PODCAST

Historical Snapshots

Short stories about people.

Honor people. Understand the past. historicalsnapshots.substack.com

history documentary

All Episodes

73:01

The George Washington Presidency

Historical Snapshots ·

2025/09/14

Hi everyone,Welcome back to Historical Snapshots Conversations. Our guest today is Alexis Coe, and our discussion is about George Washington. There are many conversations we can have about him, but our focus today is on Washington becoming President.A little about Alexis: she’s a Presidential Historian, American History Columnist at the New York Times, Senior Fellow at New America, and New York Times Bestselling author of (almost!) three books, including You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of

47:05

East Germany: From Rise to Fall

Historical Snapshots ·

2025/09/07

Hi everyone, Welcome back to Historical Snapshots Conversations. Today I’m joined by Katja Hoyer for a discussion about East Germany, from its rise after World War II in 1949 to its collapse with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and some reflections on what has followed.A little about Katja: she’s a German-British historian, journalist, and author who writes extensively about Germany. You can find her articles in papers such as The Washington Post, The Spectator, The Telegraph, The Times, The

27:31

The Filles du Roi

Historical Snapshots ·

2025/07/30

Hi everyone, Our guest today is Kerry Chaput, and our conversation is about the Filles du Roi (“The King’s Daughters”), a program initiated by the French Crown that sent approximately 800 women to the colony of New France, now part of Canada, between 1663 and 1673. The purpose was to help populate the colony by marrying settlers and starting families. These women are sometimes referred to as the Mothers of Canada.A little about Kerry: She’s an award-winning author who is dedicated to writing about

40:31

Queen Elizabeth II: A Conversation with Sally Bedell...

Historical Snapshots ·

2025/06/13

Hi everyone,Our guest today is Sally Bedell Smith. This is Sally’s second time on the podcast. In our first conversation, we talked about King George VI and Elizabeth, and how their marriage saved the monarchy. Today, we’ll be discussing the life of their daughter, Queen Elizabeth II. Sally’s biography on the Queen, Elizabeth the Queen ,won the 2012 Goodreads Choice Award for best book in history and biography. About Sally:Sally is a New York Times best-selling author of eight biographies, including

49:38

The Meiji Restoration

Historical Snapshots ·

2025/06/03

Hi everyone,Our guest today is Christopher Harding and our Conversation is about the Meiji Restoration, which transformed Japan in the late 19th century. A little about Christopher: He’s a cultural historian & broadcaster based at the University of Edinburgh. He writes about Japan, India & East-West encounter, and is the author of Japan Story, The Japanese and The Light of Asia. You can subscribe to Christopher’s weekly Substack newsletter: IlluminAsia This is a public episode. If you'd like to

34:09

The Life of Anne Boleyn

Historical Snapshots ·

2025/05/30

Hi everyone,Welcome back to Historical Snapshots Conversations. Our guest today is Philippa Lacey Brewell. Philippa is a history writer, presenter and owner and founder of British History Tours, a company for those who love British History, and British History Events. One of Philippa’s tours is about Anne Boleyn, who was King Henry VIII's second wife and Queen of England from 1533 to 1536. Anne’s life is the topic of our discussion today.Subscribe to Philippa on Substack:

55:20

The 1929 Hebron Massacre

Historical Snapshots ·

2025/03/12

Hi everyone,Our conversation today is with Yardena Schwartz, author of Ghosts of a Holy War. The book tells the story of the 1929 massacre in Mandatory Palestine and its aftershocks which continue to reverberate today. For our conversation, we’ll focus more specifically on the riot in Hebron, in which 67 Jewish residents were killed and many more injured. A little bit about Yardena: she’s an award-winning journalist and Emmy-nominated producer. She has reported for dozens of publications, including

46:42

George VI and Elizabeth: The Marriage That Saved the...

Historical Snapshots ·

2025/03/05

Hi everyone,Our guest today is Sally Bedell Smith, author of George VI and Elizabeth: The Marriage That Saved a Monarchy. The book is the definitive biography of the late Queen Elizabeth II’s mother and father, based for the first time on special access to their letters and diaries in the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle that was granted by the Queen. It will be the topic of our discussion.About Sally:Sally is a New York Times best-selling author of eight biographies, including Diana in Search of

30:22

U.S. Tariffs

Historical Snapshots ·

2025/02/24

Hi everyone, Today's Conversation episode will focus on a current affairs issue. We'll discuss the changes around U.S. tariffs with Alex Yancher, the Co-Founder and CEO of Passport, an end-to-end international solutions provider that helps top ecommerce companies such as Ogee, Hexclad and Ridge grow profitably in over 180 countries. You can follow Alex on LinkedIn or X, and get Passport’s latest tariff updates from President Trump’s administration at TrumpTradeTracker.com. This is a public episode

51:16

Secret Servants of the Crown: The Forgotten Women of...

Historical Snapshots ·

2025/02/19

Hi everyone,Our guest today is historian Dr. Claire Hubbard-Hall, author of Secret Servants of the Crown: The Forgotten Women of British Intelligence. The book shares the remarkable and important story of the many vital contributions women in British Intelligence have made and whose stories history has largely left untold. It will be the topic of our discussion.Purchase Secret Servants of the Crown: The Forgotten Women of British IntelligenceSubscribe to Claire’s Substack: This is a public episode

51:25

Palestine 1936: The Great Revolt and the Roots of the...

Historical Snapshots ·

2025/02/05

Hi everyone,Our guest today is Oren Kessler, author of the book Palestine 1936: The Great Revolt and the Roots of the Middle East Conflict, which won the 2024 Sami Rohr Prize and the Wall Street Journal named one of the 10 Best Books of 2023. It’ll be the topic of our discussion.Oren is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society, previously the Deputy Director for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington, Research Fellow at the Henry Jackson Society in London, and a

57:01

Conversation with Sasha Vasilyuk

Historical Snapshots ·

2025/01/29

Hi everyone,Welcome to the debut episode of the Historical Snapshots Conversations podcast. Our first guest is Sasha Vasilyuk, journalist and author of the new novel Your Presence Is Mandatory, a historical fiction story based on real events about a Soviet WWII soldier with a lifelong secret and his family who reckon with his legacy. Sasha's research into a largely unknown aspect of the war and its decades-long impact on society in Eastern Europe, combined with her thoughtful approach to challenging

2:23

A History of the Word "Salary"

Historical Snapshots ·

2025/01/12

Today, the word "salary" conjures images of modern work and paychecks. Yet, how did the word come to be? To trace its history is to walk the corridors of time back to a Rome defined by legions, colosseums, and a vital substance that shaped its economy. Salt.In modern times, salt is an unassuming staple on dining tables. But in Ancient Rome, it was essential to preserve food, meat and fish in particular, in an age before refrigeration. Salt was so critical that it became intertwined with the empire's

3:07

Julie London

Historical Snapshots ·

2025/01/11

Many remember Julie London for her acting. Particularly for playing Nurse Dixie McCall in the TV series Emergency!. The role earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination in 1974. But Julie was also a music star, a jazz singer who released over thirty albums between 1955 and 1969. While many of her contemporaries brought big, sweeping vocal styles to the genre, Julie carved her niche with an understated, intimate delivery. Accompanied by only a guitar and bass, her rendition of "Cry Me a River" became

4:36

Edith Cowan

Historical Snapshots ·

2025/01/07

Summary: The life story of Edith Cowan, Australia’s first female parliamentarian, who shattered barriers and championed women’s rights and equality.--On a bright day in 1921, history was made in West Perth, Australia. Edith Cowan, a mother of six and grandmother in her sixties, stood at the threshold of the Legislative Assembly. Her hands, weathered by decades of work and advocacy, tightened around the brass handle of the door. With a deep breath, she stepped inside, becoming the first woman in

4:28

Jeanne Baret

Historical Snapshots ·

2024/12/26

We've had a theme recently of writing about women who dressed as men simply to do what women at the time weren't allowed to. Today, we add Jeanne Baret to that list. She became the first woman to circumnavigate the globe when she sailed around the world in the 1760s and 70s.It was amidst the picturesque hills of Burgundy, France that life began for Jeanne in 1740. She was born into a humble family; her father worked the land as a day laborer. Her mother, sadly, passed away shortly after Jeanne's

5:33

Josephine Cochrane

Historical Snapshots ·

2024/12/25

"If nobody else is going to invent a dishwashing machine, I'll do it myself." - Josephine CochraneThe plate was delicate, a soft white with blue floral edges, and so thin it seemed the sun could shine through it if you held it to the light. It had come from her mother and from her mother before that; a line of women passing beauty down like a family secret. But now, the plate was broken, lying in pieces on the kitchen counter.Josephine Cochrane held the largest shard in her hand, her fingers tracing

4:05

Julius Rosenwald

Historical Snapshots ·

2024/12/19

There is a fundamental teaching in Judaism called Tikkun Olam. It means repairing the world. For Julius Rosenwald, this idea was a way of life. Julius had become quite wealthy in his adult years, likely one of the richest men in America at the time. But becoming so had been quite the journey. His father had lived an American immigrant story, arriving from Germany with $20 but with smarts and a dedicated work ethic. From poverty, life slowly evolved into stability. And when Julius was born in 1862,

4:42

Helen Sawyer Hogg

Historical Snapshots ·

2024/12/17

"During the thousands of years that man has walked upright on this earth, he has looked up with admiration at the beauties of the heavens around him. For less than four centuries of this vast time he has had the advantage of a telescope to help him interpret the lights in the sky. Although the telescope has added enormously to our understanding of the heavens, we should not make the mistake of thinking that we must always have one at hand to enjoy the sky. On the contrary, I hope that this book will

5:55

Matthew Henson

Historical Snapshots ·

2024/12/11

Summary: A snapshot biography of Matthew Henson, Arctic explorer and unsung hero, who overcame adversity to reach the North Pole in 1909.--Matthew Henson was one of the world's great explorers, achieving one of the most sought-after firsts amongst adventurers when he and a small group of men set foot on the North Pole on April 6, 1909. For Matthew, who was 42 years old at the time, it was the pinnacle of a life exploring that began at just 11 years old.Matthew's early life mirrored the struggles of

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