Reader Adviser Ralph Thompson follows the history of the army from its inception as a standing force after the overthrow of the English republic through its increasing professionalisation during the War of the Spanish Succession.
Feb 2021
Annual Digital Lecture 2020: The death of anonymity in the age of identity
The global datafication of economy, society and politics has rendered humans into constellations of datapoints. Technologies measure, monitor, predict and classify to enable personalization in the online and offline worlds alike, and we are increasingly offered bespoke realities: ... Show More
28m 55s
Feb 2021
Cholera! Public health in mid-19th century Britain
The 1848-1849 cholera epidemic in England and Wales was described by a government report as if a ‘foreign army’ had ‘held possession of the country, and slain 53,293 men, women and children’. In the mid-19th century the country faced an epidemic of filth; poorly drained, overcrow ... Show More
40m 27s
Oct 2023
205 - Victory to Defeat: The British Army 1918-40
As some of you may know, I am also a First World War historian, and the academic history of the war can be very different from the public perspective, which dwells on the first two years of the war. Forgetting the victories of 1917 and 1918 is not new; it is something the Britis ... Show More
56m 31s
Feb 2021
Roger R. Reese, "The Imperial Russian Army in Peace, War, and Revolution, 1856-1917" (U Kansas Press, 2019)
Roger Reese’s recent book, The Imperial Russian Army in Peace, War, and Revolution, 1856-1917 (University of Kansas, 2019), takes a deep dive into the internal workings of the Russian army. Focusing particularly on relations between officers and the rank and file, as well as on d ... Show More
1h 2m
Feb 2022
Episode CLXXXIII - Philippics
As the power struggle in Rome continued and generals waged their war on the battlefield, Cicero took to the floors of the senate, confronting Antony with the greatest weapon in his arsenal: the spoken word. He called his speeches the Philippics, and they were influential in turni ... Show More
42m 30s