Journey Through Time
Forgotten stories from history and how they shaped the way we live today. Hear about the ordinary people from history and the extraordinary impact they’ve had on the present. Hosted by historians David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell, Journey Through Time will show how everyday actions have the most remarkable unintended consequences that ripple through time. From the first woman to run for President to the unknown story of how the world came to the brink of nuclear war in 1983, this podcast is for everyone, not just history lovers.
Episodes
79. McCarthyism: Paving The Way For Trump (Ep 6)
How did the McCarthy-era blacklist impact Hollywood for many decades to come? What happened when McCarthy’s right-hand-man Roy Cohn met a cocky young real estate developer called Donald Trump? Are we still living under McCarthyism? How can we bring it to an end?
David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell look at the legacy of McCarthyism.
Here is the Season One Reading List mentioned at the end of
78. McCarthyism: The Fall of Joseph McCarthy (Ep 5)
What happened when Joseph McCarthy turned his communist-catching energy on the army? What film, directed by Elia Kazan and starring Marlon Brando, is viewed as an allegory for the McCarthy hearings? In what ways did the ‘Lavender scare’ subtext influence the investigations into Roy Cohn? What famous line brought down the reputation of this ‘red-scare’ fuelling demagogue?
Sarah Churchwell and D
77. McCarthyism: The Crucible, High Noon, and Hollywood’s Revenge (Ep 4)
How did the most celebrated writers and directors in America take aim at McCarthyism in works such as High Noon and The Crucible? Why did Roy Cohn, the man who went on to be Donald Trump’s mentor, get involved in the trials? Despite both men using homophobic language, why are there rumours about McCarthy and Cohn’s sexuality? What is the relevance of this for the trials?
Email: journeythrought
76. McCarthyism: Spies, Lies, And Smears (Ep 3)
Who is Joseph McCarthy, the young senator who gives his name to these trials? Had Communist agents really infiltrated the US Government? Who were the Rosenbergs, America's most notorious communist couple, executed for giving state secrets to the Soviet Union? Why were American academics forced into exile?
Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga introduce Joseph McCarthy and the loyalty purges that m
75. McCarthyism: Hollywood on Trial (Ep 2)
What happened when the House of Un-American Activities Committee started to prosecute some of the biggest names in Hollywood? Who were the infamous ‘Hollywood Ten’? Why did the trial of Alger Hiss, a State Department official, terrify the American public? How did a young Richard Nixon make his name during these trials?
Join David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell as they look at when the HUAC hearing
74. McCarthyism: How The Red Scare Gripped America (Ep 1)
What was the second Red Scare where government employees, creatives, and intellectuals were prosecuted for holding ‘un-American’ views? What are the 19th century origins of Trump’s catch phrase, ‘America First’? Who was Martin Dies, the man responsible for setting up the ‘House of Unamerican Activities Committee’?
Join Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga for the first part of their series looki
73. Chernobyl: An Explosion That Brought Down A Superpower (Ep 6)
Did Chernobyl cause the collapse of the Soviet Union? How did the disaster fuel the fight for independence? What happened when war came to the Exclusion Zone after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022? How are the victims still being impacted by the violence?
Join David Olusgoa and Sarah Churchwell for the last episode in this Chernobyl series, looking at the legacy of the explosion.
Email: jour
72. Chernobyl: Soviet Secrets Are Still Coming Out (Ep 5)
Who were the bio-robots, the 3,000 young reservists drafted in to fight the radiation? Why was an absurdly inadequate, yet enormous, structure built at pace to contain the fallout? Could trust be restored between the US and the USSR after the latter lied about the explosion?
Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga look at how the nuclear fallout ate away at the very core of the Soviet Union.
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71. Chernobyl: Three Men Who Saved Europe (Ep 4)
What were the two "nightmare scenarios” that would have led to enormous damage in the weeks following the explosion? What happened when three heroic men waded into radioactive water to stop much of Europe becoming uninhabitable for centuries? How did army reservists fight to contain the nuclear fallout in a mission named ‘The Battle of Chernobyl’?
