The Hipstorians

Uncivil War- Northern Ireland 1969-71

Mon, 11 Dec 2023 17:32:45 GMT

Huw Bennett reaches deep into the archives on a journey that took 8 years to produce this piece of historical importance in the understanding of the period. Rich in detail offering the reader a birdseye view of the political machinations and the knock on affect of actions taken that in hindsight may seem foolhardy and disastrous but given the information the armed forces had at the time seemed logical. The outcomes on the ground could be superimposed on an army of occupation before or since and shows how despite the best equipment and intelligence available history does repeat itself.

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

Mairia Cahill Sexual Abuse, The IRA and Sinn Fein

Mon, 20 Nov 2023 14:49:56 GMT

Mairia Cahill has released her book ‘Rough Beast” speaking about her traumatic experience of sexual abuse by a member of the IRA and how the organisation handled it internally and offered her no protection against her abuser, ultimately staying quiet whilst a case was built with the PSNI after Mairia courageously made a complaint to a police force not recognised by the Republican movement that essentially ruled the area where she lived and this movement was also started by her Great Uncle Joe Cahill. Mairia recounts the difficulties she encountered and how she has manageged to get on with her life.

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

Speed Agression Surprise SAS with Tom Petch

Fri, 20 Oct 2023 20:32:26 GMT

Tom Petch uncovers the true origins of this maverick unit introducing a whole cast of unique individuals who showed huge courage to change the face of modern warfare and risked their lives deep behind enemy lines. The U.K Official Secrets Act has kept the identity of main man Dudley Clarke from the public realm until now. Tom’s experience as an SAS Commander shines through in his writing clearly explaining strategy and succeeding in delivering a pacy narrative.

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

Irish priest turned arms dealer for the IRA with Jennifer O’Leary

Thu, 28 Sep 2023 20:22:37 GMT

Fr. Patrick Ryan a Pallotine Father returns from missionary work in East Africa to East London in the late 1960’s just as ‘The Troubles’ so called begin in Northern Ireland. Discover how this complex character came to take off the collar to buy arms form Col. Ghadaffi in Libya and ultimately use his engineering mind to join the dots and see how a simple parking timer could solve one of the IRA’s biggest bomb making problems, the own goals! Journalist Jennifer O’Leary had exclusive access to The Padre as he recounts his part in The Thirty Years War.,

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

The Treaty the birth of the Irish Free State with Gretchen Freimann

Thu, 21 Sep 2023 17:24:25 GMT

In this episode Gretchen untangles the complexities of life in Ireland as a nation emerged from its colonial bind. We discuss the characters involved and Gretchen an Australian by birth is a master of the subject matter. We enjoy a fantastic history lesson that puts some context on previous episodes giving us more to think about how the war in the Northern Ireland evolved and how this country is not simply divided along sectarian grounds but rather there are many layers of opinion on the politics of Ireland. A worthy investigation in the midst of our series on recent Irish history.

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

Prisoner 1082 Part 2

Thu, 07 Sep 2023 10:07:28 GMT

We conclude our intensely absorbing tale of IRA Prisoner 1082 Donal Donnelly’s daring escape from Crumlin Road Gaol. We also discuss the current peace process and the prospects of a unites Ireland and some of what needs to change within Northern Ireland before that can happen.

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

Prisoner 1082 Crumlin Road Gaol Irish Republican Army Escapologist Donal Donnelly

Thu, 31 Aug 2023 16:47:09 GMT

Donal born in 1939 Omagh County Tyrone eloquently describes life in Northern Ireland after partition offering a balanced opinion albeit from a Nationalist perspective. This is Part 1 of what is a beautifully described story told as if it happened yesterday, Donal is a delight to speak with, enjoy.

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

History of the UFC, Caged Kings with Michael Thomsen

Fri, 18 Aug 2023 18:51:59 GMT

Journalist Michael Thomsen’s new book Caged Kings takes us through the beginnings of what might have been called a hobby project that seemed to capture a Zeitgeist in American culture just at the right time when cable television began experimenting with pay per view. We discuss some of the characters that shaped our view of what is now the sport of Mixed Martial Arts and try and grasp what it is that has made this company such a success.

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

Northern Ireland Conflict & Collusion with Anne Cadwallader

Thu, 10 Aug 2023 12:05:04 GMT

Anne having covered the stories on the ground in Northern Ireland left journalism to work with the Pat Finucane Centre to help families seek justice for loved ones who died as a result of collusion of British State and loyalist paramilitaries. We have an honest conversation about a conflict that no longer takes up space in the press but the story is not yet complete.

