Cover image of The History of the Twentieth Century

The History of the Twentieth Century

A chronicle of the history of the twentieth century, including art, music, popular culture, science, religion, and, of course, politics and war.

Warning: This podcast is a series podcast

This means episodes are recommended to be heard in order from the very start. Here's the 10 best episodes of the series anyway though!

Ranked #1

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171 Pale Horse, Pale Rider I

171 Pale Horse, Pale Rider I

Influenza has plagued the human race for some 12,000 years. It is caused by a virus, an infectious agent barely understo... Read more

20 Oct 2019

41mins

Ranked #2

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001 Age of Empires

001 Age of Empires

We take a brief look at the world as it is on 1 January 1901--the birthday of the twentieth century.

13 Sep 2015

42mins

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Ranked #3

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100 These Desert Places of the Earth

100 These Desert Places of the Earth

The Great War was by no means restricted to Europe. In this episode, we begin an occasional series examining the war in ... Read more

17 Dec 2017

42mins

Ranked #4

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069 Some Damned Silly Thing

069 Some Damned Silly Thing

The small Balkan states have been coming together in alliance. Originally defensive, the allies came to a secret agreeme... Read more

26 Mar 2017

38mins

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Ranked #5

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066 An Immense Box of Sand

066 An Immense Box of Sand

Italy has been angling to secure Libya as a colonial possession for some time now. But war fever broke out in 1911, part... Read more

26 Feb 2017

44mins

Ranked #6

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002 A Place in the Sun

002 A Place in the Sun

Germany is pretty much a world leader in everything at the beginning of the 20th century. 13 Nobel Prizes in 10 years. T... Read more

20 Sep 2015

36mins

Ranked #7

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135 Stupidity or Treason?

135 Stupidity or Treason?

When the Great War began, Russian political factions mostly united in a common front to support the war effort, as polit... Read more

11 Nov 2018

47mins

Ranked #8

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059 Ultima Thule

059 Ultima Thule

Explorers came to the far north first, in search of a route to the Far East, and later in search of the North Pole itsel... Read more

23 Dec 2016

42mins

Ranked #9

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105 The Action of a Lunatic

105 The Action of a Lunatic

In 1914, Germany and Britain held adjacent colonial territories in East Africa. When the Great War began, Britain attemp... Read more

11 Feb 2018

40mins

Ranked #10

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172 Pale Horse, Pale Rider II

172 Pale Horse, Pale Rider II

The influenza virus that emerged in 1918 was more deadly than was typical for the disease. Because of the Great War, the... Read more

27 Oct 2019

47mins

Ranked #11

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136 The Winter of Our Discontent

136 The Winter of Our Discontent

With political resentments already high, the deprivations of the harsh winter of 1916-17 cause them to boil over. The Ru... Read more

18 Nov 2018

44mins

Ranked #12

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073 For Serbia We Shall Do Everything

073 For Serbia We Shall Do Everything

In 1914, with victory against the Turks secured, Serb nationalist extremists look north toward Austria.

30 Apr 2017

50mins

Ranked #13

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007 La Belle Époque

007 La Belle Époque

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...

25 Oct 2015

45mins

Ranked #14

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097 The Banana Wars I

097 The Banana Wars I

By the beginning of the twentieth century, the USA was the major market for Central American coffee, cotton, sugar, and ... Read more

19 Nov 2017

53mins

Ranked #15

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179 1919 - Poland I

179 1919 - Poland I

By 1916, both sides in the Great War had declared their desire to see an independent Poland after the war. Now the time ... Read more

25 Dec 2019

39mins

Ranked #16

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142 Lafayette, We Are Here

142 Lafayette, We Are Here

The US entered the war in early 1917, but it would take time for her to have an impact on the war. Brazil also joined th... Read more

20 Jan 2019

39mins

Ranked #17

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180 1919 - Poland II

180 1919 - Poland II

The birth of Poland was a foregone conclusion, but where its boundaries should lie was very much in dispute and led to b... Read more

29 Dec 2019

47mins

Ranked #18

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049 Tales of Old Vienna

049 Tales of Old Vienna

The Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary struggles to remain relevant in the quickly changing nineteenth century.

2 Oct 2016

37mins

Ranked #19

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031 The Ruler of the East

031 The Ruler of the East

Russia has 100,000 soldiers in Manchuria, and is pressuring Japan's interests in Korea. When diplomacy fails, Japan laun... Read more

8 May 2016

51mins

Ranked #20

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176 1919 - Austria-Hungary I

176 1919 - Austria-Hungary I

This first of a three-part series on the end of Austria-Hungary tells the story of the birth of Czechoslovakia.

8 Dec 2019

36mins

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