Aspects of History
Aspects of History features interviews with historians and authors covering topics from the ancient world to modern times. Each episode delves into a specific story or historical figure, with bonus episodes on current events and anniversaries.
Episodes
Summer Reads 2026
This week, it's a special episode as three of the Aspects of History gang – Antonia Senior, Richard Foreman and Jane Thynne – join Zeb Baker-Smith in person to talk through their recommendations for your holiday reading list.
Plenty of picks, with links below, to accompany you in your hand luggage this summer!
Books
The August Coup: The Destruction of the Soviet
Relative Failures with Matthew Sturgis
What if you had a sibling as brilliant as Oscar Wilde…? This week’s episode offers a vivid window through which to view the artistic, literary and theatrical world of late Victorian London, a period of remarkable creativity, dramatic falls and cultural change. But, instead of viewing this fin de siècle moment through the brightest lights, why should we not focus on the forgotten characters?
Join
Weimar: Life on the Edge of Catastrophe with Katja Hoyer
The Weimar Republic, synonymous with German culture, idealism, and artistic brilliance, has become a common trope in the 21st century, as everyday politics becomes more polarised across Europe. Is Germany’s journey from fragile optimism to fascist collapse a warning we ought to be heeding today?
Joining Phil Craig on the Aspects of History podcast is historian Katja Hoyer, whose latest ti
Stealing Hitler's Rocket with Guy Walters
This week’s helping of the podcast recounts the terror of the world’s first ballistic missile and the heroic efforts of the Polish resistance, all contained in this tale of innovation and daring that reads like a wartime thriller – except it’s true…
Pairing up with Phil Craig for this episode of the Aspects of History podcast, author and historian, Guy Walters gives a blow-by-blow account
Cold War Football: A History in Ten Matches with Tony Shaw and Alan McDougall
In just a few days time, the 2026 Fifa World Cup will begin, a vast 48-team affair across North America, the geopolitical backdrop to the tournament as fractious as it has ever been in recent times. It goes without saying, however, that ideology, propaganda and diplomacy have always been at the forefront of the beautiful game throughout the tournament’s history.
Joining Zeb Baker-Smith, Edi
SAS Great Escapes 5 with Damien Lewis
From a legendary escape across the North African desert to a daring mission to rescue prisoners from concentration camps in Fascist Italy, this week offers breathless tales of endurance, ingenuity, and courage against the odds.
Bestselling historian, writer and war journalist, Damien Lewis joins Phil Craig on the Aspects of History podcast to chat his latest book, SAS Great Escapes 5.
The World's Reformation: How Protestantism Became a Global Religion with Alec Ryrie
That word mission might make you think of Robert De Niro or Jeremy Irons in Jesuit robes clambering up the Iguazu Falls in deepest South America, but, lagging as they might have been and forgotten as their efforts may be, there was a Protestant expansion too, a clear will to propagate the Gospel to the world, that challenges those preconceptions.
This week on the podcast, Professor Alec Ryrie jo
Archbishop, Chancellor, Kingmaker with Dr Chris Given-Wilson
The medieval period is rife with kingmakers, but what about the dynasty-maker who also served as head of the church? In his excellent new study of Thomas Arundel, the master of medieval studies, Dr Chris Given-Wilson, Emeritus Professor at St Andrews, tells Nathen Amin all about the remarkable figure who served as Chancellor and Archbishop before helping change the path of English politics forever
The Visionaries: The Making of the Post World War II Order in the West with James Holland
Economic turmoil of the 1930s and the need to create a new
post-war fiscal order after 1945 were the challenges faced by Presidents Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Harry Truman. Their vision, and the policies by which they enacted it, underpinned recovery, global cooperation, and long-term stability.
Joining Phil Craig for this episode of the Aspects of History podcast, historian and Chalke
Behind Caesar's Back: Rumor, Gossip, and the Making of the Roman Emperors with Caillan Davenport
Rumours whispered in the forum, graffiti scrawled on walls, and scandalous tales passed between senator and citizen - the Roman emperor was as much a manifestation of gossip as of power. But how far can we trust these tales, and what do they reveal about the imperial system itself?
Joining Zeb Baker-Smith, Editor of Aspects of History, on the podcast today is Caillan Davenport, professor
Athens and Sparta: The Rivalry That Shaped Ancient Greece with Adrian Goldsworthy
In a warring world of thousands of city-states, where honour, prestige, and survival were constantly at stake, two names would rise above the rest – Athens and Sparta. Though once allied together against the Persians, the powers would end up locked in a rivalry, the Peloponnesian War.
