To mark the 85th anniversary of the start of the Second World War, we'll find out about the Irish men and women who fought in the Resistance, with authors Clodagh Finn and John Morgan; we'll talk about the North Strand bombing and the different ways the war was experienced north and south, with author Michael B. Barry, and we'll go in search of Nazi spies in Ireland with author Marc McMenamin.

In this episode, we'll continue our series on Ireland's major political parties, as we look at the history of Fine Gael, and debate its successes and failures.

Joining host Patrick Geoghegan is former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, as well as Dr Maurice Manning, former Chancellor of the National University of Ireland and former Fine Gael TD and Senator, Dr Elaine Callinan, lecturer in History at Carlow College, Dr Mel Farrell, historian and author of 'Party Politics in a New Democracy: The Irish Free State, 1922-37', and Prof Ciara Meehan, Dean of Students at University of Galway and author of 'The Cosgrave Party: a history of Cumann na nGaedheal, 1923-33'.

In this episode: a new look at the Irish Civil War and how many were killed, with Donal Ó Drisceoil of UCC; ritual and belief in Pagan Ireland, with John Waddell, formerly Professor of Archaeology in the University of Galway; and the forgotten Irish radicals whose dream of a Communist future brought them to Moscow in the 1920s, with historian Maurice J. Casey.

In this episode of Talking History, we're investigating the resignation of President Nixon 50 years ago, the only time an American president has been forced from office in disgrace.

Joining Patrick to explore this is Nixon Library resource archivist, Greg Cumming; Sandra Scanlon who lectures in American history at UCD and is an expert on American political culture and its relationship with US foreign policy during the Cold War; Sarah Thelen who lectures in the Centre for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning at UCC, who is an expert on Nixon and the silent majority as well as patriotism and the Nixon White House; and Prof Luke A. Nichter who is Professor of History and James H. Cavanaugh Endowed Chair in Presidential Studies at Chapman University and the author of Collusion and Chaos in the Presidential Election of 1968.

In this episode of Talking History: the women who married Henry VIII have come to be encapsulated in a six-word rhyme - divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived. But what were their real lives and legacies? A new exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London, called Six Lives: The Stories of Henry VIII's Queens, charts and reveals the extraordinary stories of Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr.

Joining Patrick to discuss this is Dr Charlotte Bolland, curator of the exhibition, and the Gallery’s Senior Curator of Research and 16th Century Collections, managing the display of the collection in the Tudor galleries; Dr Nikki Clark, who wrote the essay in the catalogue about Ladies in Waiting, and is the author of The Waiting Game: The Untold Story of the Women Who Served the Tudor Queens and Gender, Family, and Politics: The Howard Women, 1485–1558; and Dr Nicola Tallis, who wrote the essay about the Queens’ Jewels in the catalogue, and has published All the Queen’s Jewels, 1445–1548: Power, Majesty and Display.

In this episode: Irish First Ladies & First Gentlemen, 1919-2011, by Dr Bernadette Whelan; Cartomania: Celebrity & Photography in the 19th Century, by Paul Frecker; and Brian Friel: Beginnings by Dr Kelly Matthews.

In the aftermath of the assassination attempt on former US president Donald Trump, we will be looking at shootings in American presidential history as we find out about US presidents, and presidential candidates, who faced the shadow of the gunman.

President Biden has since announced his decision to drop out of the presidential race.

Joining Patrick Geoghegan is Michael Cullinane, the Lowman Walton Chair of Theodore Roosevelt Studies at Dickinson State University, Public Historian for the Theodore Roosevelt Association, author of 'Remembering Theodore Roosevelt', and contributor to the design and curation of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library due to open in 2026; Daniel Mulhall, former Ambassador of Ireland to the United States; Sean Defoe, Political Correspondent for Bauer Media; and Dr Sandra Scanlon, who lectures in American history in the UCD School of History and is an expert on American political culture and its relationship with US foreign policy during the Cold War.

Patrick and his panel reflect on the early history of the Olympic Games, from ancient Greece to the revival in more modern times, discussing their historical significance, cultural impact and enduring legacy. Featuring Nigel Crowther, Emeritus Professor in Department of Classical Studies at University of Western Ontario; Supervising Professor at International Olympic Academy, Olympia, Greece (2004-05); Former Director of the International Centre for Olympic Studies; Dr Siobhán Doyle, Curatorial Researcher at the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks; Dr Jim Parry, Visiting Professor, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Charles University, Prague; and Dr Nigel Spivey, Senior Lecturer in Classical Art and Archaeology in the Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge.

Joining Patrick Geoghegan to delve into the lives and works of the Yeats sisters are: Dr Róisín Kennedy, Assistant Professor, School of Art History and Cultural Policy, UCD; Dr Caoilfhionn Ní Bheacháin, Associate Professor in Communications, University of Limerick; Susan O’Keeffe, Director of Yeats Society Sligo; and Dr Billy Shortall of Trinity College Dublin, who worked on the Cuala Press Project.

Ahead of the reopening of Notre Dame later this year, Patrick Geoghegan looks at the construction and re-construction of one of the most iconic cathedrals in the world. Joining him are: Dr Emily Guerry, Senior Lecturer in Medieval European History at the University of Kent, Dr Caroline Bruzelius, Professor Emerita of Art and Art History at Duke University, Dr Jennifer M. Feltman, Associate Professor of Art History and Medieval Art at the University of Alabama, and Dr Meredith Cohen, Associate Professor of Medieval Art and Architecture at UCLA.