Best 20th Century Conflicts Podcasts (2025)

1
Conflicted Loyalties: Minority voices in wartime Britain and America 24:12

4h ago24:12

24:12

What did Irish Americans make of Roosevelt's wartime pact with Churchill? What did Polish Americans make of his alliance with Stalin? In this podcast we explore the many complex, conflicted and often divided loyalties as a vast multi ethnic and global anti fascist coalition fought to defeat Nazism, Italian fascism and Japanese Imperialism. *****STO…

1
The political right and 'anti wokeness' 26:40

24h ago26:40

26:40

Wokeness and anti wokeness are inventions of the political right on both sides of the Atlantic. They are confected ideas that are pushed by elite think tank, media and political groups and have been used in different ways since the era of the counter culture in the late 1960s. Their prime advocates claim that 'woke' is some manner of threat to eith…

1
Lt. Col Charles "Lee" Smith P-47 Fighter Pilot ETO WWII - Part 2 of 4 36:44

1d ago36:44

36:44

Send us a text Welcome to episode 2 of the 4 part Lee Smith series, a P-47 fighter pilot during WWII. Now we jump back in as he transfers to England and begins his tour of duty in early 1944 and flies in support of D-Day and the battle of Normandy. Support the showBy Ryan Fairfield, Tony Lupo

1
Ruth Brook Klauber: 101 year-old RAF veteran who fled persecution and served in WWII 50:59

5d ago50:59

50:59

Ruth Brook Klauber, born in Frankfurt in 1924, was just nine years-old when her family fled to Britain following Hitler’s rise to power. Now aged 101, she speaks with us on 'For Honour's Sake' where we also had the honour of presenting her with her UK War Medal and the UK Defence Medal in recognition of her service with the Women’s Auxiliary Air Fo…

1
From F. Scott Fitzgerald to pulp detective novels - 1925 America's greatest literary year 33:33

6d ago33:33

33:33

A century ago, America was the literary and intellectual powerhouse of the world. Black writers defined the black experience in the Harlem Renaissance, F. Scott Fitzgerald captured the glamour and hypocrisy of the jazz age in The Great Gatsby and thousands of detective, western and sci fi pulp novels were published, creating the foundations of mode…

1
Britain, France and the creation of Iraq 1919-21 25:52

7d ago25:52

25:52

When the mandate system was created at the Paris Peace Conference, it became a powerful tool for the British and French to carve up the Middle East and Africa following the defeat and collapse of the German and Ottoman Empires. France took control of Syria and created the state of Lebanon and the British gained Palestine, Transjordan and Iraq. This…

1
The plot against Harold Wilson - 1967 33:01

8d ago33:01

33:01

In the late 1960s the British secret state, bankers, right wing newspaper and TV proprietors and other elite figures sought to remove Prime Minister Harold Wilson from power. They were indifferent to the fact that he had won two general elections in a row and thought that a government that included unelected business figures would save the nation f…

1
Lt. Col Charles "Lee" Smith P-47 Fighter Pilot ETO WWII - Part 1 of 4 42:31

8d ago42:31

42:31

Send us a text Welcome to Episode 1 of the 4 part Charles Lee Smith series. Lee flew in the 366th Fighter Group, 391st Fighter Squadron of the 9th Air Force. In this episode we meet Lee and hear what got him interested in becoming a pilot and we learn of his training experiences. Support the showBy Ryan Fairfield, Tony Lupo

1
Carter, Reagan, Bush and China 27:04

9d ago27:04

27:04

From the late 1970s onwards China and the USSR were on two very different historical paths and three US presidents, Carter, Reagan and Bush sought to harness the potential of the world's most populous country as it rapidly became wealthier. China, often cited as having embraced capitalism after Mao, abandoned inward looking autarchy and opened its …

1
Maoism and Anti Imperialism 24:35

11d ago24:35

24:35

Mao's ideas presented a clear challenge to western imperialism throughout the 20th Century and became a rallying cry to national liberation movements and anti imperialist groups wiithin western countries from the Baader Meinhof Gang to the Yippees. *****STOP PRESS***** I only ever talk about history on this podcast but I also have another life, yes…

1
Britain's Broken Media 36:28

13d ago36:28

36:28

In the past two decades successive scandals have revealed that Britain has some of the worst media institutions in the developed world. The ability of ordinary people to interpret the news, use accurate information to hold politicians to account or to gain a coherent sense of the world has arguably never been weaker. In his new book Breaking: Break…

1
Gaza Update 29:12

14d ago29:12

29:12

Britain, France, Canada and other western governments have today issued a statement decrying the blockade of Gaza after nearly two years of offering unconditional support to Israel.This follows weeks of increasingly critical headlines in newspapers and magazines that are traditionally staunch supporters of the Zionist state. What does this suggest?…

1
China after Deng (Part One) 25:07

15d ago25:07

25:07

Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao are often overlooked but pivotal figures in recent Chinese history whose role in steering China through its extraordinary economic transformation in the 1990s and 2000s is overshadowed by Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. This is the first in a series of podcasts about these two figures and how they created the China now ruled…

1
John E. Little: US Army rifleman who fought at at Monte Cassino and Anzio during WW2 - Part 5 of 5 34:44

16d ago34:44

34:44

Send us a text This series features John E. Little, a rifleman in the United States 34th Infantry Division, 135th infantry Regiment, Company C who fought at Monte Cassino, Anzio and the Gothic Line during the Italian Campaign in World War Two. Listen in as John, who was 100 years old when this was recorded, talks about these lesser known but brutal…

1
Discussing Mark Twain's 'Jim' 35:11

18d ago35:11

35:11

The character of Jim in the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain was written as a condemnation of the Jim Crow regimes that were springing up across the South as the Reconstruction Era slowly came to an end. Twain's Jim was the first Black character in popular American literature that can be thought of as being written in depth and without …

1
Melting Point: Russian Jews and the journey to Texas 30:41

19d ago30:41

30:41

In the decade before the First World War over ten thousand Russian Jews travelled across the Atlantic but instead of alighting in New York, where a large Jewish diaspora community was established, they came to Galveston, Texas. Galveston was not the final destination for most of the new arrivals, many travelled across the USA and settled in its rur…

1
The Contradictions of Thatcherism 25:10

21d ago25:10

25:10

Margaret Thatcher sought to revive Britain's fortunes during the 1980s, she was a social conservative and a free market fundamentalist; a contradictory set of ideological positions. The liberation of market forces devastated the social structures that Thatcher claimed to uphold, principally the family, which underwent dramatic transformations throu…

1
Trump's tariff capitulation 26:35

22d ago26:35

26:35

In a hundred years time will China offshore its manufacturing to poorer countries? Not if it has any sense. Today Trump's great retreat from the tariff war began in earnest as some cold economic realities have begun to bite, but what is the historical long view here? This episode explores how offshoring and America's weakening dollar supremacy, com…

1
John E. Little: US Army rifleman who fought at at Monte Cassino and Anzio during WW2 - Part 4 of 5 33:42

23d ago33:42

33:42

Send us a text This series features John E. Little, a rifleman in the United States 34th Infantry Division, 135th infantry Regiment, Company C who fought at Monte Cassino, Anzio and the Gothic Line during the Italian Campaign in World War Two. Listen in as John, who was 100 years old when this was recorded, talks about these lesser known but brutal…

1
Britain, Germany and the Blitz 27:02

25d ago27:02

27:02

By the start of the blitz Britain didn't have enough anti aircraft guns, despite half a decade anticipating mass bombing as a means of war. Germany was ill prepared for the bombing of British cities as well, with its slow, light bomber lacking the speed or the payload to be able to devastate Britain in the way allied airforces would later destroy G…

1
VE Day : London 1945 24:04

26d ago24:04

24:04

What was it like to experience the end of the Second World War in London, 80 years ago today? We read David Kynaston's Austerity Britain to find out how housewives, politicians, writers and diarists experienced the end of six years of terrible conflict and what this meant to them. *****STOP PRESS***** I only ever talk about history on this podcast …

1
Nazi wartime labour shortages 25:49

27d ago25:49

25:49

At the height of the Third Reich's war production there were nearly five million additional German and foreign workers in the war economy. Despite the efforts made by Albert Speer to rationalise the war economy and make it more efficient, there was still too few workers to compete with the combined military production of the allied powers. Workers …

1
Social change in American post war suburbia 26:41

28d ago26:41

26:41

What did the good life look like in 1945? Or more to the point, what did the good life look like to white working and middle class inner city families? The answer for many was suburbia, new out-of-town developments accessed by America's millions of new car owners who longed for space and who could be assured that people of their social, racial and …

1
The German invasion of Belgium: 1914 25:06

29d ago25:06

25:06

In the first weeks of the outbreak of the First World War, the outdated Schlieffen Plan required the German Army to rapidly cross Belgium to attack northern France. Instead of the anticipated 6-8,000 troops, the Belgians fielded 32,000 men and defended the fortress town of Liege vigorously. German atrocities in Liege afterwards were the product of …

1
John E. Little: US Army rifleman who fought at at Monte Cassino and Anzio during WW2 - Part 3 of 5 39:28

1M ago39:28

39:28

Send us a text This series features John E. Little, a rifleman in the United States 34th Infantry Division, 135th infantry Regiment, Company C who fought at Monte Cassino, Anzio and the Gothic Line during the Italian Campaign in World War Two. Listen in as John, who was 100 years old when this was recorded, talks about these lesser known but brutal…

1
The historiography of Malcolm X 25:21

1M ago25:21

25:21

The way in which Malcolm X and the Black Power movement has been interpreted and understood over time has changed as academics grappled with his legacy and interrogated his autobiography, published posthumously. This podcast explores how the way we have come to understand him has changed over time. You can buy Kevern Verney's book - The debate on B…

1
America's post war rise and fall 31:42

1M ago31:42

31:42

In the aftermath of the Second World War, America had half the world's wealth and a quarter of its GDP. By the 1970s its position as an economic powerhouse without competitor had slipped away and it faced stronger challenges from Europe and Japan. A decade of crisis in America saw the forces of neoliberal thinking take centre stage to eviscerate th…

1
Britain in an age of crisis 2001-2025 29:36

1M ago29:36

29:36

The period of the last 25 years in Britain has been one of continual crisis and disaster, from the Iraq War to the financial crisis to Brexit and covid. Britain has been transformed by these disasters and now is a smaller, poorer and more isolated country, perhaps permanently so. In his book Britain Alone, Liam Stanley explores the causes of this d…

1
A Chinese Century? 40:50

1M ago40:50

40:50

America's de-industrialisation, offshoring, its battle to maintain dollar supremacy whilst also restoring itself to being a net exporter have led to historic crises from which there appear to be no exit. President Trump's recent and clearly failing tariffs against China and the rest of the world are merely an indication of America's relative econom…

1
John E. Little: US Army rifleman who fought at at Monte Cassino and Anzio during WW2 - Part 2 of 5 40:52

1M ago40:52

40:52

Send us a text This series features John E. Little, a rifleman in the United States 34th Infantry Division, 135th infantry Regiment, Company C who fought at Monte Cassino, Anzio and the Gothic Line during the Italian Campaign in World War Two. Listen in as John, who was 100 years old when this was recorded, talks about these lesser known but brutal…

1
Henny Franks- The 101 year old WWII veteran and Kindertransport refugee. 39:56

1M ago39:56

39:56

AJEX National Chair Dan Fox is joined by Henny Franks at Jewish Care’s Holocaust Survivors’ Centre. Henny was born Henriette Grünbaum in Cologne in 1927. Aged 15, she escaped to London on the Kindertransport with her 12 year old sister. Her father was to die in Sobibor but her mother went into hiding in Italy, Switzerland and Belgium. By 1942, Henn…

1
Hollywood, witch hunts and class struggle in LA 35:52

1M ago35:52

35:52

In this episode of the Explaining History podcast we speak with the writer Dennis Broe whose new book The Dark Ages, explores the second Hollywood anti communist purge of 1951. We talk about Hollywood and Los Angeles as a site of ongoing class struggle, the role of the media and the LAPD in the development of modern Los Angeles and the role of diss…

1
John E. Little: US Army rifleman who fought at at Monte Cassino and Anzio during WW2 - Part 1 of 5 37:54

1M ago37:54

37:54

Send us a text This series features John E. Little, a rifleman in the United States 34th Infantry Division, 135th infantry Regiment, Company C who fought at Monte Cassino, Anzio and the Gothic Line during the Italian Campaign in World War Two. Listen in as John, who was 100 years old when this was recorded, talks about these lesser known but brutal…

1
Last flight out of Saigon - a story from the last days of the Vietnam War 29:33

2M ago29:33

29:33

Fifty years ago, the longest imperial war of the 20th Century ended with the fall of Saigon and the victory of the North Vietnamese in the reunification of Vietnam. Miki Nguyen's account of his family's desperate flight from Saigon is covered in his father's story, Last Flight Out, and his father's bravery escaping the retribution of the communist …

1
Pearl Harbor survivor, Ted Kuykendall, from the USS Nevada tells his story (WWII). Part 4 of 4. 33:33

2M ago33:33

33:33

Send us a text Ted Kuykendall was an electrictrician during WWII and was serving on the USS Nevada when the Japanese Imperial Navy bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec 7th, 1941. He shares his remembrances from one of the most historic events in modern history onboard the only battleship to make steam as it tried to leave the harbor during the attack. Later,…

1
Pearl Harbor survivor, Ted Kuykendall, from the USS Nevada tells his story (WWII). Part 3 of 4. 30:30

2M ago30:30

30:30

Send us a text Ted Kuykendall was an electrictrician during WWII and was serving on the USS Nevada when the Japanese Imperial Navy bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec 7th, 1941. He shares his remembrances from one of the most historic events in modern history onboard the only battleship to make steam as it tried to leave the harbor during the attack. Later,…

1
Pearl Harbor survivor, Ted Kuykendall, from the USS Nevada tells his story (WWII). Part 2 of 4. 31:23

2M ago31:23

31:23

Send us a text Ted Kuykendall was an electrictrician during WWII and was serving on the USS Nevada when the Japanese Imperial Navy bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec 7th, 1941. He shares his remembrances from one of the most historic events in modern history onboard the only battleship to make steam as it tried to leave the harbor during the attack. Later,…

1
Pearl Harbor survivor, Ted Kuykendall, from the USS Nevada tells his story (WWII). Part 1 of 4. 35:10

2M ago35:10

35:10

Send us a text Ted Kuykendall was an electrictrician during WWII and was serving on the USS Nevada when the Japanese Imperial Navy bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec 7th, 1941. He shares his remembrances from one of the most historic events in modern history onboard the only battleship to make steam as it tried to leave the harbor during the attack. Later,…

1
Jamie & Amba Cooper-Morris - Royal Engineers veteran and Adult Instructors in the Army Cadet Force 49:57

2M ago49:57

49:57

AJEX National Chair Dan Fox is joined by Royal Engineers veteran Jamie Cooper-Morris and his wife Amba (with a guest appearance from Cooper-Morris Junior!) at their home in Kent. They talk about Jamie's extensive operational army career, and his second calling in the Ambulance Service, a career introduced to him by Amba. They met through the Kent A…

1
Sgt Bill Mauch 8th AMTAC Battalion, 1st Marine Div, Peleliu, Okinawa WWII - Episode 6/6 SERIES 54 29:40

3M ago29:40

29:40

Send us a text Welcome to the final episode of the 6 part Bill Mauch series. In this Episode Bill describes his trip across the US after leaving the Marines and the heartfelt moment he saw his family again. Support the showBy Ryan Fairfield, Tony Lupo

