The Unconventional Soldier – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Technical and general information from the podcast's RSS feed.

The Unconventional Soldier

theunconventionalsoldier

Society & Culture

History

Government

Frequency: 1 episode/18d. Total Eps: 125

"Letting the Guest Tell the Story"

The Unconventional Soldier Podcast explores conflicts from the Second World War, the Cold War, Northern Ireland and the Global War on Terror. Hosted by veterans, it blends personal experience, regimental history, and in-depth analysis of battles, leadership, and military transformation. Episodes feature former soldiers, historians, and defence experts discussing life on operations, lessons learned, and the enduring legacy of British and other Army campaigns. Follow for authentic voices, forgotten conflicts, and sharp insights from those who served.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recent rankings

Latest chart positions across Apple Podcasts and Spotify rankings.

Apple Podcasts

🇬🇧 Great Britain - documentary
20/08/2026
#84
🇬🇧 Great Britain - documentary
19/08/2026
#71
🇬🇧 Great Britain - documentary
18/08/2026
#66
🇬🇧 Great Britain - documentary
17/08/2026
#80
🇬🇧 Great Britain - documentary
16/08/2026
#72
🇬🇧 Great Britain - documentary
15/08/2026
#63
🇬🇧 Great Britain - documentary
14/08/2026
#58
🇬🇧 Great Britain - documentary
13/08/2026
#68
🇬🇧 Great Britain - documentary
12/08/2026
#68
🇬🇧 Great Britain - documentary
11/08/2026
#48

Spotify

No recent rankings available

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Links found in episode descriptions and other podcasts that share them.

See all

https://isarr.com/
115 shares
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/unconsoldierpod
76 shares
https://unconventionalsoldier.uk/
27 shares

https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/UCS473
76 shares
https://uk.bookshop.org/a/12773/9780141032399
1 share
https://uk.bookshop.org/a/12773/9781399803052
1 share

RSS feed quality and score

Technical evaluation of the podcast's RSS feed quality and structure.

See all

RSS feed quality

Good

Score global : 79%

Publication history

Monthly episode publishing history over the past years.

Year

Latest published episodes

Recent episodes with titles, durations, and descriptions.

See all

Andy McNab: SAS, War & Functioning Psychopaths

Season 4 · Episode 70

Wednesday, August 28, 2024 • Duration 01:10:57

CONTENT

The guest today is Andy McNab CBE DCM MM former special forces soldier, author and business man. On this episode we discuss his chaotic childhood, army service, functioning psychopaths, book writing, shooting Hollywood films and his latest project with WeServed a service for Veterans by Veterans - for more information visit www.we-served.com.

Andy's book choice on Desert Islands Dits is "Our Mutual Friend" by Charles Dickens.

WHERE TO GET OUR DESERT ISLAND DITS BOOK CHOICES

Most of our book recommendations can be bought via the Unconventional Soldier Bookshop. 10% of each purchase supports the pod and helps independent book stores on line sales.

"BUY ME A COFFEE"

If you want to support the podcast you can buy me a coffee here.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Instagram @the_unconventional_soldier_pod.

Facebook @lateo82.

Twitter @TheUCS473.

Download these and other platforms via Link Tree.

Email us: unconventionalsoldier@gmail.com.

This episode brought to you in association with ISARR a veteran owned company.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Read moreCollapse

MI9: Britain's Escape & Evasion Network In WW2

Season 4 · Episode 69

Wednesday, August 14, 2024 • Duration 01:09:39

CONTENT

The guest today is Dr Helen Fry. Helen has authored and edited over 25 books covering the social history of the Second World War, including British Intelligence and the secret war, espionage and spies, and MI9 escape and evasion. She is the foremost authority on the 'secret listeners' who worked at special eavesdropping sites operated by British Intelligence during WWII. Her groundbreaking research and extensive media coverage have shed light on one of the greatest intelligence deceptions of the war: the bugging of Hitler’s generals at Trent Park in North London, and thousands of prisoners of war at Latimer House and Wilton Park in Buckinghamshire.

On this podcast we discuss her book "MI9 - A History of the Secret Service for Escpe and Evasion in World War Two". When Allied fighters were trapped behind enemy lines, one branch of military intelligence helped them escape: MI9. The organisation set up clandestine routes that zig-zagged across Nazi-occupied Europe, enabling soldiers and airmen to make their way home. Secret agents and resistance fighters risked their lives and those of their families to hide the men. Drawing on declassified files and eye-witness testimonies from across Europe and the United States, Helen Fry provides a significant reassessment of MI9's wartime role.

Thanks to her expertise, Helen has appeared in a number of documentaries, including David Jason’s Secret Service (Channel 5), Spying on Hitler's Army (Channel 4), and Secrets of the Spies (Britbox). She has provided advisory services for TV and drama, something that she particularly enjoys. Helen has covered the major D-Day commemorations in live BBC broadcasts from Normandy, and she regularly appears in media interviews and podcasts.

WHERE TO GET OUR DESERT ISLAND DITS BOOK CHOICES

Most of our book recommendations can be bought via the Unconventional Soldier Bookshop. 10% of each purchase supports the pod and helps independent book stores on line sales.

Inside the SAS: Selection War & Survival

Season 4 · Episode 60

Monday, March 18, 2024 • Duration 01:17:05

CONTENT

The guest today is former Commando Gunner and member of 22 Special Air Service Mick Hawkes. On this podcast we discuss his army career including the Falklands war, volunteering for SAS selection, life and training in the Regiment, his deployment to Bosnia where he was captured by Serb forces alongside his mate Billy Billingham, the pace of operations for UKSF in Iraq and Afghanistan, sustaining SF manpower in a smaller army and finally his post military professional life in private security. As usual we finish off with Desert Island Dits which is the guests choice of book, film and luxury item if they were marooned on a desert island.

You can find Mick's website at www.hawkesandco.uk

WHERE TO GET OUR DESERT ISLAND DITS BOOK CHOICES

Most of our book recommendations can be bought via the Unconventional Soldier Bookshop. 10% of each purchase supports the pod and helps independent book stores on line sales.

"BUY ME A COFFEE"

If you want to support the podcast you can buy me a coffee here.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Check out our blog site on Wordpress Unconventional Soldier

Instagram @the_unconventional_soldier_pod.

Facebook @lateo82.

Twitter @TheUCS473.

Download these and other platforms via Link Tree.

Email us: unconventionalsoldier@gmail.com.

Cold War Stand Off: The Berlin Airlift, Berlin Wall & Cuban Missile Crisis

Season 4 · Episode 59

Wednesday, February 28, 2024 • Duration 58:47

CONTENT

This week on our Cold War series the guest is Ian Sanders who presents the award winning Cold War Conversations podcast. On this episode we discuss how Germany and Berlin were divided up between the victorious allied armies at the end of World War 2, the Berlin airlift when the Soviet Union attempted to starve the population of Berlin into submission and the reasons why the Russians built the Berlin wall virtually over night and the impact it had on the city's occupants. We finish off with a discussion on the Cuban missile which brought the world to the brink of nuclear war.

"BUY ME A COFFEE"

If you want to support the podcast you can buy me a coffee here.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Check out our blog site on Wordpress Unconventional Soldier

Instagram @the_unconventional_soldier_pod.

Facebook @lateo82.

Twitter @TheUCS473.

Download these and other platforms via Link Tree.

Email us: unconventionalsoldier@gmail.com.

This episode brought to you in association with ISARR a veteran owned company.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Artillery Gun Raids: Op GRANBY (Gulf War 1991)

Season 4 · Episode 58

Friday, February 16, 2024 • Duration 43:48

CONTENT

The guest today is former soldier Kev Brain who joined the Royal Artillery in 1975 completing 22 years service with the colours. He deployed on multiple operational tours to Northern Ireland and also on Operation GRANBY better known as the first Gulf War in 1991 as a Sergeant Gun number 1 in charge of a M110 203mm howitzer specifically built for general support and counter battery fire. He describes his career in the lead up to the deployment and what it was like to take part on the gun raids so effective at depleting the Iraqi artillery assets. In these raids, a battery would move forward to preselected positions near the enemy, fire a predetermined amount of rounds at selected targets, and move quickly back to avoid counterfire. These raids not only kept pressure on the enemy, but also afforded great live fire training, particularly gunnery and movement, which would be needed later to support the ground attack and the rapid advance into Iraq and Kuwait.

WHERE TO GET OUR DESERT ISLAND DITS BOOK CHOICES

Most of our book recommendations can be bought via the Unconventional Soldier Bookshop. 10% of each purchase supports the pod and helps independent book stores on line sales.

"BUY ME A COFFEE"

If you want to support the podcast you can buy me a coffee here.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Check out our blog site on Wordpress Unconventional Soldier

Instagram @the_unconventional_soldier_pod.

Facebook @lateo82.

Twitter @TheUCS473.

Download these and other platforms via.

7 Minutes To Midnight: The Cold War Begins

Season 4 · Episode 57

Monday, January 29, 2024 • Duration 47:17

CONTENT

This is a mini series covering parts of the Cold War we find interesting and will run in tandem with the Unconventional Soldier podcast. So why the title Seven Minutes to Midnight? The Doomsday Clock was a symbolic measurement that represented the likelihood of a human made global catastrophe in the form of a nuclear exchange between the global superpowers. In 1947 at the start of the Cold War it was deemed to be at 7 minutes to midnight, this naturally changed as the world lurched from one potential disaster to another. In 1953 it went to 2 minutes to midnight when tests were carried out on hydrogen bombs and 3 minutes to midnight in 1984 as the US and Soviet relations reached its lowest point. The Cold War eventually led to the collapse of the USSR but events of and from that time still dominate the global stage today.

WHERE TO GET OUR DESERT ISLAND DITS BOOK CHOICES

Most of our book recommendations can be bought via the Unconventional Soldier Bookshop. 10% of each purchase supports the pod and helps independent book stores on line sales.

"BUY ME A COFFEE"

If you want to support the podcast you can buy me a coffee here.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Check out our blog site on Wordpress Unconventional Soldier

Instagram @the_unconventional_soldier_pod.

Facebook @lateo82.

Twitter @TheUCS473.

Catherine Leroy: Photographing Combat In The Vietnam War

Season 4 · Episode 56

Monday, January 15, 2024 • Duration 01:00:22

CONTENT

The guest today is award winning author Mary Cronk Farrell. On this pod we will be discussing her book "Close Up On War" about the life of Catherine Leroy a French photographer who travelled to Vietnam at the height of the war where she made a name for herself in a male dominated environment. Bold, determined and cool under fire Catherine accompanied marines and soldiers into the dense jungle, waded through rice paddies and parachuted with them into combat despite being told she didn’t belong in a man’s world. A world in which shared the discomfort and dangers of the soldiers she photographed and where she was wounded and captured by the NVA. Catherine saw more combat in Vietnam than any news photographer of any gender. Her photos captured the human face of war and she was published in Americas leading newspapers and magazines forcing Americans to confront the human cost of war. Based on Catherine’s personal correspondence Mary’s book Close Up On War also showcases her most powerful photos by an extraordinary woman who deserves to be better known.

Mary's book choice on Desert island Dits is War And Peace by Leo Tolstoy. My book choice is Mary's book "Close Up On War The Story of Pioneering Photojournalist Catherine Leroy in Vietnam".

WHERE TO GET OUR DESERT ISLAND DITS BOOK CHOICES

Most of our book recommendations can be bought via the Unconventional Soldier Bookshop. 10% of each purchase supports the pod and helps independent book stores on line sales.

