Aspects of History – Details, episodes & analysis

When his queen Eleanor of Castile died in 1290, how did Edward I demonstrate his love for the woman 'whom in life we dearly cherished, and whom in death we cannot cease to love'. Joining Aspects of History today for a fascinating and wide-ranging conversation, history titan Alice Loxton adeptly explains how she followed, quite literally, in Edward's grief-stricken footsteps not just to commemorate his grief but to celebrate love. Alice Loxton Links: Website: https://aliceloxton.com/ Eleanor: A 200-Mile Walk in Search of England's Lost Queen Nathen Amin Links: Website: www.nathenamin.com Substack: https://nathenamin.substack.com/ Aspects of History Links: Website: www.aspectsofhistory.com Email: History@aspectsofhistory.com ⁠⁠Aspects of History on Instagram⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello and welcome to the Aspects of History 2025 books of the year podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries there was huge demand among medical practitioners for corpses on which to practices and perform. With the demand so came the suppliers in the form of body snatchers. These were highly motivated and well organised groups who solved the supply problem by taking the freshly buried dead and selling them to desperate surgeons. Joining today is Paul Bavill from the ⁠History Rage podcast⁠ as discusses the practice, the economic rewards and the quantities. Paul joins me as part of the ⁠Podcast Show Live preparations at the Imperial War Museum⁠ on Saturday 1st November. Do get your tickets and I’ll see you there. Links ⁠History Rage Podcast⁠ ⁠IWM Live⁠ Ollie Links Email me: ⁠History@aspectsofhistory.com⁠ ⁠Ollie on Twitter / X Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the 11th September 1683, at the great city of Vienna, the armies of the Ottoman Empire were preparing to storm the city, but their scouts to the west noticed a vast cavalry force approaching. The next day Christian horsemen (Poles, Lithuanians, Germans of the Holy Roman Empire and Cossacks)  swept down upon the troops of the Caliph and swept them away in one of the most stunning military victories of all time. But what lay at the heart of this clash between Christendom and the Caliphate, West vs. East, Christianity vs. Islam? Joining to discuss is historian of the Middle East Simon Mayall. We talk about the past’s influence on today’s fanatics, the conquests of Spain and the Levant by the Moors and the Crusaders and much much more. Episode Links ⁠The House of War: The Struggle between Christendom and the Caliphate⁠ Aspects of History Links ⁠Latest Issue out - Annual Subscription to Aspects of History Magazine only $9.99/£9.99⁠ ⁠Ollie on X⁠ ⁠Aspects of History on Instagram⁠ Check out Badlands Ranch: ⁠badlandsranch.com/AOH⁠ Get in touch: history@aspectsofhistory.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Publius Ovidius Naso was a Roman poet much of whose life coincided with the reign of Augustus. He was the most famous poet during this time, a genuine superstar, and his works dealing with sex, violence and mythology have meant he continues to attract study, translations and books today - Metamorphoses being his most famous work. Joining me today is Fiona Forsyth, author of Poetic Justice, who discusses the poet’s life, his work and his legacy, as well as a recommended translation. Episode Links ⁠Poetic Justice⁠ ⁠Metamorphoses, transl. Stephanie McCarter⁠ ⁠Ovid Banished from Rome, JWM Turner⁠ Aspects of History Links Get in touch: history@aspectsofhistory.com ⁠Latest Issue out - Annual Subscription to Aspects of History Magazine only $9.99/£9.99⁠ ⁠Ollie on X⁠ ⁠Aspects of History on Instagram⁠ Check out Badlands Ranch: ⁠badlandsranch.com/AOH Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Within months of the allies liberation of Naples in October of 1943 the city was plunged into the horrors of disease, starvation, prostitution and racketeering. How did this happen, who was responsible, what about the mafia and what was the impact on a city that is despised by the rest of Italy, and itself views the world very differently from other Mediterranean cities. Joining is Keith Lowe, author of ⁠Naples 1944⁠, an account of the chaos that resulted from what was supposed to be a release from the misery of occupation. Episode Links ⁠Naples 1944: War, Liberation and Chaos⁠ ⁠The Skin, by Curzio Malaparte⁠ ⁠DDT⁠ Aspects of History Links ⁠Latest Issue out - Annual Subscription to Aspects of History Magazine only $9.99/£9.99⁠ ⁠Ollie on X⁠ ⁠Aspects of History on Instagram⁠ Check out Badlands Ranch: ⁠badlandsranch.com/AOH⁠ Get in touch: history@aspectsofhistory.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the 25th October 1415 Henry V led the English army onto the field of Agincourt. There he defeated the flower of French chivalry to win perhaps the finest victory of the medieval period, made famous by Shakespeare’s play. But who was Henry V? Brilliant general, skilled politician or simply a warmonger? And is there a figure from the past that he most resembles? Dan Jones, the author of a new biography of Henry joins to answer these and many more questions as we try to get to the bottom of who Henry V was. Episode Links ⁠Henry V: The Astonishing Rise of England's Greatest Warrior King, Dan Jones⁠ ⁠YouTube video of young Henry's surgical procedure to remove the arrowhead⁠ Aspects of History Links ⁠Latest Issue out - Annual Subscription to Aspects of History Magazine only $9.99/£9.99⁠ ⁠Ollie on X⁠ ⁠Aspects of History on Instagram⁠ Check out Badlands Ranch: ⁠badlandsranch.com/AOH⁠ Get in touch: history@aspectsofhistory.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our Operation Market Garden series concludes with a chat on the 1977 classic directed by Richard Attenborough. Joining is Roger Moorhouse, author of ⁠The Forgers⁠, and film maker Tim Hewitt. Links ⁠ChatDMZ - Market Garden⁠ ⁠A Bridge Too Far on IMDB⁠ ⁠A Bridge Too Far on Wikipedia⁠ ⁠Dirk Bogarde Interview⁠ ⁠Ollie on X⁠ ⁠Tim on X⁠ ⁠Roger on X⁠ ⁠Latest Issue out - Annual Subscription to Aspects of History Magazine only $9.99/£9.99⁠ ⁠Aspects of History on Instagram⁠ Get in touch: history@aspectsofhistory.com Check out Badlands Ranch: ⁠badlandsranch.com/AOH Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

At 3 o’clock in the afternoon on the 20th September 1944 in Nijmegen, Holland, men of the 504th regiment, US 82nd Airborne embarked in canvas rowing boats and began an amphibious assault that was one of the most heroic in military history. Facing the well defended objective on the north end of the Nijmegen bridge over the river Waal, 134 men were killed or wounded in the crossing, more than half the force, but the attack was a success and the bridge was captured. The road to Arnhem was the final jigsaw in Operation Market Garden. Or was it? Joining me are two historians to discuss the operation as a whole, from the airborne forces tasked with capturing Eindhoven, Nijmegen and Arnhem, to XXX corps and the German troops facing them. Gordon Corrigan takes the allied side, and Philip Blood the German. Episode Links ⁠It Never Snows in September, Kershaw⁠ ⁠Sky Warriors, David⁠ ⁠A Bridge Too Far, Ryan⁠ ⁠Airborne Carpet, Farrar-Hockley⁠ ⁠Arnhem 1944, Middlebrook⁠ ⁠Arnhem, Beevor⁠ ⁠Arnhem: Black Tuesday, Murray⁠ Aspects of History Links ⁠Latest Issue out - Annual Subscription to Aspects of History Magazine only $9.99/£9.99⁠ ⁠Ollie on X⁠ ⁠Aspects of History on Instagram⁠ Check out Badlands Ranch: ⁠badlandsranch.com/AOH⁠ Get in touch: history@aspectsofhistory.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On Sunday the 17th September 1944 the 1st Airborne Division began dropping into Arnhem to begin a battle that remains iconic to this day. Within 2 days progress was proving difficult and on Tuesday the 19th, ⁠Black Tuesday⁠, things had come to a head. The commander, Roy Urquhart had gone missing, his subordinates were squabbling over command, only 1 battalion had made it to the objective, Arnhem Bridge, and the paras had come up against stiff resistance. Continuing our Operation Market Garden special, historian and comedian Al Murray joins to talk about that most heroic of failures, the Battle of Arnhem, and focusing on one day when success or failure was decided. Al Murray Links ⁠Arnhem: Black Tuesday⁠ ⁠Command: How the Allies Learned to Win the Second World War⁠ Aspects of History Links ⁠Latest Issue out - Annual Subscription to Aspects of History Magazine only $9.99/£9.99⁠ ⁠Ollie on X⁠ ⁠Aspects of History on Instagram⁠ Check out Badlands Ranch: ⁠badlandsranch.com/AOH⁠ Get in touch: history@aspectsofhistory.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices