Podcasts

Podcasting is so much fun that I have been rather breeding them, so here is a brief guide. You may select the series you want from the drop down, or see them all after this message.

Members: There are over 22 hours of Shedcasts. They cover all sorts of things usually in English history which fire my enthusiasm. There are topics like Nationalism and its growth in medieval England; lots of biographies, some historiography, and then from time to time we have something a bit less worthy; such as how Henry VIII started a fashion for beards.
Then there’s The History of Scotland 18 hours of listening so far, the history of Scotland from the dawn of time to 1900. And then Britain and the Sea,  an occasional series which add depth and stories to accompany the History of England podcast. And of course new episodes join all the series all the time!

Free podcasts: There is the History of England of course. But why not also try History in Technicolor where Wolf and I talk about history films, or the Things that made England – where Roifield and I talk about the cultural and historical habits and history that male England as she is.

    Sh 36b King in Parliament - Members Only

    The 14th to 16th centuries saw the increasingly professionalism of Common law, and the embedding of parliament at the centre of government. Jurists claimed that the people were sovereign, thoughRead More

    HiT Belle

    By David Crowther 0 Comments

        The 2013 film directed by Amma Asante tells the story of the daughter of an enslaved African woman and Captain Lindsey, against the background of the Zhong slave shipRead More

    313 England is Ours

    By David Crowther 3 Comments

      From a desk in a small suite of rooms in El Escorial Philip II ran a vast colonial empire. With France torn by civil war, war against the DutchRead More

    312 My Heart is my Own

    By David Crowther 5 Comments

      By the mid 1580’s Mary was at her wits’ end – feeling betrayed by her son, 18 years of incarceration, beset by a unsympathetic jailer. She would listen toRead More

    HiT The Private Life of Henry VIII

    By David Crowther 0 Comments

    The 1933 classic from Alexander Korda which certainly convinced my mother that Henry VIII threw chicken bones around. It was a major international success, in particular for Charles Laughton,  

    MB Omnibus 5 EPs 13-15 - Members Only

      Throughout the reign of Richard III, Margaret sought for ways to unseat the usurper who had acquired the throne of her ancestors and the King in Edward IV withRead More

    Margaret 14 Rebel - Members Only

      In 1483, someone turned Buckingham’s pretty head, and got him thinking about an even brighter future. Margaret Beaufort and Elizabeth Woodville saw that brighter future too.

    HiT Good Vibrations

    By David Crowther 0 Comments

      2013 film about the ‘Godfather of Punk’ Terri Hooley set against the Troubles of the 1970 in Northern Ireland. And described by Mark Kermode as the best film ofRead More

    311 Fears of State

    By David Crowther 5 Comments

    In a time of existential and moral threat, the English state developed a network of informants and spies at home and abroad. While Catholics tried to steer a path throughRead More

    Margaret 13 Murderer - Members Only

    In 1483 Margaret had to decide whether to play with  Richard, or try to destroy him. Especially after the Princes were locked in the Tower…what was she to do aboutRead More

    310 The English College

    By David Crowther 0 Comments

      By the 1580s, the confessional lines between Protestant and Catholic were increasingly strongly drawn; repressive legislation increased, and the English College was established to renew the stock of priestsRead More

    HiT Last of the Mohicans

    By David Crowther 3 Comments

      The 1992 film staring Daniel Day Lewis in the adaptation of James Cooper’s novel, set in early colonial America  

    Margaret 12 Usurpation - Members Only

    The death of Edward IV came as a bit of a shock to England – and to Margaret and her attempts to rehabilitate Henry. But surely, with 2 sons andRead More

    Margaret Omnibus 4 EPs 10-12 - Members Only

      Through the most turbulent times in English politics, Margaret’s hopes fell, rose and fell again until in 1483 her son’s fortunes seemed dangerously threatened by one of the mostRead More

    Margaret 11 Stanley - Members Only

      While Jasper and Henry fled to Brittany, Margaret needed to find herself a husband of suitable status, but also well connected enough to help her protect her son andRead More

    HiT The Dig

    By David Crowther 8 Comments

      A very English drama about the dig on the eve of WWII which reveal one of the most dramatic discoveries in English archaeology – the 7th Century burial ship ofRead More

    308 Fool’s Gold

    By David Crowther 5 Comments

        A host of Elizabeth explorers explored the world in the late Elizabethan reign. Did they achieve anything, or were there efforts a false start?