In this episode of the podcast, Adrian Goldsworthy joins Zeb Baker-Smith, Editor of Aspects of History
Henry VII: Treason and Trust with Dr Sean Cunningham
Henry VII was the king the brought the Plantagenets tumbling down and replaced them with the Tudor Dynasty. But his reign was anything but peaceful. Join Nathen Amin to tell us all about the first Tudor monarch's tense, turbulent and uncomfortable reign is Dr Sean Cunningham, author of 'Henry VII: Treason and Trust' and Head of Medieval Records at the National Archives
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Stalin's Apostles: The Cambridge Five and the Making of the Soviet Empire with Antonia Senior
Few scandals have captured the imagination quite like the Cambridge Five - recruited in the 1930s, these infamous names would each penetrate the deepest recesses of the British intelligence system while secretly working for the Soviet Union. Their actions compromised operations, reshaped the nation’s security services and left a legacy that continues to
echo in today’s world.
Joining Phil Craig
The Nazi and the Psychiatrist with Jack El-Hai
This week’s episode of the Aspects of History podcast sees historian Phil Craig joined by author Jack El-Hai to explore the disturbing psychological drama behind the Nuremberg Trials.
After last year’s adaptation starring Rami Malek and Russell
Crowe, the journalist discusses his book, The Nazi and the Psychiatrist, the uncanny relationship between US Army physician Douglas Kelley and th
Sceptred Isle with Helen Carr
This week on the podcast, best-selling historian Helen Carr passionately explores the fourteenth century, subject of her vividly-told and immersive new book Sceptred Isle including insightful discussion of John of Gaunt, Katherine Swynford, exploring the voices of women of the past, and writing on the themes of loss and grief.
Nathen Amin Links:
Website: www.nathenamin.com
Substack: https://nat
Nuremberg: The Translator's Tale with Helen Fry
The Nuremberg Trials brought the surviving leaders of the Third Reich to justice, but they also posed a deeper question. How could ordinary men commit such extraordinary crimes? Joining Phil Craig on the Aspects of History podcast is historian Helen Fry discussing Nuremberg: The Translator's Tale published by Yale University Press.
Her new book tells the fascinating story of Howard Triest, a
Edward I and Wales with David Pilling
This week on the podcast, historian, author and novelist David Pilling joins to share his thoughts on Edward I, the Crusader King of England remembered for his uncompromising rule and struggles with the Welsh and Scottish. It's a fascinating discussion about a monarch who has become increasingly misrepresented and perhaps misunderstood.
Nathen Amin Links:
Website: www.nathenamin.com
Substack: h
Themistocles: The Rise and Fall of Athens's Naval Mastermind with Michael Scott
Themistocles is a name conjures up many adjectives and epithets - a visionary, an outsider, the architect of Athenian maritime success, and, ultimately, an exile who ended his days in among his once-enemies. Alongside Zeb Baker-Smith, Editor of Aspects of History, on the podcast today is Professor Michael Scott of the University of Warwick, academic, author and broadcaster. His biography of on
Willie Willie Harry Stee with Charlie Higson
This week on the podcast, renaissance man of culture - comedian, musician, novelist, actor, podcaster and now historian - Charlie Higson joins Nathen Amin for a wide-ranging discussion around his podcast and accompanying book Willie, Willie, Harry, Stee. Find out who Charlie thought were 'stinkers' as monarchs and just why history matters so much.
Charlie Higson Links:
Willie, Willie, Harry, Ste
Berenice: Queen in Roman Judea with Bruce Chilton
A lover of an emperor-to-be, the subject of scurrilous rumours of incest and a target of Juvenal’s anti-Semitic ranting - but who exactly was Berenice of Judea and why must her life viewed through these prejudiced lenses? Joining Zeb Baker-Smith, Editor of Aspects of History, on the podcast is Bruce Chilton, scholar and biographer. His fine-tuned account of a 1st-century client queen turns the spo
Victory to Defeat with Robert Lyman and Phil Craig
This week on the podcast, historians Robert Lyman and Phil Craig move between modern Britain and the
interwar years to ask a disturbingly familiar question: why do we keep repeating the same mistakes when it comes to military preparedness?