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

The Palestine Laboratory with Antony Loewenstein

Sat, 05 Aug 2023 10:37:32 GMT

We’re back! Welcome to Season 6. Myself and our new addition to the Hipstorians team Yvonne Mulligan kick it off with Antony Loewenstein who has written ‘The Palestine Laboratory” and leads us on a journey through the creation of the state of Israel and it’s evolution, it’s role in the world and of course the question of Palestine.

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

Vietnam War Veteran in full technicolour

Wed, 12 Jul 2023 11:20:38 GMT

Kregg Jorgensen tells his story in epic detail of how he ended up in the Army Ranger Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol, his CBS televised being shot in the leg and more lot’s more. Myself and Yvonne had a terrific time, Kregg is quite a character. Hope you enjoy.

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

Z Generation the people in Putin’s Army and the future of Russia

Thu, 06 Jul 2023 12:14:54 GMT

Russia expert Dr. Ian Garner having lived in St Petersburg sets out his views on the Russian state and war machine and the youth who have grown up under Putin’s reign and how the propaganda apparatus has managed to indoctrinate a demographic aspiring to Russian greatness. Another thriller which unfortunately will play a part in all our lives.

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

Benghazi attack with Ethan Chorin

Fri, 30 Jun 2023 12:18:35 GMT

Ethan draws our attention to a seemingly small event in human history that illuminates how petty bickering between political parties can affect the lives of millions of people thousands of miles away in whose countries U.S foreign policy is enacted. We also learn how intelligence can only be stretched so far with limited budgets.

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

Very Bad People with Patrick Alley

Fri, 23 Jun 2023 12:35:19 GMT

Patrick introduces us to the world as it is. Beyond the gaze of the average punter large sums of money change hands between governments and private enterprise, the economics of our resources the things we in the west rely on and consider ourselves entitled to. This episode opened my eyes to a whole new view of the world we live in.

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

Tales of Smedley Butler told by Johnathan M Katz, fascist plots and surviving Haitian eathquake

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 15:39:16 GMT

Fascinating interview with the learned Jonathan M Katz who takes us through the rise of American Empire and influence and the effect of this policy on the world at large and how capitalist enterprise is present throughout. We talk about “January 6th” and the earthquake in Haiti. This episode was recorded when the weather was flipping freezing so hope it helps to cool you down in this current heatwave.

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

A People Under Siege with Dr. Aaron Edwards

Fri, 09 Jun 2023 07:42:03 GMT

We sweep a reflective searchlight on what it means to be from Northern Ireland from the perspective of those seeking a bright future beyond ‘The Troubles” and a sobering look at what lies ahead. Aaron, a native Belfast historian has written extensively although not exclusively on the period known as ‘The Troubles” and has fostered relationships with key figures through many years of research and offers a would be reader accessible, crisp and well written histories of the period. Other books include UVF Behind the Mask and 2021’s Agents of Influence.

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

Fantasyland

Sun, 04 Jun 2023 13:17:02 GMT

Author of history of United States of America titled 'Fantasyland' brings us on a fascinating journey through America's eclectic mix of persecuted religions that made the move firstly across the water from Europe and then further pressed to make the journey west. Kurt Anderson is also a novelist and lives in rural Kentucky.

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

The tragedy of our modern migrant crisis

Thu, 25 May 2023 17:05:36 GMT

Irish journalist and writer, Sally Hayden, says she "stumbled on a human rights disaster of epic proportions" when she wrote about the ongoing migrant crisis in Europe in her award-winning book ' My Fourth Time, We Drowned' (Orwell Prize & Irish Book of the Year). A foreign correspondent, she has reported from Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda and Rwanda.

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

Baltimore, corrupt cops, Justin Fenton ‘We Own This City’

Sun, 21 May 2023 10:01:32 GMT

Baltimorean journalist Justin Fenton joins us to talk about his book on police corruption ‘We Own This City’ that was made into a HBO Series of the same name. He reveals the scale of scandalous police corruption in a city with a declining population and is yet one of the murder capitals in the US and is ravaged with drug related deaths. We discuss the failing war on drugs and Justin’s ride along experience in Dublin’s mean streets with the Irish Garda Siochana.

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

The history of transplant surgery, syphilis, skin grafts and more!

