Aspects of History
The editor of Aspects of History, Ollie Webb-Carter, interviews historians and authors on the past - from the ancient world right up to the modern day. In each episode, Ollie seeks to get to the bottom of a story or scrutinise a figure from history. There are bonus episodes too, from current events and anniversaries to the Aspects of History Film Club.
76
The Spice Race with Roger Crowley
On the 20th September 1519 Ferdinand Magellan set sail for the Moluccas, the collection of islands containing nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon that promised vast wealth for those who could trade.
37 min
77
D-Day: Operation Overlord with Gordon Corrigan ...
On the 6th June 1944 the Allies landed on the beaches of Normandy in the battle to free occupied Europe from the Nazi jackboot.
67 min
78
China & Taiwan with Frank Gardner
China has eyes on Taiwan, and how can we in the West respond? Should we respond?
26 min
79
Traitor Spies with Michael Smith
On the 25th May 1951 Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean defected to Moscow, and so the opening shots were fired in the dismantling of the Cambridge Spy Ring.
42 min
80
Iran & Britain with Ali Ansari
Iran & Britain are old friends, they've had ups and downs, and it's probably fair to say we're going through a difficult patch right now, but who better than Ali Ansari to talk about the historical relationship through much of the 20th century.
56 min
81
William Adams & Shogun with Giles Milton
On the 19th April 1600, after nearly two years at sea, William Adams, one of only nine surviving crew members, made land at modern day Usuki, on the east coast of Japan. He was starving, scurvy ridden and close to death.
30 min
82
Film Club: The Passion of the Christ (2004)
The release of The Passion of the Christ in 2004 caused outrage, fury accusations of antisemitism and even sadomasochism.
46 min
83
Colonial Kenya & the Mau Mau with Nicholas Rankin
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.
56 min
84
Women's Secret Diaries with Sarah Gristwood
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.
30 min
85
The Rise of the Mafia with Louis Ferrante
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.
53 min
86
Film Club: Schindler's List (1993)
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.
75 min
87
Great British Commanders: WW1 Also Rans with Go...
Gordon returns to discuss those WW1 Commanders that lost out to Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig.
68 min
88
Film Club: Bonnie & Clyde (1967)
You've read the story of Jesse James Of 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.
34 min
89
Film Club: Public Enemies (2009)
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?
47 min
90
The Attack on Pearl Harbor with Alan Bardos
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.
35 min
91
Shogun: 17th Century Japan with Frederik Cryns
32 min
92
The History of Ballet with Lucy Ashe
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.
43 min
93
Napoleon Bonaparte with Louis Sarkozy
Bonaparte: Greatest Frenchman or Corsican Ogre? Progressive or reactionary?
54 min
94
The War in Ukraine with Yaroslav Trofimov
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.
45 min
95
Great British Commanders: WW2 Also Rans with Go...
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.
52 min
96
Masters of The Air & The Allied Bombing Campaig...
The new Apple TV series has arrived, Masters of the Air, written and produced by John Orloff, of Band of Brothers. We discuss the history behind the show with two historians of the Allied Bombing Campaign.
43 min
97
The Princes in the Tower with History with Jack...
42 min
98
Film Club: Conspiracy (2001) - The Wannsee Conf...
72 min
99
Duelling & Rivet Counters with Ben Kane
39 min
100
The Gothic War & Historical Fiction with Simon ...
39 min