Explaining History

Nick Shepley
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How do we make sense of the modern world? We find the answers in the history of the 20th Century. For over a decade, The Explaining History Podcast has been the guide for curious minds. Host Nick Shepley and expert guests break down the world wars, the Cold War, and the rise and fall of ideologies into concise, 25-minute episodes. This isn't a dry lecture. It's a critical, narrative-driven conversation that connects the past to your present. Perfect for students, history buffs, and anyone who wants to understand how we got here. Hit subscribe and start exploring. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. 3 DAYS AGO

    Social Democracy and the Splintering of the 60s left

    In the post war decades huge strides were made across the world to address the worst aspects of social deprivation using the coordinated power of the state. Often the resulted showed working class communities that those deciding their fate were indifferent as to the actual results. In Tony Judt's penultimate book Ill Fares The Land, he explores the crises of social provision and the fragmentation of the old and the new left of the 1960s on the issues of collectivism and individualism. Go Deeper: Visit our website at www.explaininghistory.org for articles and detailed explorations of the topics discussed. ▸ Join the Conversation: Our community of history enthusiasts discusses episodes, shares ideas, and continues the conversation. Find us on: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ExplainingHistoryPodcast/Substack: https://theexplaininghistorypodcast.substack.com/▸ Support the Podcast: Explaining History is a listener-supported production. Your contribution helps us cover the costs of research and keep these conversations going. You can support the show and get access to exclusive content by becoming a patron. Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/explaininghistory 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.

    24 min

  2. 4 DAYS AGO

    Trump's State Visit 2.0

    This week, two seemingly separate events tell a single, troubling story about Britain's place in the modern world. First, a massive, 100,000-strong far-right rally, supported by American funding, took to the streets of London. Now, Keir Starmer's government is preparing to roll out the red carpet for an unprecedented second state visit for Donald Trump. These are not separate events. They are two acts in the same play. In this episode, Nick Shepley argues that Britain is preparing to advertise its own weakness and vassalage on the world stage. We explore the deep connections between the rise of the externally-funded far-right and the impending arrival of a US President who has built his career on identifying and exploiting the weakest mark. In this analysis, we discuss: The Unprecedented Visit: Why is a British government offering an honour to Donald Trump that no American President in history has ever received before?Trump's Worldview: Understanding Trump's motives not through the lens of traditional diplomacy, but through the brutal logic of a mob-associated property developer looking for the easiest shakedown.The Post-Brexit Reality: How Britain, adrift from its traditional European partners, has become the perfect soft target for American economic and political domination.The Historical Parallel: We look at how great powers in decline often find themselves in these positions of weakness, forced to perform loyalty to a new global hegemon. This isn't a "Special Relationship"; it's a client relationship.A Grim Prediction: Why this visit is set up to be a public humiliation, and why the British government may have no choice but to accept it.▸ Go Deeper: Visit our website at www.explaininghistory.org for articles and detailed explorations of the topics discussed. ▸ Join the Conversation: Our community of history enthusiasts discusses episodes, shares ideas, and continues the conversation. Find us on: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ExplainingHistoryPodcast/Substack: https://theexplaininghistorypodcast.substack.com/▸ Support the Podcast: Explaining History is a listener-supported production. Your contribution helps us cover the costs of research and keep these conversations going. You can support the show and get access to exclusive content by becoming a patron. Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/explaininghistory 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.

    25 min

  3. 4 DAYS AGO

    The Explaining History Podcast

    If you’re new to Explaining History, this short trailer is the perfect introduction to the show. For over a decade, we've been helping listeners understand the 20th Century. Host Nick Shepley and expert guests break down the critical events, ideologies, and conflicts that shaped our modern world. This isn't a dry lecture; it's an engaging, critical conversation that connects the past to the present in concise, 25-minute episodes. Like what you hear? Hit 'Subscribe' or 'Follow' in your podcast app now so you never miss an episode. ▸ 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 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.

    1 min

  4. 11 SEPT

    The creation of the Central African Federation

    In this episode, we explore the creation of the Central African Federation (1953–1963), Britain’s attempt to bind together Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia, and Nyasaland into one semi-autonomous bloc. The federation was sold as a bold experiment in multiracial partnership and economic modernization, but in reality it served white settler interests while tightening imperial control. Drawing on Martin Thomas’s Fight or Flight, we examine why London pursued this policy at a time when decolonization pressures were mounting, how African nationalist movements responded, and why the project ultimately collapsed within a decade. The federation’s rise and fall offers a powerful lens into Britain’s postwar dilemmas: the desire to maintain global influence, the fear of strategic retreat, and the contradictions of empire in an age of independence. Newsflash: You can find everything Explaining History on Substack, join free hereHelp the podcast to continue bringing you history each week If you enjoy the Explaining History podcast and its many years of content and would like to help the show continue, please consider supporting it in the following ways: If you want to go ad-free, you can take out a membership here Or You can support the podcast via Patreon here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    26 min

