Versus History Podcast

This week we were delighted to be joined by DJ Dribbler (@dribbler23), the former tour DJ for Orbital, who has written the acclaimed novel, 'Harry's Kebab House'. Harry`s Kebabs follows five people who are all inter-connected through the 90s rave scene and its peripheral subcultures. A pool hustler, a photographic memory, a beggar by choice and a psychopathic erstwhile seaman are brought together...

In this energetic and enlightening episode, we were delighted to interview Michael Sturza, who is a life-long socialist political activist and Marxist historian of the English Civil War. He is the author of the brand new book ‘The London Revolution 1640-1643’, published 30 March 2022. A native New Yorker (he still lives there!) who grew up in Brooklyn, he learned about radical politics from his fa...

In this exciting episode, we talk all about the history of Pirate Radio in Brooklyn, NYC with David Goren (@shortwaveology). His newest release on Bandcamp via ‘Death is Not the End’ captures a flavour of pirate radio in Brooklyn over the last ten years. David has created programming for the BBC, Studio 360, NPR's Lost and Found Sound series, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Afropop and On the Media as wel...

In this episode, we are delighted to be joined by John Leshy, Emeritus Professor at the University of California Hastings College of Law, San Francisco. John became deeply involved with America's public lands soon after his graduation from Harvard College and Harvard Law School. He was solicitor for the U.S. Department of Interior from 1993 to 2001, is co-author of the standard textbook on public...

This episode sees us discuss the UK music phenomenon that was The Beatles, in Chicago, USA, with John F. Lyons. John was born in London, England, and now lives in Chicago. He earned a PhD in history from the University of Illinois at Chicago and works as a Professor of History at Joliet Junior College in Illinois where he teaches U.S. History and British History. He has published five books, his m...

In this episode, we interview Padraic Coffey, the author of 'This Day in Irish History'. Padraic was born in Sligo and grew up in Tubbercurry. He attended University College Dublin, where he received a BA in 2008 and an MA in 2010. After graduating from college, he worked in a freelance capacity for the Sunday Independent. This is his first book, which was inspired by his social media account of t...

In this exciting episode, we offer hope for travel planners in 2022 who want to jet set once again! We interview Marian Jones from the City Breaks Podcast, who tells us all about Florence in Italy, its culture and its hidden (and some not so hidden!) travel gems. Ideally, before a city break, you’d read up lots of history and cultural information to help you get the most out of your stay. But time...

In this episode of the @VersusHistory Podcast, we interview the co-author of The Beautiful History, Martyn Routledge (@BeautifulBadge). This excellent new book charts the fascinating history of Britain through its football badges. From Premier League to non-league, it covers more than 100 clubs, revealing stories that are often surprising, quirky or funny. An engaging, informative and fun book for...

2021 marks the 80th Anniversary of the SAS and 30 years since the first Gulf War and deployment of 'Bravo Three Zero' behind enemy lines in the Iraqi desert. SAS Bravo Three Zero is the new book from Sunday Times bestseller, Damien Lewis, with SAS Gulf War veteran Des Powell. In this episode of the Versus History Podcast, we are joined by SAS veteran and author of this very book, Des Powell, for a...

In this episode of the Versus History Podcast, we interview Alec Marsh about his brilliant new book, 'Ghosts of the West'. It is a fascinating tale and our interview covers so much interesting content about the historical basis for the story, both British and American ... When daring journalist Sir Percival Harris gets wind of a curious crime in a sleepy English town, he ropes in his old friend Pr...

In this episode of the Versus History Podcast, we interviewed Anni Domingo, an Actress, Director and Writer, working in Radio, TV, Films and Theatre after training at Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama. She appeared in Inua Ellam’s Three Sisters, a play set in Nigeria during the Biafran War, at the National Theatre (UK) and toured Robert Icke’s The Doctor to Australia early in 2020. She curr...

In this episode, we are joined by Dr Sverker Johansson to discuss his brand new book 'The Dawn of Language: How We Came to Talk' published by MacLehose Press. We discuss the broadest range of questions related to language and its development. When did humans first speak? Do environmental factors influence language? Has globalisation impacted language development? Find out in this podcast episode a...

In this episode we interviewed Owen Dwyer, the author of the fantastic new book 'The Garfield Conspiracy'. The description of this fascinating new book reads: 'Richard Todd, an award-winning writer, is outwardly successful but inwardly plagued by uncertainties. Worst of all, he can’t seem to write any more. When a bright young editor, Jenny Lambe, arrives on his doorstep to work with him on his la...

This is our second WOLFSON HISTORY PRIZE SPECIAL! In this episode, we are joined by Judith Herrin, the Constantine Leventis Visiting Senior Research Fellow at King’s College London, to discuss her book 'Ravenna: Capital of Empire, Crucible of Europe' which was shortlisted for the 2021 Wolfson History Prize.  In 402 AD, after invading tribes broke through the Alpine frontiers of Italy and threatene...

In episode 122 of the Versus History Podcast, we are joined by historical novelist Ellen Alpsten, who is the author of Tsarina and The Tsarina’s Daughter. Ellen's first book 'Tsarina' is the story of Peter the Great’s wife, who started out as a serf named Marta and ended up a Tsarina named Catherine – and ruler of Russia. It was out in hardback in 2020, and paperback in the summer of 2021 and is t...

In this episode, we interview David Vine, who is a Professor of Anthropology at American University.  His new book is entitled: The United States of War: A Global History of America's Endless Conflicts, from Columbus to the Islamic State  (UC Press). It is a provocative examination of how the U.S. military has shaped our entire world, from today’s multi-trillion-dollar decades-long wars to the pro...

In this episode we are joined by Wolfson History Prize 2021 nominee Professor Geoffrey Plank from the University of East Anglia, to discuss his new book 'Atlantic Wars: From the Fifteenth Century to the Age of Revolution' published by Oxford University Press. The Wolfson History Prize 2021 Judges stated that this book was: “A sobering and compelling study of Atlantic warfare which take pains to in...

This episode is an absolute scorcher! The most significant events of the last 2,000 years of Western History, the ones that changed everything, took hold on the outskirts of mainstream thought and led to seismic upheaval. In his new book, DISRUPTION: WHY THINGS CHANGE (Oxford University Press; June 3, 2021), University of Michigan professor David Potter asks what it is that makes society-transform...

We hope that you enjoy this interview with Katherine Green (@Kathgreenphoto) of Rendezvous Projects. She has been a key player in Newham Heritage Month 2021 and IN the 'Crate Digging: The Influence of De Underground Records' project. De Underground Records was both a record shop and studio based in Newham, East London which was pivotal in the development of British underground dance music and cult...

This week on the Versus History Podcast, we welcome Historian Damien Lewis (@authordlewis) back to the show! His brand new book ‘SAS Great Escapes’ is published in May 2021 and we discussed the book in depth. The book tells the story of seven of the most dramatic and daring escapes of WWII executed by the world's most famous fighting force – the SAS. Ranging from the very first missions to the end...

In this episode, we are delighted to be joined by DJ Harold Heath (@haroldheathDJ) for an interview about his brand new book 'Long Relationships: My Incredible Journey from Unknown DJ to Smalltime DJ', published by Velocity Press. This fascinating book is a biographical account of a DJ career defined by a deep love of music and a shallow amount of success. It’s the first book to detail exactly wha...

Éamonn Toland is our special guest on the @Versus History podcast this week, discussing his new book, 'The History of Kindness', published by @LibertiesPress. Éamonn Toland read Modern History and Economics at St Hugh’s College, Oxford, where he received a Lawlor Foundation Scholarship. After graduation he worked as a management consultant, an entrepreneur and business executive. In addition to be...

In this episode we interview Dr Caspar Melville (@CasparMelville) about the genesis, impact, mechanics and significance of Jungle / Drum & Bass music. Formerly a music journalist and editor of New Humanist magazine, Caspar Melville is a lecturer at SOAS, University of London, where he convenes the MA in Global Creative and Cultural Industries. His book 'It's a London Thing' is a record of the...

In this fascinating episode of the Versus History podcast, we interview author Emanuel Rosen about his brand new book 'If Anyone Calls, Tell Them I Died'. The Holocaust and its aftermath were not often discussed in families of second-generation survivors. In Tel Aviv of the 1960s, Emanuel Rosen grew up hearing the staccato of his mother’s typewriter, but had no idea about the battle she was fighti...

Jennifer Anton is an American/Italian dual citizen born in Joliet, Illinois now living between London and Lake Como, Italy. An advocate for women’s rights and equality, she hopes to rescue women's stories from history, starting with her Italian family. In 2006, after the birth of her daughter, Jennifer suffered a life-threatening post-partum cardiomyopathy, and soon after, her Italian grandmother...