David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell explore the
70. Chernobyl: The Battle Against Nuclear Fallout (Ep 3)
Who were the doomed firefighters, first on the scene after the Chernobyl explosion? What forced the Soviets to come clean about the disaster? How did the USSR sacrifice Belarussian farmers to stop nuclear rain falling on Moscow? Why did this secret take 13 years to come out?
Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga look at the immediate aftermath of the Chernobyl meltdown.
Email: journeythrought
69. Chernobyl: The Countdown To Catastrophe (Ep 2)
Why was reactor four two years overdue a critical safety test? What happened in the seconds and minutes leading up to the explosion? Who was the first victim of the Chernobyl disaster?
David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell recall the fateful events leading up to the meltdown in reactor four on the night of the 26th April 1986.
Email: journeythroughtime@goalhanger.com
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Bl
68. Chernobyl: The Worst Nuclear Disaster In History (Ep 1)
How did a routine safety test turn into the worst nuclear disaster in history? How did Soviet secrecy, impossible targets, and corner-cutting set the stage for Chernobyl? Why did the disaster begin long before 1986, and end with the unravelling of the Soviet Union itself?
Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga trace the political and historical failures which led to the fateful Chernobyl nuclear di
67. The Spanish Civil War: The Death of Democracy (Ep 6)
How did the Spanish Civil War inspire resistance movements throughout the 20th century? Why does Spain contain thousands of hidden mass graves? What is the legacy of the conflict in modern Spain? Why were American volunteers persecuted for opposing fascism?
David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell explore the long legacy of the Spanish Civil War and the shadow it still casts.
Social Producer: Emma
66. The Spanish Civil War: Guernica, Picasso and The Nazis (Ep 5)
How did Pablo Picasso capture the horror of aerial bombing? Why did Hitler use a small Spanish town to test the Blitzkrieg? What was Stalin’s role in the Spanish Civil War?
David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell explore how Spain became a testing ground for the Second World War.
Social Producers: Emma Jackson
Assistant Producers: Alfie Rowe, Alfie Norris
Producer: Alice Horrell
Head of Hist
65. The Spanish Civil War: Orwell V Stalin (Ep 4)
What were Barcelona’s ‘May Days’? How did Orwell manage to escape Stalinist agents? Why did communists and anarchists begin to fight each other? How did the Spanish Civil War inspire Animal Farm and 1984?
Join David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell as they look at the harrowing events that inspired one of the twentieth century's most iconic writers.
Social Producers: Emma Jackson, Harry Balden
64. The Spanish Civil War: A Nazi Training Ground (Ep 3)
What were Barcelona’s ‘May Days’? How did Orwell manage to escape Stalinist agents? Why did communists and anarchists begin to fight each other? How did the Spanish Civil War inspire Animal Farm and 1984?
Join David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell as they look at the harrowing events that inspired one of the twentieth century's most iconic writers.
Social Producers: Emma Jackson, Harry Balden
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63. The Spanish Civil War: Fighting Fascism With Hemingway And Orwell (Ep 2)
Why did 35,000 foreign volunteers join the International Brigades? How did the conflict lead to the first racially integrated military unit in US history? What was women’s role in the conflict? How was modern conflict journalism pioneered in Spain?
David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell examine the role of foreign volunteers and journalists in the Spanish Civil War
Social Producers: Emma Jackson,
62. The Spanish Civil War: A Nation In Flames (Ep 1)
What caused Spain to collapse into civil war in 1936? How did Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin become involved in the conflict? Why did western democracies do nothing to aid Spain’s government? What connected Ernest Hemingway, Martha Gelhorn, George Orwell and Kim Philby to the war?
David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell explore the events that led to Spain’s 1936-1939 Civil War.
Social Producers: Em
61. A Christmas Carol: From Alastair Sim To The Muppets (Ep 3)
In what significant ways did the bestselling book ‘A Christmas Carol’ change Victorian behaviour around Christmas? From Christmas movies to the office Christmas party, what traditions do we have Charles Dickens to thank for? Why does this story still resonate in modern debates around poverty, responsibility, and compassion?