Fri, 12 May 2023 20:14:46 GMT

Hope you're not squeamish! In his first book, the author of 'Spare Parts', Paul Craddock, explored transplant surgery, from the sixteenth century to the present day. Paul guides us through some of the extraordinary advances through medical science over the centuries. Gory, gritty, and endlessly fascinating!

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

Why we should ALL be afraid of Russia

Thu, 04 May 2023 17:01:14 GMT

In his book 'Russia's War on Everybody: And What it Means for You' author Giles Keir lifted the lid on how Russia has been waging a clandestine war against the West for decades. But here, he reveals why the 2022 attack on Ukraine is a threat to us all, regardless of where we live.

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

The resistance women who escaped the Germans

Thu, 04 May 2023 16:55:38 GMT

The American author Gwen Strauss tells the story of how her great aunt Hélène Podliasky led a band of nine female resistance fighters as they escaped a German forced labour camp and made a ten-day journey across the front lines of WWII from Germany back to Paris

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

The cover album art of Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, LSD, and the 1970s

Thu, 27 Apr 2023 11:09:57 GMT

Mark Blake, the author 'Us And Them: The Authorised Story Of Hipgnosis' - the history of record sleeve designers, who created some of the most iconic album covers of all time, including Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side Of The Moon and Led Zeppelin’s Houses Of The Holy

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

War reporting from the frontline in Iraq and Afghanistan, flying humvees, special forces, JSOC and the world police with Sean D Naylor

Thu, 20 Apr 2023 19:58:05 GMT

Sean D Naylor spent 20 years writing for Army Times and, being embedded with frontline troops, he was well placed to record the story of the rise of JSOC, Joint Special Operations Command.

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

Nuclear secrets and bombs, the Bhagavad Gita, Oppenheimer and more

Wed, 12 Apr 2023 21:24:15 GMT

Derek and Neil get schooled in unexpected ways after some chit chat and musings on their childhood fears of nuclear Armageddon. Alex Wellerstein reorients our long held views of nuclear history.

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

Pulitzer Prize winner David E Hoffman takes us to Cuba

Fri, 07 Apr 2023 14:33:50 GMT

Pulitzer Prize winner David E Hoffman (after a brief discussion about the Irish weather in December!) takes us to sunnier climes to talk about Oswaldo Paya and his fight for freedom in Castro’s oppressive Cuba. We are given a wonderful geo-political lesson delivered with passion and emotion. This one is a special treat for Easter. Enjoy!

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

Power, money and corruption in the Vatican City

Thu, 06 Apr 2023 09:34:29 GMT

This episode author Gerald Posner takes us through the dark dealings of Christianity’s most holy city, its ties to fascism, Joseph Mengele and how it makes its money.

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

Untold stories of African empires with Luke Pepera

Thu, 30 Mar 2023 09:49:48 GMT

Talking about old stories written out of history that ooen up a whole new world of discovery and why is it only now that we are being introduced to Africa’s rich and abundant history.

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

Untold stories of African Empires with Luke Pepera

Wed, 29 Mar 2023 11:24:45 GMT

Talking about old stories written out of history opening up a whole new world of discovery and why is it only now that we are being introduced to Africa’s rich abundant history.

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

Checkmate in Berlin and one of Britain’s deepest secrets

Fri, 24 Mar 2023 01:14:02 GMT

Take a wander through Berlin as the Cold War heats up and Giles Milton introduces us to his new podcast series Cover Up: Ministry of Secrets

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

Rocket man Homer Hickam

Thu, 16 Mar 2023 10:12:09 GMT

Almost Octogenerian Homer Hickam takes us on the rocket ship that is his life. Homer is probably best known for the movie about his childhood ‘October Sky’ which starred a young Jake Gyllenhaal, and his book Rocket Boys. We discuss so many topics in addition to the obvious which literally left myself and Neil spinning and feeling like underachievers 😂

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

Tim Brannigan, black Irish Socialist Republican

Wed, 15 Mar 2023 17:08:57 GMT

Black IRA man Tim Brannigan shares his incredible story of life on the Falls Road Belfast, his time in the Maze Prison, his Irishness, his being black in a white Catholic community and his views on the Queen's funeral. Tim is a great storyteller and this shines right through a very honest conversation.

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

Airship down

Thu, 09 Mar 2023 17:06:23 GMT

In N-4 Down author Mark Piesing tells the unforgettable true story of what happened when the largest polar rescue mission in history was launched to find the survivors of the glamorous Arctic airship Italia, which crashed near the North Pole in 1928.

