History in Conversation

Lisa Pine talks to Simon Schama about his life in history and the history of his life.

Sir Simon Michael Schama CBE FBA FRHistS FRSL is an English historian and television presenter, who specialises in art history, Dutch history, Jewish history, and French history. He is a professor of history and art history at Columbia University.

Schama first came to public attention with his history of the French Revolution titled Citizens, published in 1989. He is also known for writing and hosting the 15-part BBC television documentary series A History of Britain (2000–2002), as well as other documentary series such as The American Future: A History (2008) and The Story of the Jews (2013). Schama was knighted in the 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours List.

The host of A Historian's Life, Lisa Pine, is an Associate Fellow of the Institute of Historical Research, University of London and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Her main research interests are the history of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. She was educated at the London School of Economics and was awarded her PhD from the University of London in 1996. She is the author of 'Nazi Family Policy, 1933-1945' (1997), 'Hitler’s “National Community”: Society and Culture in Nazi Germany' (2007, 2017), 'Education in Nazi Germany' (2010), 'Debating Genocide' (2018) and (with Kees Boterbloem) 'Soviet and Nazi Posters: Propaganda and Policies' (2025). She is the editor of 'Life and Times in Nazi Germany' (2016), 'The Family in Modern Germany' (2020) and 'Dictatorship and Daily Life in Twentieth-Century Europe' (2022). She has also published numerous journal articles and chapters in books on her areas of expertise. She is currently editing a new book, 'Food and Food Policies in European Dictatorships,' for publication by Bloomsbury Academic. She is co-editor (with Peter C. Caldwell) of the book series 'German History in Focus' (Bloomsbury Academic).

In part 2 of this two-part discussion, Lisa Pine talks to Simon Schama about his life in history and the history of his life.

Sir Simon Michael Schama CBE FBA FRHistS FRSL is an English historian and television presenter, who specialises in art history, Dutch history, Jewish history, and French history. He is a professor of history and art history at Columbia University.

Schama first came to public attention with his history of the French Revolution titled Citizens, published in 1989. He is also known for writing and hosting the 15-part BBC television documentary series A History of Britain (2000–2002), as well as other documentary series such as The American Future: A History (2008) and The Story of the Jews (2013). Schama was knighted in the 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours List.

The host of A Historian's Life, Lisa Pine, is an Associate Fellow of the Institute of Historical Research, University of London and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Her main research interests are the history of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. She was educated at the London School of Economics and was awarded her PhD from the University of London in 1996. She is the author of 'Nazi Family Policy, 1933-1945' (1997), 'Hitler’s “National Community”: Society and Culture in Nazi Germany' (2007, 2017), 'Education in Nazi Germany' (2010), 'Debating Genocide' (2018) and (with Kees Boterbloem) 'Soviet and Nazi Posters: Propaganda and Policies' (2025). She is the editor of 'Life and Times in Nazi Germany' (2016), 'The Family in Modern Germany' (2020) and 'Dictatorship and Daily Life in Twentieth-Century Europe' (2022). She has also published numerous journal articles and chapters in books on her areas of expertise. She is currently editing a new book, 'Food and Food Policies in European Dictatorships,' for publication by Bloomsbury Academic. She is co-editor (with Peter C. Caldwell) of the book series 'German History in Focus' (Bloomsbury Academic).

Lisa Pine speaks to Richard Overy about his life in history and the history of his life.

Richard Overy was educated at Caius College, Cambridge. He taught at Cambridge from 1972 to 1979 at Queens' College and from 1976-79 as a University Assistant Lecturer. From 1980 to 2004 he taught at King's College, London where he was made professor of Modern History in 1994. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (1977), Fellow of the British Academy (2000) and Fellow of King's College (2003). In 2001 he was awarded the Samuel Elliot Morison Prize of the Society for Military History for his contribution to the history of warfare. In September 2004 he took up appointment as Professor of History at the University of Exeter.

Richard specializes in the history of the Hitler and Stalin dictatorships, the Second World War, air power in the twentieth century, German history from c 1900. He has published extensively on the history of World War II and Nazi Germany. 'The Dictators: Hitler's Germany, Stalin's Russia' (Penguin 2005), won the 2004 Wolfson History Prize and the 2005 Hessell-Tiltman Prize.

The host of A Historian's Life, Lisa Pine, is an Associate Fellow of the Institute of Historical Research, University of London and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Her main research interests are the history of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. She was educated at the London School of Economics and was awarded her PhD from the University of London in 1996. She is the author of 'Nazi Family Policy, 1933-1945' (1997), 'Hitler’s “National Community”: Society and Culture in Nazi Germany' (2007, 2017), 'Education in Nazi Germany' (2010), 'Debating Genocide' (2018) and (with Kees Boterbloem) 'Soviet and Nazi Posters: Propaganda and Policies' (2025). She is the editor of 'Life and Times in Nazi Germany' (2016), 'The Family in Modern Germany' (2020) and 'Dictatorship and Daily Life in Twentieth-Century Europe' (2022). She has also published numerous journal articles and chapters in books on her areas of expertise. She is currently editing a new book, 'Food and Food Policies in European Dictatorships,' for publication by Bloomsbury Academic. She is co-editor (with Peter C. Caldwell) of the book series 'German History in Focus' (Bloomsbury Academic).

The 2020 Aylmer Conference -- held in March 2020, and co-organised by the Institute of Historical Research, The National Archives and the Royal Historical Society -- explored the theme of 'Co-production and collaboration in the archive'. How do archivists and historians work best together?

Through the day we discussed, analysed, and learned from, a range of collaborative projects -- as seen from the perspectives and experience of archivists, historians and community practitioners. The day was structured around three elements relating to the 'Structure', 'Practice' and 'Value' of co-production and collaborative work. These three areas enabled us to consider the ‘life cycle’ of a range of co-produced projects: from origins and planning, to their operation, to lessons learned, and value added once a project is completed.

In this episode, recorded in August 2020, Professor Jo Fox, Director of the IHR, talks to Professor Richard Vinen of King's College, London. Richard and Jo discuss what recent events mean for how we think about chronologies of the recent past, and whether -- and why -- future historians will remember this year as significant.

When the history of 2020 is written, how will it be shaped by economic and geographical experience, and how can we engage with the extraordinary scale of recent events? Can historical parallels help us better understand the events of 2020?

Richard and Jo discussed how historians are responding to the 2020 pandemic, what the events of 2020 will mean for how we view the very recent past, whether 2020 will become a significant year (as many presume) and the impact of current event on the wider historical profession.

This is the second in a 2-part set of conversations which followed the IHR's 2020 'Historical Research Lecture' on the subject of 'Writing Histories of 2020: responses and perspectives'. The annual lecture is supported by Oxford University Press who publish the Institute's academic journal, 'Historical Research'.

In this episode, recorded in July 2020, Jo Fox, Director of the Institute of Historical Research (IHR) talks to the modern historian, Professor Claire Langhamer of Sussex University. Clare and Jo discussed how historians are responding to the 2020 pandemic and Black Lives Matter campaign, and how future historians will write the history of this extraordinary year.

Claire is also a Trustee of the Mass Observation Archive at Sussex and a specialist in modern record keeping. How people choose to record their experience of 2020 is central to her current work, as is the question of how historians - now and in the future - make best use of these sources.

This is the first in a 2-part set of conversations which followed the IHR's 2020 'Historical Research' Lecture on the subject of 'Writing Histories of 2020: responses and perspectives'. The annual lecture is supported by Oxford University Press who publish the Institute's academic journal, 'Historical Research'.

In this recording, from April 2018, Jo Fox speaks to Justin Champion about the value of history, the importance of historical knowledge and the need for academic historians to take their work well beyond classrooms and seminars.

Justin sadly died in June 2020. He was a great friend of the IHR and held in great esteem by colleagues and students at Royal Holloway where he taught. We hope this recording conveys some of Justin's intelligence, humour and fierce campaigning spirit that will be missed by so many.

The interview begins with an Introduction from Jo Fox, recorded in July 2020, which sets their conversation in context.

Episode 4 of the History in Conversation podcast, hosted by Liam Cunningham.

In this episode, IHR Director Professor Jo Fox speaks with Helen Pankhurst about her for gender equality in politics. Helen is the great granddaughter of the suffragette leader Emmeline Pankhurst, and the author of 'Deeds not Words: The Story Of Women's Rights Then And Now' (2018).

Jo spoke to Helen ahead of an event at the IHR February 2018 to mark the book's publication.

In this episode, IHR Director Professor Jo Fox speaks to the campaigner and author Caroline Criado Perez about her activism and its relationship to history. This conversation was recorded in May 2018 before an IHR event on 'Women and Public Commemoration'.

In our first episode, we interview Professor Jo Fox about fake news, propaganda, and how historical perspective on these phenomena can help us navigate the 'perfect storm' we're living through now.