369 episodes
The History of the Twentieth Century Mark Painter
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- History
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4.8 • 12 Ratings
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A chronicle of the history of the twentieth century, including art, music, popular culture, science, religion, and, of course, politics and war.
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Nazism Unleashed.
When Germany invaded Poland in 1939, it freed the Nazis from having to worry about international opinion. Hitler and his followers could now do as they pleased.
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The Winter War
With the other Great Powers involved in their own wars, Stalin and the USSR are now free to claim the territories Germany granted to their "sphere of influence."
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The Calm Before the Storm
Adolf Hitler wanted to attack in the west immediately after the fall of Poland, but unfavorable weather kept postponing the offensive. Then a copy of the plan fell into Allied hands.
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Winston Is Back!
In the final year before the war began, Winston Churchill's denunciations of Nazi Germany began to seem prescient, but Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain fiercely resisted calls to invite Churchill into the Cabinet until war came. Then Churchill became First Lord of the Admiralty, for the second time in his career.
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Operation Weserübung
Improbably, the nation of Norway finds itself the front line of the Second World War.
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Blood, Toil, Tears, and Sweat
The Allied debacle in Norway sparked a revolt in the British Parliament against the Chamberlain government's conduct of the war.
Customer Reviews
Greatest History Podcast, Ever!
I’ve been listening to this podcast for years, and don’t understand why it’s not the number one history podcast. It is wonderfully research, engagingly told, and has the right balance of depth, side tangent, and gloss for all history enthusiasts. Thank you!
Insightful and witty tour of the last century
Historians of the 20th century will often attempt to describe the pace of change by holding up cultural artifacts - modernist books and art and music . When science gets a mention, the description is often superficial, concentrating on the effect had by cars, planes and nuclear fusion rather than how they work. Any guide to the 20th Century should be scientifically literate. Happily, Mark Painter qualifies, and he's not afraid to get technical. The episode about the Wright Brothers and the development of powered flight is exemplary of this.
That's one of this podcast's strengths. Another is the pacing. Painter approaches his vast subject at a leisurely trot similar to Mike Duncan's survey of Rome. If you want to know the world we inhabit was forged, and you're not in a hurry or a big fan of Kaiser Wilhelm II, this is the podcast for you.
Excellent Podcast
Integrates all aspects of history very well.