Podcast Episodes

American Empire and the framework of modern capitalism

In this episode of the Explaining History podcast, we explore the concept of American empire and its role in the framework of modern capitalism, exploring the Making of Modern Capitalism by Leo Panit…

Published on 2 years, 11 months ago

Soviet Society and the Great Terror: 1937

During the 1930s, the Soviet Union, under the leadership of Joseph Stalin, experienced a wave of repression and terror that came to be known as the Great Terror.

This period saw the widespread use of…

Published on 2 years, 11 months ago

A revisionist approach to the U-Boat War 1939-45

A popular view of the war at sea is that of Britain pushed right to the edge, mounting shipping losses leading to fears of starvation in Britain and possible capitulation. Military historian Max Hast…

Published on 3 years ago

Nationalism and identity in the Austro Hungarian Army 1914

Why did the patchwork Habsburg empire collapse in 1918? The pressures of war and the competing identities and loyalties of the men that fought in the Austo Hungarian armies both have a significant pa…

Published on 3 years ago

The afterlife of Leon Trotsky's politics 1940-1982

When Leon Trotsky was murdered by NKVD agent Ramon Mercader in 1940, his ideas lived on. The Trotskyist Fourth International and the American Socialist Workers Party in particular claimed (though thi…

Published on 3 years ago

Explaining History Study Extra: Lenin's Death and its consequences

In this episode of the Explaining History Study Extra, we explore Lenin's death and the consequences for the power struggle to succeed him. We examine the legacy of the New Economic Policy and War Co…

Published on 3 years, 1 month ago

Churchill, Asquith and Lloyd George - 1916

By 1916 Winston Churchill's wartime reputation was in tatters after the disaster of the Dardanelles Campaign. His self belief was his most powerful asset, particularly as so many of his parliamentary…

Published on 3 years, 1 month ago

Explaining History Study Extra: Social division and the origins of Italian fascism

Episode 1

This is the first Explaining History study extra recording for students. In this podcast we hear about the origins of Italian fascism and the experience of striking workers and returning soldiers aft…

Published on 3 years, 1 month ago

Sir Mark Sykes and the Eastern Question - 1915

In the second year of the Great War, the British began to consider the future of the Middle East once the Ottoman Empire had been defeated. The Ottomans were proving to be far more effective fighters…

Published on 3 years, 1 month ago

Reflections on Neoliberalism in Britain

Neoliberalism in Britain has shaped the political, economic and social fabric of the nation in its entirety for almost half a century. As a cluster of ideological positions which evolved from the int…

Published on 3 years, 2 months ago