We Didn't Start the Fire: The History Podcast

Latest Episodes:

England's got a new Queen with Margaret MacMillan Jul 05, 2021

Show notes

It's 1953 and Britain and the Commonwealth are still recovering from the war, when the King dies. Princess Elizabeth finds herself thrust onto the throne at the age of 27, and so a new era began. Katie and Tom are joined once again by the wonderful historian Margaret MacMillan to talk coronation chicken, surprise guests, and that ruby-encrusted dress.

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Vaccine Jun 28, 2021

Show notes

What's actually behind the manufacture of a vaccine? And why was the polio vaccine such a huge deal? In a fascinating first for We Didn't Start The Fire, Billy is plunging us into the depths of medical marvels, mysteries and conspiracy theories. Vaccine expert Dr Gareth Millward joins Tom and Katie this week, and has a weird story to tell about monkeys.

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Eisenhower Jun 21, 2021

Show notes

Why is Eisenhower, an army officer who in 1953 became the 34th man to enter the White House, still one of the most highly-regarded presidents? Dr Rivers Gambrell is back again to help Tom and Katie piece together the full picture of Ike. From his Jehovah's Witness childhood, his failed career as a sportsman and his involvement in documenting the Holocaust, to his marriage with Mamie - and, horrifyingly, his secret war on the White House squirrels.

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The Catcher in the Rye with Caroline O'Donoghue Jun 14, 2021

Show notes

JD Salinger created the dismissive, arrogant, spiralling out of control Holden Caulfield in 1951, and with it he changed the face of fiction forever. The book's impact is fascinating and huge: presidents talk about Holden, teenagers want to be him, teachers ban the book from classrooms, serial killers use it as their 'manifesto'. Here to help Katie and Tom understand the Catcher cult is novelist and podcaster Caroline O'Donaghue, and boy has she got some goddamn interesting points to make.

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The King and I Jun 07, 2021

Show notes

This jaunty look at 1800s Thailand is the final musical that Billy thought worth mentioning in his Cold War breakdown. But does The King and I deserve spot 20 in Billy's song, or is it just a handy rhyme for next week's Catcher in the Rye? Back again is musical superfan Dr Cara Rodway from the British Library and, in a shocking We Didn't Start The Fire first, our guest isn't convinced.

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Brando with Jonathan Ross May 31, 2021

Show notes

You know him from The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, Guys and Dolls. You know his dreamboat smile. But what about Brando's fight for civil rights and his support of Native Americans? Probably the most memorable actor of the 20th century, Marlon Brando's influence stretched far beyond the screen; and here to explore how is broadcasting icon Jonathan Ross for a very special episode of We Didn't Start The Fire.

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Panmunjom May 24, 2021

Show notes

How did a tiny village in the Korean mountains come to symbolise the north and south split? The answer lies in the year 1953, when a piece of paper was signed to end what became known as The Forgotten War. But Colin Thackery, Korean War veteran and oldest ever winner of Britain's Got Talent, remembers it well. Memories of gunfire, bodies, starving children, American soldiers playing the piano, frostbite. It's a remarkable story.

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Sugar Ray with Steve Bunce May 17, 2021

Show notes

How do Muhammed Ali, Marciano and Sonny Liston stand up against Sugar Ray "sweet as sugar" Robinson? Legend of the boxing world Steve Bunce opens the lid on Sugar Ray's world, and gives Katie and Tom a glimpse of Harlem in the 1940s and 50s, the life led and the fights fought by possibly the greatest boxer of all time.

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H-Bomb with Margaret MacMillan May 10, 2021

Show notes

The hydrogen bomb. A nuclear threat bigger and badder than any atomic bomb that came before it. How close did the USA and Soviet Union come to global annihilation during the Cold War? Very. And renowned historian and wonderful storyteller Margaret MacMillan is here to tell us why.

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Rosenbergs May 03, 2021

Show notes

In 1953, Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were sentenced to death by electrocution and died side-by-side: Julius after one shot of electricity, Ethel after three. They left behind two small children. Their crime? Conspiracy to spy for the Soviet Union. UCL's Dr Josh Hollands joins Katie and Tom again to explain why their case shook the world, pulling in the likes of Frida Kahlo, Einstein, Jean Paul Sartre, and Barack Obama.

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