Since the World's been Turning

In this episode we’re looking at the history of the unsung pioneers of space travel, Monkeys and Chimpanzees!  Before rockets were safe enough to take humans, and even after, NASA and rival organizations sent apes into space to test conditions without risking human life. These primates risked life and limb, faced incredible danger and adversity, and saw more than most humans ever will. Now, over 5...

This time we’re looking at another epic of classic Hollywood cinema, Ben-Hur. Widely considered one of the greatest films ever made, Ben-Hur had more than enough drama happen off screen to fill all 4 hours of the blockbuster’s running time.  What is the story of Ben-Hur? And what impact has it left today? 

This episode takes us to a poignant time in the history of rock music: the brief and brilliant life of Buddy Holly. We travel back in time to learn about the young man behind the music: who accomplished such a lot, and could have achieved so much more.  We’re joined by special guest, Philip Norman. Philip’s the author of Buddy: Philip Norman. He’s also written extensively about other rock legends,...

In this episode we’re looking at what is arguably the greatest medical catastrophe in recent history, the Thalidomide Scandal. A drug designed to reduce morning sickness in pregnant women, Thalidomide caused more than 10,000 children in the late 1950s and early 1960s to be born with intense physical disabilities. Pushed primarily under the name Contergan by German company Chemie Grunenthal, the hi...

In this episode we’re looking at the lives of America’s first real celebrity killers, 19 year old Charles Starkweather and his 14 year old girlfriend, Caril Ann Fugate. The object of perverse levels of public attention, the pair participated in a series of Spree Killings between December 1967 and January 1968 that would go on to inspire movies, music, and extensive, unrelenting, news coverage.

This episode takes us back to the world of sport, and the era of California Baseball, when major league teams packed their bags and headed West in search of new opportunities.  The Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants are the most famous teams that chose to leave, but others followed suit, and major league baseball also eventually made its way into America’s deep south.  We’re joined once agai...

In this episode we discuss the most famous French leader of the 20th century - General Charles de Gaulle. He’s the stubborn military commander who defied the Germans during WWII, and became the voice of hope that inspired thousands.  After the war, he was also the President who restored order to war-torn France. He returned to power again in 1958, when he handled the Algerian crisis, and founded F...

In this episode we’re traveling back to the Middle East in the 1950s - and to the time when the United States conducted its first major military intervention in the area - in Lebanon.  What were the origins of the Lebanese crisis, and what led the Americans to intervene? Looking back today, did it make a difference? 

We’re returning to the movies in this episode, digging into the first of David Lean's canonical epic films, The Bridge On the River Kwai .  A defining film both in the history of war movies, and in cinema in general, The Bridge On the River Kwai is as grand as it was excessively ambitious. Here to help explain is our guest, Film Historian and Blogger Wendy Whittick.

This episode takes us to communist China in the 1950s, where we explore the life of Premier Zhou Enlai.  Zhou Enlai was the suave revolutionary who became Chairman Mao’s most skilled diplomat.  In the West, he’s known as the man who helped foster a warmer relationship between China and America - and who gave a humane face to a brutal regime.  We’re joined by special guest Michael Dillon, Professor...

In this episode we’re focussing on one of the most often talked about periods of the cold war, the Space Race.  More specifically we’re travelling back to the very start of it, with the launch of the first satellite - Sputnik One.  This metal sphere, barely bigger than a beach ball, would not only spark a decades-long scientific arms race between the world's two biggest political powers, but...

 This episode takes us into the life of one of the 20th century’s most iconic authors, edgy beat writer and cultural icon Jack Kerouac.  Reading his most famous book, On the Road, is still a rite of passage for many teens and people in their early 20s: and his coming of age tale continues to inspire writers, musicians and actors.  We’re joined  by special guest Brian Hassett, a lifelong “beat” and...

This episode takes us into the life and times of one of the best-known sportsmen of the 1950s, star baseball player Mickey Mantle. Mickey was the charismatic golden boy who rose from the mines of Oklahoma to become perhaps the best-known Yankee slugger of all time. He’s also someone who struggled immensely with fame, and with demons of his own.  We take a look at the man behind the myth.