Drawing on Robert Lyman’s recent book Victory to Defeat (written with General Lord Dannatt), the discussion explores how Britain’s formidable military machi
Those Who Are About To Die with Harry Sidebottom
We think we know about gladiators, toned biceps on show during a deadly bout in the arena. But is that Hollywood depiction less interesting than the actual truth? We’d venture so… Joining Zeb Baker-Smith, Editor of Aspects of History, on the podcast is Harry Sidebottom, whose day-at-the-games account shines light on the life of a gladiator and the realities behind Rome’s most enduring spectacle i
2025 Tudor Book Round-Up
A round-up of the best 2025 Tudor books - Joining host Nathen Amin are guest contributors, and authors extraordinaire, Sarah Gristwood and Steve Veerapen.
Sarah Gristwood Links:
Website: https://sarahgristwood.com/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/author/B00IVN1JM6
Steven Veerapen Links
Website: https://www.stevenveerapen.com/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/author/B07PBBLPRL
Eleanor with Alice Loxton
When his queen Eleanor of Castile died in 1290, how did Edward I demonstrate his love for the woman 'whom in life we dearly cherished, and whom in death we cannot cease to love'. Joining Aspects of History today for a fascinating and wide-ranging conversation, history titan Alice Loxton adeptly explains how she followed, quite literally, in Edward's grief-stricken footsteps not just to commemorate
Books of the Year with the Gang
Hello and welcome to the Aspects of History 2025 books of
the year podcast.
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IWM Live with Tessa Dunlop
IWM Live on Saturday 1st November, Ollie spoke with Tessa Dunlop in front of a live audience discussing how we memorialise war.
Thanks to the Imperial War Museum
Tessa Dunlop Links
Lest We Forget: War and Peace in 100 British Monuments
Alfred the Great - The Telegraph (£)
Aspects of History Links
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O
Film Club: Das Boot (1981)
Latest film club is to celebrate the publication of Roger Moorhouse's latest book, Wolfpack, and it's Das Boot, the Wolfgang Petersen masterpiece.
Links
Wolfpack
Das Boot on Wikipedia
Ollie on X
Tim on X
Roger on X
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Peak Human with Johan Norberg
Is the West’s dominant golden age at an end? What can the
past tell us about the future? Joining today is Johan Norberg who poses these and many more questions in his fascinating book Peak Human.
Episode Links
Peak Human
Ollie Links
Ollie on Twitter / X
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Sharpe with Bernard Cornwell
On 9th February 1981 a novel was published that would reinigerate historical fiction, begin a series that would sell millions of copies, and inspire a certain Shefflield born actor to take on a role that would lead him to Hollywood as a Bond villain and the star of Lord of the Rings. Sharpe’s Eagle was that novel, and Sean Bean the actor. There is a new Sharpe out, Sharpe's Storm, set in late 1813
The World Cup with Jonathan Wilson
In the build up to World Cup 98 in France, Glenn Hoddle pondered the selection of England’s greatest and most skilful player. A mercurial genius capable of turning a game with one drop of the shoulder or defence splitting pass. His free kick ability was legendary. A scorer of great goals as well as a great goalscorer. I am of course talking about Matthew Le Tissier, and England went out on penalti
Naples with Keith Lowe
On 27th September 1943, in German occupied Naples, an uprising began that lasted four days. By the 29th the Germans had lost the city and so made the decision to leave, heading north for safety as the victorious Neapolitans and Partisans celebrated in the streets. On 1st October the Allies arrived, and the city was secure. Or was it? Within months starvation descended on Naples, and with it diseas
Film Club: The Hunt For Red October (1990)
Latest film club is to celebrate the publication of Roger Moorhouse's latest book, Wolfpack, and it's great sub movie Hunt For Red October, starring Sean Connery & Alec Baldwin. We talk crazy Ivans, safety measures on torpedoes and an egregious example of mansplaining.
Links
Wolfpack
Hunt For Red October on Wikipedia
Caterpillar Drive
Ollie on X
Tim on X
Roger on X
Latest
Witchcraft with Steven Veerapen
In 1562 the Witchcraft Act was passed in England during the reign of Elizabeth I. The Act stated that anyone who should "use, practise, or exercise any Witchcraft, Enchantment, Charm, or Sorcery, whereby any person shall happen to be killed or destroyed", was guilty of a felony without benefit of clergy, and was to be put to death. The Scottish Witchcraft Act followed a year later.
Joining today
Body Snatching with History Rage
In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries there was huge demand among medical practitioners for corpses on which to practices and perform. With the demand so came the suppliers in the form of body snatchers. These were highly motivated and well organised groups who solved the supply problem by taking the freshly buried dead and selling them to desperate surgeons.
Joining today is Paul
The U-Boat War with Roger Moorhouse
In October 1939 U-47 approached Scapa Flow in silence, as its crew prepared to attack. Their target were British warships at port in the deepwater natural harbour. The U Boat’s tubes were filled with water, and three torpedoes were fired, heading for HMS Royal Oak. This mission, so early in the war, was a huge success for the Kriegsmarine and was commented on by Winston Churchill in the House of C
Operation Pimento with Adam Hart
On the night of 14th August 1943, a Halifax bomber approached the Savoie region of SE France. Coming under fire from the ground, the aircraft was hit and only one airman survived, Squadron Leader Frank Griffiths. Now alone and in German occupied territory, he began the perilous journey to the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. Joining me is Adam Hart, Frank’s great grandson as he followed in
Film Club: We Dive At Dawn (1943)
Welcome to our four part special on submarine movies for the Film Club – last week began with Crimson Tide, today it’s the British 1943 classic We Dive at Dawn, and towards the end of October we have, appropriately, the Hunt for Red October before culminating with Das Boot. All in honour of Roger Moorhouse’s new book Wolfpack: Inside Hitler’s U Boat War, so sit back and listen to Roger, director T
Cromwell, Rupert & The Women they Loved with Miranda Malins & Mark Turnbull
Do you think you know Oliver Cromwell and Prince Rupert of the Rhine? I’ve discussed both figures on this podcast, but I don’t think I’ve delved into their wives, daughters, mothers or consorts who all give a more nuanced and view of these two major players of 17tg century Britain and Ireland.
Miranda Malins, author of a forthcoming history of the Cromwell dynasty, and Mark Turnbull, author of P
Film Club: Crimson Tide (1995)
Latest film club is to celebrate the publication of Roger Moorhouse's latest book, Wolfpack, and it's the Tony Scott classic starring Denzel Washington & Gene Hackman.
Links
Wolfpack
Ollie on X
Tim on X
Roger on X
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Tunisgrad with Saul David
On 17 November 1942 Allied troops began their campaign against the Germans and Italians in the Tunisian campaign, in the last effort to push the Axis out of North Africa, and open the way to Sicily and Italy, and, as you heard from the Winston Churchill quote at the top, meaning Germany would be surrounded in the last 18 months of the war.
So why was this campaign so important, and who was invo
Medieval Civil War: Henry III & Simon de Montfort with David Pilling
On the 4th August 1265 Henry III’s army led by his
son Edward, met rebels of Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester at Evesham. Henry himself had earlier been captured by Simon, and so perhaps that motivated Edward and his followers to exact a terrible revenge. In a brutal battle with the majority of the Montfortians wiped out, Edward was victorious and so Simon de Montfort’s rebellion was over. Or
Film Club: Barry Lyndon (1975)
Latest Film Club is the Kubrick 1975 masterpiece, Barry Lyndon starring Ryan O'Neal, Marisa Berenson, Patrick Magee, Leonard Rossiter and Hardy Kruger.
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Appointment in Paris with Jane Thynne
On the outskirts of North London, near Chipping Barnet and Enfield, stands a marvellous country house, Trent Park that belonged to the
Sassoon family. In 1939 it was requisitioned by the British government whereupon it became a luxurious POW camp for German prisoners. Why treat them so kindly?
Well senior Wehrmacht and Nazi officers were lulled into a false sense of security, they let their guard
Operation Sea Lion with Alex Gerlis
In the summer of 1940, Britain was on its knees. The British Expeditionary Force had fled from mainland Europe in humiliation, and Nazi Germany eyed the South East of England greedily. All that stood between Hitler and his SS marching up the Mall was a thin strip of English channel.
My guest today is Alex Gerlis who has written The Second Traitor, a novel set in those dark days of the first yea
The Wars of the Roses Part Six: The Battle of Bosworth Field
On 22 August 1485 Henry Tudor met Richard III at Bosworth Field. In a strange battle, Henry’s smaller force eventually overcame Richard’s army. The Wars of the Roses were all but over after thirty years of murder, warfare and political machinations.