Join David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell exploring the enduring legacy
60. A Christmas Carol: The Radical Message Hidden In A Holiday Classic (Ep 2)
How did the three Ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future manage to save Scrooge, Tiny Time, and the Christmas spirit? What deadly social problem was Dickens looking to solve with A Christmas Carol? Who is actually on trial in the story: Scrooge or the society that made him possible?
Join Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga as they look at the Ghost story that terrified Victorian Britain
59. A Christmas Carol: The Book That Brought Back Christmas (Ep 1)
Why had the Victorians stopped celebrating Christmas? How did the wretchedness of a London school for poor children inspire Charles Dickens’ famous Christmas tale? What does the story’s main character, Ebenezer Scrooge, tell us about the state of the UK?
Join David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell as they tell the story of how Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’ changed Victorian Britain.
Soc
58. Black GIs: Brown Babies and Broken Hearts (Ep 5)
What does the hysteria around white women sleeping with Black GIs tell us about race and class in wartime Britain? Why were Black GIs banned from marrying their British sweethearts? What was the sad fate of many of the mixed raced babies left behind as a result of this encounter?
Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga tell the final chapter in the story of Black GIs in the UK.
Social Producers
57. Black GIs: American Mutiny On British Streets (Ep 4)
What happened when Black GIs went on strike over their violent treatment at the hands of the white Military Police? Why did the American Army start fighting itself in the heart of a British city? How did the Ministry of Information stop the British public from hearing about this violence?
Join David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell as they tell the story of the Park Street Riots, the forgotten Ame
56. Black GIs: The Battle of Bamber Bridge (Ep 3)
How did an altercation over the wrong uniform lead into a full scale gun battle with Americans shooting their fellow soldiers on the streets of Bamber Bridge? What caused the Black GIs to mutiny? How did this violence forever change the US army?
Listen to Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga as they tell the story of Americans firing on Americans in the village of Bamber Bridge.
Social Produ
55. Black GIs: We Ain’t No Slaves, This Is England (Ep 2)
How did the American army try to enforce segregation by stealth on British towns? Why did the British public perceive the white American GIs as ‘over paid, over fed, over sexed and over here’? How did Churchill respond to the growing tensions in British towns as a result of the ‘friendly invasion’?
David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell tell the story of when the American army brought racial segre
54. Black GIs: When Jim Crow Came To Britain (Ep 1)
What happened when 1.5 million American GIs, including 130,000 African Americans, were stationed in the UK during WWII? How did the Jim Crow segregation laws work in the American army? What was surprising about how the Brits reacted when America tried to export this segregation to the UK?
Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga look at the forgotten story behind the ‘friendly invasion’ in WWII.
Introducing: The Rest Is Science
Forget what you think you know about reality. The Rest Is Science is a mind-bending new show from Goalhanger that tears down familiar ideas… time, randomness, beauty, it will reveal just how bizarre the world truly is.
Join Professor Hannah Fry and science creator Michael Stevens (aka Vsauce) twice a week to explore big, small and surprising questions as they deep dive into theories, concepts,
53. Harriet Tubman: The Woman Who Led An Army (Ep 4)
How did Harriet Tubman free over 750 enslaved people in the Combahee River Raid? Despite her valiant efforts in the Civil War, why did Harriet have to fight the government to have enough money to live on? What does her legacy say about the politics of today?
David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell look at the final chapter in Harriet’s extraordinary life.
Social Producers: Emma Jackson, Harry B
52. Harriet Tubman: How Most Wanted Woman Never Got Caught (Ep 3)
What surprising tactics did Harriet use to avoid detection on her many missions to rescue enslaved people in the south? Who was John Brown, the fierce abolitionist willing to use violence to further his cause? Why was Harriet involved in the Harpers’ Ferry raid, one of the causes of the Civil War?
