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Platinum Jubilee: Britain’s Greatest Queens May 31, 2022

Show notes

Queen Elizabeth II is the longest-reigning monarch in British history and one of the longest-reigning in the world. To mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, we have brought together some of today’s best historians to discuss the life and times of Britain's long history of queens from the Medieval period, right up to the present day.

Joining Dan is Professor Anna Whitelock who discusses Queen Elizabeth I; Dr Hannah Greig on Queen Anne; Dr Eleanor Janega on Eleanor of Aquitaine and Empress Matilda; Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks through the Tudor Queens Mary I and Mary, Queen of Scots, and lastly Professor Kate Williams on Queen Victoria.

Discover how these queens came to wield power, their role in peace and war, what society made of female rule, if queens are better leaders than their male counterparts, their impact and influence and, of course, which queen you'd most want to party with.

Produced by Charlotte Long and Mariana Des Forges

Research by Hannah Ward

Mixed and Mastered by Dougal Patmore

If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to theAndroid or Apple store.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tulsa: The Attack on Black Wall Street May 30, 2022

Show notes

From May 31 to June 1, 1921, a white mob attacked residents, homes and businesses in the predominantly Black ‘Greenwood District’ of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Hundreds of people died or were injured in the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921— the event remains one of the worst incidents of racial violence in U.S. history.

Hannibal B. Johnson is an author and professor. He serves on the federal 400 Years of African-American History Commission and chaired the Education Committee for the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission. Hannibal joins Dan to discuss how Greenwood was known as ‘The Black Wall Street,’ the white supremacy that lay at the centre of the riot, and how the city grapples with its historical racial trauma today.

Click here to listen to a previous episode about The Tulsa Race Massacre.

Produced by Hannah Ward

Mixed and Mastered by Dougal Patmore

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Falklands40: Battle of Goose Green May 29, 2022

Show notes

Please note that this episode contains descriptions of combat and some explicit language.

At the Battle of Goose Green the Second Battalion the Parachute Regiment (2 Para) fought against various sub-units of the Argentine army and air force— this would be the first and the longest battle of the Falklands War.

Lt Col Philip Neame MBE joins Dan on the podcast to mark the 40th anniversary of the Battle of Goose Green. In 1982, Philip was commanding D Company, a rifle company in 2 PARA, under Lieutenant Colonel ‘H’ Jones who won the VC at Goose Green during the Falklands War. Philip and Dan discuss the realities of war, the tightrope between success and disaster and the strength of companionship.

Want more on the story of Lieutenant Colonel ‘H’ Jones? Subscribe to HistoryHit to listen to this episode about Airdrop Ursula here.

Produced by Mariana Des Forges and Hannah Ward

Mixed and Mastered by Dougal Patmore

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

SAS Founder: Warrior or Phoney? May 26, 2022

Show notes

David Stirling was an aristocrat, innovator and special forces legend that earned him the nickname 'The Phantom Major'. His formation of the Special Air Service in the summer of 1941 led to a new form of warfare and Stirling is remembered as the father of special forces soldiering. But was he really a military genius or in fact a shameless self-publicist who manipulated people, and the truth?

For his new book 'David Stirling: The Phoney Major' military historian Gavin Mortimer extensively interviewed SAS veterans who fought and worked with him and poured over declassified government files that paint a very different picture of the glittering legacy Stirling has secured.

In this episode, he gives Dan an explosive analysis of Stirling's complex character: the childhood speech impediment that shaped his formative years, the pressure from his overbearing mother, his fraught relationship with his brother, Bill, and the jealousy and inferiority he felt in the presence of his SAS second-in-command, the cold-blooded killer Paddy Mayne.

Produced by Mariana Des Forges

Mixed and Mastered by Dougal Patmore

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Treadmill May 25, 2022

Show notes

Before they found their way into gyms, treadmills had a much darker history. In the 19th Century, they could most commonly be found in prisons.

In contrast to their modern track record of improving health, the Victorians saw treadmills as a way to explicitly inflict pain and punishment. A tool for ‘grinding men good’ through gruelling hours of physical activity.

