Today's guest is historian Helen Graham, who discusses her research into the brutal prison system under Francoist dictatorship. Her work shows how mass incarceration after the Spanish Civil War was only one part of a much wider system of control and surveillance — one that reached beyond prison walls into families, communities, and everyday life, shaping how millions of people experienced dictatorship.

Helen Graham is Professor Emerita of Modern European History at Royal Holloway, University of London, and the recipiant of the Walter Benjamin International Memorial Prize 2025-6. Amongst other works, she is the author of ‘The Spanish Republic at War 1936–1939’, The Spanish Civil War: A Very Short Introduction (a new edition of which is out this summer) and the forthcoming ‘After the Spanish civil war: the twentieth century through five antifascist lives’

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⁠⁠⁠https://buymeacoffee.com/thesobremeyAlso the trailer for film we discuss, Modelo 77: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1e-NJObVFQ

And the documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKVktmqsx4Q&rco=1

Originally released 01 August 2024

On the eve of the Spanish Civil War in July 1936, Barcelona was set to host the Popular Olympic games. Bringing together athletes from around the world under the banner of anti-fascism, the event was meant to take place just weeks before the Nazi Olympics in Berlin. Yet as the athletes gathered for the opening ceremony, the military coup was launched, in turn, leading to revolution in the city's streets.

In this podcast, Catherine talks to James Stout, author of 'The Popular Front'. Barcelona and the 1936 Popular Olympics', about the organisation of the event, the nature of popular sport in Catalonia, and how the Popular Olympics can be seen as both one of the first casualties of the Spanish Civil War and also one of the first great examples of international anti-fascist solidarity and cooperation.If you like what we are producing, please consider making a donation at our Buy Me a Coffee page here - ⁠https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey

Originally published: 12/07/22

This week's guest is sociologist Nicole Iturriaga who Eoghan talked to about her new book 'Exhuming Violent Histories: Forensics, Memory and Rewriting Spain's Past'. The book provides a detailed case study of Spain’s best-known historical memory organization, the Association for the Recovery of Historical Memory which since 2000 has been responsible for exhuming many of Spain's Franco-era mass graves. In the book, Nicole argues that part of the association's success has been due to its use of a depoliticised approach, i.e. using forensic science and family testimony, rather than overtly political arguments, to force the issue of Francoist state terror back onto the public agenda. It is available to buy on amazon (including in a very reasonable ebook version): https://www.amazon.es/gp/product/B094YXN968/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i0

Jim Jump, the editor of the poetry anthology "Poems from Spain: British and Irish International Brigaders on the Spanish Civil War", joins Alan to discuss the collection of poems that stretch the length Spanish Civil War and after. All poems were written by men and women participating in the International Brigades. They cover the lives of the poets themselves, recite poetry from the book and discuss why it was so prominent in the war.

The collection can be brought from the publishers Lawrence and Wishart's website here

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2025 was the year Spain stood out in Europe over its clear opposition to the Israeli genocide in Gaza, as well as over its critical stance towards the Trump-led military spending spree in NATO. With the fall of the Social Democrats in Germany, the country’s prime minister Pedro Sanchez also reinforced his position within the EU as the major figurehead of the continent’s centre-left.

Yet, at home Sanchez has faced a series of crises and scandals within his own Socialist Workers Party while his complicated parliamentary majority hung by a thread while far-right Vox surged in the polls.

To discuss the year’s events, Alan and Eoghan are joined by regular end of year guest IE university professor and Galician beach bar owner Joe Haslam.

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Spain is the European Union’s largest fruit and vegetable producer, with exports topping €18 billion in 2024. Yet those whose work sustains this lucrative sector face widespread underpayment and labour rights violations - with some facing extreme exploitation bordering on modern slavery.

As Eoghan tells Alan, this model should not be seen as some antiqued part of the Spanish economy but rather in its employment of digital surveillance techniques and with the growing financialization of the agricultural sector, Spain is at the cutting edge of European farming.

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The investigation discussed in this episode:

1. Revealed: EU Farm Subsidy ‘Bankrolls’ Widespread Labour Abuse

https://www.desmog.com/2025/09/29/revealed-eu-farm-subsidy-bankrolls-widespread-labour-abuse/

2. In Spain, Farmworkers Are Dying in the Heat https://jacobin.com/2025/10/spain-farmworkers-heatstroke-climate-crisis

As Spain marks the fiftieth anniversary of the death of dictator Francisco Franco, Eoghan sits down for a wide-range interview with Sebastiaan Faber, Professor of Hispanic Studies at Oberlin College and author of Exhuming Franco. They discuss the very contested institutional, political and ideological legacies of the dictatorship - as well as the continued fascination with Franco on the far-right in the United States.

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In this episode of The Sobremesa Podcast, Alan McGuire speaks with historian Dr. Jorge Marco, author of Paradise in Hell: Alcohol and Drugs in the Spanish Civil War (University of Wales Press).

They explore how intoxication shaped the Spanish Civil War. Not just on the battlefield, but in propaganda, gender roles, and moral control. From the image of the “drunken enemy” to the ideal of the sober, disciplined soldier, Marco reveals how alcohol and drugs became tools for defining masculinity, nationhood, and the enemy.

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https://buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey