Explaining History

Churchill’s Spaniards: The Spanish Republicans Who Fought for Britain in WWII — with Sean F. Scullion In this episode, I speak with historian Sean F. Scullion , author of Churchill’s Spaniards , about a remarkable and little-known story: the Spanish Republicans who escaped the fall of the Second Republic, endured internment under Vichy France, and later volunteered to fight in the British Army aga...

What was life  really  like for the poor and powerless in the wake of the Napoleonic Wars? In this episode of the Explaining History podcast, we're joined by Katharine Quarmby, author of the powerful new historical novel,  The Low Road . Set in 1813,  The Low Road  is a story of hardship, struggle, and love found in the most brutal corners of English life. Based on a true...

In this episode of Explaining History , Nick is joined by acclaimed author Anne Weber to discuss her new book Sanderling (Indigo Press, 2025) — a deeply personal and philosophical exploration of family, identity, and the shadow of Germany’s past. Through the story of her great-grandfather Florens Christian Rang — a theologian, lawyer, and close friend of figures such as Walter Benjamin and Martin...

Author Mark Beatty joins to explore three Victorians who shaped their era in very different ways yet rarely get the spotlight. We trace Grace Darling’s 1838 sea rescue and the birth of tabloid celebrity; Josephine Butler’s fearless campaign against the Contagious Diseases Acts and for raising the age of consent; and George Biddell Airy’s half-century as Astronomer Royal, standardising Greenwich Me...

Who was John Dee—the Tudor polymath who advised Elizabeth I, mapped the heavens, spoke (he believed) with angels, and penned a landmark preface to Euclid? Historian and writer Rachel Morris joins to unpack Dee’s strange, brilliant world at the fault line between Renaissance “natural magic” and the birth of modern science. We explore why astrology was respectable, what “as above, so below” meant to...

In 1945, weeks before the Western Allies arrived in Hitler's capital the Red Army controlled the city and began to quietly impose a new generation of German communists. Amid the ruins and devastation, ordinary Berliners, aware of their country's crimes, began to rebuild. This episode draws on Berlin by Sinclair McKay. Go Deeper:  Visit our website at  www.explaininghistory.org  for...

In the mid-1930s, with the shadow of one great war still looming and the threat of another growing darker, Britain faced a vexing national crisis: should it rearm? This episode delves into the complex political, economic, and social debates that defined this critical period. We explore the profound public anxiety shaped by the memory of World War I and the terrifying new prospect of aerial warfare...

In this episode of Explaining History, we delve into the intricate web of diplomacy, ambition, and betrayal that led the Ottoman Empire into the Great War. Drawing from Eugene Rogan's "The Fall of the Ottomans," we explore the Empire's precarious position in the years before 1914, caught between the competing interests of Europe's great powers. Discover Germany's strategic "Weltpolitik," which saw...

As an international aid flotilla approaches the shores of Gaza, sailing directly towards an Israeli naval blockade, strikers in Italy have forced the government there to send warships to escort them (much against the official policy of the far right Meloni government). This shows us the power of solidarity and strike action. Go Deeper:  Visit our website at  www.explaininghistory.org &nb...

Who  really  built the global economy? Traditional history books tell a story dominated by men—inventors, industrialists, and financiers. But what if this narrative is missing half the picture? In this eye-opening episode, host Nick is joined by Dr. Victoria Bateman of Gresham College to discuss her hugely ambitious new book,  Economica: A Global History of Women, Wealth and Power ....

Unveiling Uzbekistan: A Nation at the Crossroads of History and Future Join host Nick as he welcomes back acclaimed journalist and author Joanna Lillis to the Explaining History podcast. Seven years after her last appearance to discuss her book on Kazakhstan, "Dark Shadows," Joanna returns to shed light on the enigmatic nation of Uzbekistan, the subject of her new book, "Silk Mirage." This episode...

In this episode,  The Explaining History Podcast  explores the dark and complex evolution of genocide during the Second World War. Drawing on the foundational research of Nikolaus Wachsmann in his seminal work, "KL: A History of the Nazi Concentration Camps," and the broader "functionalist" school of historical thought, this episode traces the path to the Holocaust. The discussion will m...