What were the moral rationalisations of this corporal punishment? Who was the inventor responsible for these machines? And what cautionary tales can we learn from this punishing chapter of penal history?

We answer all these questions and more in this episode of Patented with the help of Rosaline Crone, a Senior Lecturer in History at the Open University who specialised in nineteenth-century criminal justice history.

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Our Obsession with Nostalgia May 24, 2022

Show notes

Longing to go back to the 'good old days' is nothing new. For hundreds of years, the British have mourned the loss of older national identities and called for a revival 'simple', 'better' ways of life - from Margaret Thatcher's call for a return to 'Victorian values' in the 1980s to William Blake's protest against the 'dark satanic mills' of the Industrial Revolution that were fast transforming England's green and pleasant land. But were the 'good old days' ever quite how we remember them?

Hannah Rose Woods is a cultural historian, writer and contributor. Hannah joins Dan on the podcast to explore Britain's fixation with its own past— debunking pervasive myths and asking why nostalgia has been such an enduring emotion across hundreds of years of change.

Produced by Hannah Ward

Mixed and Mastered by Dougal Patmore

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt Divided Berlin May 23, 2022

Show notes

Berlin’s fate was sealed at the 1945 Yalta Conference: the city, along with the rest of Germany, was to be carved up between the victorious powers - American, British, French and Soviet. On paper, it seemed a pragmatic solution. In reality, once the four powers were no longer united by their common purpose of defeating Germany they wasted little time reverting to their pre-war hostility toward each other.

Writer and historian Giles Milton joins Dan on the podcast to share the story of the race to seize Berlin in the aftermath of World War II. They discuss how rival systems, rival ideologies and rival personalities ensured that the German capital became an explosive battleground.

Giles Milton's new book is called Checkmate in Berlin: The Cold War Showdown That Shaped the Modern World.

Produced by Hannah Ward

Mixed and Mastered by Dougal Patmore

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Putin's Rise to Power May 22, 2022

Show notes

Catherine Belton joins Dan on the podcast to discuss the remarkable story of Vladimir Putin's rise to power. After working from 2007-2013 as the Moscow correspondent for the Financial Times, Catherine's career has offered an exclusive insight into the workings of Putin's Kremlin. Her book 'Putin's People' is packed with interviews with the key inside players, uncovering fascinating details about how Putin subverted Russia’s economy and legal system and extended the Kremlin's reach into the United States and Europe. It's a story of billions of dollars being siphoned out of state enterprises, murky networks of operatives and the suppression of independent voices.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Medieval Myths and Legends May 19, 2022

Show notes

Various legends, characters and myths are associated with the medieval period. The British Isles is filled with prehistoric monuments - from Stonehenge and Wayland's Smithy, the archipelago of Orkney to as far south as Cornwall, Snowdon and Loch Etive, and rivers including the Ness, the Soar and the story-silted Thames - Britain is a land steeped in myth.

Dr Amy Jeffs is a historian specialising in the Middle Ages. Here to offer her retellings of medieval tales of legend, Amy joins Dan on the podcast. They discuss the characters of Brutus, Albina, Scota, Arthur and Bladud, and retread the paths where the medieval myths and legends of the British Isles first sprang to life.

Produced by Hannah Ward

Mixed and Mastered by Dougal Patmore

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Falklands40: The Loss of HMS Ardent May 18, 2022

Show notes

Please note that this episode contains frank discussions of conflict, mental health and suicide.

Admiral Lord West is the former First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff. In 1982, West commanded the frigate HMS Ardent which was deployed to the South Atlantic for the Falklands War. During the successful retaking of the islands, HMS Ardent was sunk in the Falkland Sound on May 21. West was the last to leave the sinking ship and was subsequently awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his leadership.

Alan West joins Dan on the podcast to mark the 40th anniversary of the Falklands War. In a very candid conversation, they discuss Alan’s memories of the conflict, the experiences faced by him and his comrades, and the mental impact of bearing witness to the theatre of war.

Produced by Mariana Des Forges and Hannah Ward

Mixed and Mastered by Dougal Patmore

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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