  5. 10 SEPT

    Anti Communist Hysteria and state legislation in America

    In the late 1940s and early 1950s some of the most extreme anti communist laws were passed at state level, including the death penalty for membership of any seditious organisation and the compulsory registration of subversive parties. None of this legislation was ever actually enacted and much of it was declared unconstitutional by federal judges and counteracted by federal legislation, but it gives us a valuable snapshot of the climate of hysteria and dread in America at the time. Newsflash: You can find everything Explaining History on Substack, join free hereHelp the podcast to continue bringing you history each week If you enjoy the Explaining History podcast and its many years of content and would like to help the show continue, please consider supporting it in the following ways: If you want to go ad-free, you can take out a membership here Or You can support the podcast via Patreon here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    25 min

  6. 9 SEPT

    Iran's White Revolution 1963-77

    During the Second World War Mohammad Reza Pahlavi took to the throne of Iran, placed into power by the British and the Soviets to depose his Nazi backing father. The Shah was able to break from the constitutional limitations upon him in 1953 after the British and Americans overthrew Iran's Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh. A decade later, the Shah began to radically transform Iran socially and economically, but in doing so built up powerful revolutionary tensions. For more on Iran, you can read my latest series of essay here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    27 min

  7. 8 SEPT

    An American retreat from Asia

    A seismic shift in US global strategy appears to be confirmed. In this explosive episode, we dissect the leaked draft of the Pentagon's latest National Defense Strategy, which signals a historic reversal of decades of American foreign policy. We delve into the news that the US is formally de-prioritizing the "deterrence of China" in favor of a new focus on the homeland and the Western Hemisphere. What makes this shift so remarkable is its author: Elbridge Colby, the renowned strategist and author of "The Strategy of Denial," a book literally dedicated to containing Beijing. Has access to real intelligence revealed the futility of the mission? Was the much-hyped "pivot to Asia" always just rhetorical cover for a gradual withdrawal? Is this new doctrine not just an Asian exit, but a full-scale retrenchment from America's role as the global hegemon? Are we witnessing the end of the American Century? Is this a pragmatic acceptance of multipolarity and structural decline, or a dangerous vacuum that other powers will rush to fill? Newsflash: You can find everything Explaining History on Substack, join free hereHelp the podcast to continue bringing you history each week If you enjoy the Explaining History podcast and its many years of content and would like to help the show continue, please consider supporting it in the following ways: If you want to go ad-free, you can take out a membership here Or You can support the podcast via Patreon here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    32 min

  8. 5 SEPT

    Gorbachev's diplomacy 1985-88

    In this episode of Explaining History, we explore Mikhail Gorbachev’s bold diplomatic strategy during the mid-1980s. Between 1985 and 1988, Gorbachev sought to end the crippling arms race with the United States and ease the immense economic burden of Cold War militarisation on the Soviet Union. We examine the key moments of his diplomacy: the Geneva and Reykjavik summits, his pursuit of arms reduction agreements with President Reagan, and the wider goal of redirecting Soviet resources away from military expenditure and towards much-needed economic reform. By reassessing both superpowers’ assumptions about security, Gorbachev challenged decades of Cold War orthodoxy. But his reforms also carried risks, provoking resistance from hardliners at home and raising questions about the future of the Soviet empire. Join us as we unpack how Gorbachev’s efforts to reduce the arms spending burden helped reshape the Cold War, and how his diplomacy set in motion forces that he could neither fully control nor contain. Newsflash: You can find everything Explaining History on Substack, join free hereHelp the podcast to continue bringing you history each week If you enjoy the Explaining History podcast and its many years of content and would like to help the show continue, please consider supporting it in the following ways: If you want to go ad-free, you can take out a membership here Or You can support the podcast via Patreon here Or you can just say some nice things about it here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    25 min
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Trailer

About

How do we make sense of the modern world? We find the answers in the history of the 20th Century. For over a decade, The Explaining History Podcast has been the guide for curious minds. Host Nick Shepley and expert guests break down the world wars, the Cold War, and the rise and fall of ideologies into concise, 25-minute episodes. This isn't a dry lecture. It's a critical, narrative-driven conversation that connects the past to your present. Perfect for students, history buffs, and anyone who wants to understand how we got here. Hit subscribe and start exploring. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    Nick Shepley
  • Years Active
    2012 - 2025
  • Episodes
    833
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Nick Shepley
  • Show Website
    Explaining History

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