-
Episode Summary: In the third part of our 2025 Year in Review, Nick shifts the focus to Asia, exploring the dramatic realignment of US-India relations under Donald Trump’s second term. For decades, Washington viewed India as a “natural strategic partner”—a democratic counterweight to China, showered with military aid and technology transfers. But in 2025, that special relationship has collapsed. Drawing on a fascinating analysis by Chinese foreign policy expert Mao Keji, we delve into why Trump has relegated India from “favorite child” to “strategic discard.” Is this just Trumpian transactionalism, or a symptom of deeper American anxiety over its own…
-
Ten years after the death of David Bowie, Nick is joined by author Alexander Larman to discuss his new biography, Lazarus: David Bowie from the Tin Machine to Blackstar. While the 1970s “Ziggy Stardust” era has been endlessly dissected, Larman shines a light on the often-overlooked second half of Bowie’s career. From the artistic wilderness of the late 80s and the critical mauling of Tin Machine to his renaissance in the 90s and the “masterpiece” of his final album Blackstar, we explore the man behind the myths. Was Bowie a chameleon, a charlatan, or a genius trying to rediscover his voice? We discuss his…
-
In this episode of Explaining History, Nick explores how nostalgia has become a toxic force in British politics. Drawing on Liam Stanley’s Britain Alone, we examine how the “Blitz Spirit” and memories of WWII rationing have been cynically weaponized to justify modern austerity. Why do politicians suggest that food insecure families should “learn lessons from the wartime generation”? We unpack the myth that poverty is a moral failing rather than a structural one, and how the “Make Do and Mend” narrative is used to gaslight a population suffering from 15 years of cuts. From the “creative destruction” of the high street to…
-
Episode Summary: In this episode of Explaining History, Nick continues his exploration of 1960s radicalism, focusing on the disconnect between the student-led “New Left” and the American working class. While the counterculture is often remembered through images of campus protests and the SDS, the reality was far more complex. Drawing on Kim McQuaid’s The Anxious Years and Mike Davis’s Set the Night on Fire, we examine why the anti-war movement struggled to build bridges with blue-collar workers who were enjoying unprecedented prosperity. From the “hard hat riots” to the collapse of the Old Left after Khrushchev’s secret speech, we delve into the ideological vacuum…
-
Episode Summary: In this episode of Explaining History, Nick explores the neglected connection between economic austerity and political repression in the early years of Fascist Italy. Drawing on the groundbreaking work of economist Clara Mattei, we delve into how Mussolini’s regime used budget cuts, regressive taxation, and mass layoffs not just to balance the books, but to crush the Italian working class. We examine the “Two Red Years” (Biennio Rosso) that terrified the bourgeoisie and how Fascism was welcomed by liberal elites as a necessary tool to restore order and protect private capital. From the hiking of third-class rail fares to…
-
Episode Summary: In the first episode of 2026, Nick embarks on a year-long exploration of Eric Hobsbawm’s monumental work, The Age of Extremes: The Short Twentieth Century, 1914–1991. We begin by examining Hobsbawm’s premise: that the 20th century was defined by a binary struggle between ideologies that mutually excluded one another—capitalism vs. communism, democracy vs. fascism. But as Nick argues, this Western-centric view often simplifies the complex realities of national liberation struggles in China, Vietnam, and the Global SouthGlobal South Full Description:The Global South is a term that has largely replaced “Third World” to describe the nations of Africa, Latin America, and…
-
Episode Summary: In this episode of Explaining History, Nick takes a deep dive into the grim reality of the Soviet camp system. Drawing on Anne Applebaum’s GulagGulag Full Description:The government agency that administered the vast network of forced labor camps. Far more than just a prison system, it was a central component of the Soviet economy, using slave labor to extract resources from the most inhospitable regions of the country. The Gulag system institutionalized political repression. Millions of “enemies of the people”—ranging from political dissidents and intellectuals to petty criminals—were arrested and transported to camps to work in mining, timber, and construction. Critical…
-
Episode Summary: In this special emergency episode of Explaining History, Nick reacts to the breaking news of US military action in Venezuela. Reports indicate Apache gunships over Caracas and the abduction of President Nicolás Maduro by American forces. We explore the profound historical implications of this event. While Maduro may be a “gangster,” his removal by a foreign power shatters centuries of diplomatic norms dating back to the Treaty of Westphalia. Nick argues that 2026 marks the definitive end of the “Pax Americana” and the rules-based international order established in 1945. From the echoes of the Monroe Doctrine to the collapse…
-
Episode Summary: One day after the shock attack on Caracas, Nick returns with an update on the US intervention in Venezuela. With President Maduro reportedly abducted and Donald Trump promising to “run Venezuela,” we delve into the grim logistics of occupying a nation larger than France. Drawing parallels with the Boer War, Vietnam, and the disastrous invasion of Iraq in 2003, Nick argues that while the US may have the firepower to win a battle, it lacks the numbers, the political will, and the institutional memory to win the peace. Has the Trump administration purged the very experts who would…
-
Episode Summary: In this episode of Explaining History, Nick explores one of the most debated questions in modern history: Was the Russian Revolution inevitable? Moving beyond the simple narrative of “peace, land, and bread,” we delve into the competing schools of historiography that have shaped our understanding of 1917. From the Soviet orthodoxy of historical determinism to the Western liberal view of a Bolshevik coup d’état, and finally to the revisionist and post-revisionist syntheses of scholars like Sheila Fitzpatrick and Orlando Figes. We also examine the structural argument: that revolutions only happen when states cease to function. Was the Tsarist regime…