The Askhistorians Podcast

In this episode, Johannes Breit interviews historian Daniel Lee about his new book “The SS-Officer’s Armchair”. In his book Lee, a specialist on the history of Jews in France and North Africa, follows the trail of several documents found sewn into an armchair. Weaving together historical work with his own process of uncovering information about Robert Giesinger, mid-level German bureaucrat and owner of the papers, Lee crafts a gripping account about both the nature of Nazi perpetrators as well as a historian’s hunt for answers.

In this episode, u/EnclavedMicrostate interviews Michael Bonner on the subject of the Sasanian Empire, which ruled Iran and its environs from the fall of the Arsacid (Parthian) empire in the early 3rd century AD to the rise of Islam in the 7th century. This covers the politics of the empire, its religious landscape, and the geopolitics of Eurasia in Late Antiquity, with discussion of connections and conflicts with Rome, Armenia, the steppe, and China.

In this episode, P.H. Jones and Johannes Breit discuss their research on the death of Adolf Hitler in 1945. Although Hitler’s suicide and subsequent cremation has always been widely accepted within the historical community, it nevertheless spawned numerous conspiracy theories about his survival and escape. Backdropped against the tensions of the Cold War, and internal distrust between Soviet intelligence groups, Jones and Breit trace the origins of these rumors, and the developing historiography concerning Hitler’s final day.

In this episode, u/EnclavedMicrostate interviews Brian Dott about the history of the chile pepper in China. This covers the pepper's introduction and spread, its integration into existing Chinese cuisine and understandings of culinary theory, its use as a medicine, as a cultural metaphor, and as a marker of regional identities.

In this episode, u/Sunagainstgold interviews Keagan Brewer about atheism in the Medieval period. The interview covers examples of medieval atheists, their treatment by the church, and the historical controversy over their very existence.

Guest-host Max (/u/Commustar) speaks with Reuben A. Loffman about his book "Church, State and Colonialism in Southeastern Congo; 1890-1962" (2019, Palgrave-MacMillan). This wide-ranging interview covers pre-colonial history of the Kongolo region; the role of White Fathers and Spiritan missionaries; and the experience of decolonization and the Katanga secession.  You can find Reuben Loffman on twitter as @ReubenLoffman, 

This is the second part of the discussion between myself, /u/Steelcan909, and /u/EnclavedMicrostate, wherein we discuss the Opium Wars themselves, the actual role of opium in the wars, and the fallout that these events had on subsequent Chinese and European history.

Welcome to the first of our two part series on the Opium Wars!  Today I, /u/Steelcan909, am joined by /u/EnclavedMicrostate in a discussion about the development of the opium trade and the tensions between the Qing government and British merchants that erupted into two wars between these Imperial giants. 

We have the privilege to speak with Dr. Anya Jabour about her recent biography, "Sophonisba Breckinridge: Championing Women's Activism in Modern America." Breckinridge was a university professor in the early 20th century who played a major role in nearly every area of social activism you can fathom--and here, you have the chance to learn all about her, and to use her as a window into the history of social activism in the 20th century United States.

In this episode, Jeremy (/u/EnclavedMicrostate) interviews then-flaired-user (now newly-minted moderator) /u/Steelcan909 on the matter of the Christianisation of England during the Early Middle Ages. What happened to Christianity after the Romans left? How did it come back? Were attempts made to syncretise Christianity with paganism? And where does horse meat come into it all? Find out all this and more on this episode of the AskHistorians Podcast.

On January 4, members of the AskHistorians mod team spoke as a panel at the annual American Historical Association conference in New York City. We recorded that panel, "Historians on the Battleground of Social Media: Lessons from Eight Years of AskHistorians," to share with our listeners at home! (Some audience questions at the end were edited out, as they were too quiet to hear or amplify in post-production. The answers are still in the podcast, though!) You can read our papers here: https://askhistorians.com/conferences/aha2020.html

Today /u/Drylaw talks with Professor Nicholas Buccola, author of "The Fire Is upon Us: James Baldwin, William F. Buckley Jr., and the Debate over Race in America" (Princeton University Press, 2017), about the important 1965 debate on race between James Baldwin and William F. Buckley Jr. We cover their influences on the civil rights and conservative movements respectively, and their ideas' continuing relevance. You can find Professor Buccola on Twitter as @buccola_nick.

