Sean McMeekin discusses his revisionist new history of the Second World War, which places Josef Stalin at the centre of the conflict
Historian Sean McMeekin discusses his revisionist new history of the Second World War, which places Josef Stalin at the centre of the conflict. He shows how the Soviet dictator outmanoeuvred both enemies and allies to secure ... Show More
Today
The hidden history behind Mount Rushmore
Mount Rushmore is one of the most iconic images in US history – but its story is far more complex and controversial than that of a simple sculpture. In this episode, historian Matthew Davis joins Elinor Evans to discuss his latest book, A Biography of a Mountain, which delves int ... Show More
40m 29s
Yesterday
Juana Inés de la Cruz: life of the week
She led “a life that really, in many ways, shouldn't have been possible”. So says historian Paul Gillingham of Juana Inés de la Cruz. This 17th-century polymath and nun challenged a host of social conventions – earning, through her extraordinary books and poems, a place in the pa ... Show More
30m 40s
Jun 2021
Sean McMeekin, "Stalin's War: A New History of World War II" (Basic Books, 2021)
World War II endures in the popular imagination as a heroic struggle between good and evil, with villainous Hitler driving its events. But Hitler was not in power when the conflict erupted in Asia—and he was certainly dead before it ended. His armies did not fight in multiple the ... Show More
1h 15m
Jul 2023
Russia & USA: The 100-Year Cold War
<p>The Cold War was defined by the antagonism between two world superpowers: the United States and the Soviet Union. They relied on proxy wars, espionage, disinformation, assassinations and sabotage to undermine one another as part of a greater ideological battle between Western ... Show More
25m 50s
Oct 2022
Russia Falters in Ukraine: Parallels with WW1
<p>Russia's current conflict in Ukraine was supposed to be a showcase of military prowess, a quick war that solidified her status as a great power. Instead, it has laid bare issues in leadership, training, supply and morale, all of which have crippled the military's operational c ... Show More
30m 7s
Nov 2023
95. The History of Putin's War
Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine on 24th February 2022, but how did we get to this point? After the brutality of the Second World War, Ukraine was completely under the control of Moscow. Then in the 1980s, with Chernobyl as the catalyst, the Ukrainian nationalist movement regained ... Show More
53m 37s
Aug 2023
Alexander Hill, "The War on the Eastern Front: The Soviet Union, 1941-1945 - A Photographic History" (Pen & Sword Military, 2021)
In The War on the Eastern Front: The Soviet Union, 1941-1945 - A Photographic History (Pen & Sword Military, 2021), Professor Alexander Hill has collected photographs from the brutal conflict on the Eastern Front and the extraordinary experience of the soldiers and civilians who ... Show More
50m 16s
May 2020
Adolf Hitler: What makes a malevolent mind?
Adolf Hitler, leader of the Nazi party, dictator in Germany from 1933-1945, initiator of world war II, perpetrator of the Holocaust and widely considered one of the most evil leaders in all of history. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee om ... Show More
56m 15s
Jan 2024
The Life and Death of Vladimir Lenin
<p>Vladimir Lenin died just over 100 years ago, on the 21st of February, 1924. The Russian revolutionary leader fought in no battles, spent much of his time in libraries and was in his 40s before he held high public office. Yet he managed to take over one of the world's largest e ... Show More
36m 46s