Aspects of History

On 6 August 1945 the Enola Gay, a Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber, approached Hiroshima and opened up its bomb doors. Once its payload dropped, the city was engulfed with blinding light and a huge explosion produced a giant mushroom cloud. When the attack was over and after the Enola Gay had returned to its airbase on the North Mariana islands, around 100,000 Japanese residents of Hiroshima were killed, and humanity had entered a new phase of warfare. Joining today is Iain MacGregor, author of The Hiroshima Men [https://amzn.to/45UIVAb] as we discuss the people involved and the thinking that led to this moment. Iain MacGregor Links The Hiroshima Men [https://amzn.to/45UIVAb] Aspects of History Links Latest Issue out - Annual Subscription to Aspects of History Magazine only $9.99/£9.99 [https://aspectsofhistory.com/product/subscribe/] Ollie on X [https://twitter.com/olliewcq] Aspects of History on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/aspectsofhistory/] Get in touch: history@aspectsofhistory.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Horace, born Quintus Horatius Flaccus in 65 BCE in Venusia, was one of ancient Rome’s most celebrated lyric poets. He lived through the turbulent transition from Republic to Empire and became closely associated with Emperor Augustus’s regime. Though he once fought on the losing side at the Battle of Philippi against Caesar, he later gained favour through the patronage of Maecenas, a key advisor to Augustus. Horace is best known for his Odes, Satires, Epistles, and the Ars Poetica—works that blend wit, philosophical reflection, and poetic elegance, and so naturally he is a perfect subject for Peter Stothard, historian and author. Looking for something to do at the end of June? You could do worse than head to the Chalke History Festival [https://www.chalkefestival.com/tickets/]. Peter Stothard Links Horace: Poet on a Volcano [https://amzn.to/3G6JhJC] Chalke Chalke History Festival [https://www.chalkefestival.com/tickets/] Aspects of History Links Latest Issue out - Annual Subscription to Aspects of History Magazine only $9.99/£9.99 [https://aspectsofhistory.com/product/subscribe/] Ollie on X [https://twitter.com/olliewcq] Aspects of History on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/aspectsofhistory/] Get in touch: history@aspectsofhistory.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Latest film club is the Maya epic from Mel Gibson. With a cast of unknowns, it put the civilisation overshadowed by the Aztecs back on the map. Links Ollie on X [https://twitter.com/olliewcq] Tim on X [https://twitter.com/DirectorTimmy] Roger on X [https://twitter.com/Roger_Moorhouse] Latest Issue out - Annual Subscription to Aspects of History Magazine only $9.99/£9.99 [https://aspectsofhistory.com/product/subscribe/] Aspects of History on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/aspectsofhistory/] Get in touch: history@aspectsofhistory.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Boudicca, Cleopatra, Artemisia and Olympias are just a few if the many women of the ancient world that we know about, but it’s significant that we know about them from male writers. That gives a certain perspective, not necessarily inaccurate, but it can be. Today I’m speaking with a classicist who writes about antiquity having gone direct to the sources and translating them herself, and has written a quite wonderful history of ancient Greece and Rome that is unusual in the discipline for saying something new. My guest is Daisy Dunn, author of The Missing Thread [https://amzn.to/44nYi2S] and we talk about some of the key female figures from Greece: Artemisia, a naval commander from the west coast of Asia Minor fighting for the Persians, and Olympias, the mother of Alexander the Great. We delve into a number of other areas for a most stimulating chat. Looking for something to do at the end of June? You could do worse than head to the Chalke History Festival [https://www.chalkefestival.com/tickets/]. Daisy Dunn Links The Missing Thread [https://amzn.to/44nYi2S] Chalke Chalke History Festival [https://www.chalkefestival.com/tickets/] Aspects of History Links Latest Issue out - Annual Subscription to Aspects of History Magazine only $9.99/£9.99 [https://aspectsofhistory.com/product/subscribe/] Ollie on X [https://twitter.com/olliewcq] Aspects of History on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/aspectsofhistory/] Get in touch: history@aspectsofhistory.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

On 20 November 1917, after a bombardment of the trenches near the town of Cambrai, German troops prepared for an attack by their British opponents. Out of the gloom emerged steel mechanised vehicles. The tank. Within minutes the Germans were overrun and the Mark IV tank had achieved its first stunning victory, a major milestone for this military innovation. Mark Urban joins to discuss his latest book, Tank [https://amzn.to/45j8nz6], which selects 10 and includes iconic beasts such as the Tiger and the T-34. We talk about where tank warfare is heading, in the context of the conflict in Ukraine and the recent Strategic Defence Review, and how tanks have changed in over 100 years. Gordon Corera  is speaking to me as part of the Chalke History Festival [https://www.chalkefestival.com/tickets/], which runs from 23rd to 29th June. Aspects of History is sponsoring Gordon’s talk with the novelist Charles Cumming. Mark Urban Links Tank [https://amzn.to/45j8nz6] Chalke Chalke History Festival [https://www.chalkefestival.com/tickets/] Aspects of History Links Latest Issue out - Annual Subscription to Aspects of History Magazine only $9.99/£9.99 [https://aspectsofhistory.com/product/subscribe/] Ollie on X [https://twitter.com/olliewcq] Aspects of History on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/aspectsofhistory/] Get in touch: history@aspectsofhistory.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]