Talking History with Patrick Geoghegan

In this episode of Talking History - the story of Caracalla and Geta, the two emperors who share power in the new Gladiator 2 film, how their father Severus transformed Rome, and how their dynasty ended in violence and murder. Patrick Geoghegan is joined by Dr David Woods, Head of the Department of Classics at UCC; Prof Mark Humphries, Professor of Ancient History, Swansea University; and Dr Rebec...

From Decadence To Despair: in this episode we discuss how Oscar Wilde went from the heights of literary fame to the depths of public scandal, as we debate his remarkable legacy. Joining Patrick Geoghegan is Caoimhe Ní Ghormáin, Manuscripts Curator, the Library of Trinity College Dublin; Martin Burns, creative director, Oscar Wilde House; and Jarlath Killeen, Head of the School of English at Trinit...

Marking the release of Gladiator 2, in this episode we explore the brutal world of gladiators - and how they rose from captivity to become icons of the Roman Empire. Featuring: Dr Jerry Toner, Director of Studies in Classics at Churchill College, University of Cambridge, Kathleen M. Coleman, James Loeb Professor of the Classics, Harvard University, and Dr Andrew Fear, Lecturer in Classics, Univers...

We're marking the 35th anniversary of one of the most seismic events of the 20th century: the fall of the Berlin Wall. We'll find out why it was built, how it fell, and how it brought an end to the Cold War. Joining Patrick Geoghegan is: Prof Patrick Major, Professor of Modern History at the University of Reading; Katja Hoyer, historian, author of ‘Beyond the Wall: East Germany, 1949-1990', and vi...

In this episode: Captive Queen: the Decrypted Story of Mary, Queen of Scots, by Dr Jade Scott When Courage Calls: Josephine Butler and the Radical Pursuit of Justice for Women, by Dr Sarah C. Williams and Embers of the Hands: Hidden Histories of the Viking Age, by Dr Eleanor Barraclough

This special Talking History episode, live from the Supreme Court in Dublin, in conjunction with Dublin City Council Bram Stoker Festival, centres on Bram Stoker and the ‘Petty Sessions: Weird and Wonderful Court Cases from Victorian Ireland’ . Hosted by Tommy Graham, editor of History Ireland. The Duties of Clerks of Petty Sessions in Ireland was Bram Stoker’s second book of nonfiction. For many...

In this episode of Talking History, our October books special: when Britain became a republic and why it ended in failure, with Prof Alice Hunt of the University of Southampton; magic and religious controversy in the 16th century, with Dr Violet Moller, author of Inside the Stargazer’s Palace: The Transformation of Science in 16th-Century Northern Europe; and how the CIA became an instrument of a...

In this episode, Patrick Geoghegan explores the history of modern Sinn Féin, alongside Prof. Agnès Maillot, Head of the School of Applied Language and Intercultural Studies at Dublin City University; Dr Brian Hanley, Teaching Fellow in Twentieth-Century Irish History, Trinity College Dublin; Dr Liam Weeks, Head of the Department of Government and Politics, University College Cork; Dr Matthew Whiti...

We're looking at the history of American presidential debates as we explore some of the worst mistakes and iconic quips candidates have made and debate whether they can be the making or the breaking of a future president. Featuring Dr Daniel Rowe of the University of Oxford, Dr Sandra Scanlon of UCD, Dr Daniel Geary of Trinity College Dublin, and Dr Lewis Defrates of Maynooth University.

This episode of Talking History centres on the life and legacy of Oliver Cromwell and the massacres in Ireland. Featuring Prof John Morrill, emeritus professor of British and Irish history at the University of Cambridge, Prof Ronald Hutton, Professor of History at the University of Bristol, Prof Micheál Ó Siochrú, Head of the School of Histories and Humanities, Trinity College Dublin, and Alice Hu...

We're shining a spotlight on one of the most significant yet overlooked figures in art history, Berthe Morisot, and we'll find out how she became a founding member of the Impressionist movement. Featuring art historian Dr Sinéad Furlong-Clancy, specialist in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century French Painting and a specialist lecturer for the National Gallery of Ireland and the Hugh Lane Galle...

As the iconic musical comes to Dublin, we explore the life and legacy of one of America's most influential founders, Alexander Hamilton.

In this episode of Talking History, the kaleidoscopic history of London from the Swinging 60s to the 1980s, with John Davis, emeritus fellow in modern history and politics at The Queen’s College, University of Oxford; spycraft in the age of Elizabeth I, with Nadine Akkerman, professor of early modern literature and culture at Leiden University and OED bibliographer Pete Langman; and humanitarianis...

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 C...

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 fore...

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 Ara...

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 Walto...

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...

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 Projec...

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 Profess...

From the marriage bar to unequal pay - we're finding out about the status and position of women in the independent Irish state and the long fight for equality. Patrick is joined by Dr Mary McAuliffe, Assistant Professor in the School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice, and Director of Gender Studies at UCD, Dr Deirdre Foley, Irish Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow, Department...

In this episode of Newstalk's Talking History: From Tudor to Stuart: The Regime Change from Elizabeth I to James I, by Susan Doran, Professor of Early Modern British History at the University of Oxford; The Great Potato Famine and the Making of Irish New York, with Prof Tyler Anbinder, formerly of the Department of History, George Washington University; and ‘Reeling in the Queers – Tales of Irelan...