Transcript of Michael Palin: Erebus and Terror
In this archive episode, Dan Snow wrangles with a Python! He talks to comedy legend Michael Palin about his book, Erebus The Story of a Ship. The book tells the devastating true story of the Franklin expeditions to find the Northwest Passage, and how their history only slowly came to light. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
- 42:56
- 1.5K views
- Published over 4 years ago
Transcript of Eddie the Eagle
I am joined by an absolute legend on the podcast today; Eddie the Eagle. He became an overnight sensation during the 1988 Winter Olympics as the first person to represent Great Britain in ski jumping since 1928. Although he finished last in both the 70 metres and the 90 metres he became a worldwide phenomenon due to his positive attitude and the extraordinary story of how he reached the games. He is one of the most zen people I have had the pleasure of interviewing and is just as happy plastering as appearing in the public eye. In this episode, we talk all about his Olympic adventure and Eddie shares with us some of his life wisdom. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
- 24:34
- 1.6K views
- Published over 4 years ago
Transcript of The Renaissance
Today on the podcast we're going to talk all about the Renaissance. We have all heard of it as a reawakening, a rebirth of European culture but what truly was it and why was it so important and are we going through our own renaissance now? I wanted to really get under the skin of the Renaissance and find out what exactly happened in Italy in the 15th and 16th century. Joining me to do just that is Mary Hollingsworth who has written a book called Princes of the Renaissance about the people who became the artistic patrons in that period. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
- 23:35
- 1.9K views
- Published over 4 years ago
Transcript of What's Going on in Myanmar?
Myanmar is currently experiencing one of its worst-ever periods of violence and civil unrest as the population protests against the recent military coup. Many protesters have been killed and injured and Aung San Suu Kyi is once again under house arrest. To help explain what is happening in Myanmar and put the events into context I am joined on the podcast by the filmmaker Alex Bescoby, who has spent much of his adult life working and living in Myanmar. We explore this complex issue and how the current unrest is related to its history, colonialism, the country's partition in 1947 as well as the subsequent coups, revolutions and more recently genocide that has followed. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
- 28:41
- 2K views
- Published over 4 years ago
Transcript of The Gulf War: 30 Years On
On this day thirty years ago a ceasefire was declared bringing ground operations in the first Gulf War to an end. An overwhelmingly powerful coalition force had stormed across the desert driving Saddam Hussein's forces out of Kuwait and concluding the ground campaign after only 100 hours of fighting. To commemorate this anniversary I am joined on the podcast by General Sir Rupert Smith who commanded the UK 1st Armoured Division during the conflict. We talk about his role during the war, the challenges of command and what we should understand about the changing nature of combat in the modern world.General Sir Rupert Smith joined the army in the 1960s and served on deployments across the world including Africa, Arabia, the Caribbean, Europe, Malaysia and Northern Ireland where he was decorated for gallantry. In October 1990 he was promoted to Major-General and assumed commanded of the 1st Armoured Division as it was being deployed to the Gulf in anticipation of the war. This was the largest British armoured force deployed in action since the Second World War. After the Gulf War Sir Rupert went on to serve with distinction in Bosnia and wrote a book called The Utility of Force which remains essential reading in military circles. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
- 38:24
- 1.7K views
- Published over 4 years ago
Transcript of The War Widow: Women of World War Two
Today's episode is from our brilliant sibling podcast, The World Wars. Author, presenter and human right advocate Tara Moss joins James to discuss the role of women during and after the Second World War associeties across the world struggled under a mass of social and political change. This disjointed period serves as the backdrop for Tara Moss’ new novel, in which her protagonist, a female war reporter turned private inquiry agent pushes against the workforce prejudices of 1946 Australia. Through this lens, Tara explores post-war attitudes towards gender, race, disability and religion. Tara takes us straight into her family history with the story of her Oma and Opa’s survival in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands. She then shares the stories of the incredible photographers, investigators and nurses who were the inspiration behind her main character. Tara Moss is the author of 13 bestselling books, a documentary maker, presenter, journalist and advocate for human rights and the rights of women, children and people with disabilities. She has been an ambassador for UNICEF Australia since 2007. War Widow can be found here. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
- 37:23
- 2K views
- Published over 4 years ago
Transcript of Lockdown Learning: The 19th Century Medical Revolution
The 19th century saw the world in the grip of the industrial revolution, a firepower revolution on the battlefield and a communications revolution with the telegram. But there was another revolution happening at the same time; the medical revolution. This led to giant strides forward being made in the fields of public health, surgery and pharmaceuticals. Monica Walker, Curator at Old Operating Theatre Museum in London, joins me for Lockdown Learning this week to talk me through jus what happened in the 19th century to take medicine into a completely different realm.Many thanks again to Simon Beale for creating this downloadable worksheet for students: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GQW0ql9LsuvQDB5PozNuZtIsepir5ByH/view See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
- 31:03
- 2.1K views
- Published over 4 years ago
Transcript of The Doolittle Raid
Today, we're talking about one of the great stories of American military history; The Doolittle Raid. In 1942 after the humiliation assault on Pearl Harbour and determined to show that America still had offensive capabilities the charismatic figure of James Doolittle came to President Rosevelt with the proposal to fly army bombers off aircraft carriers and attack Tokyo the capital of the Japanese Empire. Michel Paradis, the author of Last Mission to Tokyo, joins me not only to discuss the mission itself but also the fascinating story of the fight for justice for the Doolittle crews captured, tortured and killed by the Japanese. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
- 25:51
- 2.1K views
- Published over 4 years ago
Transcript of Anti-government Violence in America
