We Didn't Start the Fire: The History Podcast

Boris Pasternak's magnum opus, Doctor Zhivago, came out in Italy in 1957 but was banned in his home country of Russia until the 80s! In the meantime, it caused quite the stir with characters you just might have heard of, like Stalin and the CIA. Who knew the CIA had an interest in book publishing?! To learn more about Pasternak, his multiple Olga mistresses, and his relationship with Tolstoy we're...

This is an episode from our friends at History Daily that we think you'll like. It's the story of the 21st of February 1965, when prominent civil rights activist, Malcolm X, was assassinated in Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom. If you like this episode, go and check out their fantastic back catalogue, because on History Daily, they do history, daily. Every weekday host Lindsay Graham (American Scandal...

On the morning of the 25th September, 1957, nine African-American teenagers climbed the steps into Little Rock Central High School, faced by a teaming mass of hostility and hatred. They were hit, shouted at, spat on, and tripped up. Only one of them would eventually graduate from the school; the rest would be driven out by daily aggressions and racial abuse. The experience of the Little Rock Nine...

Four words that bring together Nasser, Eisenhower, Khrushchev and British Prime Minister Anthony Eden for what might be Billy's most difficult lyric to sing. But, what was the Suez crisis all about? And what did it mean for Egypt, Britain, France, Israel, the US and more? Tarek Osman is back on the show to tell us.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s 1956 and Peyton Place is “the extraordinary new novel that lifts the lid off a small New England town”. It includes incest, abortion, adultery and murder and inspired a film and a soap opera. It might be one of the darkest and most intense books we’ve ever heard of and Dr Cara Rodway really wanted to chat about it, so she’s back for a record breaking fourth Fire appearance. Learn more about y...

On April 18th 1956 Hollywood star Grace Kelly married Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, becoming Princess Grace. But did this fairytale have a happy ending? And how did Alfred Hitchcock’s ingenue become royalty in the first place? To find out Tom and Katie are joined by TV Historian, and Professor of Public Engagement with History at the University of Reading, Kate Williams. Learn more about your ad...

From 1953 until 1964 Nikita Khrushchev served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Is there more to this man than just shouting with a shoe in his hand? You bet. Joining Tom and Katie to discuss all things Soviet, is returning expert Dr Natalya Chernyshova.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the 1st of December 1955, a seamstress called Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. We're still talking about it, and her, and the fight she represented, 70 years later; and Chris Wilson from the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC is here to tell us why. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphon...

The streets of 1956 Budapest were aflame with revolution and promise of change. The Hungarian people had had enough of the brutal Soviet regime, and they wanted out. Eastern Europe expert and host of his own wonderful history podcast Eric Halsey returns to the studio for a second time, to talk Katie and Tom through Molotov Cocktails and tank warfare, and to ask the question if flames on the street...

"The essence of sensuality and bodily pleasure." The wonderful Caroline O'Donaghue is back after her Catcher in the Rye debut, and she pretty much sums up Brigitte Bardot in that one sentence. The sweetheart of the 50s and 60s blew minds left, right and centre, and Katie and Tom are digging into why. It's not all glamour and love, though. Brigitte's later life takes a more sinister turn, leaving q...

It's 1955 and the start of a new era. The war is long gone, and the world's moving on. Walt Disney has built the first of what will become a global empire of parks, where, for the first time ever, kids become adults and adults become kids. In this episode, Disney scholar Dr Amy Davis is back for a second time to guide Tom and Katie through a world of imagination, joy and timelessness, and to under...

We've finally reached the King, blues idol, and father of rock 'n roll: Elvis. Elvis historian and author of 'Elvis: Destined to Die Young' Sally Hoedel has spent a lifetime busting the myths that have sprung up about one of the most iconic figures of all time. In a two-parter, Katie and Tom are about to hear the truth behind the glam, the girls, and the gluttony - and it's an extraordinary tale....

Part II. We've finally reached the King, blues idol, and father of rock 'n roll: Elvis. Elvis historian and author of 'Elvis: Destined to Die Young' Sally Hoedel has spent a lifetime busting the myths that have sprung up about one of the most iconic figures of all time. In a two-parter, Katie and Tom are about to hear the truth behind the glam, the girls, and the gluttony - and it's an extraordina...

The charming legend of a 'boy who never grew up,' or a gruesome not-safe-for-kids tale of 'fairy orgies and Lord of the Flies-style violence'? Peter Pan's not just a happy clappy story about a boy in a green cap who can fly, it turns out. Katie and Tom are joined by Peter Pan Director from Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity, Sarah Wolf, to tell them everything she knows about JM Barrie, the Lost...

Davy was a real man born in the late 1700s, but in the 1950s he became a glossy star when Walt Disney brought his life and legend onto America's TV screens. Renowned Disney scholar Dr Amy Davis joins Katie and Tom to introduce them to the King of the Wild Frontier, and the question we're all asking is: can you grin a bear to death..? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

And it's a baseball hat-trick! In 1955, young Billy took to the streets to scream and shout as the Brooklyn Dodgers finally beat the Yankees in the World Series. But who were the Dodgers, and why was this win such a huge deal? Sports nut, ex-player and journalist Josh Chetwynd joins Tom and Katie for the third baseball episode, to take them back to 1950s Brooklyn. Learn more about your ad choices....

In late September 1955, a Porsche Spyder was speeding along Route 466 when it crashed into a small Ford head on. The driver of the Porsche was dead by the time he reached the hospital. He was 24. Who was James Dean, and how did he get to this point? His love of acting, his raw emotion, his tight-lipped father, and the memory of his mother. Our guest this week is Jake Lambert, a comedian, but more...

'What! Einstein?', you say? 'Yuk, physics', you moan? Trust us. This one's a banger. Brain box eccentric and best-selling author David Bodanis is in the studio with Tom and Katie, and he's blowing their brains apart with his best E=MC2 facts and most enthralling Albert crazy-hair Einstein stories. You'll come away with dinner-conversation-worthy nuggets on quantum entanglement, the speed of light,...

You know the tune. You know the beat. That song. It just makes you want to get up and twist. And it clearly made Billy twist, because he's making us do a whole episode about it. Music journalist and author Peter Doggett joins Katie and Tom to dive into the early world of rock 'n roll, and the complex, tragic character of Bill Haley and his Comets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone....

It's here. The big one. We can't believe it either. Katie and Tom are quivering with excitement as they sit down opposite the guy who started this whole thing. The world's best history teacher. The one who's led them on this rollercoaster of Cold War chaos. Because of him, they've learnt about Korea, Nixon, plastic, Marilyn, bombs, musicals. So we want to know: Why Studebaker, Billy? Why all that...

The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was supposed to be France's decisive end to Vietnam's war for independence, the First Indochina War. But instead, it effectively marks the end of European Empire. But how does it go so wrong for France? How are nuclear weapons involved? And why were the same mistakes repeated by the Americans? Historian and podcaster, Dan Snow, is here to help us find out... Learn more...

Welcome to damp cloth utopia! Plastic is coming to save us all and you can even go canoeing without wetting your suit! But what the heck is Dacron? Why is it a miracle fabric? And how is it shaping the fashion disasters of the late 20th century? The expert of all things American, Dr Cara Rodway, is back for a record third time to help us figure it all out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit m...

Have you ever heard of the rock star of conducting? It's Arturo Toscanini of course! This naughty little maestro had a 68 year long career, a slew of spicy love letters, and a near-death mistress experience. So join us and spicy-letter-uncoverer Harvey Sachs as we make our way through Toscanini's life! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Evita! Evita! Evita! Juan Perón was the President of Argentina and founder of the influential Peronist movement. But would he have been anything without his charismatic wife Evita? A surprisingly fun mix of politics and musicals is ahead of us this week on Fire… So join us and historian Natalia Milanesio to learn more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Roy Cohn is the notorious closeted mummy's boy responsible for the Red and Lavender Scares AND potentially the Trump presidency. But why did he use his powers for evil? What was his secret life? And how did he create a president from the grave? To talk us through the walking contradiction that is Roy, we’ve got director of the documentary ‘Where’s my Roy Cohn’, Matt Tyrnauer. Learn more about your...