Historias: The Spanish History Podcast

Cuando en los años ochenta los capos colombianos buscaban ampliar su negocio más allá del continente americano e introducirse en el mercado europeo, en los gallegos encontraron los perfectos socios para trasportar la cocaína, no solo por su condición de marineros innatos, sino también por su experiencia en el contrabando y, sobre todo, por su discreción. En este episodio con Sabrina Laroussi, profesora titular de estudios hispánicos en el Instituto Militar de Virginia, hablamos del origen del tráfico de drogas en el noroeste de España y cómo se fraguó la colaboración entre los cárteles colombianos de Medellín y Cali y los clanes amateurs gallegos. En este contexto, no podemos dejar de hablar de la narcocultura y sus manifestaciones en la televisión, las plataformas digitales de streaming, el cine, y la literatura.

In this episode, we begin by discussing the origins of the Crown of Aragon. Then, we transition into a conversation about the role and treatment of religious minorities in the Late Middle Ages not only in the Crown of Aragon, but across medieval Europe more broadly. Within this broad topic, we focus on the role of royal processions and what they can tell us about religious minorities and their place within medieval societies. Finally, we explore some of the sources, archives, and techniques that historians use to engage with the past, and we hypothesize about where the field might go in the future.

As part of our continuing series on Spain and Morocco, in this episode Eric Calderwood returns to the podcast to discuss his new book On Earth or in Poems: The Many Lives of Al-Andalus and the many ways in which the idea of al-Andalus, the medieval period of Muslim rule in the Iberian Peninsula, has been taken up by groups as varied as Arabs, Berber/Amazigh people, feminists and Palestinians. In the second half of the podcast, we'll listen to clips from three musical works that illustrate how musicians have also been inspired by al-Andalus to imagine various connections across time and space.

In this second part of our two-part series on Equatorial Guinea, we're joined by Michael Ugarte and Benita Sampedro Vizcaya to take a look at the literature of this West African nation, considering everything from European travel writers to European settlers, authors from Equatorial Guinea, and women writers. We pay special attention to the subject of exilic writing and highlight a few of the country's most well-known authors along the way, including Donato Ndongo Bidyogo and María Nsué Angüe.

In this episode, we explore the development of Jewish identities during the Medieval and Early Modern Periods. Amongst other topics, we discuss the origins of Jewish communities in Europe, the creation and impact of Judeoconversos in medieval Iberia, and the development of a unique Jewish civilization and identity during the Early Modern Period.

In this episode, we explore the development of Jewish identities during the Medieval and Early Modern Periods. Amongst other topics, we discuss the origins of Jewish communities in Europe, the creation and impact of Judeoconversos in medieval Iberia, and the development of a unique Jewish civilization and identity during the Early Modern Period.

Como parte de nuestra serie sobre España en África, en este primer episodio de dos episodios bilingües sobre Guinea Ecuatorial, hablamos con el profesor Gonzalo Álvarez Chillida sobre la colonización española en Guinea Ecuatorial. Empezamos con una revista de la geografía y la economía del país y de la historia de los principios de su colonización por varios poderes europeos. A continuación, examinamos los métodos de control colonial utilizados durante la dictadura franquista, el proceso de independencia y la formación de un nuevo régimen dictatorial allí bajo Francisco Macías Nguema.

In this second part of our series on slavery in Spain's colonies in North Africa, we speak with Ali Al Tuma about slavery in the Spanish Sahara. Al Tuma provides an overview of how slavery formed part of the social and economic structures in the Sahara and discusses the Spanish colonial policy towards slavery. He then shares some of the stories he has uncovered of slaves who navigated this complex and dangerous web of owners, traffickers, soldiers and policemen in search of a better life.

En este primero de dos episodios sobre la esclavitud en las colonias españolas en África, hablamos con el profesor Josep Lluís Mateo Dieste sobre la esclavitud en el protectorado español de Marruecos, enfocándonos en Tetuán, la capital. Discutimos las diferencias entre la esclavitud en el mundo árabe y en las Américas, la vida diaria de estas personas esclavizadas en Tetuán y su cultura única. Además, charlamos sobre los esfuerzos del profesor Mateo Dieste para recuperar la memoria de las esclavas domésticas (las tatas) de Tetuán, e incluso escucharemos a un poco de música de la tradición gnawa.

As part of our Historias for BSPHS series, in this episode we interview Katie Harris and Pamela Radcliff, the editors of a new special issue of the Bulletin for Spanish and Portuguese Historical Studies entitled New Currents in Iberian History, about the divisions that they noticed in the field of Iberian history when editing this issue and how recent work is attempting to bridge these gaps. We’ll explore the temporal and spatial boundaries within the field as well as the innovative new approaches that historians are taking to studying questions of race and gender in particular in the Iberian Peninsula and beyond.