 10:38 - 12 minutes - 11.8 MBIn March 1876, the young Sigmund Freud arrived in Trieste, looking for the testicles of an eel. For centuries past, these troublesome organs had proved elusive. Despite the most intensive – not to say intimate – research, no one had managed to track them down. This article appeared in the March 2020 edition of History Today. Read the article online or buy a copy of this issue from our website. Written by Alexander Lee Read by Greig Johnson Produced by History Today Music by Kai Engel ...
Before the Mayflower
February 14, 2020 14:53 - 20 minutes - 18.5 MBThis year, the US looks back four centuries to an intrepid band of refugees making a perilous home in New England. The Mayflower pilgrims had been outlaws in England, members of an underground church known as the Brownists or Separatists. They believed church should be a voluntary community rather than a compulsory state religion. For their refusal to submit to the Church of England they had faced raids, prison, exile and death for the previous 60 years. This podcast explores a previous exp...
The FGM Scandal that Shocked Victorian London
February 14, 2020 14:45 - 23 minutes - 21.9 MBIn 1867, a notorious divorce case revealed the horrific methods with which one London surgeon was treating his patients. This article appeared in the February 2020 edition of History Today. Read the article online or buy a copy of this issue from our website. Written by Sarah Wise Read by Greig Johnson Produced by History Today Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Trailer: A New Podcast Series from History Today
February 11, 2020 08:57 - 1 minute - 1.56 MBIn this new podcast series, we speak with historians who are leading in their field. Each episode will be on a different subject and era; and a chance to hear the stories, to ask questions and to indulge our curiosity, with the experts in the area. These conversations will be interspersed with audio articles from the magazine. We’ve specially selected pieces that are eclectic, intriguing, and of course, informative. Our first piece is on the female genital mutilation scandal that shocked Vi...
A History of Now
November 01, 2017 12:18 - 18 minutes - 35.8 MBHistorian Michael Burleigh discusses his new book The Best of Times, the Worst of Times: A History of Now. Is the United States in permanent decline? Will China replace it as the global superpower? Are we entering a post-democratic world? And how do we prepare for the Fourth Industrial Revolution? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
A discussion about Mein Kampf
February 23, 2016 09:13 - 18 minutes - 25.6 MBMaiken Umbach and Neil Gregor join History Today editor Paul Lay to discuss the new critical edition of Hitler's notorious book. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tibet's Secret Temple
November 25, 2015 09:23 - 18 minutes - 26.1 MBWe discuss Tantric Buddhism with Ruth Garde, curator of a new show at the Wellcome Collection. Also: Marc Morris on King John and the siege of Rochester. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Day of the Dead
October 21, 2015 10:33 - 27 minutes - 19.1 MBIn this episode, Amy Fuller discusses the myths surrounding Mexico's Day of the Dead, and Andrew Lownie talks about the obstacles facing historians trying to use the Freedom of Information Act to access government files. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Silk Roads Past and Present
September 16, 2015 09:05 - 36 minutes - 24.7 MBPeter Frankopan joins us to discuss the importance of viewing history not from a western or eastern perspective, but one that links the two together. Plus, Mathew Lyons and Catherine Fletcher on the plight of young academics. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Profits of Slavery
August 18, 2015 14:34 - 32 minutes - 44.1 MBWe speak to Katie Donington about the legacies of Britain's involvement in the slave trade. Also: Cambodia's lost rock and roll scene, and a report from the International Medieval Congress. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Root of Language
July 27, 2015 09:34 - 19 minutes - 27.3 MBThis month we discuss Proto-Indo-European, the ancestor of almost every language now spoken from the Hebrides to the Himalayas. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Magna Carta
June 17, 2015 14:08 - 33 minutes - 46.2 MBThis episode is a Magna Carta special. We talk to Alexander Lock about the Charter's importance in America, and Lauren Johnson about the role of women in Magna Carta. Plus, a look at the British Museum's new display the medals of the Sun King. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Piers Plowman
