The 7 Best Explaining History Podcast Episodes
1) China and the First World War
During the First World War, nearly a hundred thousand poor Chinese labourers dug British trenches on the western front. Their government hoped that the war would provide opportunities to revise crippl...Show More
2) Intelligence gathering and the First World War
During the four years of the First World War, intelligence gathering from informants, captured soldiers, aerial reconnaissance and signals traffic developed in sophistication. In addition, the methods...Show More
3) The Ottoman Empire and the First World War 1914 (PT1)
Between August and October 1914, the Ottoman Empire attempted to play both sides in the First World War off against the other. The empire pledged to Germany that it would go to war against Russia and ...Show More
4) Japan and the First World War
The outbreak of hostilities in Europe had global consequences and Japan, allied to Britain saw its chance to expand its power in China at the expense of both China and European imperialists in Asia. ...Show More
5) Journalists and the Spanish Civil War
The conflict in Spain attracted writers and correspondents from around the world and excited passions among their readers in Europe and America. Many were openly partisan in favour of the republic and...Show More
6) British Volunteers in the Spanish Civil War
Between 1936 and 1938 nearly 2,000 British men and women travelled in secret to Spain to fight on the side of the Spanish Republic against a nationalist military rebellion. Motivated by fears of a fas...Show More
7) Hitler, Franco and the Spanish Civil War
The election of a left wing Popular Front government in Spain triggered a coup by rebel generals against the Second Spanish Republic. Hitler and Mussolini's intervention in the guise of a massive airl...Show More
8) Are We Already in World War III?
Description:In this episode, Nick explores a question currently weighing on the minds of historians and observers alike: are we witnessing the opening stages of a third global conflict? Drawing on the...Show More
9) Iran, the Straits of Hormuz, and the Graveyard of Navies
It's been a few days since we last looked at the Persian Gulf crisis, and events are racing forward at such a pace that the only sensible approach is to take a step back and examine the deeper pattern...Show More
10) The Oscars and the Making of Hollywood
In this special episode of the Explaining History Podcast, recorded just days before the 2026 Academy Awards, we're joined by film and media historian Monica Sandler of Ball State University to explor...Show More