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

Sex cult survivor who escaped the Children of God

Sun, 26 Feb 2023 19:28:37 GMT

Daniella Mestyanek Young is an author, a TEDx Speaker, a sex-cult survivor, and US Army Combat Veteran who joined us on the HIpstorians tell us about her extraordinary life as captured in her book Uncultured. After being born into the Children of God which also counted the actors River and Joaquin Phoenix as members, Daniella escaped at just 15 before joining the US military where she was member of the Female Engagement Team participating in ground combat operations.

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

Delving into big history

Thu, 23 Feb 2023 14:20:20 GMT

Professor Michael Burleigh is a world-renowned historian whose massive books including The Racial State; Death and Deliverance; Germany Turns Eastwards; The Third Reich; Earthly Powers and Sacred Causes; Blood and Rage; and Moral Combat: A History of WW2 have been translated into 20 languages.

He won the 2001 Samuel Johnson Prize for Non Fiction, as well as three prizes for TV documentaries based on his work, notably a British Film Institute Award for Archival Achievement in 1991 for ‘Selling Murder’ and a NYTV Festival Award for ‘Heil Herbie’.

He took time out of his busy schedule to tell the Hipstorians about the writing life of an author whose acclaimed, award-winning histories explore many of the most challenging issues of our time much as euthanasia, genocide, terrorism, the nature of religion and globalisation.

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

The best (and worst!) conspiracies ever

Mon, 20 Feb 2023 13:28:05 GMT

We have great fun in this episode with Tom Phillips (Humans; Truth) and Jonn Elledge (The Compendium of Not Quite Everything) as we explore some of the wackiest conspiracy theories out there, which the lads have hilariously compiled in their brilliant book 'Conspiracy: A History of Boll*cks Theories, and How Not to Fall for Them'

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

The Nazi billionaries

Thu, 09 Feb 2023 17:42:20 GMT

David de Jong's groundbreaking investigation into how the Nazis helped German tycoons make billions off the horrors of the Third Reich and World War II

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

Former SAS man and Falklands veteran

Thu, 09 Feb 2023 16:38:59 GMT

Nigel ‘Spud’ Ely’s soldiering career in the Parachute Regiment, the SAS, as a Military Consultant and as a war photojournalist has taken him in to some of the most deadly, high-octane, violent battles of the modern era, from Northern Ireland, the Falklands, to Africa, Afghanistan and Iraq. He was arrested by British Police and threatened with a seven stretch for stealing a large piece of Saddam Hussein’s bronze left buttock.

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

The Falklands War - The unknown story

Thu, 26 Jan 2023 22:47:51 GMT

Best-selling military historian and author Ricky D Phillips tells us the inside story of the Falklands War, revealing what he has discovered through research into books like The First Casualty: The Untold Story of the Falklands War and the 2021 follow-up Last Letters from Stanley. There is also The Falklands Invasion: A Pictorial History and Tied With Wires: The Incredible Argentine Inventions & Weapons of the Falklands War which lifts the lid on previously unknown facts about the batttle

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

Voices from the Irish Civil War

Thu, 19 Jan 2023 23:48:23 GMT

Described by one commentator as the “unspeakable war" and “a story that nobody dared to tell," the tragic Irish Civil War of 1922-1923 has often been considered one of the darkest periods of the country's history. Much of that story has never been told before..until now with the publication of ground-breaking books such as Síobhra Aiken's 'Spiritual Wounds: Trauma, Testimony and the Irish Civil War.' In this episode of The Hipstorians the Irish historian and author tells us how she uncovered the voices of those who were there and the moving story of what they endured.

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

On drugs and music

Thu, 12 Jan 2023 22:30:01 GMT

And now, for something a little bit different as we talk to Harry Shapiro, author and journalist who has been working in the UK drugs charity sector and as a music biographer. His books include, Recreational Drugs: A Directory, Waiting for the Man: the Story of Drugs and Popular Music and Shooting Stars: Drugs, Hollywood and the Movies. His history of the UK drug scene Fierce Chemistry was published in 2021 and he is the author of biographies on Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, Alexis Korner, Graham Bond and Gary Moore. His latest work in progress is a biography of the Louisiana blues guitarist John Campbell

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

The battle for Syria

Thu, 05 Jan 2023 21:02:47 GMT

Christopher Phillips tells us the background story about how the United States and other nations have played a part in Syria’s ongoing civil war. Although the war-torn country's brutal, long-lasting civil war is widely viewed as a domestic contest that began in 2011 Christopher reveals how the US, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Qatar were involved right from the start.