This weeks episode covers Russian Author and Poet Boris Pasternak, whose epic novel Doctor Zhivago, released in 1957, became an instant classic, won him the Nobel Prize, and ended up a weapon in the Cold War. In her book Lara: The Untold Love Story that Inspired Dr Zhivago, Anna Pasternak blows the doors of history wide open and changes the way we remember Boris, both for good and for ill. 

This episode we have a unique situation for our podcast.  While we’ve always been blessed with amazing guests, people who are experts in their field - we’re rarely given the opportunity to speak to people directly involved in the events themselves.  Hence, we couldn’t be more excited to share with you that for this episode we’re joined by Terrence Roberts of the Little Rock Nine. Back in 1957 Terr...

This episode takes us to Egypt in 1956, when the nationalisation of the Suez Canal by General Nasser led to the “mother of all conspiracies”.  Behind closed doors, Great Britain and France made a secret plot with Israel to gain control of the waterway, and retain their influence in the Arab world. The conspiracy spelled the end of British Prime Minister Anthony Eden’s political career: and the Sue...

In this weeks episode, we’re taking a look at the bestselling novel that scandalized America in the 1950s, Peyton Place by Grace Metalious. Its themes include abortion, incest and alcoholism, and even today, it probably deserves a trigger warning.  It’s also a subversively feminist book: it gives a glimpse into hidden aspects of women’s lives, and it explores society’s changing attitudes towards s...

This time around, we’re exploring the life and work of movie star, fashion icon, and eventual royal - the princess of Monaco herself, Grace Kelly.  Setting new expectations of poise and - no pun intended - grace, in America after the events of the Second World War, Grace Kelly would define the generation of Post-Affluence.   But what was her inner life like? How did she navigate her short but expl...

This episode takes us behind the Iron Curtain, as we explore the life and times of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, the mercurial figure who was once Josef Stalin’s “court jester”. After Stalin’s death, Khrushchev longed to restore the USSR to the “shining heights of communism”.  He dreamed of a more peaceful, tolerant and prosperous state. But as Khrushchev navigated national and global events, h...

This episode takes us into the troubled heart of Alabama in the 1950s: when the state was the scene of racial inequality, tension and violence.  It was in Alabama that Rosa Parks, the “Mother of the Civil Rights Movement” refused to give up her bus seat for a white man, and the Montgomery Bus Boycott was born. The boycott garnered interest from activists all over the world, and it led to the rise...

The Hungarian revolution is a pivotal moment in the Cold War, as the first real example of a Soviet-occupied country attempting to break out from under the iron curtain. It shows us how widely the smallest choice made in the Kremlin could ripple out, and just how drastic the consequences could be. Were joined by Dr Gerhard Schüsselbauer, the director of the Pan-European Studies Institute in Vlotho...

This episode focuses on one of the most influential and controversial actress/model of the 20th Century, Brigitte Bardot. Throughout her career, Bardot not only changed fashion forever but also ushered in a new era of cultural attitudes towards sex, specifically sexually empowered women. 

This week we’re booking our tickets, signing up for Fastpass and heading out into the California countryside to visit Disneyland .  Arguably the most singular and innovative idea of Walt Disney, a man known for his singular and innovative ideas, the word Disneyland has become synonymous with adventure, joy, and painfully long queue times. But how did it come to be?  Here to help us answer that que...

In this episode we discuss the life and times of the uncontested king of rock and roll, Elvis Presley.  From humble beginnings in Mississippi and Tennessee, Elvis shot to superstardom in the 1950s. More than 60 years later, he’s still a household name.  Although his life was tragically short, he lives on in the memories of his fans - some of whom dedicated shrines to him.  Our guest is Ray Connoll...

In this episode we’re diving into one of the most significant stories of all time, Peter Pan.   A tale as immortal as its ever child-like protagonist, Pan’s adventures have been revamped and retold countless times in the hundred and fifty years since its conception.  From its initial telling as a satirical fantasy laced with personal tragedy in turn of the century Britain, through its re-shaping i...