Explaining History

Episode Summary:
In this episode of Explaining History, Nick explores the agonizing political and strategic choices faced by Great Britain in the 1930s.
Why did the British government delay rearmament for so long? Drawing on Daniel Todman's Britain's War: Into Battle, we examine how the shadow of the First World War and the Great Depression shaped the policy of appeasement. Nick argues that the "caution" of the Baldwin and Chamberlain governments wasn't just cowardice; it was a desperate attempt to avoid the "total war" that would require the complete subordination of freedom and prosperity to the state.
From the technological leap from biplanes to monoplanes to the "imperial overstretch" that left Singapore and Palestine vulnerable, we delve into the global chessboard of the late 30s. How did the need to defend an empire spanning the globe leave Britain dangerously exposed in Europe? And why was the fall of Singapore written into the strategic compromises of the 1920s?
Plus: Details on our upcoming Nazi Germany Masterclass in March!
Key Topics:
The Rearmament Debate: Why a "Churchillian" surge in 1935 might have failed.
Technological Change: The shift from fabric biplanes to the Spitfire and Hurricane.
Imperial Overstretch: The impossible task of defending the UK, the Mediterranean, and the Far East simultaneously.
The Palestine Mandate: How the Arab Revolt of 1936 tied down British troops needed elsewhere.
Books Mentioned:
Britain's War: Into Battle (1937-1941) by Daniel Todman
English History 1914-1945 by A.J.P. Taylor
Forgotten Armies by Christopher Bayly and Tim Harper

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 Content
Become a Patron: patreon.com/explaininghistory
▸ Join the Community & Continue the Conversation
Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/ExplainingHistoryPodcast
Substack: theexplaininghistorypodcast.substack.com
▸ Read Articles & Go Deeper
Website: explaininghistory.org

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this special episode, we are honoured to be joined by Karen Jennings, a former Booker Prize longlist nominee, to discuss her powerful new novel, The First of December.
Set in South Africa during the final days of November 1838, the book explores the fraught moment of full emancipation for the enslaved. We delve into the brutal reality of the "apprenticeship" system that followed the 1833 Abolition Act, the unique Asian roots of Cape slavery under the Dutch East India Company, and the cynical economics of a system where human beings were mortgaged like property.

Karen shares the deeply personal and unsettling family history that inspired the novel—from ancestors who were French Huguenot settlers to a shocking discovery about a colonial forebear. We also discuss the enduring legacy of these injustices, connecting the dashed hopes of 1838 with the ongoing struggles for equality in South Africa today.
It's a profound conversation about history, memory, and why the fight for liberation is never truly "happy ever after."

The First of December will be available in March but here in the meantime is a selection of Karen's writing
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 Content
Become a Patron: patreon.com/explaininghistory
▸ Join the Community & Continue the Conversation
Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/ExplainingHistoryPodcast
Substack: theexplaininghistorypodcast.substack.com
▸ Read Articles & Go Deeper
Website: explaininghistory.org

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Explaining History, Nick dives into the technical and strategic realities of the Battle of Britain. Moving beyond the "few" narrative of heroic fighter pilots, we explore the structural advantages that allowed the RAF to survive the onslaught of the Luftwaffe in the summer of 1940.
Drawing on Richard Overy's The Bombing War, we examine the genius of Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding and his integrated air defense system. How did radar, the Observer Corps, and telephone networks combine to give British pilots a critical edge? And why did the German high command consistently underestimate the resilience of Fighter Command while simultaneously asking too much of its own exhausted pilots?
From the muddle-headed strategy of Hermann Göring to the sheer physical limits of aerial warfare, this episode unpacks why Hitler's plan to knock Britain out of the war was doomed from the start.
Plus: Information on our upcoming Nazi Germany Masterclass in March and how to access the recordings of our previous sessions!
Key Topics:
The Dowding System: How radar and communication saved Britain.
German Intelligence Failures: Why the Luftwaffe underestimated the RAF.
Attrition: The physical and mental exhaustion of pilots on both sides.
Strategic Confusion: Hitler’s lack of focus and Göring’s incompetence.
Books Mentioned:
The Bombing War by Richard Overy
Forgotten Armies by Christopher Bayly and Tim Harper

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 Content
Become a Patron: patreon.com/explaininghistory
▸ Join the Community & Continue the Conversation
Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/ExplainingHistoryPodcast
Substack: theexplaininghistorypodcast.substack.com
▸ Read Articles & Go Deeper
Website: explaininghistory.org

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Here is the complete package for this episode, which includes the podcast description, a detailed blog post, and the tidied transcript.
Part 1: Podcast Episode Description
Title: The Last Aztec Empress: Survival, Conquest, and the Life of Isabel Moctezuma
Episode Summary:
In this episode of Explaining History, Nick talks to author Sofía Robleda about her new historical novel, The Other Moctezuma Girls.
We delve into the extraordinary and often overlooked life of Isabel Moctezuma (born Tecuichpoch), the daughter of the last Aztec Emperor. Surviving the Spanish conquest, the smallpox epidemic, and six marriages, Isabel navigated a world collapsing around her to become one of the wealthiest landowners in New Spain.
Sofía and Nick explore the brutal realities of the conquest, the complex racial hierarchies of colonial Mexico, and the strategic marriages that allowed the Spanish to legitimize their rule. From the role of Malintzin as Cortés' translator to the legacy of the silver mines, this episode uncovers the resilience of indigenous women in the face of imperial destruction.
Key Topics:
Isabel Moctezuma: The "last Aztec Empress" who sued the Spanish crown and won.
The Conquest: How Cortés exploited internal divisions and disease to topple the Mexica empire.
Caste and Colorism: The casta paintings and the racial stratification of colonial Mexico.
Strategic Marriage: How Spanish conquistadors married indigenous nobility to secure land rights.
Books Mentioned:
The Other Moctezuma Girls by Sofía Robleda
Imagined Communities by Benedict Anderson

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 Content
Become a Patron: patreon.com/explaininghistory
▸ Join the Community & Continue the Conversation
Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/ExplainingHistoryPodcast
Substack: theexplaininghistorypodcast.substack.com
▸ Read Articles & Go Deeper
Website: explaininghistory.org

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode Summary:
In this episode of Explaining History, Nick explores the historical processes of anti-colonial struggle in the 20th century and how they illuminate the geopolitical crises of 2026.
We examine the "imperial boomerang"—how the techniques of colonial violence return to the metropole—and the shift from the age of imperial civil war (1914-1945) to the age of imperial decline. Nick discusses the recent, shocking speech by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Munich Security Conference, where he urged European leaders to reclaim their "civilizational confidence" and reject the "global welfare state."
From the Indian National Army to the Viet Minh, we look at how national liberation movements shattered the old empires. Nick argues that the current attempts by the US to reassert hegemony through force—in Venezuela and Nigeria—are doomed to fail against a Global South that has fundamentally changed. Is the West trying to fight 19th-century colonial wars in a 21st-century world?

Key Topics:
The Munich Speech: Marco Rubio’s call for a return to "civilizational" power.
National Liberation: How India and Vietnam broke the British and French empires.
The American Empire: From the "Pax Americana" to the transactional gangster state.
The Global South: Why the new non-aligned world will not submit to neocolonialism.

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 Content
Become a Patron: patreon.com/explaininghistory
▸ Join the Community & Continue the Conversation
Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/ExplainingHistoryPodcast
Substack: theexplaininghistorypodcast.substack.com
▸ Read Articles & Go Deeper
Website: explaininghistory.org

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.