History between the Lines

Chris Hick joins me for part one of a three part episode about the relationship between the Nazis and the city of Berlin.

In this first part, we explore the Berlin of the Weimar Republic and its corruption and eventual destruction by the Nazis on their way to seizing power in 1933.

Cover artwork: "Comfort of a Bed of Roses", by James Gillray, courtesy of Look and Learn History Picture Archive.

Music by Lexin Music from Pixabay.

As the SS seize control of Nazi Germany's security apparatus during the 1930s, they have ambitions to be the elite of the Third Reich and form a military branch to expand their influence and empire into the army.

This unit, known as the Military or Waffen-SS, soon forms into a brutal fighting force of fanaticism and they will go down in history as some of the worst war criminals society has ever created.

Cover artwork: "Comfort of a Bed of Roses", by James Gillray, courtesy of Look and Learn History Picture Archive.

Music by Lexin Music from Pixabay. 

As the Great Depression hit the United States in 1929, it unleashed a resurgence of the "Wild West" outlaw environment of the 19th century. Into this vacuum of banditry and media stardom came Bonnie and Clyde, John Dillinger and Pretty Boy Floyd.

Professor Joseph Spillane joins me to talk about these latter-day American outlaws of the 1920s and 1930s and how and why they reached the levels of infamy associated with the Old Western bandits.

Cover artwork: "Comfort of a Bed of Roses" by James Gillray, courtesy of Look and Learn History Picture Archive.

Music by Lexin Music from Pixabay.

Dr Erik Mathisen returns to the podcast to talk about a crucial aspect of the history of slavery in the United States, namely the acts of resistance and open revolts carried out by enslaved people against the slavery system during the 19th century.

Cover artwork: "Comfort of a Bed of Roses" by James Gillray, courtesy of Look and Learn History Picture Archive.

Music by Lexin Music from Pixabay.

Louisiana, 1928. It's election time and a young, intelligent, flamboyant candidate for the state governorship has emerged, promising to help the forgotten and smash the establishment in true populist style. His name: Huey Long. And he's on a quest to change America.

Professor Jerald Podair joins me to talk about Huey Long.

Cover artwork: "Comfort of a Bed of Roses" by James Gillray, courtesy of Look and Learn History Picture Archive.

Music by Lexin Music from Pixabay.

On 14th January 1930, Horst Wessel, a brutal Nazi stormtrooper, was shot and killed by Red Front Fighter League street fighters. Wessel had lived by the sword and died by it. Such people are often soon forgotten by history. But Wessel has lived on, through the creation of his personality cult by chief Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels, as the perfect Nazi martyr.

How and why did Wessel achieve this infamous legacy?

Music by Alex Grohl, from Pixabay.

Cover artwork: "Comfort of a Bed or Roses" by James Gillray, courtesy of Look and Learn History Picture Archive.

Gary Arndt, the host of the Everything Everywhere Daily Podcast joins me to talk about all things history, from Emperor Claudius and calendars to Churchill and the Boer War.

Cover artwork: "Comfort of a Bed of Roses" by James Gillray, courtesy of Look and Learn History Picture Archive.

Music by Lexin Music from Pixabay.

Toby Hadoke, comedian, actor, writer, and all-round science fiction guru, joins me to talk about Doctor Who, the BBC sci-fi programme created in 1963 which went on to become the greatest TV show ever. Enjoy!

Cover artwork: "Comfort of a Bed of Roses" by James Gillray, courtesy of Look and Learn History Picture Archive.

Music by Lexin Music from Pixabay.

From Monitor ironclads and rusty mines to burning fortresses and blockade runners, how did the American Civil War spill out into naval warfare?

Dr Howard Fuller joins me to talk about the war at sea during the American Civil War (1861-1865).

We also discuss Dr Fuller's ongoing project to discover the shipwreck of the HMS Captain, which sank in 1870. Link to the project website below.

https://findthecaptain.co.uk/

Cover artwork: "Comfort of a Bed of Roses" by James Gillray, courtesy of Look and Learn History Picture Archive.

Music by Lexin Music from Pixabay.

The Congo, 1890s: Two competing empires are gearing up for war to decide who will control the vast swathe of territory in the heart of Africa known as the Congo, the Congo Free State forces from the west under the control of Belgian king Leopold and the slave and ivory traders from the east, known as the Arabs by the Belgians.

Dr Mario Draper returns to the show to talk about this little-known conflict between these two competing powers and how this war highlights certain general principles adopted by many countries on colonial campaigns and counterinsurgencies.

Cover artwork: "Comfort of a Bed of Roses" by James Gillray, courtesy of Look and Learn History Picture Archive.

Music by Lexin Music from Pixabay.