Explaining History
Nick Shepley
The Explaining History Podcast, created and hosted by Nick Shepley, offers a comprehensive exploration of 20th-century history through weekly episodes. For over a decade, this podcast has been providing students and history enthusiasts with in-depth analyses of key events, processes, and debates that shaped the modern world.The podcast covers a wide range of topics within 20th-century history, including:- Major historical events like World Wars I and II, The rise and fall of communism, fascism and imperialism- Political movements and ideologies- Economic developments and crises- Social and cultural changesEpisodes typically run for about 25 minutes, offering concise yet informative discussions on specific subjects. The podcast invites listeners to engage with complex historical topics in manageable segments, making it ideal for students and busy history enthusiasts.Expert InsightsNick frequently invites expert guests to contribute their knowledge and perspectives, enriching the podcast with diverse viewpoints and specialized expertise. This approach helps listeners understand the competing debates and interpretations surrounding historical events and processes.Educational FocusThe podcast is particularly valuable for students, especially those studying A-level history. It offers targeted content aligned with specific curricula, such as the AQA syllabus for Russian history. This educational focus makes it an excellent supplementary resource for formal history studies.Chronological ApproachWhile the podcast primarily focuses on the 20th century, it adopts a chronological approach to storytelling. This method allows listeners to follow the progression of events and understand how different historical moments are interconnectedEngaging PresentationNick's presentation style combines rigorous historical analysis with an engaging narrative approach. The podcast aims to not only inform but also captivate listeners, making complex historical topics accessible and interesting to a broad audienceBy offering this mix of comprehensive content, expert insights, and engaging presentation, the Explaining History Podcast serves as a valuable resource for anyone looking to deepen their understanding of 20th-century history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Sep 15, 2022 • 26min
Tenth Anniversary Special - Myths of the Blitz
This is the tenth anniversary episode of the Explaining History Podcast, thankyou to everyone who has listened to my lo-fi ramblings over the years, I hope you've found it interesting.This week, we explore the complex social relations at the heart of Britain's blitz experience and challenge the myth of a united and stoic people pulling together, the truth, as ever, is far more complex. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sep 6, 2022 • 26min
The Croat Spring 1971
Yugoslavia, a state created in 1919 and recreated from the ashes of war once again in 1945 was a federation of balkan nationalities held together after World War Two by the totalitarian Leninist Josep Tito. The fact that Yugoslavia under his leadership had liberated itself and was not dominated like the rest of Eastern Europe by the Red Army, meant that its Cold War years would be fundamentally different. Yugoslavia was affected by the wave of unrest that afflicted Eastern Europe in 1968, following the crushing of the Prague Spring. The result was the energising of nationalist movements, the most vocal of which was in Croatia, which was eventually crushed by Tito. However, from 1971 to the early 1990s, nationalism, far from being extinguished, became the force that would rip Yugoslavia apart. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Aug 14, 2022 • 26min
Iraq and India - 1941
In 1941, Iraq was a nominally independent country, but still part of the British sphere of influence in the Middle East. Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany saw the growing wave of Arab nationalism in Iraq as a powerful device to place pressure on Britain in the Middle East. As intelligence reports showed that some form of Axis intervention in Iraq was planned, the Commander in Chief of British forces in India, Claude Auchinlek, saw the subcontinent as being particularly vulnerable and argued with London that a task force be prepared from India and sent to Basra to seize control of the country's oil. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Aug 5, 2022 • 26min
The Soviet State and the Peasants (Part Two)
The world of the Soviet peasantry was complex and seemingly contradictory, and did not easily fall into the class stratification that the new Soviet regime believed could define all social categories. The lower to middle peasants, the Serednyaks, who would both work for others and sometimes hire labour themselves presented the regime with a conundrum - were they workers or were they exploiters? The outcome of these questions would determine how this group would be treated by the regime, a fact that would have dire consequences during the era of collectivisation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jul 23, 2022 • 27min
Displaced Persons in Germany -1945
When the Second World War in Europe ended in May 1945, some 40 million people, German and non German were displaced in the four occupied zones of the country alone. This podcast is the first of two recordings that explore the desperate circumstances of former forced workers, prisoners of war, displaced German civilians and camp survivors. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jul 10, 2022 • 28min
The Soviet State and the Peasants
In the decade after the October Revolution the relations between the Soviet government and the peasantry declined as Stalin, Lenin and Trotsky all percieved that a new 'capitalist' peasantry was emerging in the guise of the Kulak class.miCCNvDJ1GzPhPzbYgfS Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jun 28, 2022 • 30min
Stalin and Poland - 1939
This podcast explores Stalin's plans for Poland in the run up to the outbreak of the Second World War, and Neville Chamberlain's flawed diplomacy in the aftermath of the fall of Czechoslovakia. Stalin's secret diplomacy with both the western allies and the Nazis and his determination to see Poland destroyed as a state shaped the events between March and September 1939. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jun 14, 2022 • 43min
Journalism, Propaganda and War - Explaining History special
In this episode we hear from writer Mary McNeil, who discusses her new biography Century's Witness - which examines the life and career of Wallace Carroll, an American journalist and contemporary of William L. Shirer and Edward Murrow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 25, 2022 • 22min
Mobilising the Habsburg Empire: Austria-Hungary and war in 1914
Austria Hungary, a patchwork empire of nationalities, saw a surprising enthusiasm for war in the summer of 1914 from non Austrian subjects. Across the empire, subject peoples who still had loyalties to the empire as a whole volunteered to fight, overwhelming the offices of military recruiters. The Habsburg empire was far more suspicious of its own population than was in any way warranted, but succeeded in squandering the opportunities for greater social harmony through the closure of the Austrian parliament, the Reichsrat. Whilst this had a limited effect in 1914, the need for cooperation and plurality later on in the war would be paramount. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 17, 2022 • 24min
The Nanjing Massacre 1937-38 (Part One)
In the winter of 1937-38, Japan launched an assault of previously unprecedented brutality against a Chinese civilian population in the nationalist capital of Nanjing. Japan's desigs for China and South East Asia rested on being able to break the power of China's Guomindang nationalists, who were more inclined to build alliances with European powers or America. The Japanese invaders wanted China to be reoriented towards Japan as the power that would lead China along with the rest of Asia. A symbolic display of violence and destruction at Nanjing would demonstrate to China that further resistance was futile. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
