Explaining History  By  cover art

Explaining History

By: Nick Shepley
  • Summary

  • The Explaining History Podcast has been exploring the 20th Century in weekly chapters for the past 10 years, helping students and enthusiasts engage with the past. With the help of expert guests, your host Nick Shepley navigates competing debates around the key events and processes of the past century.

    Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Nick Shepley
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Episodes
  • South Africa's Democracy: 30 Years On
    May 16 2024

    Peter Hain was, along with his family, forced to flee South Africa in the late 1960s, at the height of the Apartheid regime's war against its opponents. From exile in London Peter was a pivotal member of the anti Apartheid movement in the 60s, 70s and 80s. In this interview before the publication of his third novel, the Lion Conspiracy, we talk about conservation and the international corruption that fuels poaching across Africa, and the valiant attempts by African rangers to preserve wildlife. We also explore the state of South Africa three decades after the transition to a multiracial democracy and the reasons for a decline in the popularity of the ANC following the corruption of former prime minister Jacob Zuma. A former member of Tony Blair's government and now a member of the House of Lords, Peter has fascinating insights on the nature of the struggle against apartheid and the reasons for the fall of the Pretoria regime.


    You can grab a copy of the Lion Conspiracy here

    Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    37 mins
  • Understanding Nostalgia
    May 11 2024

    Open up your Twitter feed or Facebook page and you're one or two clicks away from a nostalgia meme, they grow like historically illiterate fungi, but nostalgia itself is a more complex and even sometimes problematic phenomenon. In this episode of the Explaining History podcast we hear from Dr Agnes Arnold-Forster, the author of a new history of Nostalgia itself. We explore the first recorded instances of nostalgia in the 17th Century through to its current usage and weaponisation in culture wars. Our shared longings for less complex or worrying times and our fears and misunderstandings about the nature of the past are part of this complex and fluid socially shared emotional and cultural phenomenon.


    You can grab a copy of the book here

    Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    26 mins
  • Understanding David Lloyd George
    May 11 2024

    In today's podcast we're joined by Damian Collins MP, whose new book - Rivals in the Storm -, charts the political career of David Lloyd George, the man credited popularly with winning the First World War. In this episode we explore the radical liberal Chancellor and later Prime Minister whose ability to focus on the key challenges of the war saw him eclipse Herbert Asquith in 1916. We examine his complex relationships with both the Liberal and Conservative Parties and his political downfall in 1923.


    You can hear Damian speak at the Hay Festival on May 28th, tickets are available here.


    You can grab your copy of Rivals in the Storm Here

    Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    37 mins

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