Subject to Change
Russell Hogg
A lot of history episodes and a lot of film episodes. A few other subjects in between!
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Top 10 Subject to Change Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Subject to Change episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Subject to Change 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 Subject to Change episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Sharp and Sumner: 6 Japanese movies
Subject to Change
05/03/23 • 82 min
Jasper Sharp is probably the UK's leading expert on Japanese film and he joined me on the show today with Scott Sumner. Scott has a famous economics blog that has a side line in movie reviews. The pair of them were on really good form discussing a list of six movies that Jasper came up with. I think that even people unfamiliar with Japanese film should have fun!
The films we discussed were:
Equinox Flower
The Ballad of Narayama
Hanagatami
Branded to Kill
Ghost in the Shell 2
Giants and Toys
08/23/24 • 84 min
Delighted to have Professor Ed Watts back on the show. This time he is talking about the 4th Crusade which turned into one of history's great catastrophes. People give many possible dates for the fall of the Roman Empire and Ed argues persuasively for 1204 when the crusade reaches its heartbreaking climax.
11/06/22 • 59 min
Anna Keay's book The Restless Republic is just brilliant. It covers the period following the execution of Charles I when Britain became a republic. It is fascinating to see how the period (and the characters) mix revolutionary ideas with deep traditionalism. Anna approaches the subject by telling the stories of a number of people - men, women, powerful and powerless - who illuminate the times. And she is brilliant at using these stories to tell the history of the Republic itself as it struggles to define itself. The Restless Republic has been nominated for the 2022 Bailie Gifford Prize for non fiction. Anna is a really engaging speaker and it was a huge pleasure to be able to talk to her about some of the extraordinary characters and events from her book.
The Death of Alexander Pt 1 - Chaos unfolds
Subject to Change
10/04/22 • 58 min
Tristan Hughes has writen a brilliant book about the years immediately following the Death of Alexander the Great. As Tristan says, history didn't just stop at Alexander's death and start again when Rome takes on Carthage. And in fact this period is one of the most fascinating and eventful in ancient history. It is also one of the most confusing and I hope this podcast is both entertaining and clarifying!
And check out HistoryHit. When not writing histories Tristan is a presenter with them - probably the most extensive and certainly one of the best online resources for history. Incredibly wide in its range and absolutely top quality.
A nuclear exchange
Subject to Change
08/12/22 • 76 min
I chatted to Battleship Bean and John Schilling about nuclear war. We discussed the wonderful Dr Strangleove and tried to unpick some of the realities of a nuclear war. How powerful are modern weapons? Would they knock out electrical systems world wide? Would such a war result in nuclear winter?
A book I mentioned in the podcast and which I recommend (though Bean is not a fan) is Command and Control by John Schlosser. Bean himself has written several articles on the subject on his excellent blog:
https://www.navalgazing.net/Nuclear-Weapon-Destructiveness
https://www.navalgazing.net/Nuclear-Strategy
https://www.navalgazing.net/Nuclear-Winter
I'm uploading this on the anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing and am very much hoping that that and the bombing of Nagasaki on 9 August is the last we see of these things.
The Last Emperor of Mexico - part 2
Subject to Change
07/31/22 • 53 min
In part 1 of the story Napoleon III persuaded Maximilian and Carlotta to accept the Mexican crown and become emperor and empress of that country. They are greeted with jubilation in Mexico City but there is trouble to come. Edward Shawcross tells the story brilliantly.
Tulip mania - 1630's Holland goes wild
Subject to Change
07/04/22 • 49 min
In the Dutch Republic of the 1630's trading in tulips went mad with bulbs and even parts of a bulb changing hands for astronomical prices. Historian Mike Dash traces the extraordinary story from its beginnings centuries before up to and beyond the inevitable crash. I can't recommend Mike and his books enough. Hard core history and a fantastically accessible reading style. His book Tulipomania is an absolute pleasure.
Firepower with Paul Lockhart
Subject to Change
05/11/22 • 88 min
Paul Lockhart is brilliant on the history of guns (and firepower more widely). He is interested not just in the weapons themselves but how they changed the nature of the nation state itself. Once gunpowder is introduced everything changes. Warfare increasingly becomes something only a powerful state can really afford and a Darwinian competition starts to unfold from the 1500's onwards. Listening to him a lot of developments in history began to make so much more sense to me.
His book Firepower is incredibly readable. It just gallops along. Highly, highly recommended.
Mortal Republic with Edward Watts
Subject to Change
04/12/22 • 73 min
Ed Watts is one of the most engaging writers and speakers on Roman history I have talked to. In this podcast we talk about the fall of the Republic - why and how it happened and who was most to blame. The podcast picks up the themes of his excellent book Mortal Republic which is highly, highly recommended.
Philip Matyszak - author of the ancient world
Subject to Change
07/11/20 • 59 min
Speaking to Philip Matyszak about his books on ancient history and novels.
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FAQ
How many episodes does Subject to Change have?
Subject to Change currently has 84 episodes available.
What topics does Subject to Change cover?
The podcast is about Conversation, Film, Long Form, History, Podcasts, Economics, Education, Arts, Liberal, Tv & Film, Politics and Film Reviews.
What is the most popular episode on Subject to Change?
The episode title 'Anna Keay on the Restless Republic (Britain after the death of Charles I)' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Subject to Change?
The average episode length on Subject to Change is 67 minutes.
How often are episodes of Subject to Change released?
Episodes of Subject to Change are typically released every 19 days, 13 hours.
When was the first episode of Subject to Change?
The first episode of Subject to Change was released on Sep 15, 2018.
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