Podcast Episodes

Gorbachev's diplomacy 1985-88

In this episode of Explaining History, we explore Mikhail Gorbachev’s bold diplomatic strategy during the mid-1980s. Between 1985 and 1988, Gorbachev sought to end the crippling arms race with the Un…

Published on 3 months, 1 week ago

Occupied Vietnam 1940-45

In 1940, when France fell to the Nazi invasion its colonies became Vichy satellites and in Asia, Vietnam rapidly fell under Japanese control. The French colonial elites saw their power gradually stri…

Published on 3 months, 1 week ago

Tony Benn on Marxism and the Labour Party

Tony Benn was one of the most important political figures in the second half of the 20th Century in Britain. His journey from the centreground of Labour politics to the left and his understanding of …

Published on 3 months, 1 week ago

The British Left's Revival in 2025

Something is happening in Britain, and it's not going to go down well with the established parties, the media, or the far right Reform Party that the country's elite class are placing their hopes in.…

Published on 3 months, 1 week ago

Black Britain and Roots

In this episode of Explaining History, we explore how the 1970s became a turning point for Black Britain. Drawing on Eddie Chambers’ Roots and Culture, we examine how a new generation of Black Britis…

Published on 3 months, 2 weeks ago

What Plato can teach us about the crises of the 21st Century

What Plato Can Teach Us About the Crises of the 21st Century — with Professor Angie Hobbs

In this special episode of Explaining History, I’m joined by Professor Angie Hobbs to discuss her new book Why…

Published on 3 months, 2 weeks ago

War Reporting in Vietnam

In this episode of Explaining History, we explore the fraught world of war reporting in Vietnam during the decade before full-scale U.S. involvement. Drawing on Philip Knightley’s classic study The F…

Published on 3 months, 2 weeks ago

Fascist Yoga: The far right and its intersections with the wellness movement

In this episode I speak with writer and cultural critic Stewart Home about his new book Fascist Yoga. Our conversation traces the modern origins of yoga and the surprising, often disturbing ways it h…

Published on 3 months, 3 weeks ago

Zionism and Palestine

In this episode, I draw on My Palestine by Mohammad Tarbush to examine two often-overlooked episodes in the history of Zionism and its global reception.

First, we revisit the 1975 United Nations Gener…

Published on 3 months, 3 weeks ago

Liberalism and the Global South

In this episode, I read from Pankaj Mishra’s Bland Fanatics, a searing critique of liberalism and its reception beyond the West. Mishra explores how, across much of the Global South, liberalism is no…

Published on 4 months ago