    308a Roanoke by Joel Kindrick

    By David Crowther 4 Comments

    In 1585, a colony was established at Roanoke, sponsored by Walter Raleigh. Find out what happens from historian and Birkenstock wearer Joel Kindrick.

    307 All Around the World

    By David Crowther 4 Comments

    For a couple of years in the mid 1570s Elizabeth nixed proposed exploration projects for fear of Spain. At the same time she was discussing a secret voyage with a selectRead More

    306 A Devil and No Man

    By David Crowther 2 Comments

        Together the Elizabethan explorers, and authors like John Dee and Richard Hakluyt built excitement about the possibilities of global exploration. Francis Drake gave it expression. The Spanish MainRead More

    305 The Frog Prince

    By David Crowther 9 Comments

    From 1578 to 1582 the courts of France, Spain and England buzzed with the possibility of the latest office romance – between the Queen of England and Duke of Anjou.Read More

    304 Seeds of Irish Nationhood

    By David Crowther 2 Comments

    By the 1580s, the English atrocities and the rebellion of James Fitzmaurice and the Earl of Desmond, Catholicism and its association with resistance ot English rule was clearly established. Events atRead More

    Margaret Omnibus 3 EPs 7-9 - Members Only

      Margaret and Henry Stafford made a home at Woking Palace during a time of changing lifestyles which prompted changes to the great houses. Despite a seemingly happy life, the vicissitudesRead More

    Margaret 8 The Life Domestic - Members Only

    Margaret seems to have fallen on her feet and her marriage from 1458-1471, as far as we can tell, would seem to have been happy and fulfilled, working together onRead More

    303 Shane the Proud

    By David Crowther 0 Comments

    The later Tudors faced a choice in their policy towards Ireland – would they resign themselves to the old ways, ruling through the Old English with minimal control; or wouldRead More

    302 England’s Garland

    By David Crowther 2 Comments

    This beautiful technical drawing of Revenge was left by Matthew Baker; unlike the equally beautiful Anthony Roll of 1545, it is technically accurate, created by one of England’s greatest shipwrights.Read More

    MB Omnibus 2 EPs 4-6 - Members Only

    In an extraordinarily dramatic few years, the painfully young Margaret goes through the events that will shape her life – two marriages and a child.  

    301 Black Tudors

    By David Crowther 0 Comments

    Black Africans began to make their way in increasing numbers to England – firstly mainly via trading countries like Spain and Portugal, but increasingly direct. What sort of lives didRead More

    Margaret 6 After Towton - Members Only

      Margaret’s marriage to Henry Stafford appears to have started as it would go on – reasonably happily as far as we can tell. But the political chaos of theRead More

    Margaret 5 Widow’s Weeds - Members Only

    Though protected by the walls of Pembroke Castle, the death of Margaret’s husband left her vulnerable – something of a catch on the marriage market. Margaret, probably on the advice andRead More

    Margaret 4 A Short Marriage - Members Only

      Against a background of increasing political turmoil and military violence, Margaret turned 12 and was married in 1455. Despite her tender age, she was soon pregnant as she and EdmundRead More

    300 Trade and Exploration

    By David Crowther 1 Comments

      Elizabeth’s reign famously saw England enter the search for new markets with which to trade and explore. In this episode, we focus on trade with West Africa, and John Hawkins’ infamousRead More

    299 West Africa

    By David Crowther 11 Comments

      A horribly brief introduction to the West African kingdoms with which the Portuguese started to trade and a smidge of their backstory, before the English began to arrive inRead More

    Sh 33 Thomas Gresham - Members Only

    Written up as a sort of national patriotic hero by the Victorians, Thomas Gresham was in fact as hard as nails, a deal maker, a money man, a controller. ButRead More

    298 A Curate’s Egg

    By David Crowther 7 Comments

      What started as a curate’s egg of an episode, ends up with an introduction to a new player, Francis Walsingham, and the story of the St Bartholomew’s Day massacreRead More