In this final episode of our 6 part special, Derek Birks, author of The Guide to the Wars of the Roses and David Pilling author of Kingbreaker, join
The Wars of the Roses Part Five: The Princes in the Tower
In August of 1483 a sighting was reported of two young boys playing in the grounds of the Tower of London. Rumours spread that these were the two princes, Edward V and his younger brother Richard Duke of York. It was the last time they were seen again, and ever since, speculation has been rife that their uncle, Richard III had them killed, or, and this is perhaps less likely, they managed to escap
The Wars of the Roses Part Four: The Fall of the Kingmaker
Welcome to episode 4 of this 6 part special on the Wars of the Roses. Today’s episode sees Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, the Kingmaker, make plans which soon fall apart.
Joining me are two historians, Derek Birks, the author of the Guide to the Wars of the Roses, and David Pilling, author of Kingbreaker.
You’ll get two episodes per week, and so hopefully will emerge from August with a superi
The Wars of the Roses Part Three: Edward IV
Welcome to episode 3 of this 6 part special on the Wars of the Roses. Today Edward IV emerges as the great new hope for the Yorkist cause now that his father, Richard Duke of York is dead.
Joining me are two historians, Derek Birks, the author of the Guide to the Wars of the Roses, and David Pilling, author of Kingbreaker.
You’ll get two episodes per week, and so hopefully will emerge from Augus
The Wars of the Roses Part Two: The Death of York
Welcome to episode 2 of this 6 part special on the Wars of the Roses as today we deal with the fall of Richard Duke of York.
Joining me are two historians, Derek Birks, the author of the Guide to the Wars of the Roses, and David Pilling, author of KingBreaker.
You’ll get two episodes per week, and so hopefully will emerge from August with a superior knowledge of a conflict that was an early civi
The Wars of the Roses Part One: The Rise of York
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Prince Rupert of the Rhine with Mark Turnbull
On Sunday 23 October 1642, at Edgehill during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, Parliament and the Royalists met on the field of battle. In an inconclusive engagement, both sides left the field largely intact, but one man’s name would be known throughout England. Prince Rupert of the Rhine led a stunning cavalry charge on the King’s right flank, breaking through the Parliamentarians. But, as with so
Ukraine's Foreign Legion with Colin Freeman
On 27th February 2022, three days after the Russians invaded Ukraine, President Zelensky sent out the call for volunteers from abroad to join the Ukrainians in resisting Putin’s so called special military operation. Over 20,000 expressed interest, but for those that made it out onto the front lines, combat proved far more difficult, and less romantic, than it had first appeared.
Joining today is
Film Club: The Thin Red Line (1998)
This month’s film club is the Terrence Malick 1998 masterpiece The Thin Red Line starring Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Jim Caviezel, John Cusack, John Travolta and Woody Harrelson, among many others. We talk the Adrien Brody cut, the military elements, comparisons with Saving Private Ryan and much more. It’s me, historian Roger Moorhouse and filmmaker Tim Hewitt talking The Thin Red Line.
Links
Adrie
Nelson's Pathfinders with Michael Barritt
In 1795 the Admiralty established the Royal Navy’s Hydrography office, which became the world leader in charting the waters of the globe, as ships of the line sailed the oceans, pursuing their traditional enemy, the French. Treacherous waters were navigated with a skill that is quite breathtaking, and laid the groundwork, along with Trafalgar, for a century of domination of the waves.
Joining tod
Iran's Grand Strategy with Vali Nasr
On 13 June of this year, one month ago, Israeli forces launched aerial and drone attacks on Iran thus beginning what is now called the Twelve Day War or the Iran-Israel War. The coverage here in the West has focussed on whether the bombing has been successful, but is there a strategic goal in place that takes into account Iran’s strategy?
Perhaps, but my guest today is Vali Nasr who has written a
Summer Reads with The Gang
This week three writers join to talk summer reading recommendations from the world of history and historical fiction.