Join Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga as they look at how Harriet Tubman brought so many people
51. Harriet Tubman: The Underground Railroad From Slavery To Freedom (Ep 2)
Why did Harriet Tubman risk her freedom and become the only formerly enslaved person to return to the slaveholding south? How did the secret Underground Railroad guide people north to freedom? Why did the entire country suddenly become slave-catching territory in September 1850? What did this mean for those who thought they were safe in the North?
David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell explore the
50. Harriet Tubman: The Freedom Fighter Who Escaped From Slavery (Ep 1)
Who was Harriet Tubman? How did Harriet make the perilous journey escaping north to freedom? What was the Underground Railroad, the secret chain of people guiding enslaved people to safety?
Join Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga as they explore the early years of abolitionist, spymaster, and activist Harriet Tubman.
Social Producers: Emma Jackson, Harry Balden
Producer: Alice Horrell
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49. The Paris Commune: France Wages War On Its Own Capital (Ep 4)
How many people were slaughtered in the street-to-street battle for Paris known as the ‘bloody week’? Why did the German Chancellor help the French government start a civil war? Who were the ‘Petroleuses’, the mythical wild-eyed working class women accused of setting the city on fire?
David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell relive the brutal final days of the Paris Commune.
Social Producer: Em
48. The Paris Commune: Can The City Of Lights Govern Itself? (Ep 3)
How many of the radical reforms that the Paris Commune implemented in their 72 day existence influence French laws to this day? Why did the communards tear down a statue of Napoleon III and outlaw morning croissants? How did an attempt to take the Archbishop of Paris hostage backfire badly on the radicals?
Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga explore what this short-lived radical government of P
47. The Paris Commune: The City That Ate Its Zoo (Ep 2)
How did pet dogs, street rats, and the zoo’s elephants make their way onto the menu of Parisian fine dining restaurants? Why did Paris feel so slighted by the national government when they surrendered to the Germans? How did defiant Parisian children and housewives defy the national guard and spark a revolution that would lead to the Paris Commune?
David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell relive the
46. The Paris Commune: France’s Bloodiest Revolution (Ep 1)
What was the Paris Commune of 1871? How was the first German Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, trying to radically reshape the map of Europe? How did the resulting Franco-Prussian war set the scene in Paris for one of the most radical political experiments of the nineteenth century?
Join Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga as they look at the days leading up to The Paris Commune, the working class
45. The Gunpowder Plot: Why Do We Remember The Fifth Of November? (Ep 4)
How did the remaining conspirators manage to blow themselves up? Why is the defeat of the Gunpowder Plot still celebrated 400 years later? What are the parallels between this plot and the 7/7 bombings?
Join David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell as they relive how the gunpowder plotters met their grisly end.
Visit https://www.LRB.me/Journey to get six months of the London Review of Books for j
44. The Gunpowder Plot: Conspirators Caught Red-Handed (Ep 3)
Once Parliament was blown up, how were the plotters planning on seizing power? How did the King manage to stop the plan to blow up parliament just in time? What is the Monteagle Letter and why is this one of English history’s greatest unsolved mysteries?
Join Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga telling the story of how Guy Fawkes was discovered minutes away from lighting the fuse to blow up Wes
43. The Gunpowder Plot: The Recruitment of Guy Fawkes (Ep 2)
How did a series of plots to depose and kill King James I ultimately fail? Who was Robert Catesby, the mastermind behind the Gunpowder Plot? Why was Guy Fawkes recruited into the secret group meeting at a pub in central London?
Join David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell looking at how Guy Fawkes and the other conspirators started to hatch the Gunpowder Plot.
Social Producer: Emma Jackson, Ha
42. The Gunpowder Plot: Britain’s Most Famous Traitors (Ep 1)
As Queen Elizabeth I lay dying, why were the nation’s high profile Catholics rounded up and imprisoned? Why has history overlooked James I, the first king of Scotland and England? Who were the small group of wealthy Catholic men so angry with the new king that they ultimately planned to blow up Parliament?
