Episode 315 - Questions XV

I talk about what will happen with the podcast next. Send your questions to thehistoryofbyzantium@gmail.com This Sunday the 20th July I will be hosting 3 Zoom calls for Patrons at 1, 5 and 9pm UK time. It looks like I will be doing an AMA on Reddit this weekend too. I’ll post the ... Show More

Mehmed II becomes Sultan in 1451 and immediately makes plans to conquer Constantinople.Period: 1448-53 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. 

John VIII Palaiologos asks the Pope for an Ecumenical Council to reunite the churches. To his surprise the Pontiff says yes and a huge Byzantine contingent travels to Italy.Period: 1425-48 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. 

In this pop quiz, Joe asks me why some historians choose to interpret the past through current-day lenses and the problems that can create for students of history. We then get into a discussion on the role of experts in academic inquiry and see why a narrow focus can lead to some ... Show More

Author and Historian Matt Ehret joins me for a lively discussion from Aristotle's effect on modern bad historians to Aaron Burr's thrice failed attempts to undermine the American Revolution and why we should never, ever let the agents of the British aristocracy run around in the ... Show More

On 7th December, 1941, the Japanese Imperial Navy struck the United States. In an action which killed 2,403 Americans and destroyed 21 US warships and 188 aircraft, they also brought the US into the Second World War. But it may not have been possible without the input of a Britis ... Show More

Few spies have motives as hard to decipher as those of Oleg Penkovsky. Was he a hero, an egotist or a madman? The Spy Who's Tristan Donovan sits down with Jack Basu-Mellish, host of the LSE Cold War Podcast, to discuss Penkovsky’s actions, plus the lessons to learn from the event ... Show More

What abominable mischief and hedonism did the seventeen year old Peter the Great revel in during his strange and remarkable travels through Europe, before truly stepping into the role of Tsar of all the Russias? Did it serve a secret political purpose? What was the outcome of the ... Show More

Paul Revere's Midnight Ride is a legend of the American Revolutionary War - galloping through the Massachusetts' dark to warn Sam Adams, John Hancock and the rest that the British were coming. The next morning, those Patriots in Lexington and Concord were ready for battle. But wh ... Show More

Why was Carlin considered Thatcher's favourite spy? What difference did he really make? And how did he cope when he became an exile?To find out more about Carlin's life and significance, Charlie Higson is joined by Aaron Edwards, the author of 'Agents of Influence: Britain’s Secr ... Show More

In part 2 of a special bonus episode of our Conspiracy series, Rob Attar and Gerald Posner delve deeper into the questions surrounding the assassination of JFK. Who did Lyndon Johnson think was behind the murder? Why do so many people believe in a conspiracy theory? And why is Le ... Show More

On July 13th, 2024, Thomas Crooks attempted to assassinate the former President of the United States. Conspiracy theories surround the would-be assassin. Why was he involved in a BlackRock Advertisement? Was there a second shooter? Was he a Time Traveler trying to stop Donald Tru ... Show More

Who exactly was Agent 355? An alleged member of Washington's infamous Culper Spy Ring, Agent 355 has captured the ideas of espionage aficionados everywhere, just who was 355 and why was she so instrumental in winning the Revolutionary War?Hosted by Katie Charlwood Part of the Air ... Show More