History Rage

Berlin wasn’t blockaded — and that changes everything you think.

Was Berlin really “blockaded” in 1948? Or have we been repeating a Cold War myth for nearly eighty years?

In this explosive episode of History Rage, cultural historian and author Joseph Pearson dismantles one of the most entrenched narratives of the early Cold War. We all know the story: Stalin sealed off West Berlin, starving its people, and the West heroically saved the city through the Berlin Airlift. But what if Berlin was never truly blockaded at all?

Drawing on deep archival research and firsthand accounts from Berliners, Pearson argues that the term “blockade” is historically misleading. While ground and rail access from West Germany was restricted, movement between East and West Berlin continued. Civilians crossed borders. Food flowed in. Even Soviet authorities offered rations. The airlift was real — and extraordinary — but the idea of a city completely sealed off is far more myth than fact.

We explore:
What a “blockade” actually means — and why the word matters
How ordinary Berliners experienced the airlift
The women who built Tegel Airport in just 90 days
The terrifying near-misses that could have sparked World War III
The propaganda war that turned former enemies into allies
Why the Berlin Airlift remains a masterclass in geopolitical brinkmanship

Joseph Pearson, originally from Canada and now based in Berlin, specialises in everyday history — the lived experience behind the headlines. His latest book examines the Berlin Airlift through the eyes of civilians and pilots, revealing a more complex, human and politically charged story.

Guest Details:
Joseph Pearson is a cultural historian and author based in Berlin.
Book: The Airlift: Victories, Myths, and the Berlin Blockade
Buy here: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10120/9781803998220
Follow Joseph on Instagram @writing_joseph

If you care about Cold War history, post-war Germany, the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, or how propaganda shapes memory — this episode will challenge what you thought you knew.

Episode recommendations:
Episode 219 – Giles Milton on Post War Berlin - https://pod.fo/e/2f6bc6
Episode 103 – Katja Hoyer on East Germany - https://pod.fo/e/21793e

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History is human. History is political. And sometimes… history is wrong.
Welcome to History Rage.
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Why history’s greatest Athenian leader may be wildly misunderstood today

Was Pericles really the mastermind behind Athens’ Golden Age — or have historians spent centuries exaggerating his importance?
In this explosive episode of History Rage, acclaimed classicist and Cambridge professor Paul Cartledge tears apart the modern obsession with “Periclean Athens” and argues that ancient democracy was far more complex than the story of one great man. From the origins of democracy and demagogues to the brutal realities of Athenian politics, this is a fascinating deep dive into Ancient Greece, the Peloponnesian War, Sparta, rhetoric, and political power.

Paul explains why Pericles could never have ruled like a dictator, why Athens executed failed politicians, and why modern comparisons between Pericles and modern autocrats completely miss the point. He also explores the cultural mythmaking around the Parthenon, the famous Funeral Oration, and the role of Thucydides in shaping Pericles’ legendary reputation.

The conversation also shines a spotlight on Aspasia of Miletus — often unfairly dismissed as Pericles’ “mistress.” Paul argues passionately that Aspasia was Pericles’ intellectual equal and one of the most misunderstood women in ancient history.

If you love Ancient Greek history, classical civilisation, democracy, Sparta vs Athens, Greek philosophy, or the politics of historical memory, this episode is essential listening.

In this episode:
Was Pericles really responsible for Athens’ Golden Age?
How Athenian democracy actually worked
Why the word “demagogue” changed meaning
The truth about Aspasia of Miletus
Pericles, Sparta and the outbreak of total war
Ancient rhetoric and political persuasion
Why historians still argue about Pericles today

Paul Cartledge’s book:
Pericles: Statesman, Demagogue, Eccentric
Buy through the History Rage Bookshop:
https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10120/9781836392002

See Paul at Chalke History Festival
Paul is speaking at the on Wednesday 24th June.
Tickets available here:
https://www.chalkefestival.com/

Follow Paul Cartledge:
https://www.classics.cam.ac.uk/directory/paul-cartledge

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When history gets reduced to lazy moral takes, it misses the real Cold War truth.

In this episode of History Rage, historian and broadcaster Guy Walters tears into the misunderstandings surrounding Nazi scientists, rocket technology, and one of the most consequential intelligence grabs of the 20th century: the post-war scramble for expertise that became Operation Paperclip.

At the heart of the discussion is the extraordinary story of the V2 rocket programme and the Polish resistance operation that recovered an intact missile from occupied territory during the chaos of 1944. That single recovery effort fed directly into Allied intelligence assessments and helped shape how Britain and the United States understood Germany’s technological leap forward in rocketry.

Guy argues that the real story isn’t about moral purity—it’s about survival in an emerging Cold War. As the Iron Curtain fell, the question wasn’t whether these scientists were compromised. It was who would get them first: the West or the Soviet Union.

From covert recoveries in wartime Poland to the intelligence race over German aerospace expertise, this episode reveals how fragile the balance of power really was in 1945—and how close the Soviets came to dominating early rocket science.

