Curious Canadian History

Jan 07 2025 177 ep. 24 mins 1.6k
Curious Canadian History Podcast artwork

Historian David Borys dives deep into the fascinating world of Canadian history in this bi-weekly podcast exploring everything from the wonderful to the weird to the downright dark.
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  History  Education  Society & Culture
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S10E9 - Jackie Robinson in Montreal

Jan 07 2025 46 mins  
It is impossible to deny the legendary status that Jackie Robinson has had in the game of baseball. There have been movies, songs, poetry, books and essays about his career and countless tributes and celebrations of his life and impact on the game. Jackie was born in Georgia in 1919 but spent most of his life growing up in Pasadena, California. By the time he went to college he was

S10E8 - The Voyage of the Damned - The MS St. Louis, Canada and the Holocaust

Dec 10 2024 34 mins  
On the 7th of June 1939 a ship sailed for Cuba, on board were 907 Jewish refugees fleeing the violent antisemitic state that had become Nazi Germany. When arriving in Cuba, their visas were no longer accepted, and the passengers were told they could not disembark. The ship then sailed to the United States, where the passengers were once again refused asylum. Finally, the ship

S10E7 - Canadian Time Machine Presents Lucy Maud Montgomery

Nov 26 2024 18 mins  
November 30, 2024 marks 150 years since Lucy Maud Montgomery’s birth, and her legacy continues to endure. Best known for Anne of Green Gables, Montgomery created characters that embody resilience and imagination and  some have gone on to become Canadian fiction icons. In this episode her granddaughter, Kate Macdonald Butler, shares family stories, preserves her gra

S10E6 - The Group of 7

Nov 12 2024 47 mins  
The Group of 7 are some of the most iconic and well-known Canadian painters in the history of Canadian art. While forming on the heels of the First World War, during a dramatic period of social and political upheaval, the painters in the group came to define a uniquely Canadian style of art. One that reflected a country that was searching for new ways to express itself after the in

S10E5 - Canadian Partisans in World War Two Yugoslavia

Oct 29 2024 20 mins  
Across Axis occupied Europe a shadow war raged as numerous resistance groups in all occupied countries sought to dismantle or disrupt the Axis forces implementing their brutal occupation regimes. In some cases, these groups were quite successful, in others only marginally so, in all, though, the Allies ensured that they supported these movements to continue to strike against their

S10E4 - The Life and Times of Emily Carr

Oct 15 2024 41 mins  
When one thinks of an iconic Canadian painter one does not have to go through many names before thinking of Emily Carr. And if one is looking for an influential west-coast painter than generally one’s first thoughts land on Emily. It is undeniable that Emily Carr has had a significant impact on the Canadian artistic landscape, as a woman, as a modernist, as an author, and as deve

S10E3 CANCON and Canadian Music

Oct 01 2024 27 mins  
All around the world today there are people who listen to music made by Canadians. Most of us are familiar with Drake and Justin Bieber but long before those two superstars, all over the world Canadian musical acts had been transmitting into the ears of humans. But in some alternate reality, none of the Bieber’s or Drake’s exist. In fact, there is probably an alternate reality

**The New Book is Out**

Sep 24 2024 2 mins  
Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 is officially out! Check out this photograph-rich single volume history of Canada's military at war. You can purchase a copy right now at the below links:AmazonIndigoDundurnGoodreadsIndiebookstores.ca Get add free content at Patreon! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S10E2 - Canadians in the Battle of Britain

Sep 17 2024 43 mins  
For 113 terrifying days in 1940, Nazi Germany’s air force, the Luftwaffe, threw everything it had at Great Britain in hopes of early victory in World War II. The task of defending southern England from airborne attack fell to pilots in the Royal Air Force, supplemented in their darkest hour by more than 100 flyers from Canada. These Canadians, some from famous families, some stra

Special Episode 3 - Punching Above Our Weight - Pre-purchase available now!!

Sep 10 2024 9 mins  
Our very own David Borys has a new book coming out in September titled “Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867” published by Dundurn Press. The book is an easy to read, single volume history of Canada at war since 1867. This photograph-rich volume covers nearly 150 years of the Canadian military, tracing its evolution from a small, underfunded,