Join Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga on their first of four episodes looking at the G
41. Salem Witch Trials: The Legacy (Ep 3)
How did the executions for witchcraft finally come to an end? What does a community do to reckon with the aftermath of all this violence? Why have the Salem Witch Trials become shorthand for the prosecution of outsiders and dissidents for centuries?
Join David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell for the final chapter in the story of The Salem Witch Trials.
Social Producer: Emma Jackson, Harry Bal
40. How The Salem Witch Trials Became Deadly (Ep 2)
Now the witch trials have been set up, what evidence is used to send many innocent people to their death? Why are young women shrieking and convulsing at the sight of those accused? Finally, what are Sarah’s tips for surviving an allegation of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts?
Join Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga as they explore the dramatic courtroom scenes of the Salem Witch Trials.
39. What Started The Salem Witch Hunt? (Ep 1)
What were the Salem Witch Trials that resulted in the deaths of more than 20 innocent people? Why was this puritan community in New England so vulnerable to being gripped by a violent witch hunt? What were the crimes of Tituba, the first woman accused of witchcraft?
Join David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell on the first of their three part series discussing the Salem Witch Trials.
Email: jour
38. The Man Behind Big Brother: Why We’re Hooked on Reality TV (Ep 4)
What did it feel like to be at the centre of the most popular Reality TV moment of the century? Why was the nation captivated by Big Brother? What can we learn about a country from who wins their game shows?
Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga are joined by Sir Peter Bazalgette, acclaimed television producer behind UK Big Brother, to discuss all this and more.
Email: journeythroughtime@goal
37. From The Kardashians to Donald Trump: The History of Reality TV (Ep 3)
What unbelievable and ethically dubious Reality TV concepts made it onto our screens in the 2000s? What was behind Big Brother’s game changing popularity? How did Trump’s time on The Apprentice pave the way for his presidency?
Join David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell as they explore the latest chapter in the story of Reality TV’s worldwide success.
Email: journeythroughtime@goalhanger.com
36. The Art of Manipulation: The History of Reality TV (Ep 2)
Who was Lance Loud, America's first openly gay TV celebrity? What ethically dubious tactics did producers pioneer in MTV's hit show 'The Real World' to manipulate participants and storylines? What does it mean when reality TV becomes a form of social experiment?
Join Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga as they explore the developments that brought us the reality TV we know and love.
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35. Why We’re Obsessed With The Traitors: The History of Reality TV (Ep 1)
What was David's experience on Celebrity Traitors like? How can we trace the origins of this beloved show back to WWII? How has Reality TV shaped the modern world?
Join David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell as they explore the history of reality TV.
Social Producer: Emma Jackson, Harry Balden
Producer: Alice Horrell
Head of History: Dom Johnson
Exec Producer: Tony Pastor
Email: journeyt
34. Cotton Will Bring The World To its Knees: The Craziest Gamble in History (Ep 3)
Why did the Confederate states think that stopping the global supply of cotton would force Britain to join their side in the American Civil War? What extraordinary humanitarian effort did the Union pull off to help starving mill workers in Lancashire? Why were Liverpudlians building warships to support of the slave owning states?
Join David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell as they discuss the Sout
33. Prince Albert’s Dying Wish: Stopping An American-British War (Ep 2)
Why did Britain and America nearly go to war over the capture of two Confederate officers from a British Ship? What did President Lincoln’s Emergency War Cabinet respond to Britain’s threatening ultimatum? How did Prince Albert keep the peace with the last letter he ever sent?
Join Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga as they discuss the Trent Affair of 1861.
Email: journeythroughtime@goalha
32. From Lincoln to Obama: A History of the Special Relationship (Ep 1)
David has just come off stage with Barack Obama - what does the 44th President think about the ‘Special Relationship’ between the UK and the US? What is the history of this relationship? What about during the American Civil war when the two countries very nearly went to war?
Join David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell as they explore a darker chapter in the relationship between Britain and America.
31. Martin Luther King: I Have A Dream (Ep 2)
Harry Belafonte, Josephine Baker, Bob Dylan, and which other celebrities joined the 250,000 marching on Washington in August 1963? How were the American Nazi Party planning to incite violence? How did Martin Luther King improvise the most famous speech of the 20th century?