Books
The Spy in the Archive
Sceptred Isle
Rain of Ruin
Test Cricket: A History
The Pretender
Korea
The CIA Book Club
Lest We Forget
1945 The Reckoning
On Democracy & Death Cults
Last Days of Budapest
The Sorrow & the Loss
These Wicked Devices
Hiroshima with Iain MacGregor
On 6 August 1945 the Enola Gay, a Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber, approached Hiroshima and opened up its bomb doors. Once its payload dropped, the city was engulfed with blinding light and a huge explosion produced a giant mushroom cloud. When the attack was over and after the Enola Gay had returned to its airbase on the North Mariana islands, around 100,000 Japanese residents of Hiroshima were
Horace with Peter Stothard
Horace, born Quintus Horatius Flaccus in 65 BC in Venusia, was one of ancient Rome’s most celebrated lyric poets. He lived through the turbulent transition from Republic to Empire and became closely associated with Emperor Augustus’s regime. Though he once fought on the losing side at the Battle of Philippi against Caesar, he later gained favour through the patronage of Maecenas, a key advisor to
Film Club: Apocalypto (2006)
Latest film club is the Maya epic from Mel Gibson. With a cast of unknowns, it put the civilisation overshadowed by the Aztecs back on the map.
Links
Ollie on X
Tim on X
Roger on X
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True Crime in WW2 London: Episode 1 - The Wartime Crime Bonanza with Mark Ellis
The accepted story of the Home Front during the Second World War is one of cooperation and teamwork as people across Britain linked arms to provide support for the war effort, right? Wrong. Crime rates actually increased during the war years.Think foreign gangs roaming through London is a recent phenomenon? Think again as Maltese and Italians cornered the organised crime world. And what about the
True Crime in WW2 London: Episode 2 - Gangs of London with Mark Ellis
The accepted story of the Home Front during the Second World War is one of cooperation and teamwork as people across Britain linked arms to provide support for the war effort, right? Wrong.
Crime rates actually increased during the war years.Think foreign gangs roaming through London is a recent phenomenon? Think again as Maltese and Italians cornered the organised crime world.
And what about
True Crime in WW2 London: Episode 3 - The Yanks are Here with Mark Ellis
The accepted story of the Home Front during the Second World War is one of cooperation and teamwork as people across Britain linked arms to provide support for the war effort, right? Wrong. Crime rates actually increased during the war years.
Think foreign gangs roaming through London is a recent phenomenon? Think again as Maltese and Italians cornered the organised crime world. And what about th
Ancient Greece through Artemisia & Olympias with Daisy Dunn
Boudicca, Cleopatra, Artemisia and Olympias are just a few if the many women of the ancient world that we know about, but it’s significant that we know about them from male writers. That gives a certain perspective, not necessarily inaccurate, but it can be. Today I’m speaking with a classicist who writes about antiquity having gone direct to the sources and translating them herself, and has writt
The Tank with Mark Urban
On 20 November 1917, after a bombardment of the trenches near the town of Cambrai, German troops prepared for an attack by their British opponents. Out of the gloom emerged steel mechanised vehicles. The tank. Within minutes the Germans were overrun and the Mark IV tank had achieved its first stunning victory, a major milestone for this military innovation.
Mark Urban joins to discuss his latest
The Spy Who Tried to Kill the KGB with Gordon Corera
In March 1992 in Vilnius, Lithuania, an old man walked into the recently established British Embassy, holding a bag containing sausages. But those sausages were concealing documents liberated from the KGB archives in Moscow, and the old man was Vasili Mitrokhin, chief archivist of Russia’s secret police. His defection provided the West with vast amounts of material that provided information on the
Film Club: The Report (2019)
Part two of May’s Film club double bill is The Report, Scott Z. Burn’s movie on the Senate Intelligence Committee’s investigation into the CIA’s torture program, so sit back and enjoy Roger Tim and I discussing The Report.
Links
Ollie on X
Tim on X
Roger on X
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The SAS & Paddy Mayne with Damien Lewis
In April 1945, during Operation Howard in enemy occupied territory, troops of the SAS were ambushed by German Panzerfausts. Several were pinned down and they suffered heavy losses. Along came Paddy Mayne who, in an act of suicidal bravery, drove along an open road to reach his men, all the while giving and taking fire. HE collected wounded, returned to safety before again heading out to retrieve m
Film Club: Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
Film Club for May is Zero Dark Thirty, Kathryn Bigelow’s controversial film of the hunt for Osama Bin Laden. Next week it’s The Report, on the CIA’s torture program but sit back and enjoy Roger Tim and me on discussing Zero Dark Thirty.
Links
Ollie on X
Tim on X
Roger on X
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The Korean War with Robert Lyman
Early in the morning of 25th June 1950 the Korean People’s Army – the North Koreans – crossed the 38th parallel and the Korean War had begun. It was a particularly brutal conflict, with up to 3 million civilian deaths, a million South Koreans and 1.5million North Koreans left dead.
