Episodes
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On a dark night in April 1944 a German general was returning to his villa on the Nazi occupied island of Crete. Suddenly, two men, dressed as Wehrmacht soldiers, emerged from the darkness and stopped the car. The two men were British officers, and together with Cretan resistance fighters, they bundled the general into the back, and drove through Heraklion and 22 checkpoints. So began one of the most audacious operations of World War Two, orchestrated by Patrick Leigh Fermor, autodidact, writer and war hero.
Artemis Cooper, biographer of Paddy, joins to discuss his early life, the operation, his walk through Europe and his writing.
Artemis Cooper Links
Patrick Leigh Fermor: An Adventure
Cairo in the War: 1939-45
Patrick Leigh Fermor Links
3 Books Collection Set (A Time of Gifts, Between the Woods and the Water, The Broken Road)
Abducting a General: The Kreipe Operation and SOE in Crete
Mani: Travels in the Southern Peloponnese
Roumeli: Travels in Northern Greece
Aspects of History Links
Ollie on X
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On the 24th March 1603 at Richmond Palace Elizabeth I died. She had not named a successor, but James VI of Scotland was proclaimed king in London that same day, and he headed south to accede to the English throne. What sort of man was he, and how had his rule in Scotland shaped his character?
Steven Veerapen joins to discuss James, his rule, the union of the crowns of Scotland and England and the new show Mary & George which has been making waves in its depiction of the Stuart court.
Steven Veerapen Links
The Wisest Fool: The Lavish Life of James VI/I
Steven's episode on Elizabeth I
Steven on X
Aspects of History Links
Ollie on X
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The Mau Mau Uprising ran from 1952 to 1960 in a Kenya administered by Britain. The conflict was a brutal one, with atrocities committed by both sides and it remains controversial to this day.
Nicholas Rankin grew up in Kenya from the of 3 to 13, arriving in 1954 and he has written a moving and powerful book that addresses the questions of rebellion and colonialism.
Nicholas Rankin Links
Trapped in History: Kenya, Mau Mau and Me
Telegram from Guernica: The Extraordinary Life of George Steer, War Correspondent
Nicholas on X
Aspects of History Links
Clash of Empires: The Anglo-Ashanti Wars - Aspects of History
Ollie on X
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Sarah Gristwood returns to talk about the secret diary entries of women's diaries, from the 1st January all the way to the 31st December. There are many great names, and some less well-known, but we delve into some heart-breaking, funny, tragic and shocking accounts written with stunning honesty.
Sarah Gristwood Links
Secret Voices: A Year of Women’s Diaries
Sarah on X
Aspects of History Links
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Ollie on X
Get in touch: [email protected]
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This week's guest is a man who has lived about what he writes. Louis Ferrante was a former member of the Gambino crime family, one of the Five Families of New York. He rose up the ranks until he was convicted of crimes and sent to prison where he became a changed man.
He has now written a fantastic first volume of three on the history of the mafia, Borgata, and he chatted with our editor on the rise of the mob from their humble beginnings in Sicily through to the 1930s prohibition in the US.
Louis Ferrante Links
Borgata: Rise of Empire: A History of the American Mafia
Mob Rules: What the Mafia Can Teach the Legitimate Businessman
Louis on X
Aspects of History Links
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Ollie on X
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Steven Spielberg's 1993 masterpiece is hugely influential even today. His adaptation of the Thomas Keneally's Booker Prize winning Schindler's Ark, filmed in black and white, brought the Holocaust to a mass audience.
Joining Ollie to discuss the film are Roger Moorhouse and Tim Hewitt, and they look into the history, the filmmaking process and much more.
Links Discussed
The Forgers: The Forgotten Story of the Holocaust’s Most Audacious Rescue Operation, by Roger Moorhouse
Spielberg interview on the film and girl in the red coat
Ralph Fiennes interview on the bath scene
Ralph Fiennes interview on the SS uniform
Ollie on X
Get in Touch: [email protected]
Roger on X
Tim on X
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On the 2nd September 1942 in Loch Ewe, Scotland, a large convoy of ships carrying food, ammunition, tanks, artillery pieces and materiel set sail for Archangel, Russia. This convoy would be of vital importance to the Soviet troops fighting the Nazis at Stalingrad.