For his debut as an interviewer rather than as a guest on the podcast, Jeremy Salkeld (/u/EnclavedMicrostate) is joined by flaired user /u/dandan_noodles to discuss warfare and its changes and continuities from the mid-eighteenth century and the wars of Frederick the Great up to the early nineteenth century and the wars of Napoleon. Why were wars fought? Who joined the armies? How did they fight? Did the revolution in French politics create a revolution in French warfare? Find out all this and more in this episode. (Total length: 102 minutes) Follow @AskHistorians on Twitter and everywhere else!

Cassidy Percoco is joined by Lyndsey Craig, MS candidate at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, to chat briefly about the study, "Pubic Hair Removal Practices in Cross-Cultural Perspective," of which she was lead author. The study's anthropological in nature, but involves some descriptions of historical practices! You can follow Lyndsey on twitter as @lyndseykcraig. You can follow Cassidy on twitter as @mimicofmodes and at A Most Beguiling Accomplishment.  Follow @AskHistorians on Twitter and everywhere else!

Brian M. Watson is joined by Saniya Lee Ghanoui, PhD candidate at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in order to examine the intersections of media and technology studies, gender and sexuality, and medicine and public health--which is to say the sexual education film in America and Sweden. Come relive your awkward (or non-existing!) highschool memories of sex-ed class and learn about the history leading up to that cringeworthy film and why it why it takes the form it does today. This is a transnational and transdisciplinary media event however, and we discuss Alfred Kinsey, condoms, and that time Dwight Eisenhower insulted the entire country of Sweden.   You can follow Saniya on twitter @Saniya1 and at https://www.saniyaleeghanoui.com/. You can follow Brian on twitter @brimwats and at http://brimwats.com/.  Follow @AskHistorians on Twitter and everywhere else! © 2019 Brian M. Watson

Today we're joined by Fraser Raeburn, our very own /u/Crrpit, to talk about the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War with a specific emphasis on Scottish volunteers. Who joined? Why did they join? What were the politics of the International Brigades? Hear about this, and much more, in this episode. You can find him on Twitter as @FraserRaeburn.

Today we're joined by Robert M. Sarwark, Visiting Fellow in Publishing History at Harvard University's Houghton Library, to talk about librarianship and his research into the history of the book during the time of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation.  You can find him on Twitter as @RaMerrix.   © 2019 Brian M. Watson

Today we're joined by Professor Joshua Specht of Monash University to talk about his new book Red Meat Republic: A Hoof-to-Table History of How Beef Changed America (Princeton University Press, 2019).   You can find him on Twitter as @joshspecht. 

Today we have Dr. Eric Rauchway, a professor at the University of California, Davis. Professor Rauchway has expertise on U.S. policy, social, and economic history from the Civil War through the Second World War. He has consulted for government and private agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice and a major Hollywood studio.     Professor Rauchway's recent research focuses on the New Deal and the Second World War. He has written several books on how federal policy affects the US economy, and how the economy —international and domestic— influences U.S. policy. His research has been featured in the New York Times and on National Public Radio. He has just finished a book on the conflict between Republicans and Democrats over how to combat the Depression at its worst, in 1932-1933.    You can find him fighting the good fight on Twitter @rauchway and his books here https://www.amazon.com/Eric-Rauchway/   © 2019 Brian M. Watson

On today's episode we're talking with Professor Tamara Walker (Assistant Professor of History at the University of Toronto), about her book Exquisite Slaves: Race, Clothing and Status in Colonial Lima (Cambridge University Press, 2017).   You can find her book here.