History Hack

Based on his award winning book, William Sturkey joins us for a poignant and eloquent discussion on African-American history, the Jim Crow South and the Civil Rights Movement, all through the eyes of one Mississippi town. 

It's an exciting time to be an archaeologist working on the Vikings! Cat Jarman and Tom Horne join us to discuss how the field is being blown wide open and why, and what it's revealing about the most famous warlords in history, aside from that they liked raiding and plundering... 

Author, historian and Project Manager at the Australian National Maritime museum, Inger Sheil, joins HH for a lighthearted look at some of the conspiracy theories surrounding the sinking of RMS Titanic. Alina hosts, while Inger and Alex play Titanic Whack-a-mole, and then nominate Luke Daly-Groves to fend off any ensuing madness…

Historian, author, and former Secret Service agent Dan Kaszeta joins Alex and Alina prior to the release of his book Toxic: A History of Nerve Agents from Nazi Germany to Putin's Russia; to discuss the early development of chemical warfare. 

Author Richard Van Emden and Director of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Victoria Wallace, join us to discuss how Britain approached, and still deals with her dead in the wake of the Great War. We learn about the burial of those lost, the commemoration of those who remained missing, why Richard has been adopting old people, and why he spent his university years in care homes. 

Historian, author and broadcaster Tracy Borman joins us to talk about Thomas Cromwell and Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall trilogy. We talk about how true to life her portrayal of the man is, what's "wrong" with it, the Tudors in popular culture, Tracy's new television tribute to Anne Boleyn and we give characters like the Duke of Norfolk and Anne's dad what they've had coming to them... 

Lt. Col Cameron Macnish (Ret.) talks about his personal experiences during Op Granby, the British Army's deployment to the Middle East following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990.

Brace yourselves. 5Live's Aaron Paul, The Football History Boys and Suburban Gooner join Alex, Alina (sort of), the Not-So-Honourable Judge Holmes, the Floppy-haired Klopp lookalike that is that Jonny Dyer and a very enthusiastic Villa fan to play Historical Fantasy Football. In nigh on two hours, we make fun of Steve Bruce's head, talk about some of the best players that the world has ever seen, runaway chickens, the benefits of a complimentary Lincolnshire sausage and Finland's greatest export. And basically get nowhere. 

As part of a new History Hack Oral History Initiative, Peter Hart and Gary Bain join Alex and Alina to present a workshop on the subject using Great War sources. Somewhere, amongst an unnatural amount of references to Richard Van Emden and the general, utter chaos that follows Pete like one of Gary's dog's farts, we talk about how to get the best out of an interview subject, how to analyse sources effectively, and how it can enhance your research. 

Alina talks about the first mass transport to the infamous concentration camp in June 1940, and why it's important not to forget all groups persecuted by the Nazi's, and not to make assumptions about the people who lived nearby.