Historias: The Spanish History Podcast Historias Podcast

Spanish football (soccer) teams like FC Barcelona and Real Madrid have become household names around the world. But how did Spanish sport become a global phenomenon? In this episode, Andrew McFarland, a professor of history at Indiana University Kokomo, explores the origins of sport as mass entertainment in Spain, from the influence of English footballers to the question of bullfighting as a modern sport. He also links these developments to political and intellectual trends of the time like regenerationism. Finally, we look at the origins of a few of Spain’s most popular football clubs, and even hear about a couple of McFarland’s own favorites.

Whether Rioja, Ribera del Duero or Albariño, Spanish wine has become a major component of the country's image internationally, but this wasn't always the case. In this episode, Karl Trybus, a professor of history at Limestone University, traces the history behind Spain's wines from the nineteenth century to the present day, including the the effects of the oidium and phylloxera epidemics in the country and Spain's efforts to promote its wines abroad, with a special emphasis on its unique sherry and cava wines. Trybus even treats us to a few recommendations of some of his personal favorites to try.

Cuando en los años ochenta los capos colombianos buscaban ampliar su negocio más allá del continente americano e introducirse en el mercado europeo, en los gallegos encontraron los perfectos socios para trasportar la cocaína, no solo por su condición de marineros innatos, sino también por su experiencia en el contrabando y, sobre todo, por su discreción. En este episodio con Sabrina Laroussi, profesora titular de estudios hispánicos en el Instituto Militar de Virginia, hablamos del origen del tráfico de drogas en el noroeste de España y cómo se fraguó la colaboración entre los cárteles colombianos de Medellín y Cali y los clanes amateurs gallegos. En este contexto, no podemos dejar de hablar de la narcocultura y sus manifestaciones en la televisión, las plataformas digitales de streaming, el cine, y la literatura.

In this episode, we begin by discussing the origins of the Crown of Aragon. Then, we transition into a conversation about the role and treatment of religious minorities in the Late Middle Ages not only in the Crown of Aragon, but across medieval Europe more broadly. Within this broad topic, we focus on the role of royal processions and what they can tell us about religious minorities and their place within medieval societies. Finally, we explore some of the sources, archives, and techniques that historians use to engage with the past, and we hypothesize about where the field might go in the future.

As part of our continuing series on Spain and Morocco, in this episode Eric Calderwood returns to the podcast to discuss his new book On Earth or in Poems: The Many Lives of Al-Andalus and the many ways in which the idea of al-Andalus, the medieval period of Muslim rule in the Iberian Peninsula, has been taken up by groups as varied as Arabs, Berber/Amazigh people, feminists and Palestinians. In the second half of the podcast, we'll listen to clips from three musical works that illustrate how musicians have also been inspired by al-Andalus to imagine various connections across time and space.

In this second part of our two-part series on Equatorial Guinea, we're joined by Michael Ugarte and Benita Sampedro Vizcaya to take a look at the literature of this West African nation, considering everything from European travel writers to European settlers, authors from Equatorial Guinea, and women writers. We pay special attention to the subject of exilic writing and highlight a few of the country's most well-known authors along the way, including Donato Ndongo Bidyogo and María Nsué Angüe.