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Episodes

Feb. 22, 2024

Ukraine's Story (Part 10): The Revolution of Dignity/Euromaiden

On the tenth episode of the Ukraine's Story series, we will delve into the events of the Revolution of Dignity (or Euromaidan), which unfolded in late 2013 and early 2014. It was a series of mass protests and demonstrations i...

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Feb. 15, 2024

Frida Kahlo: The Story of a Mexican Icon (with Luis Gomez)

Frida Kahlo was a renowned and iconic Mexican artist, who is celebrated for her emotionally charged and surreal self-portraits that reflect the pain and suffering of her tumultuous life. Overcoming numerous physical and emoti...

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Feb. 14, 2024

Ukraine's Story (Part 9): Independence

On the ninth part of the Ukraine's Story series, we will see how in the 1990s, Ukraine emerged from the shadows of the Soviet Union to reclaim its independence. The pivotal moment came on 24 August 1991, when the Verkhovna …

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Feb. 7, 2024

The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki (with Chris Hoitash)

On this discussion episode, I am joined by Chris Hoitash, an expert in US and European military and political history. In this episode, we discuss the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which were pivotal events during Secon...

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Feb. 7, 2024

Ukraine's Story (Part 8): The Chornobyl Disaster

The Chernobyl disaster (Chornobyl in Ukrainian) stands out as one of the most pivotal events in Ukrainian history. On 26 April 1986, a catastrophic explosion at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant not only resulted in immediate...

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Jan. 31, 2024

Ukraine's Story (Part 7): The Soviet Era

The Soviet era in Ukraine left an indelible mark on the nation, shaping its socio-political landscape over the course of seven decades. From the forced collectivisation of agriculture to the devastating Holodomor famine, Ukra...

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Jan. 30, 2024

The 1973 Chilean Coup (with Teo Rivas)

In 1970, Chile sent shockwaves through the Cold War-ridden world, particularly rattling the White House in Washington DC, as Salvador Allende became the world's first democratically elected Marxist president. Allende promptly...

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Jan. 24, 2024

Ceaușescu's Fall: The Violent End of Romania's Communist Dictator

The fall of Nicolae Ceaușescu, the longtime ruler of Romania, marked a watershed moment in the country's history. In December 1989, widespread public discontent erupted into a full-scale revolution, leading to the overthrow o...

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Jan. 17, 2024

Ukraine's Story (Part 6): The Ukrainian People's Republic

Did you know Ukraine did in fact have a short period of independence after the Russian Revolution? When Russia descended into chaos after the abdication of the Tsar in March 1917, Ukraine seized its chance and became the Ukra...

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Jan. 14, 2024

Evita: Argentina’s Divisive Icon (with Mercedes Vileta)

You may recognise her as the woman who, in the face of impending death from cancer at the age of just 33, implored Argentina not to cry for her from the iconic balcony of the Casa Rosada in Buenos Aires. …

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Jan. 10, 2024

Ukraine's Story (Part 5): The Russian Imperial Era

In the fifth episode of Ukraine's Story, we will focus on Ukraine's experience under yet another foreign rule, this time: the Russian Empire. From the reign of Catherine the Great up until the chaos of the 1917 Russian Revolu...

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Jan. 10, 2024

Operation Anthropoid: The Assassination of Reinhard Heydrich

In this gripping podcast episode, we delve into the dramatic events surrounding the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, AKA "The Butcher of Prague" or "The Blonde Beast". Codenamed "Operation Anthropoid", the daring mission w...

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Jan. 3, 2024

Ukraine's Story (Part 4): The Polish-Lithuanian Era

In the fourth episode of Ukraine's Story, we're going to cover the Polish-Lithuanian era of Ukraine's history. From the late 14th century until the mid-17th century, Ukraine was under the rule of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonw...

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Jan. 3, 2024

Ukraine's Story (Part 3): The Cossacks

The History Buff is back after a long break! Thanks for bearing with me, I was very busy over the summer with tours and then I spent the last few months getting heaps of new episodes together before I go …

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Jan. 3, 2024

What you missed in Season 1

The story of Berlin, as told by me (a Berlin tour guide), royal cousins, the start of the First World War, a spy scandal at the top of the German government and more... This is just some of the things …

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May 27, 2023

Ukraine's Story (Part 2): The Mongol Era

In the second episode of Ukraine's Story, we'll cover the Mongol era, which lasted from the Mongol invasion in the early 13th century and lasted until the end of the 15th century. It was also known as the "Tatar Yoke" …

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May 18, 2023

Indira Gandhi: The Iron Lady of India

Not many people know that India got its first female prime minister in 1966, over ten years before Margaret Thatcher came to power in 1979 in Britain. Indira Gandhi is a towering if controversial figure of Indian political hi...

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May 9, 2023

Ukraine's Story (Part 1): Kyivan Rus

Given the current situation in Ukraine, I wanted to do a miniseries on Ukraine's story. So here it is. Follow me as I chart Ukrainian history from the first major Eastern Slavic state (the Kyivan Rus) all the way up …

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May 6, 2023

Berlin: The Story of a City (with Barney White-Spunner)

In The History Buff's first interview, I am joined by retired army officer-turned historian/author Sir Barney White-Spunner. The book we discuss in this episode is his latest, called Berlin: The Story of a City. The book offe...

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April 28, 2023

Sissi: The Reluctant Empress Elisabeth of Austria (with Anna Morris)

On The History Buff's first co-hosted discussion, I am joined by friend, fellow history buff and half-Austrian Anna Morris. Listen to us talk about one of the most famous royals of European history: Empress Elisabeth of Austr...

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April 17, 2023

The Guillaume Affair: The Spy Scandal That Brought Down a German Chan…

Willy Brandt was famous for being the West German Chancellor that introduced a policy of rapprochement with East Germany and the Eastern Bloc in general - known as "Ostpolitik". He is remembered as a great statesman, who led ...

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April 7, 2023

The First World War: The Causes

In this episode, I will be breaking down for you the reasons why Europe collapsed into the most catastrophic war in history (up until that point). Many people say it was caused by the shots from a gun belonging to …

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April 7, 2023

Royal Cousins: The King, the Kaiser and the Tsar

In this episode, we will discuss the monarchs of the three most powerful monarchies of the early twentieth century: King George V of Great Britain Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany Tsar Nicholas II of Russia They were all related,...

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April 7, 2023

South American Dictatorships: Argentina & Chile

In this episode, we'll be looking at two of the South American dictatorships of the twentieth century, Argentina and Chile. Both countries had their dictatorships installed with US support (to help stop the spread of communis...

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