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Explaining History

Explaining History

By: Nick Shepley
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How do we make sense of the modern world? We find the answers in the history of the 20th Century.


For over a decade, The Explaining History Podcast has been the guide for curious minds. Host Nick Shepley and expert guests break down the world wars, the Cold War, and the rise and fall of ideologies into concise, 25-minute episodes.


This isn't a dry lecture. It's a critical, narrative-driven conversation that connects the past to your present.

Perfect for students, history buffs, and anyone who wants to understand how we got here. Hit subscribe and start exploring.


Join us at Explaining History for daily modern history articles and news.

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Nick Shepley Education Social Sciences World
Episodes
  • Quebec's secret biological warfare history

    Quebec's secret biological warfare history
    Jun 25 2026
    In this episode of the Explaining History Podcast, we are joined by award-winning French Canadian author Mireille Gagné to discuss her acclaimed novel, *Horsefly* – a powerful, genre-defying work inspired by a top‑secret biological warfare laboratory that operated on Québec's Grosse Île during the Second World War.The novel draws on a forgotten chapter of shared Allied history. In 1942, British, American, and Canadian forces established a clandestine facility on Grosse Île – an island in the St. Lawrence River that had previously served as a quarantine station for European immigrants. Their mission: to develop anthrax as a weapon of mass destruction, producing enough to kill the world's population thirty times over. The operation, known as Project M, was part of a broader effort that included the infamous Gruinard Island tests in Scotland – where anthrax spores rendered the island uninhabitable for decades.But Mireille's story is not primarily about scientists and generals. It is about the ordinary people – the residents of neighbouring islands, many of them French Canadian, who were recruited as labourers, caretakers, and assistants. They slaughtered cattle, handled organs, washed themselves with harsh red soap, and transported dangerous materials – often without understanding the full extent of the risks. They worked in silence, bound by military secrecy, and carried a heavy burden that they never fully spoke about.Mireille grew up on Île‑aux‑Grues, part of the same archipelago as Grosse Île. She heard fragments of these stories as a child – whispered, half‑remembered, dismissed by some as dementia. Her mother, who arrived on the island in the 1970s, tried to ask questions but was met with silence. It was only when Mireille began interviewing grandchildren that the stories began to emerge – piecemeal, tentative, shameful. The men who had worked there rarely spoke before they died; the families who survived did not want to revisit the past.*Horsefly* moves between the 1940s and the present day. In the contemporary timeline, a suffocating heatwave grips Québec, violence is on the rise, and a man caring for his grandfather with dementia must journey back to Grosse Île to understand the cryptic wartime past that is consuming him. The novel explores themes of memory, transhumanism, and the long shadow of war – a reminder that the "good guys" in the Second World War also pursued weapons of unimaginable destructiveness.**Topics covered:**- The top‑secret Grosse Île biological warfare laboratory (Project M)- Operation Vegetarian and the Gruinard Island anthrax tests- Britain's Porton Down and the Allied biological weapons programme- The role of Canadian scientists, including Frederick Banting- The recruitment of local French Canadian labourers- The silence and shame of those who worked there- Mireille's personal connection to the story- The novel's exploration of memory, trauma, and transhumanism- The contemporary relevance of biological weapons research---*Mireille Gagné's Horsefly is published by New Cross Press and is available now. Please consider buying from an independent bookshop or directly from the publisher.**If you enjoy the podcast, please consider supporting us – we are migrating from Patreon to Substack. Details in the show notes.*Explaining History helps you understand the 20th Century through critical conversations and expert interviews. We connect the past to the present. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and share.▸ Support the Show & Get Exclusive ContentBecome a Patron: patreon.com/explaininghistory▸ Join the Community & Continue the ConversationFacebook Group: facebook.com/groups/ExplainingHistoryPodcastSubstack: theexplaininghistorypodcast.substack.com▸ Read Articles & Go DeeperWebsite: explaininghistory.org Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    34 mins
  • Belfast and the international networked far right

    Belfast and the international networked far right
    Jun 18 2026
    Northern Ireland, the Far-Right, and the Battle for Democracy with Heidi Birick

    In this episode of the Explaining History Podcast, we are joined again by Heidi Birick of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism to discuss the recent far-right violence in Northern Ireland – and the global networks that fuelled it.


    In recent weeks, Northern Ireland was rocked by a series of violent attacks against migrant communities following an incident in which a Sudanese national attacked an NHS worker. The attack was not terrorist-related and had no connection to the wider migrant community. But the global far-right seized on the event, spreading misinformation across social media and calling for violence. The footage of the resulting attacks – houses burned, people terrified to leave their homes – had all the hallmarks of a pogrom.


    Heidi explains how far-right groups are tightly networked in the online space, sharing messaging across continents, coordinating through unmoderated chat channels like Telegram, and meeting in person at conferences to plan their strategy. Figures like Tommy Robinson and Elon Musk amplified the calls for violence – Musk, in particular, has been openly promoting white supremacist ideas, calling for "remigration", and threatening civil war in the UK.