In the post war decades huge strides were made across the world to address the worst aspects of social deprivation using the coordinated power of the state. Often the resulted showed working class communities that those deciding their fate were indifferent as to the actual results. In Tony Judt's penultimate book Ill Fares The Land, he explores the crises of social provision and the fragmentation...

This week, two seemingly separate events tell a single, troubling story about Britain's place in the modern world. First, a massive, 100,000-strong far-right rally, supported by American funding, took to the streets of London. Now, Keir Starmer's government is preparing to roll out the red carpet for an unprecedented second state visit for Donald Trump. These are not separate events. They are two...

If you’re new to Explaining History, this short trailer is the perfect introduction to the show. For over a decade, we've been helping listeners understand the 20th Century. Host Nick Shepley and expert guests break down the critical events, ideologies, and conflicts that shaped our modern world. This isn't a dry lecture; it's an engaging, critical conversation that connects the past to the presen...

In this episode, we explore the creation of the Central African Federation (1953–1963), Britain’s attempt to bind together Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia, and Nyasaland into one semi-autonomous bloc. The federation was sold as a bold experiment in multiracial partnership and economic modernization, but in reality it served white settler interests while tightening imperial control. Drawing on...

In the late 1940s and early 1950s some of the most extreme anti communist laws were passed at state level, including the death penalty for membership of any seditious organisation and the compulsory registration of subversive parties. None of this legislation was ever actually enacted and much of it was declared unconstitutional by federal judges and counteracted by federal legislation, but it giv...

During the Second World War Mohammad Reza Pahlavi took to the throne of Iran, placed into power by the British and the Soviets to depose his Nazi backing father. The Shah was able to break from the constitutional limitations upon him in 1953 after the British and Americans overthrew Iran's Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh. A decade later, the Shah began to radically transform Iran socially and ec...

A seismic shift in US global strategy appears to be confirmed. In this explosive episode, we dissect the leaked draft of the Pentagon's latest National Defense Strategy, which signals a historic reversal of decades of American foreign policy. We delve into the news that the US is formally de-prioritizing the "deterrence of China" in favor of a new focus on the homeland and the Western Hemisphere....

In this episode of Explaining History , we explore Mikhail Gorbachev’s bold diplomatic strategy during the mid-1980s. Between 1985 and 1988, Gorbachev sought to end the crippling arms race with the United States and ease the immense economic burden of Cold War militarisation on the Soviet Union. We examine the key moments of his diplomacy: the Geneva and Reykjavik summits, his pursuit of arms redu...

In 1940, when France fell to the Nazi invasion its colonies became Vichy satellites and in Asia, Vietnam rapidly fell under Japanese control. The French colonial elites saw their power gradually stripped away from them but it was the Vietnamese people that suffered terribly from Japanese rule with over a million dying in a famine created by the occupiers. The American OSS shipped arms to the Vietm...

Tony Benn was one of the most important political figures in the second half of the 20th Century in Britain. His journey from the centreground of Labour politics to the left and his understanding of the various traditions and ideas within the Labour movement is the topic of today's podcast. In this episode we look at the collection of Benn's postumous speeches and writings - The Most Dangerous Man...

Something is happening in Britain, and it's not going to go down well with the established parties, the media, or the far right Reform Party that the country's elite class are placing their hopes in. There are the seeds of a new left emerging around the Green Party and a new and so far unformed movement 'Your Party' pioneered by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana. An independent socialist movement le...

In this episode of Explaining History , we explore how the 1970s became a turning point for Black Britain. Drawing on Eddie Chambers’ Roots and Culture , we examine how a new generation of Black British people embraced the politics of Pan-Africanism and Rastafari, forging cultural and political identities rooted in pride, resistance, and global solidarity. At the heart of this story is the transfo...

What Plato Can Teach Us About the Crises of the 21st Century — with Professor Angie Hobbs In this special episode of Explaining History , I’m joined by Professor Angie Hobbs to discuss her new book Why Plato Matters Now . Together we explore Plato’s life and thought, and the urgent relevance of his ideas in today’s world. From the dangers of oligarchy and the corruption of language, to the decline...