Leah Sottile joins me today to talk all about domestic terrorism and anti-government groups in the USA. In particular, we talk about the armed standoff between law enforcement and a group of ranchers led by Cliven Bundy in 2014 over the issue of grazing rights on public land. We examine what happened, why this case matters, how it is directly linked to the stoming of the Capitol and what it is about the history of the USA that motivates these groups.Leah Sottile is a freelance journalist and writer based in Oregon and the host of the podcast Two Minutes Past Nine, produced with BBC Radio 4, and the series "Bundyville," made in collaboration with Longreads and Oregon Public Broadcasting. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
- 21:06
- 2K views
- Published over 4 years ago
Transcript of Remembering the Alamo with W. F. Strong
In this episode taken from our archive, I headed out to Texas in 2016 to discuss the Battle of the Alamo and what its legacy means for modern Texas. I met with W. F. Strong, a famed historian of Texas, to wander around the city of San Antonio and get a deeper understanding of one of America's most famous battles. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
- 48:34
- 1.8K views
- Published over 4 years ago
Transcript of John of Gaunt: THE Royal Ancestor
Helen Carr joins me today to discuss John of Gaunt: son of Edward III, younger brother to the Black Prince, uncle of Richard II and father of Henry IV. Not only was he the key intersecting ancestor around which the Plantagenet family split, but his other children also give us the Tudor dynasty. He is THE royal ancestor and one that many of us can trace our family trees back to. In this fascinating episode, Helen discusses his royal aspirations, his attempted conquest of parts of Spain, his role in the Peasants' Revolt and his experiences of the Black Death. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
- 36:06
- 1.8K views
- Published over 4 years ago
Transcript of In Conversation with David Baddiel
In this episode taken from our archive, David Baddiel talks to Dan about the Second World War, Trump's Mussolini-isms, and why Jim Callaghan makes comedy difficult. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
- 50:46
- 1.9K views
- Published over 4 years ago
Transcript of Brexit History Showdown with Robert Tombs
Five years after the announcement of the Brexit referendum I am joined on the podcast by Robert Tombs, author of The Sovereign Isle: Britain In and Out of Europe, for a Brexit history showdown. In this thought-provoking conversation Robert, a fantastic historian absolutely steeped in European history sets out why he believes it was in the best interests of the UK to leave the European project. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
- 32:59
- 1.5K views
- Published over 4 years ago
Transcript of Vikings: River Kings
Today, I am joined by Cat Jarman bio-archaeologist and author of a new book all about how the Vikings spread east, often utilising the rivers of central and Eastern Europe, all the way into central Asia. These travels enabled them through trade, violence and settlement to plug themselves into that superhighway of the time, the Silk Road. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
- 27:27
- 1.4K views
- Published over 4 years ago
Transcript of Love Lives: From Cinderella to Frozen
We cover all the big topics on the podcast including weapons of mass destruction, climate change, great power rivalry and the struggle for democracy and many others, but today's podcast is all about the biggest subject of them all. Love.Carol Dyhouse, Professor (Emeritus) of History at the University of Sussex, joins me to talk all about how portrayals of love in popular culture and in particular Disney princesses have influenced how people view love, romance and marriage and how those views have changed since the 1950s. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
- 26:35
- 1.9K views
- Published over 4 years ago
Transcript of Hitler and Stalin
I am joined by Laurence Rees, the best selling author, who has met more people that had direct contact with both Hitler and Stalin than any other historian. In this episode, we delve into the differences and similarities of these two terrifying, brutal and ruthless megalomaniacs who did more than anyone else to shape the Twentieth Century and the world we live in today. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
- 28:25
- 1.4K views
- Published over 4 years ago
Transcript of Living Through the Dresden Firebombing with Victor Gregg
Victor Gregg is a veteran of World War Two and the Dresden Bombings, and travelled with Dan to visit Dresden a couple of years ago for a documentary. In this episode, taken from our archive, Victor talks about what it was like to be in Dresden during the bombings, and the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) he suffered as a result of his wartime experiences. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
- 47:06
- 1.3K views
- Published over 4 years ago
Transcript of Empire with Sathnam Sanghera
Journalist and author Sathnam Sanghera joins me on the podcast to talk about his latest book Empireland which examines how much of what we think of as Britain and British is owed to our imperial past. We compare notes on our own family's relationships to the British Empire imperial, me being British-Canadian and Sathnam being of Punjabi descent, and discuss how imperial history should be thought about and taught today. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
- 29:02
- 1.4K views
- Published over 4 years ago
Transcript of Historical Novels with Ken Follett
Today, I am joined by best-selling author Ken Follett to discuss his latest book The Evening and the Morning. We also talk about his love of history and the historical research involved with writing one of his novels, his method and how authors have to sometimes use creative license to fill in some of the underwear shaped gaps left in the historical record. This episode was recorded before the US election last year and Ken, a former journalist, also touches on his concerns for his previous occupation with the proliferation of fake news. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
- 23:22
- 1.4K views
- Published over 4 years ago
Transcript of Sutton Hoo
The release of The Dig has brought the story of the Sutton Hoo dig to the forefront of people’s minds of late. The real hero of that story though is not the people involved but rather the stunning archaeology discovered in Suffolk as the Second World War loomed. Sue Brunning joins me on the podcast to talk all thing Sutton Hoo. The history of the excavation, who might have been buried at the heart of it and what it tells us about Early Medieval England. Sue is an archaeologist specialising in Early Medieval material culture and is the curator of Early Medieval Europe Collections at the British Museum where many of the artefacts from Sutton Hoo are housed. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
- 37:05
- 1.6K views
- Published over 4 years ago
History! The most exciting and important things that have ever happened on the planet! Featuring reports from the weird and wonderful places around the world where history has been made and interviews with some of the best historians writing today. Dan also covers some of the major anniversaries as they pass by and explores the deep history behind today's headlines - giving you the context to understand what is going on today.