Podcast Episodes

Margaret Thatcher and Thatcherism

A combination of free market economic liberalism and social conservatism, was Margaret Thatcher an 'inconsistent ideologue'?

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Published on 7 years, 5 months ago

Erich Fromm and the Sane Society 1955

In 1955, psychoanalyst Erich Fromm examined the emotional realities behind the lives of Americans experiencing unprecedented material wealth. His findings formed his book the Sane Society. It conclud…

Published on 7 years, 5 months ago

Mass consumerism in America 1945-60

In the decade after 1945 American life was transformed by cheap housing, cheap fuel and the biggest increase in material well being in human history.

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Published on 7 years, 5 months ago

Rethinking Japan's war against China 1937-45

For the Chinese people, the Second World War began in 1937, with Japan's ruthless invasion of the mainland and the destruction of cities such as Nanjing and Chongqing. This podcast explores the west'…

Published on 7 years, 5 months ago

The fall of Damascus and Mesopotamia 1918

Despite impressive victories against the allied powers during the First World War, by 1918 the Ottoman Empire was exhausted by fighting and the advantage was shifting towards Britain in the Middle Ea…

Published on 7 years, 5 months ago

Woodie Guthrie and the Dust Bowl

In the 1930s Woodie Guthrie became the authentic voice of the dispossessed, drifting American diaspora in the drought afflicted heartlands of the USA. However, he was part of a long tradition of Amer…

Published on 7 years, 5 months ago

The Crushing of the Spartacists: 1919

In the immediate aftermath of the German revolution, radical forces on the left and right were discontent with the development of a centre left Weimar Government. In January 1919, the army and freiko…

Published on 7 years, 5 months ago

Shops and shortages under Stalin 1929-39

Stalin's decision to ban private trade and to create state monopolies was carried out in haste with little planning during a period of immense economic upheaval. The results were chaotic and led to o…

Published on 7 years, 6 months ago

Billie Holiday and Strange Fruit - 1939

Strange Fruit was the first popular song that reached a mainstream audience which addressed the question of violence against black people in America and it made Billie Holiday, its original singer, a…

Published on 7 years, 6 months ago

The Freikorps vs the Red Army - Latvia 1919

Days after the November armistice was signed, the Red Army launched its bid for the Baltic States and only local anti communists, former German soldiers and German mercenaries stood in their way. The…

Published on 7 years, 6 months ago