History between the Lines

Professor John Wills joins me to talk about the Red Dead Redemption video game series. Set during the American West in a virtual world in which players can rob a stagecoach or go fishing, how true are the Red Dead games to what life was like on the frontier and how do they fit into the culture of the "Wild West"?

To learn more about Red Dead's relationship with the American West, please do purchase the book "Red Dead Redemption: History, Myth and Violence in the Video Game West", edited by Professor Wills and Esther Wright.

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.

When it was launched in 1861, HMS Warrior was the most powerful warship in the world and the pride of the Royal Navy. Why and how did this vessel come to be built?

HMS Warrior remains in existence today and can be visited at the brilliant Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.

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.

Professor Mark Connelly of Connelly Contours joins me to talk about the Christmas Truce of 1914, which took place on the Western Front during the First World War.

A beloved story in British popular memory of how British and German soldiers came together in no man's land on 25th December 1914 and briefly held a ceasefire and exchanged friendly words, cigarettes and had a football match. But how much of this is accurate?

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 Aurelie Basha joins me to talk about the foreign policy highs and lows of Jimmy Carter, who served as U.S. President from 1977 to 1981, in response to his death a few weeks ago at the age of 100.

From the Iranian hostage crisis and the Camp David accords, to Afghanistan and the end of détente, what is Carter's foreign policy legacy?

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.

Alex Pitts, weapons handler at the Combined Military Services Museum, returns to the show for another weapons episode, this time on the globally famous Kalashnikov assault rifle from 1947.

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

Music by Lexin Music from Pixabay.

In the winter of 1812, Napoleon Bonaparte and his Grande Armee are retreating from Moscow until they come upon the River Berezina blocking their path.

With the Russian Army hot on their heels, can Napoleon's engineers build a bridge across the Berezina quickly enough before the French task force's foes catch up with it and bring about its total destruction?

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.

In this brilliant, rollercoaster episode, Robert recounts the story of his father, William Jones, during the Second World War and his role as a British military policeman in the Special Investigation Branch (S.I.B.) in Europe after D-Day.

From interrogating SS officers and arresting black marketeers to gathering military intelligence and going undercover in an Allied POW camp, William's story is like an adventure thriller. 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.

November, 1957
On Christmas Island and Malden Island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, a British Valiant jet bomber flies overhead. It is about to drop a single bomb just off the coast. This is Operation Grapple, Britain's efforts to acquire the hydrogen bomb.

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 Ambrogio Caiani returns to the show to discuss the reign of King Louis XVI of France, 250 years after he ascended to the throne in 1774.

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.

Ireland has always been a rural country and as such, who owns land has always been a thorny issue and has spawned protests, murders, wars and eventually a social revolution.
Myles Dungan, author and broadcaster of Irish TV and radio, joins me to talk about his new book which explores the changes and conflicts surrounding Irish land ownership.

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.