Historical Snapshots

Hi everyone,

Our guest today is Sally Bedell Smith. This is Sally’s second time on the podcast. In our first conversation, we talked about King George VI and Elizabeth, and how their marriage saved the monarchy. Today, we’ll be discussing the life of their daughter, Queen Elizabeth II. Sally’s biography on the Queen, Elizabeth the Queen ,won the 2012 Goodreads Choice Award for best book in history and biography.

About Sally:

Sally is a New York Times best-selling author of eight biographies, including Diana in Search of Herself, Grace and Power, and Elizabeth the Queen. She has also worked as a cultural news reporter for Time and The New York Times, a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and an on-air contributor at CNN.

Subscribe to Sally’s Substack Publication Royals Extra

Purchase Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch

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Hi everyone,

Our guest today is Christopher Harding and our Conversation is about the Meiji Restoration, which transformed Japan in the late 19th century.

A little about Christopher: He’s a cultural historian & broadcaster based at the University of Edinburgh. He writes about Japan, India & East-West encounter, and is the author of Japan Story, The Japanese and The Light of Asia. You can subscribe to Christopher’s weekly Substack newsletter: IlluminAsia

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit historicalsnapshots.substack.com/subscribe

Hi everyone,

Welcome back to Historical Snapshots Conversations. Our guest today is Philippa Lacey Brewell. Philippa is a history writer, presenter and owner and founder of British History Tours, a company for those who love British History, and British History Events.

One of Philippa’s tours is about Anne Boleyn, who was King Henry VIII's second wife and Queen of England from 1533 to 1536. Anne’s life is the topic of our discussion today.

Subscribe to Philippa on Substack: https://substack.com/@britishhistory

Follow British History Tours on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/british_history_tours/

Learn more about The Anne Boleyn Tour

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit historicalsnapshots.substack.com/subscribe

Hi everyone,

Our conversation today is with Yardena Schwartz, author of Ghosts of a Holy War. The book tells the story of the 1929 massacre in Mandatory Palestine and its aftershocks which continue to reverberate today. For our conversation, we’ll focus more specifically on the riot in Hebron, in which 67 Jewish residents were killed and many more injured.

A little bit about Yardena: she’s an award-winning journalist and Emmy-nominated producer. She has reported for dozens of publications, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Time, Economist, New York Review of Books, and Foreign Policy. She has also reported from a number of places worldwide, including Morocco, Nepal, Ukraine, Poland, France, Germany, and the United States.​

Purchase Ghosts of a Holy War

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit historicalsnapshots.substack.com/subscribe

Hi everyone,

Our guest today is Sally Bedell Smith, author of George VI and Elizabeth: The Marriage That Saved a Monarchy. The book is the definitive biography of the late Queen Elizabeth II’s mother and father, based for the first time on special access to their letters and diaries in the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle that was granted by the Queen. It will be the topic of our discussion.

About Sally:

Sally is a New York Times best-selling author of eight biographies, including Diana in Search of Herself, Grace and Power, and Elizabeth the Queen. Elizabeth the Queen won the 2012 Goodreads Choice Award for best book in history and biography. Sally has also worked as a cultural news reporter for Time and The New York Times, a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and an on-air contributor at CNN.

Subscribe to Sally’s Substack

Purchase George VI and Elizabeth: The Marriage That Saved a Monarchy

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit historicalsnapshots.substack.com/subscribe

Hi everyone,

Today's Conversation episode will focus on a current affairs issue. We'll discuss the changes around U.S. tariffs with Alex Yancher, the Co-Founder and CEO of Passport, an end-to-end international solutions provider that helps top ecommerce companies such as Ogee, Hexclad and Ridge grow profitably in over 180 countries. You can follow Alex on LinkedIn or X, and get Passport’s latest tariff updates from President Trump’s administration at TrumpTradeTracker.com.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit historicalsnapshots.substack.com/subscribe

Hi everyone,

Our guest today is historian Dr. Claire Hubbard-Hall, author of Secret Servants of the Crown: The Forgotten Women of British Intelligence. The book shares the remarkable and important story of the many vital contributions women in British Intelligence have made and whose stories history has largely left untold. It will be the topic of our discussion.

