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History
Nick Shepley
The Explaining History Podcast has been exploring the 20th Century in weekly chapters for the past 10 years, helping students and enthusiasts engage with the past. With the help of expert guests, your host Nick Shepley navigates competing debates around the key events and processes of the past century.
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Churchill and Greece
When the Nazis' occupation of Greece ended and a gradual withdrawal turned into a desperate retreat from the Red Army, a civil war in Greece began. The British occupied Athens in a bid to restore King George II and prevent a communist takeover, but it proved to be one of Churchill's most controversial initiatives of the war and the beginning of a conflict that would last until 1949. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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26:2413/07/2015
Menachim Begin and Irgun
Towards the end of the Second World War, zionist terrorist Menachem Begin and the paramilitary organisation Irgun instigated their own war against the British authorities in Palestine. They sought to establish a Jewish state there and saw the British as an obstacle to this ambition Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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20:3307/07/2015
Evacuation
Throughout the 1920s and 1930s the British became increasingly aware that they were vulnerable to air attack, especially after the rise of Nazism in 1933. The policy of evacuating children from the inner cities to counter this threat began in 1939, but at considerable physical and emotional cost to the children involved. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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21:4701/07/2015
Hunger, housing and the First Five Year Plan
During Stalin's First Five Year Plan (1928-1932), the Russian population experienced greater material hardship and shortages than at any time since the Russian Civil War. Mass industrialisation led to food and housing shortages, resulting in misery and protest among the urban population. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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23:3423/06/2015
Lyndon Johnson 1963-64
Lyndon Johnson had an antagonistic relationship with the Kennedy brothers but was indispensable to John F Kennedy as a political fixer. Following Kennedy's death he became President of the USA and won a landslide victory a year later. This podcast explores the career, ambitions, struggles and crises of Lyndon Johnson. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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25:5716/06/2015
The Representation of the People Act 1918
In March 1918 in Britain, Parliament voted to enfranchise property owning women for the first time. This podcast explores the wartime decisions that led to this moment of radical electoral reform. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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27:2914/06/2015
Inflation 1916-1923
The massive increase in government spending, borrowing and currency devaluation that occurred during the First World War by all powers led to a global surge in inflation. This growth in prices had major implications for both the combatant powers and the empires they governed Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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24:1108/06/2015
Orde Wingate and Palestine
In 1936 a British Christian Zionist army officer, Orde Wingate, was posted to the British Mandate in Palestine to help quell the Arab revolt. Wingate's passionate support for the Jews in Palestine led to him organising a brutal counter insurgency against the Arabs with the Jewish defence organisation the Hagannah, laying down the tactics later employed by the Israeli Defence Force. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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22:2001/06/2015
Ukraine 1918
As the Tsarist empire collapsed and Russia's new rulers, the Bolsheviks, negotiated with Germany at Brest Litovsk, the most important territory to both powers was Ukraine. The fate of the nation and its wealth of food and mineral resources would decide the outcome of the war for both empires. http://www.mrbsemporium.com Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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25:2427/05/2015
Stalinist Consumerism
In the mid 1930s, the Soviet Union claimed that living standards in the USSR had surpassed those in the capitalist world. For a brief period during the Second Five Year Plan the regime's focus was on creating a consumer culture of department stores and choice for Soviet citizens. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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26:2519/05/2015
Mao's Hundred Flowers Campaign
Between 1956 and 1957 Mao Zedong took the unprecedented step of encouraging criticism amongst the people of the Chinese Communist Party. The deluge of anger and rage towards the party was overwhelming and swiftly inspired a brutal reaction from the dictator and a crack down against dissent. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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20:2314/05/2015
The Berlin Crisis 1961
In 1961, the city of Berlin, divided between East and West since 1945 saw a more permanent division erected. A wall that cut the city in two prevented East Germans from crossing from East to West enticed by the promise of a better life. * Support Explaining History here: please take a moment to look at my project https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/explaining-history and pledge whatever you can - there are some great rewards on offer!) Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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21:5228/04/2015
Britain's Labour Government 1945-51
In 1945, at the end of the Second World War, the Labour Party swept to power on a mandate of social reform. Six years later, despite the creation of an almost universally popular National Health Service, the party was defeated in the 1951 election and spent 13 years in opposition. What explains their success and failure in one term in office? Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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22:3521/04/2015
The Fall of Budapest, 2945
In January 1945 the city of Budapest was surrounded by the Red Army and Hitler's occupying forces made a desperate and futile last stand. The siege of the city by the Red Army is often overshadowed by the subsequent downfall of Berlin, but the consequences for the inhabitants were no less savage. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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25:1720/04/2015