Guy also dismantles the idea that Operation Paperclip was uniquely scandalous. In reality, every major power—US, UK, USSR, and others—was racing to absorb German technical knowledge. The Cold War, he argues, was shaped as much by captured minds as by captured territory.

The discussion explores:
The Polish resistance recovery of a near-intact V2 rocket
Why Allied intelligence needed it so urgently
Whether Nazi rocket science could have changed WWII or only the Cold War
The ethical grey zone of recruiting former Nazi scientists
How figures like Wernher von Braun influenced the space race and beyond

This is not just a story about rockets. It’s about power, pragmatism, and the uncomfortable truth that technological supremacy often comes with moral compromise.
If you think the Cold War was won by ideals alone, this episode will challenge that assumption. If you already suspect history is messier than textbooks suggest, this is a deep dive into exactly how messy it gets.

Buy the book featured in this episode
📘 Stealing Hitler’s Rocket by Guy Walters
👉 https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10120/9781035910854

Follow the guest
Instagram: @guyebwalters
X / other platforms: @GuyWalters

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Tell someone else about the show and spread the Rage

In this episode, history doesn’t behave. It collides with ethics, necessity, and Cold War fear—and leaves us with uncomfortable answers about who really shaped the modern world.
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The Crusades reshaped Europe far beyond Jerusalem — and we’ve forgotten it

For most people, the Crusades begin and end with Jerusalem, Richard the Lionheart and Saladin. But that narrow view hides a far bigger story. In this episode of History Rage, medieval archaeologist Professor Aleks Pluskowski takes aim at the myth that crusading was confined to the eastern Mediterranean — and reveals how crusades transformed northern and eastern Europe in ways that still shape the modern world

Drawing on decades of archaeological research and historical evidence, Aleks explains how the Baltic Crusades were longer, more successful, and ultimately more influential than those in the Levant. From the rise of the Teutonic Order to the foundation of cities like Riga and Tallinn, this conversation exposes a forgotten chapter of European history that fundamentally reshaped societies, borders and identities

You’ll hear why crusading was a papally authorised penitential war, how it expanded beyond Jerusalem to target pagans, heretics and political enemies, and why northern Europe became the Crusades’ most enduring battlefield. Aleks also unpacks the diversity of pre-Christian belief systems in the Baltic, the realities of conquest and settlement, and how crusading ideology became a template for later colonialism and modern nationalist myths

The episode also tackles how the Teutonic Order evolved from a humble hospital in Acre into a powerful military state, why it succeeded where the Levantine Crusader states failed, and how its image was later distorted by 19th-century nationalism and Nazi propaganda. This is not just military history — it’s a story about how Europe learned to dominate, govern and remember its past

If you think you know the Crusades, this episode will make you rethink everything.

Guest: Professor Aleks Pluskowski
Professor of Medieval Archaeology, University of Reading
Aleks Pluskowski is a leading authority on crusading in northern Europe, with extensive fieldwork experience across Poland and the Baltic region. His research focuses on material culture, landscapes of conquest, and the long-term impact of crusading societies.

Book
The Black Cross: The Medieval Baltic Crusades
Buy here: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10120/9780300279061

About History Rage
History Rage is the podcast that hunts down historical myths and kicks them into the long grass. Hosted by Paul Bavill, each episode invites leading historians to vent their fury at what everyone gets wrong about the past — loudly, passionately, and with evidence.

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From exploding kings to civil wars, Britain’s royals were never respectable.

Comedy legend, author and podcast host Charlie Higson joins History Rage to dismantle the myth that today’s monarchy is uniquely scandalous. From William the Conqueror’s warring sons to murderous Plantagenets, abusive Hanoverians and Edward VII’s infamous Parisian “sex chair”, Charlie argues the Royal Family has always been gloriously dysfunctional.

Drawing from his brilliant new book Willy, Willy, Harry, Stee, Charlie takes Paul Bavill on a whirlwind tour through a thousand years of royal chaos, revealing why modern headlines about Harry, Meghan and Prince Andrew are tame compared to the behaviour of their ancestors.

Expect exploding corpses, imprisoned wives, civil wars, royal affairs, fathers and sons at war, and the astonishing truth behind Britain’s longest-running soap opera.

In this episode:
Why William the Conqueror’s family immediately descended into violence
The endless cycle of Plantagenet betrayal and civil war
Why Edward II may have been too normal to be king
The shocking dysfunction of the Georgian monarchy
The real story behind George IV and Queen Caroline
Edward VII’s scandalous private life and surprising political successes
Why the monarchy survives despite centuries of scandal

Charlie also explains why Britain remains fascinated by royalty — and why countries that abolished monarchies still recreate them through celebrity dynasties and political families.

Charlie Higson will be appearing at the Chalke History Festival on Sunday 28th June. Tickets available here:
https://www.chalkefestival.com/

Buy Charlie’s book here:
https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10120/9780008741051

Follow Charlie Higson:
https://x.com/monstroso

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If you enjoy sharp historical debate, outrageous true stories and irreverent takes on Britain’s past, subscribe now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
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