Nazis make the perfect Hollywood villains – instantly recognisable, obviously deplorable and easy to recreate. So why were there no anti-Nazi films until 1939, on the eve of World War 2? This week I explore the history of Nazis in Hollywood in the 1930s, how the German government influenced American ...
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Hollywood doesn’t make war films any more. This isn’t entirely true, but compared to the post-WW2 period there are a lot less war films being made today. In this in-depth episode I offer a brief history of war movies and anti-war movies, and how the Pentagon’s policy on supporting films ...
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Wings (1927) was one of the first Hollywood films to benefit from full military support, was the first film to include sound effects on a film reel alongside the in-theater orchestra, and was the first film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. It was also the first film ...
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This week I welcome Martin Darlington, co-host of the History by Hollywood podcast, which reviews and analyses films claiming to be based on real events. We talk about Martin’s adopted homeland of Qatar, his views on history and politics, how he and his co-host Andrew prepare and produce the podcast, ...
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Arthur Ransome was a well-known children’s author, best known for his series of adventure books beginning with Swallows and Amazons. He was also close friends with the Bolshevik leadership and married Trotsky’s secretary. Meanwhile, he was spying for British intelligence, and being spied on by British intelligence as a suspected ...
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Arthur Ransome was a very well-known author of children's books, best known for his series beginning with Swallows and Amazons. He was also a spy for British intelligence and a close enough friend to the Bolshevik leadership that he married Leon Trotsky's secretary. These security service files show how for ...
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Pearse invited me on his radio show to discuss the 1964 TV movie A Carol for Another Christmas. This was the first in a series of TV films designed to promote the United Nations and sponsored by the Xerox corporation. A Carol for Another Christmas is a remake of A ...
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Was Lawrence of Arabia the first Gladio B operative? In answering this question, today's episode presents a view of World War One from the perspective of British geostrategy in the Middle East. Using a fascinating lecture as the basis for our discussion I outline how Turkey got drawn into the ...
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In this episode I take a look at the alternative/conspiracy theories about the sinking of the Titanic, in the context of mass trauma events and disaster capitalism. I look at the theory that the Titanic was switched for its sister ship, the Olympic, and that it was the Olympic that ...
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The Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 has long been the focus for conspiracy theories both grand and small. In this episode I look at the background to the revolution, what led up to it and its aftermath. I analyse Anthony Sutton's book Wall Street and the Bolshevik Revolution and look at ...
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Sir Alfred Hitchcock was born in Leytonstone in what is now part of London, the son of a normal family of mediocre means. After a brief stint in the Royal Engineers during WW1 he began writing short stories, often with the narrative twists and comic-macabre subjects that came to dominate ...
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Born: 2 September 1887 Died: 27 February 1970 Intelligence involvement: Worked for the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS/MI6) during WW1 and was director general of the Police Warfare Executive in WW2.   Culture involvement: Prolific writer, including Memoirs of a British Agent in 1932 about his WW1 exploits, which was adapted into the ...
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