Dad and Me Love History

This episode starts with one of our best Roman jokes ever! Keep listening for more...

And we find out about the Roman army’s deadliest weapons and coolest tricks that helped make them such an awesome army. And we answer the key question: How did number 2s make the Roman army move faster over long distances – even when they didn’t need to!? All that and more in this awesome episode.

Questions for parents/teachers to ask the kids:

1. Any man between 18 and 46 could be forced to join the army. What type of people did the Roman like best to recruit (make join) the army? Carpenter / fishermen / deer hunters

2. Why would the Roman army move their camp often? The best answers will include two reasons - one reason is smellier than the other!

3. Discipline was harsh. How did the army officers punish soldiers (legionaries)?

4. What was the “testudo” tactic (or formation)?

5. What do you think was the Roman Army’s best tactic or weapon?

6. What’s your favourite Roman joke from this podcast?

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Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and our webpage

Please rate and review us on iTunes or wherever you get podcasts. And share our podcast on social media and recommend it to friends – that's how we'll keep going!

See you next week!

Podcast cover art by Molly Austin

Instrumental music by Bensound

The history of the women’s game – from China to Britain, the US, Australia and Europe.

Released with our recordings from the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, we bring you not only the history but the vibes too – all sprinkled with plenty of dad jokes from James! At the end of today’s episode (after our outro theme song), you’ll hear some World Cup extras, a bonus dad joke from James, and an outtake or two. For a broader angle on football today – from powerchair to amputee – and how we try to make a positive difference, take a look at my webpage and socials for https://www.notyouraverageenglandfan.com/

Our website, where you'll find photos, info about each episode and links to our social media, is https://www.dadandmelovehistory.com/

For mature history lovers: read industry reviews of Dad’s World War II novels, A Chance Kill and The Slightest Chance, at paulletters.com. Available as e-books, as well as in paperback. Dad’s first wartime novel, A Chance Kill, is a love-story/thriller based on real events in Poland, Paris, London and Prague. The Slightest Chance follows the remarkable true story of the only escape from Japanese imprisonment by a Western woman during World War II.

Please rate and review us wherever you get podcasts. And share our podcast on social media and recommend it to friends – that's how we'll keep going. We will bring you episodes throughout the year, so stay subscribed on your podcast app!

Podcast cover art by Molly Austin

All instrumental music is from https://filmmusic.io and composed by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com) License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Sound effects used under RemArc Licence. Copyright 2023 © BBC

Dad & Me go to MacArthur’s WW2 headquarters to meet a man who knew him

General Douglas MacArthur was one of the greatest generals in history. Join us in this extended episode at MacArthur’s World War II headquarters in Brisbane, Australia, which is now the MacArthur Museum Brisbane. We meet Ron Rees and Paul Douchet, who guide us through MacArthur’s achievements in World War II, the Korean War and in peace-building.

Read industry reviews of Dad’s new World War II Asia-Pacific novel, The Slightest Chance, at paulletters.com – it’s now out on Kindle for US$6.99, and it's available in paperback.

Questions for after you’ve listened:

1. Where was MacArthur when World War 2 began?
2. What are the famous words he said about the Philippines after he escaped to Australia?
3. Where did MacArthur make his World War II headquarters?
4. Was he in charge of all allied forces in the north-east Pacific or the south-west Pacific?
5. The Yalu River is the border between North Korea and which country?
6. In Korea, MacArthur’s troops were cornered by North Korean troops to the north and west and by the sea to the south and east. So he put troops on boats to escape up the coast and then attack the enemy from behind. Where did the boats land?
7. Who nearly caused World War 3?
8. What did MacArthur achieve for Japan after World War 2?

Check out our webpage!

And join us on: Instagram, Twitter and Facebook

Please rate and review us wherever you get podcasts. And share our podcast on social media and recommend it to friends – that's how we'll keep going.

We’ll be back at the start of next month!

Podcast cover art by Molly Austin

Music from https://filmmusic.io: “Militaire Elecronic”; “Showdown”; “On My Way”; “Marty Gots A Plan”. All by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com) License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Sound effects used under RemArc Licence. Copyright 2019 © BBC

We investigate which animals did the most to win a war. We don’t just mean animals that helped a bit – we mean animals who win a war. We don’t give up until we find some amazing animal winners!

And James brings us his best animal Dad Jokes! (Are they still “Dad Jokes” if they’re all James’s jokes?!)

Here are 6 questions to see how well you were listening:

1. What was the main task pigeons did during wars?
2. Name different tasks that dogs did during wars
3. Why were cats useful on naval ships?
4. Which type of animal has been in the most wars?
5. Name two animals that defeated the Romans:
6. Can you explain what “Phyrric victory” means?

Three very useful websites for this episode were Legion Magazine, Live Science and the UK’s Imperial War Museum

Read industry reviews of Dad’s World War II novels, A Chance Kill and The Slightest Chance, at paulletters.com. Available on Kindle, as well as in paperback. Dad’s first wartime novel, A Chance Kill, is a love-story/thriller based on real events in Poland, Paris, London and Prague. The Slightest Chance follows the remarkable true story of the only escape from Japanese imprisonment by a Western woman during World War II.

Please rate and review us wherever you get podcasts. And share our podcast on social media and recommend it to friends – that's how we'll keep going.

We’ll be back on the first Monday of next month!

Podcast cover art by Molly Austin

All music is from https://filmmusic.io and composed by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com) License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Sound effects used under RemArc Licence. Copyright 2021 © BBC

Ahead of the para events at Tokyo 2020 (in 2021), we investigate the history of the Paralympic Games. Our special Paralympian guest is two-time swimming medalist Peter Hill. Long before it became a Paralympic sport, Peter was also involved in the early development of murderball (yes, that’s a real sport), and he’s dabbled in many more para-sports.

How are some questions for after you listen to today’s episode:

1. What’s my favourite Paralympic sport?
2. What does the Greek word “para” mean?
3. What was the name of the UK hospital which used sports to try to help injured people after World War II?
4. And what was the name of the Jewish-German doctor who ran the program at that hospital?
5. What happened on 29 July 1948, the same day as the London 1948 Olympic Games began?
6. When did the first Winter Paralympic Games happen?

Read industry reviews of Dad’s World War II novels, A Chance Kill and The Slightest Chance, at paulletters.com. Available on Kindle, as well as in paperback. Dad’s first wartime novel, A Chance Kill, is a love-story/thriller based on real events in Poland, Paris, London and Prague. The Slightest Chance follows the remarkable true story of the only escape from Japanese imprisonment by a Western woman during World War II.

Please rate and review us wherever you get podcasts. And share our podcast on social media and recommend it to friends – that's how we'll keep going.

We’ll be back on the first Monday of next month!

Podcast cover art by Molly Austin

All instrumental music is from https://filmmusic.io and composed by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com) License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Sound effects used under RemArc Licence. Copyright 2021 © BBC