Join Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga as they explore the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech and enduring its legacy.
Email: jo
30. The March That Changed America (Ep 1)
How were figures like Martin Luther King organising to fight for Civil Rights in the Jim Crow era? Why were tensions so exceptionally high in America in 1963? What caused hundreds of thousands of people from all over the country to descend on Washington that August?
Join David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell as they look at the events leading up to the 1963 March on Washington, one of the most co
29. The Downfall of Billy the Kid: Gun Fights and Prison Breaks (Ep 2)
How many times did Billy the Kid escape from prison? Who was Pat Garrett, the man who murdered Billy? Why does the story of Billy the Kid remain one of the most retold in history?
Join Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga as they explore the enduring appeal of Billy the Kid.
Email: journeythroughtime@goalhanger.com
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28. Billy The Kid: The Outlaw Who Became A Legend (Ep 1)
Who was the notorious Western icon, Billy the Kid? How did he get caught up in the murder which made him famous? And, who was really in charge in the lawless Wild West?
Join David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell as they relive the true story behind the legend that is Billy The Kid.
Email: journeythroughtime@goalhanger.com
X: @ThroughTimePod
Blue Sky: @ThroughTimePod
Instagram: @ThroughTime
27. The Trial That Made Hitler Famous (Ep 2)
How did Hitler get caught after leading the failed Beer Hall Putsch, which killed 20 people? Why was he allowed to turn his 24 day trial into a piece of internationally received political theatre? How did a botched coup become a dangerous Nazi myth?
Join Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga as they explore how Hitler’s trial for the notorious Beer Hall Putsch catapulted him into the limelight.
26. The Failed Nazi Coup (Ep 1)
The Nazis were voted into power in 1933, but how close did they come to seizing power 10 years before? What catastrophic economic conditions fuelled them? And where did Hitler take his inspiration from?
Listen as David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell discuss the 1923 Beer Hall putsch and the Nazis’ attempt to seize power.
Email: journeythroughtime@goalhanger.com
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Blue Sky: @
25. The Marketing of Fear: Selling Guns to America (Ep 3)
How did the NRA manage to gain so much control over the American President and the Supreme Court? Who are the armed citizens masquerading as secret police in America today? Why is an understanding of history so important in the fight to regulate America's guns?
Join David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell as they discuss how The National Rifle Association became such a powerful force in American po
24. Cowboys, Gangsters, and Assassins: How Gun Laws Died (Ep 2)
Was the Wild West really lawless? Why did the 1960s mark a turning point in the gun debate? How did a convicted killer become one of the most influential figures in modern gun politics?
Join Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga as they discuss how the NRA changed from a sportsman's organisation to a pro-gun lobby.
Email: journeythroughtime@goalhanger.com
X: @ThroughTimePod
Blue Sky: @Thr
23. The Gun Myth That Shaped A Nation (Ep 1)
How does the history of the National Rifle Association explain how the pro-gun lobby got such a stranglehold on modern US politics? Was the United States always a firearm-loving nation? How did race and class shape early American gun laws?
Join David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell as they delve into the first chapter in the history of America’s National Rifle Association.
Email: journeythrou
22. The Great Fire: London Rises From The Ashes (Ep 2)
How did the flames engulf the stone building of St Paul’s Cathedral, jump over the River Fleet, and reach 1,700 degrees celsius? After four days, how was this monstrous fire finally put out? What scars remain on the modern capital city from this fire nearly 400 years ago?
Join Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga to discuss the damage inflicted by The Great Fire of London.
Email: journeythro
21. The Great Fire: London’s Burning (Ep 1)
What caused London to go up in flames on 2nd September, 1666? How did a fire that started in a bakery grow to engulf so much of the city? Who was Samuel Pepys, the great diarist who documented the fire?
Join David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell as they relive the first day of The Great Fire of London.