Purchase Secret Servants of the Crown: The Forgotten Women of British Intelligence

Subscribe to Claire’s Substack:

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit historicalsnapshots.substack.com/subscribe

Hi everyone,

Our guest today is Oren Kessler, author of the book Palestine 1936: The Great Revolt and the Roots of the Middle East Conflict, which won the 2024 Sami Rohr Prize and the Wall Street Journal named one of the 10 Best Books of 2023. It’ll be the topic of our discussion.

Oren is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society, previously the Deputy Director for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington, Research Fellow at the Henry Jackson Society in London, and a journalist whose work has appeared in media outlets including Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and Politico.

Subscribe to Oren’s substack:

Purchase Palestine 1936: The Great Revolt and the Roots of the Middle East Conflict

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit historicalsnapshots.substack.com/subscribe

Hi everyone,

Welcome to the debut episode of the Historical Snapshots Conversations podcast. Our first guest is Sasha Vasilyuk, journalist and author of the new novel Your Presence Is Mandatory, a historical fiction story based on real events about a Soviet WWII soldier with a lifelong secret and his family who reckon with his legacy. Sasha's research into a largely unknown aspect of the war and its decades-long impact on society in Eastern Europe, combined with her thoughtful approach to challenging topics, makes the book an enlightening read.

About Sasha:

Sasha grew up between Ukraine and Russia before immigrating to the U.S. at the age of 13. She has a BA from UC Berkeley and a MA in Journalism from New York University. Her nonfiction has appeared in The New York Times, CNN, TIME, Los Angeles Times, Harper’s Bazaar, USA Today, KQED, San Francisco Chronicle, The Telegraph, and Narrative. She has won several writing awards, including the Solas Award for Best Travel Writing and the NATJA award.

To purchase Your Presence is Mandatory: https://www.amazon.com/Your-Presence-Mandatory-Sasha-Vasilyuk/dp/1639731539

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit historicalsnapshots.substack.com/subscribe

Today, the word "salary" conjures images of modern work and paychecks. Yet, how did the word come to be? To trace its history is to walk the corridors of time back to a Rome defined by legions, colosseums, and a vital substance that shaped its economy. Salt.

In modern times, salt is an unassuming staple on dining tables. But in Ancient Rome, it was essential to preserve food, meat and fish in particular, in an age before refrigeration. Salt was so critical that it became intertwined with the empire's very infrastructure. The Via Salaria, or "Salt Road," carried this precious resource from coastal salt pans deep into the heart of the empire. And because of its immense value, salt was a highly prized commodity that symbolized wealth and stability. Some even referred to it as "white gold."

Amidst this economic and social backdrop, the word salarium emerged in the military. Roman soldiers needed salt to preserve their meals, and the salarium became defined as a payment to the soldiers. While historians debate whether salarium referred to direct payments in salt or money intended for its purchase, its association with compensation became firmly etched in Roman life.

As Rome expanded, so too did the concept of salarium. What began as a term in the army became a word more broadly used in the economy. Even after Rome's decline, the word endured, preserved in the Latin language passed down through the Church and scholars. Salarium evolved into the Old French salaire and later crossed into Anglo-Saxon England, where it transformed into Middle English "salary." By the 14th century, the word was firmly entrenched in English, no longer linked to salt but to monetary compensation, just as we know it today.

Sources:

* Hollandbeck, Andy. “In a Word: Salary: Are You Worth Your Salt?” The Saturday Evening Post, October 24, 2019, https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2019/10/in-a-word-salary-are-you-worth-your-salt/

* Hordijk, Wim. “From Salt To Salary: Linguists Take A Page From Science.” NPR, November 8, 2014, https://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2014/11/08/362478685/from-salt-to-salary-linguists-take-a-page-from-science

* “Origin Of The Word Salary.” Ann Arbor District Library, https://aadl.org/node/289149

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit historicalsnapshots.substack.com/subscribe