The Germans did all they could to disrupt and destroy the ships of the Royal Navy and Merchant Navy, and many of the green recruits, at sea for the first time, had the freezing weather conditions to deal with as well as the enemy.
John McKay joins to discuss the horrors experienced by the crew members of PQ18.
John McKay Links
Arctic Convoy PQ18: 25 Days That Changed the Course of the War
Ice on Deck
SS Mary Luckenbach explodes
John on X
Ollie Links
Ollie on X
Clash of Empires: The Anglo-Ashanti Wars - Aspects of History
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Gordon returns to discuss those WW1 Commanders that lost out to Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig. Plenty of talent here, and some less so, however we start off with Alanbrooke as he was barely discussed in the previous episode.
The list
Admiral Jellicoe
Admiral Beatty
General Wilson
General Plumer
General Chetwode
General Allenby
Major TE Lawrence
General Maude
Field Marshal Robertson (the Editor's favourite)
Gordon Corrigan Links
Mud, Blood and Poppycock: Britain and the Great War
Douglas Haig: Defeat Into Victory
Ollie Links - Get in Touch
Ollie on X/Twitter
[email protected]
Links Discussed
Spy Masters podcasts - Aspects of History
Are there foxes in South Africa? Get in touch: [email protected]
Great Hatred: The Assassination of Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson MP
Rules Restaurant
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You've read the story of Jesse JamesOf how he lived and died.If you're still in need;Of something to read,Here's the story of Bonnie and Clyde.So wrote Bonnie Parker, partner to Clyde Barrow and the famous couple that attracted fans, headlines, cops and in the end, bullets. Ollie and Tim discuss the iconic film and include the regular categories including Simon Baker Award for Best Performance, and the Argo Award for Most Inaccurate Scene.Links DiscussedBonnie & ClydeBonnie's PoetryThe book to readOllie on XTim on XLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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On the 22nd July 1934 John Dillinger left a movie theatre in Chicago having just enjoyed the Clark Gable film, Manhattan Melodrama. He didn't get far before FBI agents shot him four times - the era of the romantic bank robber was over - or was it? Johnny Depp's portrayal of Dillinger is iconic, even if we think the legacy rating of Public Enemies is low.
Also starring Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard, Jason Clarke, Billy Crudup, Stephen Lang, Branka Katic, Stephen Dorff, David Wenham and James Russo, Tim Hewitt and Ollie think it's a movie overlooked.
Links discussed
Public Enemies
The book on which PE is based
Ollie on X
Tim on X
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We've ignored the suitcase from Sepp Blatter bulging with cash and returned to football's roots to discuss the origins in England, the class system, the rise of the working class and the might Preston North End side of 1888/89 - thought Arsene Wenger did it first with the Invincibles and diet? Well you'd be wrong - it was PNE under William Sudell.
We also look at public (private) schools - click here for the rules of Harrow Football (still played today), transport, technology and the two world wars, plus a rant about VAR.
Gavin Mortimer Links
A History of Football in 100 Objects
Gavin's latest book, 2SAS
Gavin on X
Ollie Links
Growing Up with Delia Burgess
Ollie on X
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Early on the morning of 7th December 1941, Japanese fighters, dive bombers and torpedo planes descended on the port of Pearl Harbor, the headquarters of the American Pacific Fleet. Within minutes the balance of power had changed, and four days later Hitler declared war on the US.
Alan Bardos joins to discuss the attack, the intelligence failures leading up to it, Japanese and American antagonism beforehand and Taranto, the template the Japanese followed in their plans.
Alan Bardos Links
Rising Tide
Why did Japan attack Pearl Harbor? - Aspects of History
USS Arizona goes down
Alan on X
The Kappillan of Malta, by Nicholas Monsarrat
Ollie Links
Ollie on X
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We discuss medieval Japan in today's episode, in preparation for the new TV show, Shogun. Professor of Japanese History Frederik Cryns joins to discuss the practice of suicide - Seppuku, the clash of cultures as Japan was visited by Portuguese merchants, Jesuits and in 1600, the first Brit: William Adams.
Links Discussed
Shogun
In the Service of the Shogun: The Real Story of William Adams, by Frederik Cryns
Seppuku
Ollie on X
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In May 1940 the Sadler's Wells Ballet Company took the brave, or as some might think foolhardy, decision to go on tour to mainland Europe, several months after the outbreak of World War Two. The result was a hasty retreat from the Netherlands as the Germans invaded.
