Versus History Podcast

Malcolm Little was born in 1925, the son of a Baptist Minister influenced by the ‘Back to Africa’ teachings of Marcus Garvey. Following a turbulent childhood, Malcolm fell into criminality and was imprisoned in 1946. While in prison, Malcolm was exposed to the Black Muslim faith and joined the separatist religious group, the ‘Nation of Islam’, led by Elijah Muhammad. Malcolm X was a passionate and...

Martin Luther King was born in 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. He was raised as a Baptist in the segregated South and gained a Doctorate from Boston University in 1955. King dedicated his adult life to issues relating to Civil Rights and equality for Americans, becoming a national figure during the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955-56. King co-ordinated and spearheaded the refusal by many black people to u...

As Hitler’s forces advanced rapidly through Western Europe after the end of the so-called ‘Phoney War’ which began in 1939, they pushed Allied troops ever closer towards the coast. The British Expeditionary Force (B.E.F.), alongside allied troops from France, faced the threat of encirclement and destruction at Dunkirk – a coastal town in northern France, 10 kilometres from the Belgian border. This...

America's isolationist stance in global affairs - which had prevailed since the conclusion of WW1 - was brutally shattered on the morning of 7 December 1941, when the US Naval base at Pearl Harbor in the Pacific Ocean was attacked by the Imperial Japanese Air Force. This resulted in over 2000 Americans killed, 4 battleships sunk and numerous others severely damaged. The very next day, President Ro...

Does King John deserve his terrible reputation and 'Bad' nickname? King John was the fourth son of the popular King Henry II and became monarch in 1199 after the death of his brother Richard ‘The Lionheart’. During his reign, which lasted until his death on 19 October 1216, he famously lost Normandy at the Battle of Bouvines in 1214 and was forced to sign ‘Magna Carta’ at Runnymede in 1215 by a gr...

The Cold War was a period of tension between the capitalist United States of America and the communist Union of Soviet Socialist Republics - and their respective allies - between the period 1945 and 1991. Whilst the conflict never resulted in direct armed conflict between the two Superpowers, it did result in numerous proxy wars and a global struggle for dominance across the face of the globe. Giv...

Does Field Marshal Douglas Haig deserve his reputation? His performance as a wartime leader has been attacked in the 100 years since WW1; the 1960s book 'The Donkeys' and the film 'Oh! What a Lovely War' certainly did him no favours; before 'Blackadder' in the 1980s further scorned his abilities. More recently, Professor Gary Sheffield has labelled him 'controversial', but has defended Haig's perf...

The Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 is widely acknowledged as being the most significant 'flashpoint' of the entire Cold War between the USSR and the USA. The stationing of Missile Delivery Mechanisms on the small Caribbean island just 90 miles from the USA by the USSR caused consternation in the highest echelons of the American government. In the 'Thirteen Days' that followed tense, secretiv...

Lord Durham was a 'larger than life' character of the early 19th century who wholeheartedly supported the passing of the 1832 Great Reform Act in Britain. Six years later in 1838, he was sent to Upper and Lower Canada to find a solution to the political turmoil that had resulted in two separate rebellions against British rule. While Lord Durham's tenure was just 6 months in duration, he compiled a...

The flamboyant and colourful Lord Durham played a significant role in the passing of the 1832 Great Reform Act in Britain; some 6 years later in 1838, he was sent to Upper and Lower Canada to find a solution to the political turmoil that had resulted in two separate rebellions. While Lord Durham's tenure was short, he penned a report in 1839 known as the 'Report on the Affairs of British North Ame...

Versus History welcome you to the very first Podcast Episode from Senior School History Teachers Elliott L. Watson and Patrick O'Shaughnessy. In this introductory episode, the pair discuss the launch of www.versushistory.com and their forthcoming book, 'Versus Empire' - the first from the 'Versus' series, due for publication in 2018. Elliott (@thelibrarian6) and Patrick (@historychappy) are both e...