Curious Canadian History

Friends of Cool Canadian History have just released their own Canadian history podcast focusing on the political and diplomatic history of this country. Check out the preview for this awesome podcast here! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ada Annie Jordan was a young mother with a successful business, a growing family and a popular place within early 20th century Vancouver's emerging elite society. Yet, she threw almost all of it away when she moved her family to a remote bay on Vancouver Island and instead of living a life of relative luxury she became a legend. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In December of 1943 Canadian soldiers became bogged down in a vicious street battle for the small town of Ortona on Italy's east coast. A battle so ferocious and in such close quarters that it earned the nickname ‘Little Stalingrad.' Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1917 Canadian soldiers were engaged heavily on the western front yet volunteer numbers had fallen below that of the monthly casualty rates. Prime Minister Robert Borden thus carried out one of the most controversial political campaigns in Canadian history in order to win the 1917 federal election and ensure that conscription was passed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informatio...

Two almost totally uninhabited American islands off the coast of Alaska are occupied by the Japanese in 1942. In response, an unprecedented joint American-Canadian operation is launched to liberate those islands. This ‘Zombie' liberation will focus specifically on the island of Kiska. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A deeply troubled regiment with deeply troubled soldiers leads to a deeply disturbing murder of a teenage boy in Somalia. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While Leon Trotsky is largely known as a central figure in the Russian Revolution and the rise of the Soviet Union, a brief chapter in his life took him to Amherst, Nova Scotia as part of a British attempt to prevent the radical from returning to war-time Russia. Thus, Trotsky found himself a VIP guest of the British Empire, the Canadian state and the province of Nova Scotia. Hosted on Acast. See...

Two of the 19th century's most prominent leaders of the plains First Nations evolve from enemies into friends while faced with grave threats to their people and their way of life, both are thus forced to make hard choices in the tumultuous violent period of the late 19th century. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the early 18th century Maria Lindsay Cobham, her husband, and her crew of misfits prowled the waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Cabot Strait, preying on unsuspecting merchant vessels. One of the few pirates to operate in the North Atlantic, Maria not only became captain of her crew but cemented herself in maritime legend as the Pirate Queen of Canada. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/pri...

In the autumn of 1993 Canadian soldiers, attempting to stop ethnic cleansing in the Medak Pocket, found themselves in an over-night firefight against a surprising enemy while attempting to keep the peace in the middle of a chaotic war zone. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this day, 6 June 2019, the 75th anniversary of D-Day, we at CCH give you a special bonus episode narrated by Alex Fitzgerald-Black of the Juno Beach Centre that includes testimonies and eye-witness accounts from the young soldiers that participated in the Canadian action at D-Day. We want to thank Alex and the podcast team from ‘Juno Beach and Beyond' for sharing this incredible eye-witne...

Alex-Fitzgerald Black of the Juno Beach Centre joins us today to talk about everything D-Day. 75 years ago today the western Allies were preparing to launch the largest combined-arms operation in the history of the world. An operation that would seek to liberate Western Europe from the grip of Nazi tyranny and help bring about an end to the Second World War. Canada was strongly represented at this...

The First World War led to dramatic changes within the Canadian state, perhaps none more so than Canada's changing role within the British Empire. This change occurred during the 1920s and 1930s where Canada went from colony-nation of the British Empire to equal nation within the British Commonwealth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Chatham Coloured All-Stars were an all-black baseball team from southern Ontario who broke the colour barrier for baseball in Canada. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode explores the various roles women played in New France in support of the fur trade and in turn helping the very colony of New France survive. Roles that were in stark contrast to gender expectations in the old world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sitting Bull was a legendary Native American chief who spent much of his life leading a resistance against American expansion into Indigenous territory. After the famous battle of the Little Big Horn Sitting Bull wound up in Canada fleeing the wrath of the American government setting off a politically complicated and ultimately short-lived attempt at asylum. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy...

Intense fear of what Asian immigration might do to a predominately white British Columbia sparked off a violent riot in the streets of Vancouver in 1907. A riot that had reverberations around the globe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thérèse Casgrain was one of Canada's most prolific and powerful activists. A woman born into means, she spent her life advocating for the rights of women and challenging the patriarchal status quo. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the mid 20th century concerns over immigration and the changing ethnic make-up of Canadian society sparked a decades-long program of eugenics in Alberta, supported by many of Alberta's academic, intellectual and progressive elites. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The residential school system was designed to eradicate Indigenous culture and replace it with an Anglo-European Christian one. In this attempt at cultural destruction the residential schools became a system for shocking abuse. The reverberations of which are felt strongly to the present day. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Montreal-born Leonard Cohen's prolific career included iconic music, poetry and literature creating an enduring global legacy. This episode is dedicated to Gail from Montreal, RIP. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An Irish Nationalist turned Canadian patriot turned Father of Confederation. Thomas D'Arcy McGee was all of that when he was assassinated in 1868. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Doohan played one of the most iconic engineers in the history of science fiction and helped shape Star Trek into the cultural mega-force it is today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The First World War was a complex and dramatic period in Canadian history which saw the Canadian military perform in such a way that earned it an almost unpredictable reputation while the war on the domestic front saw Canada mobilize the nation in a way that created incredible growth and incredible challenges. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Montreal native William Shatner became one of the most iconic science fiction actors in history, this two part series opens with an examination of Shatner's early life and his time in Star Trek while part two will look at fellow Canadian James Doohan who played the iconic engineer Scotty. Both episodes were written by Star Trek aficionado and host of the popular Star Trek podcast Subspace Transmis...