Lucy Ashe joins to talk about the evolution of Ballet from the royal courts of Europe to Versailles and the Sun King, Louis XIV, to the Ballet Russe as the Russians came to dominate. Margot Fonteyne, Ninette de Valois and Rudolf Nureyev all feature.
Lucy Ashe Links
Sleeping Beauties
Clara & Olivia
Documentary on BBC iPlayer: The Magic of Dance
Lucy on X
Lucy on Instagram
Ollie Links
Aspects of History - Annual Subscription under £10
Ollie on X
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Bonaparte: Greatest Frenchman or Corsican Ogre? Progressive or reactionary? Louis Sarkozy, the author of a new book on Napoleon, joins to discuss his image in France, Russia, Prussia and England; attempts to cancel him; and his love of reading.
We at Aspects of History are fascinated by the man who invited both scorn and admiration from Britain, as well as fear and respect throughout Europe. Thousands of books have been written about him, but do we really understand him?
Louis Sarkozy Links
Napoleon's Library
Louis' website
Louis on X
Aspects of History Links
Episode on Ridley Scott's Napoleon
Episode on Napoleon's Invasion of Russia
Ollie on X
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Yaroslav Trofimov is the Foreign Affairs Correspondent of the Wall Street Journal, a native of Ukraine, and the author of Our Enemies Will Vanish. He joins to talk about the war and the ramifications of the conflict in a geo-political sense. With the war now entering it's third year, and with no end in sight, how do we see this play out, and what lessons will China and other totalitarian states draw?
This is an existential fight for Ukraine, and Yaroslav brings not only insight, but also a deep understanding to the discussion, in what is a fascinating discussion on the war in Ukraine.
Yaroslav Trofimov Links
Our Enemies Will Vanish
Yaroslav on X
Ollie Webb-Carter Links
Ollie on X
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Antonia Senior joins to discuss her new podcast SpyMasters, from Aspects of History. She and Ollie chat the Cambridge Spies, David Petraeus and the latest spy fiction as she talks about what we can expect.
Links
SpyMasters
David McCloskey
David Petraeus
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Gordon Corrigan, the Major, returns as we go through those commanders from the Second World War that missed out when we settled on Bill Slim. The big names from the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force are here: Montgomery, Alexander, Alanbrooke, Auchinleck, Pound, Cunningham, Harris, Dowding, Parks and Portal. Gordon gives his view, and in particular it's Monty who takes quite a bit of flak. Auchinleck, Harris and Cunningham gain his approval, as does Alexander and Alanbrooke.
Episode Links
Earlier Episodes in the series:
Great British Commanders: Bill Slim
Great British Commanders: Douglas Haig
The Second World War: A Military History, by Gordon Corrigan
Gordon's Substack
Ollie on X/Twitter
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The new Apple TV series has arrived, Masters of the Air, written and produced by John Orloff, of Band of Brothers. It stars Austin Butler (Elvis, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), Barry Keoghan (Saltburn, Top Boy) and Callum Turner (Queen and Country, The Only Living Boy in New York). We discuss the history behind the show with two historians of the Allied Bombing Campaign.
Patrick Bishop is the bestselling author of Bomber Boys and Paul Bingley, historian and author of Bomb Group.
Episode Links
Bomb Group by Paul Bingley
Bomber Boys by Patrick Bishop
Masters of the Air on Apple TV
Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut
The Way to the Stars
Battleground Pod
Documentary on Bomber Command with Ewan McGregor
Debate: The Allied bombing of German cities in World War II was unjustifiable
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The recent Channel Four documentary, The Princes in the Tower: The New Evidence saw historian Philippa Langley and TV personality Judge Rinder examine documents which they believe prove Edward V and Richard Duke of York were not murdered by their uncle Richard III, but were in fact spirited away to mainland Europe. From there they plotted both their return and the overthrow of Henry VII, victor over Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field.
Joining today me in the first of a new series of bonus episodes is Jackson van Uden, the host of the History with Jackson podcast. Jackson chats about this evidence, as well as past episodes on his pod, and then we both talk about what to expect in 2024.
Episode Links
History with Jackson - Jackson's Podcast
History with Jackson site
The Princes in the Tower: David Pilling on 'The New Evidence' - Aspects of History
Channel Four: The Princes in the Tower: The New Evidence
Image of The Princes
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