A Flatpack History of Sweden A Flatpack History of Sweden

Welcome to A Flatpack History of Sweden! In this perhaps too long introductory episode, we say hello to our new podcast, explain the format and give a brief lowdown on what we are going to be talking about on our journey through Swedish history!
 
Update: We have just re-released the first 8 episodes of the podcast, so people can enjoy the first episodes with an improved sound quality! We give a longer explanation at the start of the episode.

Surprise! This is our first special episode, breaking the chronological order to talk about an interesting historical object we found in our flat recently. Sweden issued civilian dog tags to all new born citizens for 50 years between 1960 and 2010. But why? We look into it and also have a brief chat about the history of dog tags in general. 

We kick off our podcast with a look at how Sweden physically formed after the last ice age. We meet the first people to move in after this change and see how they lived during the Paleolithic and Mesolithic Ages. Expect Mammoths, hunter-gatherers and a very special lady - Bäckaskogskvinnan! 
 
Please do follow us on Twitter on too! @FlatpackSweden 

We're taking a break from our usual chronological journey and instead visit a historical site in our own home. In what could be seen as part two of our special episode about dog tags, we continue to look at Sweden's preparations for war in the 20th century. Just like with the dog tags, we found that we're living with a reminder of history, namely a bomb shelter in our own basement! We go to have a look and explore the background as to why there were so many shelters built in Sweden. 

We continue investigating the Stone Age in Sweden, this time focusing on the Neolithic period. We find out how farming was developed, why so much fire was involved and touch on the amazing graves and burial chambers we will focus on more next time around.
Please do follow us on Twitter on @FlatpackSweden and give us a like and a follow on Facebook too! 
 
 

Surprise! It's not time for a regular episode this week, but instead we're bringing you an extra special episode. Back in April we had the pleasure of giving a talk at the Intelligent Speech Conference 2021. This is the recording of said talk, plus a brand new intro and outro that we've recorded specially. 
In our talk we look at how and why Sweden, unlike all of its neighbours, escaped invasion during the Second World War. We discover how one natural resource can make all the difference, and how the decisions of a few politicians on one fateful weekend echoed throughout history. Last but not least, we have a quick look at how Sweden was affected by the war, even though it wasn't invaded. Beware of accidental bombings!