1
China's Neoliberal Turn 1978-89 29:41

3M ago29:41

29:41

How did China embrace its own hybrid form of market capitalism with state control after the death of Mao in 1976? How did China avoid the economic shock therapy that devastated the USSR and become a technological super power in the 21st Century? Today's podcast explores the writings of David Harvey on Chinese capitalism and communism. Help the podc…

1
Tariffs, Brexit and the great reorientation 30:45

3M ago30:45

30:45

Britain's political class have realised that the writing is on the wall for them in the past week as Trump's tariffs as imposed. This podcast explores the contemporary state of international affairs between Britain, America and the EU. Help the podcast to continue bringing you history each week If you enjoy the Explaining History podcast and its ma…

1
Changing interpretations on the Nation of Islam 29:19

3M ago29:19

29:19

Scholarship of the Black Power Movement in general and the Nation of Islam in particular has been harder to accumulate than that on the main Civil Rights Movement led by Dr Martin Luther King and the SCLC. This podcast explores reasons for this and the differing interpretations on the nation that were recorded by historians and sociologists in the …

1
Sgt Bill Mauch 8th AMTAC Battalion, 1st Marine Div, Peleliu, Okinawa WWII - Episode 5/6 SERIES 54 47:23

3M ago47:23

47:23

Send us a text Welcome to Episode 5 of the 6 part Bill Mauch series. In this episode Bill discusses the number of ways you can die on Okinawa. Support the showBy Ryan Fairfield, Tony Lupo

1
The decline of US Liberal Internationalism 29:03

3M ago29:03

29:03

Since the beginning of the 21st Century, American internationalism has been in crisis and Trump's recent verbal and economic threats towards allies has accelerated this trend. This podcast explores America's 20th and 21st Century internationalist moments and crises. Help the podcast to continue bringing you history each week If you enjoy the Explai…

1
Hitler's resource war in Russia - 1941 22:18

3M ago22:18

22:18

In June 1941 Nazi Germany and its allies invaded the USSR, they saw the conquest of the country, the eradication of its leadership and the starvation of tens of millions of its people as part of a wider goal at creating a zone of resource extraction for the Nazi state in order to enable it to withstand an allied blockade and to stand up to the indu…

1
Humans: A Monstrous History 36:57

3M ago36:57

36:57

In this episode of The Explaining History Podcast we were fortunate enough to speak with Dr Surekha Davies, historian of art, science and ideas, whose new book, Humans: A Monstrous History explores the darker aspects of human imagining and how we see ourselves through the filter of the monstrous. Help the podcast to continue bringing you history ea…

1
Romania in 1918 24:01

3M ago24:01

24:01

Romania was, in territorial terms, one of the unlikely beneficiaries of the Paris Peace Conference. It acquired land from the disintegrated Austro Hungarian and Russian Empires and from new states like Hungary itself. the core Romanian lands, the Regat, found it challenging to absorb new territories, even when they were majority ethnically Romanian…

1
Nazi economic plunder of western Europe PT2 24:26

3M ago24:26

24:26

When Europe was rapidly subjugated by the Nazi regime, unprecedented economic opportunities arose and these were exploited by Germany's great industrial conglomerates and cartels such as chemicals giant IG Farben. This podcast explores how the Nazi regime imposed a new economic order on conquered states in western Europe. Help the podcast to contin…

1
Sgt Bill Mauch 8th AMTAC Battalion, 1st Marine Div, Peleliu, Okinawa WWII - Episode 4/6 SERIES 54 46:43

3M ago46:43

46:43

Send us a text Welcome to Episode 4 of the Bill Mauch series. Bill talks about the reason for invading Peleliu and provides some intense moments from the battle. He also talks about the landing on Okinawa. Support the showBy Ryan Fairfield, Tony Lupo

Podcasts Worth a Listen

20th Century Conflicts Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen