The German Democratic Republic was born in the ashes of the Second World War, and described itself as a socialist “workers’ and peasants’ state”. The country struggled for much of the latter half of the 20th century, relying on economic support and political backing from the USSR, until its dissolution in 1990. But what was life like for the average East Ger ... Show More
Yesterday
650. London’s Golden Age: The Mad Life of Dr Johnson (Part 1)
Who was Samuel Johnson, the dominant literary celebrity of 18th century London and the man who wrote the Dictionary? Why did his friendship with James Boswell, a sex and celebrity obsessed, but very talented writer, flourish? And, how does this titanic friendship open a window on ... Show More
1h 5m
Mar 5
649. The Fall of the Incas: The Last Emperor (Part 6)
With the Incan emperor on the run, and the Spanish divided, what atrocities would unfold in the final phase of this brutal conquest? Who would triumph, Francisco Pizarro or his brutal former partner Diego de Almagro? And how would the once mighty Incas, finally fall…? Join Domini ... Show More
1h 12m
Mar 2
648. The Fall of the Incas: Battle for the Sacred City (Part 5)
Three years into the conquest of the Incas, how did the Spaniards respond to the Incan uprising, lead by their puppet emperor Manco? How did the despicable behaviour of Pizarro and his men spark the rebellion? And, how would the terrifying assault of Manco and his Incan warriors, ... Show More
1h 7m
May 2023
WW2: Last Letters of Resistance Fighters
It's 1943, you're part of the French resistance, and you've been sentenced to death. You're allowed to write one last letter before you're shot by the Nazis. Who do you write to? Friends? Family? Fellow comrades? How do you know if they'll even get it?Of the 10,000 or so executio ... Show More
1h 8m
Nov 2020
Paul Jankowski, "All Against All: The Long Winter of 1933 and the Origins of the Second World War" (Harper, 2020)
In his latest monograph, All Against All: The Long Winter of 1933 and The Origins of the Second World War (Harper, 2020), Professor Paul Jankowski (Brandeis University) provides a wide-angled account of a critical period of world history, the interwar years, in which the world tr ... Show More
50m 20s
Apr 2021
Erik Grimmer-Solem, "Learning Empire: Globalization and the German Quest for World Status, 1875-1919" (Cambridge UP, 2019)
The First World War marked the end point of a process of German globalization that began in the 1870s, well before Germany acquired a colonial empire or extensive overseas commercial interests. Structured around the figures of five influential economists who shaped the German pol ... Show More
1h 11m
Mar 2023
The Unlikely WWII B-24 Combat Pilot-Hero, George McGovern
On this episode of Our American Stories, here’s historian extraordinaire Stephen Ambrose to tell us a very unlikely World War II story about George McGovern, the liberal, antiwar Democratic presidential candidate from South Dakota who was soundly defeated by President Nixon in th ... Show More
10m 49s