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
Jun 7
677. USA: The Star-Spangled Banner (Part 1)
How did the War of 1812 result in America’s national anthem, the Star Spangled Banner? Who came up with it? And, why does this origin story make the anthem so controversial? Join Dominic and Tom as they launch into the first episode of their Football World Cup special, with the s ... Show More
1h 10m
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