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

The CIA spy turned stay-at-home-mom

Thu, 29 Dec 2022 17:27:11 GMT

Former CIA agent Christina Hillsburgh lets us in on the secret world of spycraft and the techniques and skills she learned to teach parents how to raise resourceful, self-sufficient children that she shares in her insightful book, License to Parent

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

Area 51, aliens and nuclear war

Thu, 22 Dec 2022 21:45:17 GMT

American investigative journalist, Pulitzer Prize finalist and New York Times best-selling author, Annie Jacobsen, will keep you up at night wondering about the secrets she has unearthed in works like 'Area 51: An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base'; 'Operation Paperclip: The Secret Intelligence Program that Brought Nazi Scientists to America'; 'The Pentagon's Brain: An Uncensored History of DARPA, America's Top-Secret Military Research Agency' and

'First Platoon: A Story of Modern War in the Age of Identity Dominance'

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

Travelling through Muslim Europe

Thu, 15 Dec 2022 21:27:21 GMT

In his enlightening new book Minarets in the Mountains, Tharik Hussain brings to life the rarely told story of Muslim Europe, and the 600-year-old Ottoman Muslim heritage and culture of the Balkans

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

First to fight Hitler!

Thu, 08 Dec 2022 17:16:38 GMT

Poland was the first country to face the full onslaught of the murderous force of the Nazis at the start of World War Two. By the end of the war, one in five of its people had perished. Roger Moorehouse tells us about an often overlooked, but crucial conflict at the outbreak of the worst conflagration that would envelop the world, and how the consequences of those dark days in September 1939 still affect Europe today.

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

A true historical detective story set in the 16th Century

Thu, 01 Dec 2022 19:29:42 GMT

Edward Wilson-Lee's 'A History of Water' is a true historical detective story set in sixteenth-century Portugal. We follow two men - one a collector, historian and expert on water-music who ends up dying a grisly death - the other a ruffian, vagabond and braggart who ends up as the country's national poet

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

The monk who lit up the Dark Ages

Thu, 24 Nov 2022 18:16:04 GMT

Author Seb Falk brings us on a fascinating journey back to the so-called Dark Ages to meet our guide, an enlightened 14th-century English monk, who was also a pathbreaking astronomer, in his book The Light Ages.

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

The Irish SAS legend

Thu, 17 Nov 2022 12:36:19 GMT

Soldier, rugby star, lawyer, amateur boxer and founding member of the Special Air Service (SAS), Lieutenant Colonel Robert Blair 'Paddy' Mayne became one of the British Army's most highly decorated soldiers and was controversially denied the VC. He was also a rogue, a troubled young man and would die at just 40 years of age in a car crash after surviving numerous dangerous missions throughout the Second World War. His story is brilliantly told in author Damien Lewis’ latest book: ‘SAS Brothers In Arms' which describes how these ‘rough diamonds’ answered Churchill’s call for volunteers to go deep behind enemy lines in North Africa.

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

Coming of age in Northern Ireland's year of Chaos

Tue, 15 Nov 2022 15:16:18 GMT

As a cub reporter Malachi O Doherty cut his teeth covering one of the worst years of the so-called Troubles. He was just 21-years-of-age, as the conflict escalated in 1972, but would go on to become one of the most prolific authors on Northern Ireland. Here, he tells us about the Tartan Gangs, dodging British Army 'Duck Squads' and dancing with Protestant girls before Northern Ireland descended into chaos.

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

Growing up during Belfast Days as a teenage girl

Tue, 15 Nov 2022 13:45:11 GMT

Journalist and author Eimear O Callaghan was just 16-years-of-age when she kept a diary over the course of one year - 1972 - while growing up in Belfast. In this heart-rending and emotional interview Eimear tells us how the discovery of the long-lost diary led to the publication of the best-selling 'Belfast Days' a unique and touching account of the daily life of an ordinary teenager coming of age during one of the worst years of the Troubles.

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

Alexander the Great sex god

Thu, 10 Nov 2022 10:20:52 GMT

In this episode Tristan Hughes, producer and presenter at History Hit, host of The Ancients history podcast, and author of Alexander’s Successors at War: The Perdiccas Years 323 - 320 brings us back more than 2,000 years to the time of swords and sandals to reveal the untold story of one of history's biggest hitters..