April 28, 2015 08:35 - 12 minutes - 29.5 MBKate Wiles talks to Lawrence Warner about the origins of the Middle English narrative poem Piers Plowman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In Conversation With Greg Jenner
February 04, 2015 10:20 - 5 minutes - 3.68 MBFern Riddell talks to the historian Greg Jenner about his new book, 'A Million Years In A Day'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Murder in the Cathedral
December 05, 2014 09:47 - 12 minutes - 5.75 MBPaul Lay and Richard Dale discuss the mysterious death of a liveryman at St Paul's Cathedral in 1514. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Disappearing Religions of the Middle East
November 28, 2014 10:20 - 15 minutes - 10.4 MBGerard Russell and Tom Holland discuss the plight of religious minorities in Iraq and Syria. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
General Sherman's Total War
November 12, 2014 10:08 - 17 minutes - 12 MBMatt Carr discusses Sherman's March to the Sea, a key turning point in the American Civil War. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Origins of the Shroud of Turin
October 29, 2014 10:39 - 25 minutes - 17.7 MBCharles Freeman discusses his research into one of history's greatest mysteries. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Nazi-Soviet Pact
September 04, 2014 09:01 - 16 minutes - 11.2 MBRoger Moorhouse discusses the pact between Hitler and Stalin, which lasted from 1939 to 1941. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Roosevelts
August 01, 2014 12:29 - 15 minutes - 21.5 MBThe American filmmaker Ken Burns talks about his latest documentary, The Roosevelts: An Intimate History. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Africans in Georgian England
June 27, 2014 08:43 - 18 minutes - 25.3 MBOnyeka joins us to introduce a number of aspiring Africans who made an impact on Georgian society during the 18th century. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Romans in Africa
June 05, 2014 08:25 - 13 minutes - 19.2 MBRaoul McLoughlin talks about Rome’s desire for an African empire, a fierce struggle for trade, land and the search for the source of the Nile. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
How the Scots Invented Britain
May 02, 2014 09:06 - 16 minutes - 22.7 MBPaul Lay talks to Ian Bradley about how the Scots were the most vocal advocates of a vibrant, imperial, Protestant Great Britain. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Last Days of India's First Prime Minister
April 24, 2014 09:53 - 13 minutes - 17.9 MBWe speak to Gyanesh Kudaisya about the final years of Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister, who died in May 1964. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
An Exorcism in Hackney
March 28, 2014 09:44 - 13 minutes - 18.3 MBIn this episode Charlotte Crow talks to Jessie Childs about her article in the April issue of History Today, Beware the Foul Fiends, which concerns a graphic account of an exorcism in 16th-century London and the plight of Catholics in Elizabethan England. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
British Intelligence and the Cold War
February 25, 2014 15:39 - 14 minutes - 13.2 MBWe speak to Calder Walton, the author of Empire of Secrets: British Intelligence, the Cold War and the Twilight of Empire, which won the Longman-History Today Book of the Year prize. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Don't Mention the Civil Wars
January 21, 2014 10:08 - 14 minutes - 13.6 MBRichard Weight joins us to discuss Britain's reluctant regicides, and why the country is embarrassed by its revolutionary past. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Inspiration for Tolkien's Ring
December 18, 2013 10:15 - 13 minutes - 6.3 MBMark Horton tells the story of an archaeological dig that may have fuelled the fantasies of J.R.R. Tolkien. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Bethlehem: The global history of a little town
December 11, 2013 10:33 - 11 minutes - 10.9 MBIn this episode, Jacob Norris discusses the real history of Bethlehem. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Churchill's plan to win the First World War
November 25, 2013 09:29 - 19 minutes - 18.3 MBAllan Mallinson joins us to discuss a 'lost' memo penned by Winston Churchill in 1911 concerning the prospect of a European war, a missive that, had its recommendations been implemented, may have brought the conflict to an early end. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Housing in London during the First World War
November 13, 2013 11:27 - 18 minutes - 16.6 MBJerry White discusses the housing crisis that afflicted London during the First World War, one that had a profound affect on living conditions in the capital. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.