Podcast Episodes

East Germany and the Sino Soviet Split

By the early 1960s the once cordial relations between the USSR and The People's Republic of China had been replaced by suspicion and animosity. Two rival interpretations of communism vied for suprema…

Published on 10 years, 4 months ago

The Creation of the Red Army

by early 1918 the Bolshevik's revolution was in serious danger of being overthrown. Instead of elite troops the new government possessed poorly disciplined Red Guards. By 1921, the army was over thr…

Published on 10 years, 4 months ago

Churchill and Greece

When the Nazis' occupation of Greece ended and a gradual withdrawal turned into a desperate retreat from the Red Army, a civil war in Greece began. The British occupied Athens in a bid to restore Kin…

Published on 10 years, 5 months ago

Menachim Begin and Irgun

Towards the end of the Second World War, zionist terrorist Menachem Begin and the paramilitary organisation Irgun instigated their own war against the British authorities in Palestine. They sought to…

Published on 10 years, 5 months ago

Evacuation

Throughout the 1920s and 1930s the British became increasingly aware that they were vulnerable to air attack, especially after the rise of Nazism in 1933. The policy of evacuating children from the i…

Published on 10 years, 5 months ago

Hunger, housing and the First Five Year Plan

During Stalin's First Five Year Plan (1928-1932), the Russian population experienced greater material hardship and shortages than at any time since the Russian Civil War. Mass industrialisation led t…

Published on 10 years, 5 months ago

Lyndon Johnson 1963-64

Lyndon Johnson had an antagonistic relationship with the Kennedy brothers but was indispensable to John F Kennedy as a political fixer. Following Kennedy's death he became President of the USA and wo…

Published on 10 years, 6 months ago

The Representation of the People Act 1918

In March 1918 in Britain, Parliament voted to enfranchise property owning women for the first time. This podcast explores the wartime decisions that led to this moment of radical electoral reform.

Ex…

Published on 10 years, 6 months ago

Nixon, Ford and Carter 1974-1980

In the second half of the 1970s Americans developed a profound disillusionment with politics and a skepticism towards the office of president. The impact of Watergate and the apparent weakness of Nix…

Published on 10 years, 6 months ago

Inflation 1916-1923

The massive increase in government spending, borrowing and currency devaluation that occurred during the First World War by all powers led to a global surge in inflation. This growth in prices had m…

Published on 10 years, 6 months ago