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

Saving the world from cybercrime

Thu, 03 Nov 2022 18:26:26 GMT

Pulitzer Prize-winner Dan Golden joins us from Boston, Massachusetts to tell us all about the real-life technological thriller he has written with Renee Dudley about a band of eccentric misfits who are taking on the biggest cybersecurity threats of our time by hacking the hackers

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

Taking down the Islamic State

Thu, 27 Oct 2022 11:16:18 GMT

In ‘The Spymaster of Baghdad’ Pulitzer Prize-finalist Margaret Coker tells the gripping story of the spymaster and two of his agents, the Sudani brothers - one undercover in ISIS for 16 long months, the other his handler - and the disillusioned scientist who turns bomb-maker, threatening the lives of thousands.

After slowly gaining the trust of the characters on all sides, reveals a story of unlikely heroes, unbelievable courage and good old-fashioned spycraft.

A military brat, Ms. Coker grew up around the United States, but considers Georgia home, where she joined us for this episode of The Hipstorians

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

To battle! From the Normans to the Taliban

Thu, 20 Oct 2022 11:23:58 GMT

From the Normans to the Taliban, Graeme Callister and Rachael Whitbread take us on a wide-ranging tour back through history of some of the world's most iconic battlefields they researched for their fascinating new book, 'Battle: Understanding Conflict from Hastings to Helmand'

The Norman Conquest, the Hundred Years War, the Wars of Religion, the Napoleonic Wars and the world wars..we cover a lot of ground in this episode of The Hipstorians..Wellington had the opportunity to blast Napoleon from the back of his horse on the morning of the great Battle of Waterloo..Why didn't he? Find out here in this chat where we also talk about the critical factors that determine the outcome of battles, leadership, terrain, weapons and supplies over more than one thousand years of history..

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

Former US Navy SEAL tells the real story behind the Osama Bin Laden raid

Thu, 13 Oct 2022 17:25:15 GMT

Since Chuck will be returning to The Hipstorians we thought it might be right to reintroduce him, here he is former US Navy SEAL Chuck Pfarrer. He takes us on a whirlwind ride from the taking down of Osama Bin Laden (the real story!!) to American myths and his present work mapping the battlefields in Ukraine.

As an award-winning author we also discuss his books, notably his best-selling autobiography, Warrior Soul, The Memoir of a Navy SEAL, and SEAL Target Geronimo: The Inside Story of the Mission to Kill Osama bin Laden, as well as The Man Without a Country, his new novel. Oh, and his Irish roots!

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

The real-life Indiana Jones who discovered a new species of modern human in an ancient cave

Wed, 05 Oct 2022 13:52:10 GMT

Professor at the University of Vienna, Tom is into dating (of the ancient variety), archaeological sites, bones, and Neanderthals. Author of 'The World Before Us' he tells the Hipstorians about his fascinating work and how some archeologists 'dig' (excuse the pun!) being viewed as Indiana Jones-like adventurers.

From making historically significant discoveries during his early university studies, Tom went on to work at the Denisova Cave in Siberia, the first place a new species of humans was found – Denisovans

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

The young diplomat who once met Robert Mugabe, the "brilliant and angry" dictator

Fri, 30 Sep 2022 17:01:54 GMT

Arthur Snell joined the Foreign Office straight out of university and at 23-years-of-age, endured a 'baptism of fire' when he was sent to Zimbabwe as his first posting.

During a turbulent time in that country's troubled past he tells The Hipstorians how he once found himself in the same room as the violent dictator Robert Mugabe.

A fluent Arabic speaker, he would also later serve in Afghanistan, Nigeria, Yemen, the Balkans and Iraq.

The author of 'How Britain Broke the World' he is now a geopolitical consultant and host of the hit podcast Doomsday Watch.

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

From South Armagh's 'Bandit Country' to the Battle for Fallujah

Fri, 30 Sep 2022 16:41:50 GMT

In this, our first-ever broadcast for The Hipstorians, we talk to the fearless, award-winning reporter Toby Harnden about his adventures over a 25-year career in journalism.

Thrown into the deep end when he found himself in South Armagh's 'Bandit Country' in the mid-1990s, Toby then went on to cover the ferocious Battle for Fallujah before settling in Virginia where he wrote his latest book 'First Casualty: The Untold Story of the CIA Mission to Avenge 9/11'

If journalism really is the first draft of history, then Toby has been there to document some of its biggest recent chapters.

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