War and military history podcast episodes

Caroline Dodds Pennock considers how warfare came to be a pivotal part of Aztec society, considering superstitious traditions, sacrifices and brutal methods of attack

Daniel Cowling describes the challenges facing the British occupiers of a shattered nation from 1945-49

Rana Mitter considers the life and legacy of one of the US' most influential – and contentious – diplomats, Henry Kissinger

Naoko Abe introduces three remarkable men who took a stand against some of the worst atrocities of the Second World War

Halik Kochanski shares the stories of the people across Nazi-occupied Europe who resisted the Germans during the Second World War

Serhii Plokhy discusses the historical backdrop that helps make sense of the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine

Saul David describes the horrors of the long campaign to defeat Japan in the Second World War, through the eyes of a company of US Marines

Gordon Corera discusses the causes and consequences of the Iraq War, and how we should reflect on it two decades later

Nicholas Vincent responds to your questions on the revolt against Henry III, led by the formidable Simon de Montfort

Christopher Goscha explores the conflict between the French empire and Ho Chi Minh’s Vietnamese army that followed WW2

Rachel Chrastil answers listener questions on a conflict that scarred the 19th century and had enormous consequences for the 20th

Andrew Pettegree examines some of the ways in which literary culture has evolved and been utilised during times of conflict – from the daring adventures of James Bond to the censorship of Winston Churchill's works in WW2 prisoner of war camps

Sarah Watling shines a light on the remarkable women who joined the fight against General Franco – from political firebrands to bestselling authors

Jeremy Black responds to listener questions on the 18th-century conflict that convulsed the globe and helped turn Britain into a world superpower

Professor Andrew Lambert answers listener questions about the conflict of 1853-1856 and the ways in which it shaped European history for decades

Elisabeth Leake charts the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, revealing how the ensuing occupation and internal conflict shaped the modern nation

Philip Oltermann tells the strange story of the poetry group run by the East German Ministry for State Security

Martin Sixsmith explores the role of psychology in the Cold War, from paranoia and propaganda to unpredictable leaders

Mike Anderson and Neil Hanson discuss the 1999 prosecution of a former Nazi collaborator – Britain’s only war crimes trial

From artistic experimentation to an explosion in pop music, Louis Menand looks at American art and ideas between 1945-65

Paul Beaver answers listeners questions on military aviation – from early innovations to flying aces and dogfights

Helen Parr answers listener questions on the conflict that erupted between Britain and Argentina 40 years ago

Mike Rapport tackles listener questions about the 19th-century conflicts that tore Europe apart and had repercussions across the globe

Rana Mitter discusses US president Richard Nixon’s 1972 trip to China – a visit that changed the course of the Cold War