On 14th January 1930, Horst Wessel, a brutal Nazi stormtrooper, was shot and killed by Red Front Fighter League street fighters. Wessel had lived by the sword and died by it. Such people are often soon forgotten by history. But Wessel has lived on, through the creation of his personality cult by chief Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels, as the perfect Nazi martyr.

How and why did Wessel achieve this infamous legacy?

Music by Alex Grohl, from Pixabay.

Cover artwork: "Comfort of a Bed or Roses" by James Gillray, courtesy of Look and Learn History Picture Archive.

Gary Arndt, the host of the Everything Everywhere Daily Podcast joins me to talk about all things history, from Emperor Claudius and calendars to Churchill and the Boer War.

Cover artwork: "Comfort of a Bed of Roses" by James Gillray, courtesy of Look and Learn History Picture Archive.

Music by Lexin Music from Pixabay.

Toby Hadoke, comedian, actor, writer, and all-round science fiction guru, joins me to talk about Doctor Who, the BBC sci-fi programme created in 1963 which went on to become the greatest TV show ever. Enjoy!

Cover artwork: "Comfort of a Bed of Roses" by James Gillray, courtesy of Look and Learn History Picture Archive.

Music by Lexin Music from Pixabay.

From Monitor ironclads and rusty mines to burning fortresses and blockade runners, how did the American Civil War spill out into naval warfare?

Dr Howard Fuller joins me to talk about the war at sea during the American Civil War (1861-1865).

We also discuss Dr Fuller's ongoing project to discover the shipwreck of the HMS Captain, which sank in 1870. Link to the project website below.

https://findthecaptain.co.uk/

Cover artwork: "Comfort of a Bed of Roses" by James Gillray, courtesy of Look and Learn History Picture Archive.

Music by Lexin Music from Pixabay.

The Congo, 1890s: Two competing empires are gearing up for war to decide who will control the vast swathe of territory in the heart of Africa known as the Congo, the Congo Free State forces from the west under the control of Belgian king Leopold and the slave and ivory traders from the east, known as the Arabs by the Belgians.

Dr Mario Draper returns to the show to talk about this little-known conflict between these two competing powers and how this war highlights certain general principles adopted by many countries on colonial campaigns and counterinsurgencies.

Cover artwork: "Comfort of a Bed of Roses" by James Gillray, courtesy of Look and Learn History Picture Archive.

Music by Lexin Music from Pixabay.

Professor John Wills joins me to talk about the Red Dead Redemption video game series. Set during the American West in a virtual world in which players can rob a stagecoach or go fishing, how true are the Red Dead games to what life was like on the frontier and how do they fit into the culture of the "Wild West"?

To learn more about Red Dead's relationship with the American West, please do purchase the book "Red Dead Redemption: History, Myth and Violence in the Video Game West", edited by Professor Wills and Esther Wright.

Cover artwork: "Comfort of a Bed of Roses" by James Gillray, courtesy of Look and Learn History Picture Archive.

Music by Lexin Music from Pixabay.

When it was launched in 1861, HMS Warrior was the most powerful warship in the world and the pride of the Royal Navy. Why and how did this vessel come to be built?

HMS Warrior remains in existence today and can be visited at the brilliant Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.

Cover artwork: "Comfort of a Bed of Roses" by James Gillray, courtesy of Look and Learn History Picture Archive.
Music by Lexin Music from Pixabay.

Professor Mark Connelly of Connelly Contours joins me to talk about the Christmas Truce of 1914, which took place on the Western Front during the First World War.

A beloved story in British popular memory of how British and German soldiers came together in no man's land on 25th December 1914 and briefly held a ceasefire and exchanged friendly words, cigarettes and had a football match. But how much of this is accurate?

Cover artwork: "Comfort of a Bed of Roses" by James Gillray, courtesy of Look and Learn History Picture Archive.
Music by Lexin Music from Pixabay.