What do the histories of currency and monetary policy tell us about societies at large, political structures, and cultures? Ekaterina Pravilova and Rebecca Spang tackle these questions, respectively, in two important books that examine the history of the Russian ruble from the time of Catherine the Great through the Soviet period, and the history of money du ... Show More
Mar 1
Aaron Donaghy, "The Second Cold War: Carter, Reagan, and the Politics of Foreign Policy" (Cambridge UP, 2021)
Towards the end of the Cold War, the last great struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union marked the end of détente, and escalated into the most dangerous phase of the conflict since the Cuban Missile Crisis. Aaron Donaghy examines the complex history of America's l ... Show More
1h 1m
Feb 21
Jeremy Black, "The Short History of Russia: Returning to Another Country" (Amberley, 2026)
The invasion of Ukraine in 2022 began a new episode in history and was surrounded by a miscellany of historical claims. The Short History of Russia: Returning to Another Country (Amberley, 2026) is a succinct, up-to-date guide to the histories on offer about and from Russia, one ... Show More
56m 22s
Feb 19
Denys Gorbach, "The Making and Unmaking of the Ukrainian Working Class: Everyday Politics and Moral Economy in a Post-Soviet City" (Berghahn Books, 2024)
Industrial workers in Ukraine have a complex political lifeworld because their political action aimed at bringing radical social change coexists with a demobilizing stance that condemns all political participation as corrupt. This contradictory attitude to politics defines the ch ... Show More
1h 9m
Dec 2021
Barbara Martin, "Dissident Histories in the Soviet Union: From De-Stalinization to Perestroika" (Bloomsbury, 2019)
In Dissident Histories in the Soviet Union: From De-Stalinization to Perestroika (Bloomsbury,, 2019), Barbara Martin traces the careers of four prominent figures: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Roy Medvedev, Aleksandr Nekrich and Anton Antonov-Ovseenko. Based on extensive archival resea ... Show More
1h 1m
Dec 2023
The Rise & Fall of Political Parties
<p>The two party division of the US political system is as evident as ever as we warm up to the 2024 elections. But where does this state of affairs come from?</p><br><p>Don speaks to Michael Barone, political analyst, historian and journalist, to find out more about the history ... Show More
45m 8s
Mar 2024
The French Revolution, Part 1 of 2
During the late 18th Century, a series of political, social, cultural, and economic issues reached breaking point, exploding in what is now known as the French Revolution. This unprecedented event affected not just France, but the rest of the world - reinventing centuries-old app ... Show More
52m 1s