    We discuss the alarming power of a trillionaire like Musk to ride roughshod over public order and civil society from anywhere in the world, and the inability of states – even powerful ones like the United Kingdom – to respond effectively. The erosion of content moderation on X (formerly Twitter) has created a safe haven for hate speech, and the US government's hostility to online regulation has made the problem worse.


    But there is hope. The far-right riots in Belfast were met with an enormous counter-protest the following day – the largest show of solidarity in Northern Ireland since the Good Friday Agreement. Heidi argues that the majority of people reject these ideas, and that movements for democracy and human rights remain powerful. She also reflects on the need for structural solutions – taxing billionaires, regulating media, and rebuilding state capacity to deliver for ordinary people.

    Topics covered:


    • The far-right violence in Northern Ireland
    • Tommy Robinson and Elon Musk's role in spreading disinformation
    • The global network of far-right groups
    • Elon Musk's influence on content moderation and hate speech
    • The power of trillionaires to undermine democracy
    • The ineffectiveness of state responses
    • Counter-protests in Belfast and the rejection of fascism
    • Comparisons with historical fascism
    • The Henry VII principle and the need to tax oligarchs
    • The generational battle against hate

    Heidi Birick is co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism. Visit globalextremism.org for resources and to support their vital work.

    Explaining History helps you understand the 20th Century through critical conversations and expert interviews. We connect the past to the present. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and share.

    ▸ Support the Show & Get Exclusive Content

    Become a Patron: patreon.com/explaininghistory

    ▸ Join the Community & Continue the Conversation

    Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/ExplainingHistoryPodcast

    Substack: theexplaininghistorypodcast.substack.com

    ▸ Read Articles & Go Deeper

    Website: explaininghistory.org


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Show More Show Less
    40 mins
  • Italy from the fascism to post war republic

    Italy from the fascism to post war republic
    Jun 17 2026
    The Toscanini Conspiracy – Arturo Toscanini, Fascism, and the Italian Resistance with Filippo IannaroneIn this episode of the Explaining History Podcast, we are joined by Italian author Filippo Iannarone to discuss his acclaimed crime novel, The Toscanini Conspiracy – a story that weaves together a real‑life cold case, the anti‑fascist resistance of conductor Arturo Toscanini, and the author's own family history of heroic opposition to Mussolini and Hitler.The novel began with a chance encounter. While travelling in Val d'Orcia, Filippo discovered a small inn called Locanda Toscanini and asked the host why it bore the name of the legendary conductor. The answer opened a door to a forgotten story: the murder of Dr. Rinaldi, a physician and friend of Toscanini, in 1935 – the same year Mussolini invaded Ethiopia. The case was never solved. But as Filippo dug through newspaper archives and court documents, he found that it exposed a hidden world of anti‑fascist activity in a small Tuscan village.That village became a gathering place for intellectuals, artists, and dissidents – including the explorer Umberto Nobile, fashion designer Salvatore Ferragamo, and Anita Garibaldi – all resisting the tightening grip of Mussolini's regime. At the centre of it all was Arturo Toscanini, the most famous conductor in the world, who had already been beaten by fascist thugs for refusing to play the regime's anthem. Later, he would reject a personal invitation from Adolf Hitler to conduct at Bayreuth – a decision that carried immense symbolic weight.But Filippo's story is also deeply personal. His uncle, Major General Michele Iannarone, was a hero of the Italian Resistance. A monarchist officer who served on the Eastern Front and developed contacts with German officers opposed to Hitler, he became one of the commanders of Rome's clandestine military resistance after the fall of Mussolini in July 1943. When Rome was occupied by the Nazis, his network of thousands of partisans coordinated with the Allies, saved Jewish families, and kept the German army occupied until the Americans arrived.We discuss the brutal civil war that raged in Italy from 1943 until well after the war's end, the forgotten role of monarchist partisans, the trauma of the "years of lead" in the 1970s, and the uncomfortable continuities between fascism and today's far‑right movements across Europe and America. Filippo also reflects on what Toscanini would make of our current moment – and why telling these stories matters more than ever.Topics covered:The real‑life cold case that inspired the novelArturo Toscanini's anti‑fascist activismThe 1935 Italian invasion of Ethiopia and its domestic consequencesThe alternative community of dissidents in Spiazza, TuscanyMajor General Michele Iannarone and the monarchist partisansThe military clandestine front in occupied RomeThe Via Rasella bombing and the Ardeatine massacreItaly's post‑war civil war and the "years of lead"The erasure of monarchist partisans from official historyParallels between 1930s Italy and today's far‑right movementsFilippo Iannarone's The Toscanini Conspiracy is available now in English. Please consider buying from an independent bookshop or directly from the publisher.If you enjoy the podcast, please consider supporting us – we are migrating from Patreon to Substack. Details in the show notes.Explaining History helps you understand the 20th Century through critical conversations and expert interviews. We connect the past to the present. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and share.▸ Support the Show & Get Exclusive ContentBecome a Patron: patreon.com/explaininghistory▸ Join the Community & Continue the ConversationFacebook Group: facebook.com/groups/ExplainingHistoryPodcastSubstack: theexplaininghistorypodcast.substack.com▸ Read Articles & Go DeeperWebsite: explaininghistory.org Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Show More Show Less
    43 mins
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