Oh! What a lovely podcast

What happens when you turn a First World War medical process into a computer game?   This month Angus, Jessica, and Chris take control of wartime medicine in the game War Hospital . Along the way we discuss the importance of evacuation, difficult ethical decisions, and why Chris' conscience is completely clear. If you listen to this episode and share it on social media you can also win a free copy...

What happens when you turn the French experience of the war into a cooperative game? This month Jessica, Angus, and Chris played The Grizzled a cooperative game focused on guiding a group of French soldiers through the war. Along the way they discuss the morale boosting merits of different drinks, the difference between physical and mental traumas, and whether they are now obliged to design their...

What happens when you set a telenovela in First World War France?  This month Chris, Angus and Jessica review the Netflix limited series Les Combattantes  ( Women at War ). Along the way, we discuss untranslatable words, the relationship between war atrocities and propaganda, recreational drug use, and the excellent communication links of a small-town convent. References: Women at war,  (2022) The...

What should we take from a First World War documentary?   Following our adventure to Canada for the International Society for First World War Studies conference, we welcome Prof Robert Burgoyne to discuss his keynote paper on the Peter Jackson film They Shall Not Grow Old  (2018).   Along the way, we explore the ways in which war films can quote from each other, differences in structure to the fil...

How did the First World War inspire the horror genre?   This month we welcome W. Scott Poole (Charleston) to discuss his 2018 book  Wasteland: The Great War and the Origins of Modern Horror . Along the way we discuss the American experience of war, the importance of J'Accuse , and the political affiliations of 20th century zombies.

What happens when you send Indiana Jones into the First World War? In this episode, we are joined by Thomas Riddle. Thomas runs the website indyintheclassroom.com  (which aims to provide teachers with resources to integrate everyone's favourite archaeologist into the classroom) to discuss the 1990s TV series 'The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles'. Along the way we discuss the show as an educational...

How do you create a biopic of one of the most famous First World War poets?   This month we're joined by Dr Jane Potter (Oxford Brookes) to discuss the 2021 film Benediction  about the life of Siegfried Sassoon.   Along the way we explore the long shadow of Regeneration , soldiers in drag, and the brilliance of Edith Sitwell. We also get very excited by a surprise cameo from the star of a previous...

What do you get when you cross Journey's End with Brideshead Revisited ? This month Angus, Chris and Jessica review Alice Winn's best-selling new novel, In Memoriam . The book follows  Henry Gaunt and Sidney Ellwood from public school and through the war. Half-German, Gaunt's mother asks him to enlist in the British army to protect the family from anti-German attacks. He signs up immediately, reli...

What First World War cultural representations would you like to see adapted for the screen?   This month Angus, Chris and Jessica discuss their dream adaptations of novels, short stories and computer games for the big or small screen. Along the way, we explore what makes for a good film versus a good television series, we consider how to overcome the challenge of the Bechdel test in filming the wa...

By popular demand! This month Chris, Angus and Jessica discuss productions of R.C. Sherriff's Journey's End , including the original play and the 1930 and 2017 film versions. Along the way, we consider the importance of James Whale, whether the French changed their clocks during the war and the definition of an anti-war play, while Chris makes a bid for the over-arching significance of moustaches...

What happens when Peaky Blinders meets Ballet Rambert? This month Chris finds out about Jessica and Angus's trip to see Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby , otherwise known as Peaky Blinders: The Ballet. Along the way we discuss the narrative structure of ballet, the industrialisation of the body in wartime and whether we are still living in the era of the First World War. References...

How do you stage an exhibition on POWs at a museum?   This month we're joined by Lora Vogt from the National WW1 Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, to discuss their new exhibition: 'Captured'. Along the way, we talk about how POWs have been obscured from modern memory, the benefits of online content, and how to make someone drive five days across America.

What happens when you convert a seminal First World War novel into a big budget film? This month Angus, Jessica, and Chris discuss the 2022 Netflix version of All Quiet on the Western Front . Along the way they debate the importance of timeline changes, the film's use of violence, and pitch a few alternative films to any listeners from Hollywood. References Lewis Millstone, All Quiet on the Wester...

What happened when people wanted to visit the battlefields of the First World War? This month we're rejoined by Prof Mark Connelly (University of Kent) to discuss his new book Postcards from the Western Front: Pilgrims, Veterans, and Tourists after the Great War . Along the way we discuss ownership of the battlefields, issues of infrastructure for tourists, and what happens if your mum visits you...

How do you commemorate the First World War in the age of social media?   This month we take a look at the  @giantpoppywatch twitter account and discuss the various ways people seem to commemorate the war. Along the way we discuss armistice balls, yarn bombing, and which muppet is the most respectful. 

This month Jessica, Angus and Chris discuss John Buchan's 1915 novel The Thirty-Nine Steps . Along the way they discuss the importance of the Scottish countryside, the deviousness of espionage, and why you should never get in a car with Richard Hanney.   WARNING: This episode contains references to racist language and ideas from the early 20th century.   References: John Buchan, The Thirty-Nine St...

How do you portray the most famous flying ace of the First World War? This month we're joined by  Prof Ingrid Sharp  (Leeds) to discuss Baron Manfred von Richtofen also known as 'The Red Baron'. Along the way we examine the ways his myth evolved during the war, the ways he was appropriated by the Nazis, and the threat he posed to Snoopy. If you would like to join Chris for the launch of his new bo...

What happens if you combine the First World War with an action-adventure film?   This month we watch the 2021 film The King's Man and discuss its portrayal of an alternative vision of the war. Along the way we explore John Buchan novels, the absence of key historical events, and wonder about whatever happened to Wilfred Owen.   References: Guardian review Indiewire review   John Buchan, The Thirty...

How do you get children interested in the First World War? In this podcast episode, we are joined by Andrew Powell-Thomas, editor of Over The Top , a history magazine aimed at children, published by the Great War Group . We then speak to two special guests, who give us their opinion. Along the way we consider how you get specialist historians to write for children, what stories spark historical in...

How are embroidery, and the women who do it, portrayed in the years after the First World War? This month Jessica takes us on a tour of post-war embroidery in Tracy Chevalier's A Single Thread  and Dorothy Whipple's High Wages . Along the way we discuss surplus women, the varying perceptions of embroidery as skilled work, and the constant reminders of the First World War. References: Tracy Chevali...

What did it take to be a good junior officer in the First World War? This month, Chris, Angus and Jessica speak to Charles Fair about the development of junior officer training in the war. Along the way we discuss the significance of the Territorial Force, which schools had officer training corps and the definition of a 'temporary gentleman'. References Blackadder Goes Forth (1983)   Charles Fair,...

What effect did the First World War have on football?   This month we're joined by Dr Alexander Jackson (National Football Museum) to discuss the ways in which the First World War and football affected each other during and after the conflict. Along the way we discuss football as a recruitment tool, tensions regarding amateur status, and the reason why some football pitches aren't as equal as othe...

How is the First World War represented in British comics? In 1979 the Battle launched a new strip, Charley's War. The story followed boy soldier Charley Bourne, who fought his way through the Battle of the Somme in 1916 and ended up in Russia in 1919. Written by Pat Mills, it was inspired by the film Oh! What a lovely war. The aim of the strip was not to glorify the conflict but to encourage the r...

How did the First World War draw upon classical imagery?   This month we are joined by Giles Penman (PhD student at the University of Warwick) to discuss the various ways that classicism manifested itself in imagery and objects before and after the conflict. Along the way we discuss the use of Britannia as a recruitment icon, different claims to civilisation, and some unusual appearances for Queen...

How has the First World War been represented in Russia? This month Angus, Chris and Jessica are joined by Sofya Anisimova to discuss the film Sniper (1931) and its representation of the Russian Expeditionary Force in France. Along the way, we discuss the significance of sound in film, the importance of re-enactment groups in retaining the memory of the war and the popularity of Richard Aldington a...