We Didn't Start the Fire: The History Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Princess Grace Feb 07, 2022

Show notes

On April 18th 1956 Hollywood star Grace Kelly married Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, becoming Princess Grace. But did this fairytale have a happy ending? And how did Alfred Hitchcock’s ingenue become royalty in the first place? To find out Tom and Katie are joined by TV Historian, and Professor of Public Engagement with History at the University of Reading, Kate Williams.

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Khrushchev Jan 31, 2022

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From 1953 until 1964 Nikita Khrushchev served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Is there more to this man than just shouting with a shoe in his hand? You bet. Joining Tom and Katie to discuss all things Soviet, is returning expert Dr Natalya Chernyshova.

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Alabama Jan 24, 2022

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On the 1st of December 1955, a seamstress called Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. We're still talking about it, and her, and the fight she represented, 70 years later; and Chris Wilson from the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC is here to tell us why.

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Budapest Jan 17, 2022

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The streets of 1956 Budapest were aflame with revolution and promise of change. The Hungarian people had had enough of the brutal Soviet regime, and they wanted out. Eastern Europe expert and host of his own wonderful history podcast Eric Halsey returns to the studio for a second time, to talk Katie and Tom through Molotov Cocktails and tank warfare, and to ask the question if flames on the streets of Europe are threatening to spark once more.

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Bardot with Caroline O'Donoghue Jan 10, 2022

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"The essence of sensuality and bodily pleasure." The wonderful Caroline O'Donaghue is back after her Catcher in the Rye debut, and she pretty much sums up Brigitte Bardot in that one sentence. The sweetheart of the 50s and 60s blew minds left, right and centre, and Katie and Tom are digging into why. It's not all glamour and love, though. Brigitte's later life takes a more sinister turn, leaving questions about the price of fame and obsession.

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Disneyland Dec 20, 2021

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It's 1955 and the start of a new era. The war is long gone, and the world's moving on. Walt Disney has built the first of what will become a global empire of parks, where, for the first time ever, kids become adults and adults become kids. In this episode, Disney scholar Dr Amy Davis is back for a second time to guide Tom and Katie through a world of imagination, joy and timelessness, and to understand who Walt Disney really was.

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Elvis Presley (Part II) Dec 13, 2021

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Part II. We've finally reached the King, blues idol, and father of rock 'n roll: Elvis. Elvis historian and author of 'Elvis: Destined to Die Young' Sally Hoedel has spent a lifetime busting the myths that have sprung up about one of the most iconic figures of all time. In a two-parter, Katie and Tom are about to hear the truth behind the glam, the girls, and the gluttony - and it's an extraordinary tale.

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Elvis Presley (Part I) Dec 13, 2021

Show notes

We've finally reached the King, blues idol, and father of rock 'n roll: Elvis. Elvis historian and author of 'Elvis: Destined to Die Young' Sally Hoedel has spent a lifetime busting the myths that have sprung up about one of the most iconic figures of all time. In a two-parter, Katie and Tom are about to hear the truth behind the glam, the girls, and the gluttony - and it's an extraordinary tale.

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Peter Pan Dec 06, 2021

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The charming legend of a 'boy who never grew up,' or a gruesome not-safe-for-kids tale of 'fairy orgies and Lord of the Flies-style violence'? Peter Pan's not just a happy clappy story about a boy in a green cap who can fly, it turns out. Katie and Tom are joined by Peter Pan Director from Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity, Sarah Wolf, to tell them everything she knows about JM Barrie, the Lost Boys, and why a children's hospital has a Peter Pan Director...

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Davy Crockett Nov 29, 2021

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Davy was a real man born in the late 1700s, but in the 1950s he became a glossy star when Walt Disney brought his life and legend onto America's TV screens. Renowned Disney scholar Dr Amy Davis joins Katie and Tom to introduce them to the King of the Wild Frontier, and the question we're all asking is: can you grin a bear to death..?

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