• Women’s political publishing 1850-1918

    In the second half of the 19th Century a quiet publishing revolution was taking place. Victorian ladies with education and wealth were able to produce new newspapers, pamphlets and books demanding equal political and legal rights for women. 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 ContentBecome a Patron: pat

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  • The Tories and the Miners 1970-1984

    In 1974 the government of Edward Heath was defeated in an election called to give Heath a mandate against the trade unions. His nemesis was the miners union organiser Arthur Scargill. In 1984 Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher inflicted a crushing defeat on the union movement, a victory long in the planning by the Conservative Government. Explaining History helps you understand the 20th Century through critical conversations and expert interviews. We connect the past to the present. If you enjoy t

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  • The Origins of Mao’s Cultural Revolution

    In 1966 after four years of existing at the margins of the Chinese Communist Party following the disasters of the Great Leap Forward, Mao Zedong returned. He claimed that revisionist and right deviationist elements within the party were derailing the revolution and only the millions of Red Guards and the Chinese workers and peasants could put China back on track to socialism. The result was the catastrophic cultural revolution. Explaining History helps you understand the 20th Century through cri

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  • The Creation of the Red Army

    by early 1918 the Bolshevik’s revolution was in serious danger of being overthrown. Instead of elite troops the new government possessed poorly disciplined Red Guards. By 1921, the army was over three million strong and had defeated its enemies, but at immense political cost to its creator, Leon Trotsky. 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 sh

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  • The Representation of the People Act 1918

    In March 1918 in Britain, Parliament voted to enfranchise property owning women for the first time. This podcast explores the wartime decisions that led to this moment of radical electoral reform. 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 ContentBecome a Patron: patreon.com/explaininghistory▸ Join the Communi

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  • Women’s Political Publishing 1850-1918

    In the second half of the 19th Century, the development of a new and diverse range of magazines, leaflets and books written by educated and wealthy Victorian women for a female audience had a radicalising effect on the women’s movement. The desire for equality before the law led to a pressure for female suffrage and a minor publishing revolution developed in support of these goals. Explaining History helps you understand the 20th Century through critical conversations and expert interviews. We c

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  • Weimar Germany’s Roaring 20s

    Between 1924 and 1929 Germany’s economy and politics seemed to stabilise and recover from the violence, unrest and revolution of the previous four years. A vibrant avante garde culture flourished in Berlin, and the fortunes of the Nazi Party and the Communists slumped as Germans enjoyed prosperity. The recovery proved to be an illusion and politics once again polarised to the extremes of left and right after 1929 and the Wall Street Crash. For more on Germany, you can download my two ebooks here

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  • Lenin’s Red Terror 1918

    How did Lenin manage to assert his control over Russia in the aftermath of the October Revolution? The new Bolshevik Government used hunger and terror to force widespread social and political change within the country, targeting the old bourgeoisie and the aristocracy. This podcast explores the Red Terror, the establishment of the Checka and policy of War Communism.For more help, follow these links: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Explaining-Russian-Revolution-Students-ebook/dp/B00FX18BOS/ref=la_B005ORP

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  • The Provisional Government: Russia 1917

    In March 1917 a provisional government established itself in Russia in the aftermath of the downfall of the Tsar. By October 1917 it had been swept away and Lenin’s Bolshevik Party replaced it. The crises of 1917 and the challenge of sharing power with the Petrograd Soviet overwhelmed the government before they could establish a democratic elected regime. Explaining History helps you understand the 20th Century through critical conversations and expert interviews. We connect the past to the pres

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  • The Heath Government 1970-74

    By the early 1970s a perfect storm of inflation and mounting industrial unrest brought the government of Edward Heath to its knees. His plans to introduce free market economics and politics to Britain were abandoned and he was outmanoeuvred by the National Union of Mineworkers, resulting in the 1974 three day week.This podcast explores the crises that beset Heath and their origins in the Wilson years of the late 1960s. Explaining History helps you understand the 20th Century through critical con

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