But why did it begin, and why, after the near cataclysmic invasion had been repulsed, did the Americans overreach th
Test Cricket with Tim Wigmore
On 15 March 1877 play began between England and Australia in Melbourne. So began an extraordinary tradition of the finest form of sport: the Test Match. An incredible innovation that involved two teams playing cricket for up to nine days in one case, it is unique in sporting contests. However Test Cricket is bound up by Empire, class and race. Great teams have been barred from competing, and there
D-Day: Sword Beach with Max Hastings
On 6th June 1944 the British 3rd Division landed on Sword Beach, Normandy, as they joined Canadian, American and other allied troops in the liberation of Europe. Progress was not easy for the British troops as they suffered heavy losses, and the objective of the vital city of Caen on day 1 was not achieved.
But what of the experience of the soldiers on that day? Max Hastings joins to discuss his
The Big Little War with James Dunford Wood
In early May of 1941, in the deserts of Iraq that had seen the armies of Alexander battle Darius, a force of 9000 Arabs and Iraqis descended on the small British airfield of Habbinayah. Only 39 pilots and a small collection of antiquated and obsolete aircraft stood between British maintenance of crucial oilfields, and their loss and consequent disaster for fuel supplies to the British Army and the
Victory 1945 with Al Murray
At 1830 hours on 4th May 1945, Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery accepted the unconditional surrender of German forces in northwestern Europe from Admiral Hans Georg von Friedeberg. This was one of a number of surrenders that took place across the European theatre of World War Two. Months later Japan surrendered with a radio statement that has since become a satirical masterpiece.
Al Murray joins
Women of the Troubles with Martin Dillon
On the afternoon of 6 March 1988 in Gibraltar on the southern tip of the Iberian peninsular, Mairead Farrell and two other Provisional IRA volunteers of were shot dead by members of the Special Air Service. The three were on an operation to target one of the last outposts of the British Empire, but their movements were known to the security services. Farrell was one of a small number of female IRA
Bose & Post War Empires with Phil Craig
At the end of the Second World War Asian colonies were desperate for independence: India, Burma, Indochina, Malaya and the Dutch East Indies all boasted independence movements that now demanded autonomy. But was Britain, which had fought a costly war against fascism and domination and won, willing to grant self-government to its former colonies? And what of France and the Netherlands, and the char
Monuments to War with Tessa Dunlop
On 8 June 1982 the Sir Galahad troop ship was about to offload the Welsh Guards at Bluff Cove in the Falkland Islands. As the guardsmen were waiting, an Argentine Skyhawk attacked and the Galahad was hit. 48 men were killed, and 97 wounded, among them Simon Weston. Weston, a proud Welshman, suffered horrific burns and endured 96 operations and surgical procedures. He is one of many interviewees in
Film Club: Downfall (2004)
This month’s movie is Downfall, directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel and starring Bruno Ganz, the depiction of the last days of Adolf Hitler as we reach the 80th anniversary. Roger Moorhouse, historian of Nazi Germany joins, along with Director Tim Hewitt.
Links
Downfall on Wikipedia
Downfall on IMDB
Ollie on X
Tim on X
Roger on X
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The Siege of Leningrad with Sinclair McKay
In August 1941 Army Group North of the Wehrmacht approached the suburbs of Leningrad, as St. Petersburg was called. Within days the city was surrounded, and would remain so for nearly two and a half years. The suffering endured by its residents was horrifying and included widespread cannibalism. But this is a city of art, architecture, literature, music and dance, the home of Alexander Pushkin and
WW2 Titans: Churchill, Brooke & Ismay, with John Kiszely & Gordon Corrigan
On 25th December 1941, General Alan Brooke (or Alanbrooke) was appointed Chief of the Imperial General Staff, the commanding officer of the British Army during the Second World War. His new boss, Winston Spencer Churchill was a hard taskmaster with high standards who had no problem with sacking generals. But, he had a helping hand in the form of General Pug Ismay, soldier, statesman and diplomat.
WW2 Family History and the 1980s with Helen Lederer
Today’s guest is Helen Lederer, actress, comedian, writer and the author of Not That I’m Bitter, her life’s memoir which includes the 1980s comedy scene, and her family story during the Second World War which we’re going to talk about today.
Helen Lederer Links
Not That I’m Bitter
My IWM: Helen Lederer - Aspects of History
Aspects of History Links
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