It's Part 3 of Lyndon Johnson's America and we arrive at the event which arguably shaped LBJ's presidency more than anything else - the Vietnam War. In this episode, we cover the early years of the conflict (1964-67) and discuss: - Why Vietnam? - Why does Johnson escalate in 1965? - What role do race and gender play during the Vietnam War? - The early anti-war movement - American strategic mistakes in Vietnam In next month's episode we'll examine The Downfall as Johnson's America comes apart as a result of events at home and abroad. Thanks again for listening! Cheers, Mark and Malcolm Reading ..read more

It's Part 3 of Lyndon Johnson's America and we arrive at the event which arguably shaped LBJ's presidency more than anything else - the Vietnam War. In this episode, we cover the early years of the conflict (1964-67) and discuss: - Why Vietnam? - Why does Johnson escalate in 1965? - What role do race and gender play during the Vietnam War? - The early anti-war movement - American strategic mistakes in Vietnam In next month's episode we'll examine The Downfall as Johnson's America comes apart as a result of events at home and abroad. Thanks again for listening! Cheers, Mark and Malcolm Reading ..read more

It's another episode of A-Z, and the lucky letter is J! On the menu this week: John Birch Society Jacobs, Harriet Jackson Japanese Internment Jazz Singer, The And many more! Thanks again for listening and we'll be back soon with our brand new series on the US and the Middle East! Cheers, Mark and Malcolm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices ..read more

Following a delay thanks to strikes, illness, and a furious effort to finish writing a book, we're back with the final episode of our Lyndon Johnson's America series! We discuss the various legacies of Johnson, his Great Society, Civil Rights, Vietnam, and the long Sixties. And we also provide a preview of our NEW upcoming series - tune in to find out what we'll be discussing next! Thanks a lot for listening to this series and we look forward to bringing you the next one. Cheers, Mark and Malcolm Books/Articles Mark McLay, 'Reflecting or reshaping?: Landmark anniversaries and presidential le ..read more

It's our fifth episode of A-Z, where we take a letter from the alphabet and use it to take a journey through American History for 30 minutes. And on this occasion it's the letter T! Among the topics discussed on this episode: Truman Three Mile Island Sister Rosetta Tharpe Tupperware Tobacco We hope you enjoy and we'll back next with our final episode of the LBJ's America series. Cheers, Mark and Malcolm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices ..read more

On December 21, 1970, a man dressed in black and wearing sunglasses entered the Oval Office of the White House. He desperately wanted to bring a Colt .45 pistol with him, but even without it, his purpose was clear. In front of him stood a craggy, slightly crumpled figure. The man in black advanced, but his intent was not assassination. He had come seeking a badge. A badge that he thought would give him power. The man he met had worked all of his life to gain power, and now that he had it, he would do everything he could to hold on to it. This was one of the most bizarre meetings ever ..read more

American History Too! is back for a new semester and we’re examining the Irish-American experience of the Civil War (1861-1865).  To help us delve into this vast and interesting topic is the University of Edinburgh’s Catherine Bateson.  Cat guides us through Irish immigration to North America, the different military and civilian roles played by Irish-Americans during the war, and some of the music that emerged from the Irish-American experience of the young nation’s most brutal conflict. We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we enjoyed listening to Cat while recording i ..read more

‘History’s greatest monster’ or an underrated and admirable president?  We’re back and we’re discussing President Jimmy Carter (1977-1981) and his times.  Such are the amount of topics that we need to cover that the podcast will be split into two, with this month’s release dealing primarily with the domestic issues of late 1970s. Welcome to a land of self-doubt, oil shocks, and a tanking economy, where the issues that would define the ‘culture wars’ for the next four decades were taking shape.  Presiding over it all is the Democratic President James Earl Carter, a born-again ..read more

On the thirteenth episode of American History Too! we embark on our very first sequel – picking up where episode six left off in our discussion of Nuclear Fallout. Why did one researcher collect thousands of baby teeth and why are her results quite terrifying?  When and where did the US almost nuke its own citizens – and how was disaster averted?  Were fallout shelters a genuine attempt to help the population in the event of nuclear warfare or were they merely ‘for show’?  Our resident nuclear aficionado has all the answers.   Finally, how was nuclear fallout represented in ..read more

On episode eleven of American History Too! we delve into one of the most chilling moments in US history – the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22nd, 1963.  To aid us in the voyage through fear, conspiracy, and legend we are joined by the University of Glasgow’s Fraser McCallum.   What is uncontested about that day? What are the most plausible and most outlandish conspiracy theories to prosper in the fifty years since the assassination?  Why do these conspiracies matter?  And how were Lyndon Johnson and Bobby Kennedy the original conspiracy theorists ..read more