• Cold War assumptions and the beginning of the  Korean War

    Mao, StalinStalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (18 December 1878 – 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician, dictator and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. Read More, Truman and MacArthur’s calculations, along with the ambitions of Kim Il Sung and Syngman Rhee turned Korea from a Cold War sideshow into the first hot war of the long Cold War age. Explaining History helps you understand the 20th Century through critical conversations and expert interviews. We connect the past to the present. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and share. ▸ Support the Show…

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  • Woodrow Wilson and the founding of the League of Nations

    In the aftermath of the First World War, utopian visions of a future world without war informed a generation of diplomats, politicians and peace makers. The horrors of the First World War meant that this vision had become an urgent necessity. Explaining History helps you understand the 20th Century through critical conversations and expert interviews. We connect the past to the present. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and share. ▸ Support the Show & Get Exclusive Content Become a Patron: patreon.com/explaininghistory ▸ Join the Community & Continue the Conversation Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/ExplainingHistoryPodcast Substack: theexplaininghistorypodcast.substack.com ▸ Read Articles &…

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  • American Volunteers and the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War

    When US volunteers from the International Brigade returned to America after two years of bloodshed and slaughter in Spain, they received a frosty welcome from a suspicious FBI and police. Much of the American public knew very little about the war and understood nothing of what was at stake. Explaining History helps you understand the 20th Century through critical conversations and expert interviews. We connect the past to the present. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and share. ▸ Support the Show & Get Exclusive Content Become a Patron: patreon.com/explaininghistory ▸ Join the Community & Continue the Conversation Facebook…

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  • Barbarossa Part Three: The USSR and the Invasion

    This is the third part of a series on Operation Barbarossa, the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union. This podcast focuses on the views and beliefs of attackers, defenders and the citizens caught in the middle. Explaining History helps you understand the 20th Century through critical conversations and expert interviews. We connect the past to the present. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and share. ▸ Support the Show & Get Exclusive Content Become a Patron: patreon.com/explaininghistory ▸ Join the Community & Continue the Conversation Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/ExplainingHistoryPodcast Substack: theexplaininghistorypodcast.substack.com ▸ Read Articles & Go Deeper Website: explaininghistory.org Hosted…

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  • Truman and the Taft Hartley Act 1947

    This is the second podcast on labour relations and the Truman Presidency. In 1947, Congress took up the baton of anti union legislation, just as the president was having second thoughts. The Taft Hartley Act was the most significant anti union legislation of the post war era and rolled back many of organised labour’s achievements during the New DealThe New Deal Full Description:A comprehensive series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It represented a fundamental shift in the US government’s philosophy, moving from a passive observer to an active manager of…

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  • Roosevelt, Churchill and Lend Lease

    Following Roosevelt’s election victory in November 1940, the news that Britain faced certain bankruptcy in dollar terms presented the president with the first major challenge of his new term. The lend lease agreement, signed in March 1941 was the solution. Explaining History helps you understand the 20th Century through critical conversations and expert interviews. We connect the past to the present. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and share. ▸ Support the Show & Get Exclusive Content Become a Patron: patreon.com/explaininghistory ▸ Join the Community & Continue the Conversation Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/ExplainingHistoryPodcast Substack: theexplaininghistorypodcast.substack.com ▸ Read Articles & Go…

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  • War Correspondents and Operation Barbarossa 1941

    Hitler’s invasion of the USSR was the largest land invasion in history, but it was the most under reported theatre of fighting in the entire war. This podcast explores why so little was known about the Russian Front by news audiences in Russia, Britain and America. Explaining History helps you understand the 20th Century through critical conversations and expert interviews. We connect the past to the present. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and share. ▸ Support the Show & Get Exclusive Content Become a Patron: patreon.com/explaininghistory ▸ Join the Community & Continue the Conversation Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/ExplainingHistoryPodcast Substack:…

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  • Stalinist secrecy and paranoia 1928-38

    The internal logic of Stalinism was based around perceived threats, class enemies, overseas conspiracies and an all pervading secrecy. Explaining History helps you understand the 20th Century through critical conversations and expert interviews. We connect the past to the present. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and share. ▸ Support the Show & Get Exclusive Content Become a Patron: patreon.com/explaininghistory ▸ Join the Community & Continue the Conversation Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/ExplainingHistoryPodcast Substack: theexplaininghistorypodcast.substack.com ▸ Read Articles & Go Deeper Website: explaininghistory.org Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  • Nixon, Reagan and the crisis years of the 1970s

    How did the decline of Richard Nixon and the humiliations heaped upon America in the 1970s lead to the rise in popularity of a once marginal Republican figure, Ronald Reagan? This podcast explores the transition between the two figures in the Republican Party. Explaining History helps you understand the 20th Century through critical conversations and expert interviews. We connect the past to the present. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and share. ▸ Support the Show & Get Exclusive Content Become a Patron: patreon.com/explaininghistory ▸ Join the Community & Continue the Conversation Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/ExplainingHistoryPodcast Substack: theexplaininghistorypodcast.substack.com ▸ Read…

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  • Book Review: Babuska’s Journey: The Dark Road to Stalin’s Wartime Camps by Marcel Krueger

    A review of Babushka’s Journey and a discussion of the field of 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 Perspective:Critically, the Gulag was an economic necessity for the Stalinist system. The…

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