Podcast Episodes

LLoyd George and the British Empire delegation in Paris 1919

British Prime Minister David Lloyd George led the British delegation and also those of the British empire dominions who had fought in the First World War at the Paris Peace Conference. The shrewd pol…

Published on 8 years, 4 months ago

Britain, America and the aftermath of Dunkirk

Following the military disaster of the fall of France and the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from France, Churchill waited for Hitler's next move and hoped for assistance from the USA

Published on 8 years, 4 months ago

The Sacco and Vanzetti Trial 1920-1927

The politically motivated trial of Italian anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti is examined in depth here, courtesy of Eric Foner's 1977 essay The Men and the Symbols.

Explaining History helps you understan…

Published on 8 years, 4 months ago

America, Palestine and Jewish Immigration 1945-48

At the end of the Second World War an American survey of Jewish survivors in Europe recommended mass Jewish immigration into Palestine. President Harry Truman embraced the study partly out of idealis…

Published on 8 years, 4 months ago

The Fall of France Part One

A series of disastrous miscalculations led the French Army and the British Expeditionary Force to fall into the German Army's trap in 1940. The fall of France was Hitler's greatest military triumph b…

Published on 8 years, 4 months ago

Journalists and the Spanish Civil War

The conflict in Spain attracted writers and correspondents from around the world and excited passions among their readers in Europe and America. Many were openly partisan in favour of the republic an…

Published on 8 years, 4 months ago

Georges Clemenceau and the Paris Peace Conference 1919

By the end of the First World War, French Prime Minister Clemenceau knew that France's security relied on maintaining an Anglo American alliance with France to keep the war ravaged country safe from …

Published on 8 years, 4 months ago

Hitler, Franco and the Spanish Civil War

The election of a left wing Popular Front government in Spain triggered a coup by rebel generals against the Second Spanish Republic. Hitler and Mussolini's intervention in the guise of a massive air…

Published on 8 years, 4 months ago

Mao'hird Front 1964-1980

Following the disaster of the Great Leap Forward and during Mao's attempts at reclaiming his power, a vast new initiative to defend western China was launched. The Third Front proved to be the most c…

Published on 8 years, 4 months ago

Hitler's Invasion of Norway: April 1940

Chaos, incompetence and poor intelligence by the British and French handed Hitler an easy victory in Norway, seizing a vital source of raw materials. The loss of Norway showed Britain had a long lear…

Published on 8 years, 5 months ago