"BUY ME A COFFEE"

If you want to support the podcast you can buy me a coffee here.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Check out our blog site on Wordpress Unconventional Soldier

Learning From War: How Future Battles Will be Fought

Season 4 · Episode 55

Thursday, December 28, 2023 • Duration 55:57

CONTENT

The guest today is the Cognitive Marine a serving USMC officer currently stationed in Okinawa who previously appeared on podcast #039. On this episode we discuss how past and present wars influence thought on the way battles may be fought in the future. Subjects include:

Okinawa, Singapore and Menorca.
Ukraine & Russia.
Israel & Gaza.
The influence and development of his Cognitive Marine Instagram account.

His book choice on Desert island Dits is 2034: A Novel of the Next World War by Elliot Ackerman & Admiral James Stavridis.

WHERE TO GET OUR DESERT ISLAND DITS BOOK CHOICES

Most of our book recommendations can be bought via the Unconventional Soldier Bookshop. 10% of each purchase supports the pod and helps independent book stores on line sales.

"BUY ME A COFFEE"

If you want to support the podcast you can buy me a coffee here.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Check out our blog site on Wordpress Unconventional Soldier

Instagram @the_unconventional_soldier_pod.

Facebook @lateo82.

Twitter @TheUCS473.

Mountain & Arctic Warfare Cadre: Return To Top Malo House

Season 4 · Episode 54

Thursday, December 14, 2023 • Duration 01:07:45

CONTENT

The guest today is former Royal Marine and member of the Mountain and Arctic Warfare Cadre Nige Devenish. Nige was my guest back on podcast # 046 when we discussed his career in the cadre and their part on Operation CORPORATE during the Falklands war in 1982. On this podcast we talk about his recent visit to the Falklands, his first since his deployment, with other cadre veterans to lay a memorial stone at the site of the battle for Top Malo House. We discuss the battle in detail and his thoughts on the other battle sites he visited. We also talk about the contribution made by Falkland islanders to the campaign and what the island is like today.

I would like to thank Traighana Smith News Editor at Falklands Radio for providing extracts of interviews conducted by the station with former Cadre veterans.

DESERT ISLAND DITS BOOK CHOICES

Most of our book recommendations can be bought via the Unconventional Soldier Bookshop. 10% of each purchase supports the pod and helps independent book stores on line sales. Nige's choice on this podcast is An Unsung Hero: Tom Crean - Antarctic Survivor by Michael Smith. My choice was Tempsford Academy: Churchill's and Roosevelt's Secret Airfield by Bernard O'Connor.

"BUY ME A COFFEE"

If you want to support the podcast you can buy me a coffee here.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Check out our blog site on Wordpress Unconventional Soldier

Instagram @the_unconventional_soldier_pod.

No Zero Risk: From Commando Medic to Global Crisis Management

Season 4 · Episode 53

Tuesday, November 28, 2023 • Duration 01:06:31

CONTENT

The guest today is Tony Loughran a former Royal Navy Commando medic now a global risk specialist, with over 30 years international experience as a safety and security professional. On this episode we discuss:

His time in the senior service, deployments and attachments with the Royal Marines Mountain & Arctic Warfare cadre.
His 14 year stint as Head of International Risk at the BBC in London where he pioneered a safety culture in the news business adapting the skills he’d acquired in the military to the needs of journalists at the sharp end.
How he established his own security consultancy company business, Zero Risk International.

Tony is a published author and we finish off with his book Zero Risk.

DESERT ISLAND DITS BOOK CHOICES

Most of our book recommendations can be bought via the Unconventional Soldier Bookshop. 10% of each purchase supports the pod and helps independent book stores on line sales.

"BUY ME A COFFEE"

If you want to support the podcast you can buy me a coffee here.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Check out our blog site on Wordpress Unconventional Soldier

Instagram @the_unconventional_soldier_pod.

Facebook @lateo82.

Twitter @TheUCS473.

Download these and other platforms via Link Tree.

Email us: unconventionalsoldier@gmail.com.

The Unconventional Soldier – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

The Unconventional Soldier – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Other60

Goodreads88

Bookshop11

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Similar podcasts and content

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Other60

Goodreads88

Bookshop11

Apple Podcasts

Spotify