Explaining History

Nick Shepley

The Explaining History Podcast, created and hosted by Nick Shepley, offers a comprehensive exploration of 20th-century history through weekly episodes. For over a decade, this podcast has been providing students and history enthusiasts with in-depth analyses of key events, processes, and debates that shaped the modern world.

The podcast covers a wide range of topics within 20th-century history, including:

Major historical events like World Wars I and II, The rise and fall of communism, fascism and imperialism

Political movements and ideologies

Economic developments and crises

Social and cultural changes

Episodes typically run for about 25 minutes, offering concise yet informative discussions on specific subjects. The podcast invites listeners to engage with complex historical topics in manageable segments, making it ideal for students and busy history enthusiasts.

Expert Insights

Nick frequently invites expert guests to contribute their knowledge and perspectives, enriching the podcast with diverse viewpoints and specialized expertise. This approach helps listeners understand the competing debates and interpretations surrounding historical events and processes.

Educational Focus

The podcast is particularly valuable for students, especially those studying A-level history. It offers targeted content aligned with specific curricula, such as the AQA syllabus for Russian history. This educational focus makes it an excellent supplementary resource for formal history studies.

Chronological Approach

While the podcast primarily focuses on the 20th century, it adopts a chronological approach to storytelling. This method allows listeners to follow the progression of events and understand how different historical moments are interconnected

Engaging Presentation

Nick's presentation style combines rigorous historical analysis with an engaging narrative approach. The podcast aims to not only inform but also captivate listeners, making complex historical topics accessible and interesting to a broad audience

By offering this mix of comprehensive content, expert insights, and engaging presentation, the Explaining History Podcast serves as a valuable resource for anyone looking to deepen their understanding of 20th-century history.

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Best episodes

Top 10 Explaining History Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Explaining History episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Explaining History for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Explaining History episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

The Marshall Plan 1947-2

Explaining History

06/23/19 • 24 min

The Marshall Plan was the most successful use of American soft power in the country's history. By offering $13 billion in economic aid to rebuild western Europe, America stabilised half the continent and created new markets for American corporations.

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Artillery and Intelligence: Breaking the deadlock 1918

Explaining History

04/23/19 • 25 min

After three years of fixed positions, trenches and deadlock, the First World War became a conflict of rapid movement again in 1918. This podcast explores how military innovation made this possible, focusing on artillery and intelligence.

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The Crushing of the Spartacists: 1919

Explaining History

06/24/18 • 25 min

In the immediate aftermath of the German revolution, radical forces on the left and right were discontent with the development of a centre left Weimar Government. In January 1919, the army and freikorps violently suppressed the revolutionary movement of the Independent Social Democrats, also known as the Spartacists.

Explaining History is funded through advertising and donations. For more content, journalism and ideas, visit the Explaining History Patreon page here: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=763386

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

Explaining History

02/13/18 • 17 min

A review of Babushka's Journey and a discussion of the field of Gulag memoir literature (listen to the end for details on how to get your free copy).

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Lenin and the founding of the British Communist Party: 1920

Explaining History

11/12/17 • 25 min

The formation of the Communist Party of Great Britain had direct organisational, financial and ideological input from Lenin himself. He saw it as essential to have a political foothold in Britain, following the British decision to intervene against the Bolsheviks in the Russian Civil War.

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Hitler and the creation of the 'Fuhrer State'

Explaining History

09/11/17 • 23 min

The insertion of a highly personalised dictatorship into Germany's previously highly functional bureaucratic state and the gradual erosion of barriers between Fuhrer, state and party led to the growth of institutional chaos in a regime that projected in image of order.

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Black Radical Politics in Inter War Harlem

Explaining History

10/15/16 • 27 min

Harlem was the epicentre of black cultural and intellectual life in the inter war decades. Competing radical nationalist and communist parties struggled with each other to attract members from with black community. Each attempted to address the problems of discrimination and prejudice that black Americans faced.

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The Fall of Budapest

Explaining History

04/20/16 • 25 min

In January 1945 the city of Budapest was surrounded by the Red Army and Hitler's occupying forces made a desperate and futile last stand. The siege of the city by the Red Army is often overshadowed by the subsequent downfall of Berlin, but the consequences for the inhabitants were no less savage.

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India in 1945

Explaining History

01/05/16 • 26 min

In 1945, after the devastation of a long war across Asia, Britain's hold over her Indian empire was greatly weakened. The new Labour Government was notionally committed to Indian independence, but it was the inability of Britain to continue ruling and the development of India as a powerful new military force in the region that made independence an inevitability.

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The coup plots against the Wilson Governments 1964-76

Explaining History

01/28/20 • 25 min

In the mid 1960s a series of plots were considered, with varying degrees of organisation and commitment, to overthrow the Labour governments of Harold Wilson using the army. Even though a coup failed to transpire, the plots showed that deeply reactionary forces in the army, the City of London and the aristocracy were resistant to the modest reforms of the decade and the social change that accompanied mass affluence.

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FAQ

How many episodes does Explaining History have?

Explaining History currently has 779 episodes available.

What topics does Explaining History cover?

The podcast is about Empire, History, Courses, Podcasts, America and Education.

What is the most popular episode on Explaining History?

The episode title 'The British Communist Party, Popular Fronts and Spain 1932-36' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on Explaining History?

The average episode length on Explaining History is 27 minutes.

How often are episodes of Explaining History released?

Episodes of Explaining History are typically released every 3 days, 22 hours.

When was the first episode of Explaining History?

The first episode of Explaining History was released on Dec 11, 2012.

Show more FAQ

Explaining History

Nick Shepley

Expert Insights

Educational Focus

Chronological Approach

Engaging Presentation

Top 10 Explaining History Episodes

FAQ

How many episodes does Explaining History have?

What topics does Explaining History cover?

What is the most popular episode on Explaining History?

What is the average episode length on Explaining History?

How often are episodes of Explaining History released?

When was the first episode of Explaining History?

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