Oh! What a lovely podcast

Feb 28 2025 56 ep. 49 mins 218
Oh! What a lovely podcast artwork

A history podcast discussing various cultural genres which reference the First World War, including detective fiction, Star Wars and death metal music, and ask why the First World War has particular popular cultural relevance.

  History  Society & Culture
RSS feed Share
Copy RSS


Subscribe on Podcast Addict


56 - Reginald Hill

Feb 28 2025 43 mins  
What happens when a late-twentieth-century detective novelist develops strong opinions about the First World War? This month Angus, Jessica and Chris discuss Reginald Hill's The Wood Beyond (1995) and the short story 'Silent Night' from the collection A Candle for Christmas (2023). Along the way, we consider the significance of the genealogy boom to the historiography of the war,

55 - Sapphire and Steel

Jan 31 2025 37 mins  
What happens when you combine the First World War with a 1970s cult sci-fi classic? This month we watched 'Assignment 2' from the television series Sapphire & Steel which features a ghostly First World War soldier haunting an abandoned railway station. Along the way we discuss differing approaches to sacrifice, the idea of an 'unjust' death, and where the show sits on our ongoing

54 - Ian Isherwood, The Battalion and Digital History

Dec 31 2024 39 mins  
What do you do when a student brings you a collection of family papers in a Harrods tin? This month, Chris, Angus and Jessica speak to Professor Ian Isherwood about his new book, The Battalion: Citizen Soldiers at War on the Western Front. Along the way, we discuss developing digital humanities projects, the involvement of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis in rambling and the prolifer

53 - Walking Tours

Nov 30 2024 49 mins  
How do you walk people through First World War landscapes? This month we welcome back Prof Mark Connelly to discuss his new walking tours endeavour Connelly Contours. Along the way we discuss war memorials in the London landscape, the evolution of remembrance, and if bad weather provides important context.

52 - Teaching the First World War

Oct 31 2024 47 mins  
How do you teach the FIrst World War? This month we're joined by Dr Ann-Marie Einhaus and Prof Catriona Pennell to reflect on their 'First World War in the Classroom' project that explored the ways the conflict was taught in schools. Along the way we discuss the role of battlefield tours, the time constraints faced by teachers, and whether the centenary has changed the way the war

51 - Public History with Greg Jenner

Sep 30 2024 75 mins  
Can you turn the First World War into sketch comedy? This month we talk to the public historian, podcaster, and author Greg Jenner. Along the way we discuss his work on the Horrible Histories television show, the difficulties of being funny about twentieth-century history, the different ways in which the public now consume history, and why Jessica might be considering changing care

50 - Black Hand Gang

Aug 31 2024 40 mins  
What happens when the First World War meets pulp science fiction? This month we read the novel: Black Hand Gang (the first in the No Man's World trilogy) by Pat Kelleher. The book depicts a fictional battalion of British soldiers who are transported from the Somme to a strange alien world. As a result we discuss supernatural horror and the war, the use of slang, and whether this

49 - The Warm Hands of Ghosts

Jul 31 2024 44 mins  
What happens when fantasy meets the First World War? This month, we read 'The Warm Hands of Ghosts' by Katherine Arden, a novel which follows Canadian nurse Laura Iven as she searches for her brother behind the lines in the militarised area known as the ‘Forbidden Zone’. The plot hinges around a mysterious character called Faland, who runs an elusive hotel with no set locatio

48 - No(Wo)man's Land: Writing history at the intersections of gender and First World War Studies

Jun 30 2024 47 mins  
This month Angus, Chris and Jessica discuss Jessica's professorial inaugural lecture, 'No (Wo)man's Land: writing history at the intersection of gender and First World War studies'. Along the way we consider the problem of masculinity as an empty analytic category, the importance of the centenary for the study of the First World War and what Jessica might have done if she hadn't

47 - Oh What a lovely War

Apr 30 2024 36 mins  
What happens when three historians watch a key play about the First World War? This month we took a field trip to see Oh What A Lovely War at the Leeds Playhouse. As a result we discuss the nature of the performance, the changing image of Douglas Haig, and wonder whether audiences were supposed to sing along. ReferencesAlan Clark, The Donkeys (1961) John McCrae, In Flanders Field (