The Bandung Conference
In 1955 one of the most important international conferences of the 20th Century took place in Bandung, Indonesia. The leaders of the recently decolonised nations of Africa and Asia met to forge new economic and diplomatic ties. The conference was the first of a series of meetings of African and Asian nations resistant to colonialism and determined to avoid taking sides in the Cold War. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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23:4201/04/2015
Mao and China's Peasants
In the immediate aftermath of the Chinese Civil War and the seizure of power by the Chinese Communist Party, Mao Zedong began a violent struggle for control of China's countryside. In a bid to develop a rural powerbase for himself and his party, Mao encouraged communities to tear themselves apart in cycles of denunciation and revenge. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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19:4719/03/2015
The Amritsar Massacre
In the immediate aftermath of the First World War, British anxieties over revolutionary tensions in India were high. The action of a lone British general at Amritsar in April 1919 shattered the fragile peace between the colonising British and the colonised Indians, radicalising the independence movement throughout the inter war period. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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22:4811/03/2015
The Congress of Berlin
In 1878 tensions over the Balkans were close to exploding into a major European war. German Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck held a conference in Berlin to resolve the tensions, but the result was simply the postponement of war, not its prevention. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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22:3825/02/2015
The Frankfurt School
In 1922, during the turbulent early years of the Weimar Republic a social research institute was established in Frankfurt. It was set up by Marxist intellectuals and the alumni of the school had a massive impact on 20th Century thought, examining the workings of mass society, consumerism, culture, totalitarianism and the unconscious. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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28:1123/02/2015
The Expulsion of Germans from Eastern Europe 1944-50
One of the biggest forced movements of populations in human history occurred in the final months of the Second World War and long into the post war era. Eastern European countries expelled their German populations and some estimated 12 million people were added to the millions of refugees in Europe at the end of the war. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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22:4719/02/2015
Wilson, Roosevelt and the USSR
Democrat presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt hoped the USSR could become a key part of the post war worlds they were involved in developing. Both men were willing to overlook many of the violent excesses of Lenin's Bolsheviks and later Stalin, assuming that a more liberal and moderate Russia might emerge. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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19:1113/02/2015
The Easter Rising 1916
At the start of the First World War the threat of civil war in Ireland between home rule nationalists and protestant unionists in the north began to recede. Two years later, however, a revolt in Dublin on Easter Monday 1916 against the British was crushed and fifteen of the rebels executed. This podcast explores the causes and consequences of the Easter Rising. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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20:1431/01/2015
Women's Political Publishing 1850-1918
In the second half of the 19th Century, the development of a new and diverse range of magazines, leaflets and books written by educated and wealthy Victorian women for a female audience had a radicalising effect on the women's movement. The desire for equality before the law led to a pressure for female suffrage and a minor publishing revolution developed in support of these goals. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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23:2825/01/2015
The Liberal Government and the First World War
In the first two years of the First World War, British Prime Minister Herbert Asquith was a distant and detached character, leaving major decisions to the War Office, Winston Churchill and Horatio Kitchener. By 1915 two crises, munitions shortages and Gallipoli had resulted in his subordinates political demise and the creation of a coalition government. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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23:2122/01/2015
The Red Summer 1919
In 1919 America experienced a post war explosion of racial violence. Black communities in over 30 cities across the USA were attacked by mobs, angry at the new economic opportunities that had opened up to black people as a result of the First World War. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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19:5714/01/2015
China and the First World War
During the First World War, nearly a hundred thousand poor Chinese labourers dug British trenches on the western front. Their government hoped that the war would provide opportunities to revise crippling treaties imposed on her by Britain and France and claim back territory lost to Germany and Japan. When Chinese hopes were dashed at the Paris Peace Conference, the long term political consequences in China were immense and dominated the next three decades. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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22:4206/01/2015
Mussolini's Cult of Personality
Benito Mussolini dominated Italy for two decades and was able to rule partly because of the relationship he had with the Italian people. To many ordinary Italians he was an immensely popular figure and many viewed him as down to earth and in touch with the lives of Italy's working poor. This podcast explores his cult of personality. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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23:0801/01/2015
The Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference was the last major meeting of the allied powers and took place after the surrender of Germany. The conference was a key event in the development of the Cold War and drew up the conflict's battle grounds in Europe and Asia Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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22:1711/12/2014
The Wannsee Conference
In January 1942 Reinhard Heydrich, Himmler's deputy held a conference at Wannsee in Berlin to order the mass extermination of all of Europe's Jews. This podcast explores the relationship between the conference and the course of the war.For a detailed analysis of this and the Jewish Holocaust, read Julia Routledge's excellent new ebook The Genocidal Century: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Genocidal-Century-Mass-Killing-20th-ebook/dp/B00PCMAV1E/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1415438292&sr=1-1 Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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30:0002/12/2014
Harold Wilson's Government 1964-70
Harold Wilson was Britain's Prime Minister from 1964-1970, a period in which optimistic visions of a new country faltered and faded. By the end of the decade the modern, meritocratic and scientific country that he promised in 1964 had not materialised. This podcast explores Wilson and the challenges he and Britain faced. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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19:5721/11/2014
Europe In 1945
At the end of the Second World War Europe was devastated, starving and in chaos. Millions of refugees and displaced persons were dependent on the United Nations to feed and shelter them. Some of the newly restored governments saw it as an ideal opportunity to expel unwanted ethnic minorities and in parts of the continent, fighting between communist and non communist forces continued. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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22:3818/11/2014
The Yalta Conference
by February 1945 The Soviet Union controlled most of Eastern Europe and outnumbered the Western Allies 3-1. Stalin was in a uniquely powerful bargaining position at the Yalta Conference in the Crimea to shape the post war world and demand concessions from Churchill and Roosevelt. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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22:1111/11/2014
The Tehran Conference
In late 1943 the British, Americans and Soviets met at Tehran to discuss the final stages of the war and what the post war world would look like. Throughout the meeting Churchill's war strategies were steadily undermined by American disagreements and the growing power and confidence of the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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18:0904/11/2014
Leni Riefenstahl
Leni Riefenstahl was Adolf Hitler's favourite film maker and became an increasingly popular member of his inner circle, producing films like Triumph of the Will and Olympia throughout the 1930s. After the war she distanced herself from the Nazis crimes but evidence shows her complicity in them, despite acquittal at the Nuremberg Trials. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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27:5329/10/2014
Prohibition
In 1920 the sale, import and manufacture of alcohol in America was banned and for the next thirteen years the government waged an increasingly fruitless war against smugglers and gangsters to keep America dry. How did a society that cherished libertarian principals and the limited role of the state come to enact such far reaching laws? Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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24:0621/10/2014
The Profumo Scandal
In 1963 John Profumo, Harold Macmillan's Minister for War was forced to resign following an affair with a young call girl Christine Keeler. Even though the scandal was relatively trivial it came to dominate the headlines and defined the modern sex scandal. It revealed far more about the anxieties of Britain in a time of growing prosperity than it did about the private life of a junior minister. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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20:5517/10/2014
The Nazi Soviet Pact
Why did Stalin and Hitler, mortal enemies, sign a non aggression pact in 1939 on the eve of the Second World War? This podcast explores the origins and the consequences of the pact. If you'd like to know more you can check out my ebook Hitler, Stalin and the Destruction of Poland: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hitler-Stalin-Destruction-Poland-Shepley-ebook/dp/B00E0KVDFW Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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20:5510/10/2014
The Washington Naval Conference
In 1921 Britain, America and Japan were among ten powers that met in Washington DC for the world's first ever disarmament conference. The declining power of the British and the rising confidence of Japan in Asia created the conditions for possible future conflict and all three nations positioned themselves to safeguard their interests. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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17:2709/10/2014
The Long Term Causes of the Suez Crisis
In 1956 Britain suffered her greatest post war humiliation with following Colonel Nasser's decision to nationalise the Suez Canal and reclaim it from Britain and France for Egypt. This videocast explores the long term reasons behind this and the foreign policy disaster that cost Anthony Eden his Prime Ministership.(Note: this first appeared on the Explaining History YouTube Channel) Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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16:1017/09/2014
Britain, Russia and the Eastern Question
Throughout the 19th Century Britain felt constantly threatened by and suspicious of Russia. Russian expansionism in the Balkans threatened Britain's ability to access the routes to her Indian Empire and the British were committed to supporting the weakening Ottoman Empire against Russian expansionism. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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20:4515/09/2014
Weimar Germany's Roaring 20s
Between 1924 and 1929 Germany's economy and politics seemed to stabilise and recover from the violence, unrest and revolution of the previous four years. A vibrant avante garde culture flourished in Berlin, and the fortunes of the Nazi Party and the Communists slumped as Germans enjoyed prosperity. The recovery proved to be an illusion and politics once again polarised to the extremes of left and right after 1929 and the Wall Street Crash. For more on Germany, you can download my two ebooks here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reaction-Revolution-Century-Germany-ebook/dp/B00DQT4HYM/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1373383502&sr=1-1and http://www.amazon.co.uk/Explaining-Nazi-Germany-ebook/dp/B00DL1DCZU/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1373383814&sr=1-9 Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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21:2010/09/2014
Oswald Mosley
In 1932 Oswald Mosley formed the British Union of Fascists, basing his new party firstly on Italian Fascism and later German Nazism. Within four years the movement had been broken, partly by anti fascist activism but mainly because it was rejected by the British public, fearful of its association with Nazism. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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26:0601/09/2014
Friedrich Hayek
There are few economists in the 20th Century who have had the effect on politics and economics in the western world that Friedrich Hayek achieved. His central thesis on the size of the state and the threat of dictatorship influenced politicians from the 190s onwards and has shaped the world we inhabit today. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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24:5429/08/2014
The Russian Civil War
Between 1918 and 1921 the Russian Civil War claimed 14 million civilian and military lives. The conflict between the new Bolshevik government and the White counter revolutionaries also saw the fragmentation of the empire, famine and the intervention of Britain, France, America and Japan. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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23:4928/08/2014
Lenin's Red Terror 1918
How did Lenin manage to assert his control over Russia in the aftermath of the October Revolution? The new Bolshevik Government used hunger and terror to force widespread social and political change within the country, targeting the old bourgeoisie and the aristocracy. This podcast explores the Red Terror, the establishment of the Checka and policy of War Communism.For more help, follow these links: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Explaining-Russian-Revolution-Students-ebook/dp/B00FX18BOS/ref=la_B005ORPZFO_1_16?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381871360&sr=1-16http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Communist-Century-Revolution-Series-ebook/dp/B00IN6PY40/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393664105&sr=8-1&keywords=chris+kostov Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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19:2620/08/2014
The Provisional Government: Russia 1917
In March 1917 a provisional government established itself in Russia in the aftermath of the downfall of the Tsar. By October 1917 it had been swept away and Lenin's Bolshevik Party replaced it. The crises of 1917 and the challenge of sharing power with the Petrograd Soviet overwhelmed the government before they could establish a democratic elected regime. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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37:5312/08/2014
The Casablanca Conference
In early 1943 the tide of the Second World War was turning in favour of the allies, following victories in North Africa. At Casablanca the British and the Americans met to discuss their two conflicting views of the future conduct of the war. The British approach triumphed, giving Churchill's strategy the upper hand but it was the beginning of the end of Britain's wartime influence.New Ebook titles: The Communist Century - http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Communist-Century-Revolution-Series-ebook/dp/B00IN6PY40/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393664105&sr=8-1&keywords=chris+kostovGeorge Orwell - http://www.amazon.co.uk/George-Orwell-Explaining-History-Century-ebook/dp/B00HLRW8YQ/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&qid=1388484876&sr=8-18&keywords=julia+routledge Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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17:5416/07/2014
Dien Bien Phu
In 1945 France returned to its former colony in Indochina, determined to re-assert control after humiliation by Japan. The nationalist Vietminh were determined to fight for their independence and nine years later inflicted a catastrophic defeat on France at the long battle of Dien Bien Phu. How was France brought to her knees in Indochina and what were the consequences for France? Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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27:4114/07/2014
Kruschev and the Secret Speech 1956
in 1956 Soviet leader Nikita Kruschev spoke for the first time the 20th Party Congress about the crimes of his predecessor Joseph Stalin. His speech shocked those gathered and had profound consequences for the future of the Soviet regime, this podcast explores why. You can read more about this in our three ebooks on the Soviet Regime and communism: The Communist Century: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Communist-Century-Revolution-Series-ebook/dp/B00IN6PY40/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393664105&sr=8-1&keywords=chris+kostovExplaining the Russian Revolution: A Student's Guide: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Explaining-Russian-Revolution-Students-ebook/dp/B00FX18BOS/ref=la_B005ORPZFO_1_16?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381871360&sr=1-16Stalin, the Five Year Plans and the Gulags: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stalin-five-plans-Gulags-ebook/dp/B00DQUWPYK/ref=sr_1_12?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1373383782&sr=1-12 Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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22:5611/07/2014
Herbert Hoover and the Great Depression
By the end of the First World War Herbert Hoover was a national hero in America for his humanitarian work. A decade later he was engulfed in an economic catastrophe following the Wall Street Crash that would claim his career and reputation. This podcast explores the contradictions and paradoxes of Hoover's character and life.Check out the Explaining History ebook on Hoover and the crash here:http://www.amazon.co.uk/Roaring-Wall-Street-Crash-ebook/dp/B005G4PK8W Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
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24:4210/07/2014