Email: journeythroughtime@goalhanger.com
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20. How Sci-Fi Became Reality: The History of AI
What role did WWII enigma hero Alan Turing play in the early development of AI? Why are games so important to the history of AI? Did 2001: A Space Odyssey influence the design of the iPad?
Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga are joined by Steven Johnson, author and co-founder of Notebook LM, to discuss all this and more.
Email: journeythroughtime@goalhanger.com
X: @ThroughTimePod
Blue Sky
19. The Wrath of God: England’s Greatest Natural Disaster (Ep 2)
What death and destruction did the people of England wake up to after the 1703 storm? How did people make sense of this biblical devastation? Why do we remember The Great Fire of London and not The Great Storm?
Join David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell as they delve into the aftermath of the Great Storm.
Email: journeythroughtime@goalhanger.com
X: @ThroughTimePod
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18. England’s Hurricane: 10,000 Dead (Ep 1)
How did a storm in November 1703 turn into one of the deadliest natural disasters in England’s history? Why is Daniel Defoe, ‘father of the British novel’ and author of Robinson Crusoe, at the centre of this story? With 10,000 people dead, why has this storm been forgotten?
Join Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga as they tell the story of the Great Storm of 1703.
To find out more about Fin
17. Britain vs America: The Deadly Culture War (Ep 2)
Why did the audience of Macbeth begin hurling theatre seats and food then cobble stones and bricks? What caused the militia, drafted in by New York’s mayor, to fire on the crowd? How did this riot change theatre and Shakespeare forever?
Join David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell as the Astor Place Riots unfold, leaving many innocent New Yorkers dead.
To find out more about Find My Past visit:
16. Carnage in New York: Killing Over Shakespeare (Ep 1)
How did a fight about Shakespeare descend into America’s bloodiest riot during peace time? Why were tensions so high in New York City in May 1849? Who were Edwin Forrest and William McCready, the actors whose personal rivalry was at the centre of all this?
Join Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga as they explore the lead up to the Astor Place riots, the deadliest use of military force against
15. Showdown at Sea: Pirates vs Bounty Hunters (Ep 2)
What piratical crimes did ‘good girl’ Anne Bonny and ‘bad girl’ Mary Reed commit on the high seas? Who were the bounty hunters chasing Calico Jack’s crew? How did the swash buckling, gender bending pair finally get captured and find themselves languishing in a Jamaican jail?
Join David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell as they dive into all this and more in the story of the notorious female pirates
14. The Real Pirates of the Caribbean: Sex, Scandal, and the Golden Age of Piracy (Ep 1)
How did ‘good girl’ Anne Bonny and ‘bad girl’ Mary Reed end up sailing with Pirates of the Caribbean? Who was ‘Calico Jack’ Rackham, the infamous Pirate Captain and ladies man? Did our notorious female pirates have a scandalous love affair with each other?
To find out more about Find My Past visit: https://www.findmypast.co.uk/journey-through-time
Email: journeythroughtime@goalhanger.com
13. The Woman Behind the Welfare State
Eleanor Rathbone was instrumental to the implementation of child benefit and the welfare state, why have we forgotten her? Who were the two million “superfluous women” recorded in the 1921 census? How did Eleanor campaign for over three decades for caregiving to be recognised as “real work”?
Joining David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell as they explore the fascinating story of the campaigner and
12. Murder Trial of the Century: Execution, Dissection and Revenge (Ep 2)
17 murders in, what finally brought serial killers Burke and Hare to justice? How did the notorious partners in crime turn against each other? Which of the pair met a grisly end and who got off totally scot-free?
Join Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga as they retell the capture and gruesome fate of Burke and Hare.
To find out more about Find My Past visit: https://www.findmypast.co.uk/jou
11. Scotland’s Most Notorious Serial Killers (Ep 1)
How did Burke and Hare get into the lucrative business of murder? Why was there such a demand for fresh corpses in 1820s Edinburgh? What gruesome methods did the pair use to kill their victims?
Join David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell as they delve into the gothic story of Burke and Hare, the mass murderers who scandalised the nation.
To find out more about Find My Past visit: https://www.f
10. 1983: The World On The Brink (Ep 2)
Why did a military training exercise seem like an imminent threat of nuclear attack? Despite being minutes away from launching Nuclear missiles, what made the Soviets back down? Why does no one know how close we came to total annihilation?
Join Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga on Journey Through Time as they discuss the days where we narrowly escaped full scale nuclear war.
To find out
9. Able Archer: The Closest We Ever Came To Nuclear War (Ep 1)
Why was the world so close to the brink of nuclear war in November 1983?
What tactics were the Americans employing to play high stakes mind games with the Soviets?
And, what made the Soviets so exceptionally paranoid?
Join David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell on Journey Through Time as they discuss how a routine military training exercise in November 1983 nearly had cataclysmic effects.
8. The Myth of Tokyo Rose: Truman and the FBI Witch Hunt (Ep 2)
Why did Iva Toguri get branded America’s first female traitor, despite there being no evidence to convict her?
How did her case become important to President Harry Truman’s re-election campaign?
And, after decades, how did Iva and her supporters finally clear her name?
Join Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga on Journey Through Time as they delve into the sad story behind the scandalous
7. The Myth of Tokyo Rose: The Woman Accused of Betraying America (Ep 1)
How did Tokyo Rose, a woman who never existed, become one of WWII’s most well known Japanese figures?
Who was Iva Toguri, the American citizen caught up in the myth?
How did sensationalist journalists weaponise the story of Tokyo Rose to create a vicious narrative about post war Japan?
To find out more about Find My Past visit: https://www.findmypast.co.uk/journey-through-time
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6. Darwin, Dickens, and a Giant Diamond: Inside The Great Exhibition (Ep 2)
Paranoid predictions of crime fill the newspapers - so how will the well-to-do react to the incoming crowds of the working-class?
From Harrods to the Eiffel Tower, what iconic attractions do we have The Great Exhibition to thank for?
Did this 'Peace Festival' unite a nation or expose the deep-seated class divisions of Victorian society?
Join Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga on Journey Throu
5. The Great Exhibition: Prince Albert, Revolutionaries, and the Duke of Wellington (Ep 1)
The Great Exhibition is to open in May 1851 and millions of people will descend on the capital to marvel at exhibitions of culture and industry. Victorian engineering and determination will transform one million square feet of glass into the Crystal Palace in London’s Hyde Park in just five months, ready to house the wares of the world.
However, this celebration of progress also exposed the star
4. The First Woman to Run for President: Sex, Scandal, and Suffragists (Ep 2)
From the trading floor of Wall Street to the campaign trail, Victoria Woodhull was a force to be reckoned with. Sadly, her scandalous presidential campaign ends in disaster, and she spends election night in a cell. She’s been arrested for trying to expose the hypocrisy of one of America's most revered figures, the preacher Henry Ward Beecher, and his secret affair.
Victoria Woodhull’s explosive
3. The First Woman to Run for President: Rags to Riches (Ep 1)
The American public is outraged by the announcement of a woman running for president. The year is 1872 and the candidate is Victoria Woodhull.
Victoria Woodhull’s fascinating life started in a rural frontier town in Ohio. By age twelve she had become her family’s main breadwinner, working as a travelling spiritual medium and faith healer. Her eccentric yet poor beginnings provided no clues that
2. The Attack that Shook America: Black Tom Explodes (Ep 2)
New York harbour erupts with an explosion as Black Tom island is ripped apart. The shock waves ripple out around Manhattan and New Jersey, shattering windows miles away and even registering on the Richter scale. However, despite the widespread destruction, the attack was downplayed as an accident by the US authorities and it was only years later that the truth of the event came to light.
Despite
1. The Attack That Shook America: German Spies in New York (Ep 1)
New York, 1916. America is supposedly neutral in the war but they are shipping huge quantities of supplies to the allies. However, it being a nation of immigrants means loyalties across the United States are divided and members of the German-American community are causing trouble. Led by Franz von Papen and funded from Berlin, a ring of spies and saboteurs are trying to disrupt these arms shipment
