Talking History with Patrick Geoghegan

In this episode, the 125th anniversary of the birth of Brendan Bracken, the Irish born adventurer who became Winston Churchill's greatest supporter, with biographer Charles Lysaght; the 400 year fight to end slavery in the Americas, with historian Carrie Gibson; and treasure and ghosts in the London clay, with author Victoria Shepherd.

We're looking at the life and legacy of one of the American Revolution's greatest villains, Benedict Arnold, and we'll find out how his name became synonymous with treachery and betrayal. Featuring: Dr Eliga Gould, Harmsworth Professor of American History at Oxford; Dr Tom Sebrell, history lecturer at University College London; Dr Charlene Boyer-Lewis, professor of history and director of American Studies at Kalamazoo College, Michigan, and author of the upcoming ‘Traitor, Wife: Peggy Shippen Arnold and Revolutionary America’; and Emma Parry, author of the upcoming novel ‘Mrs Benedict Arnold’.

In this episode, we find out about the first staging of Seán O'Casey's play The Plough and The Stars 100 years ago and why it provoked such furious debate and even riots. Our panel features: Dr Ciara Murphy, Lecturer in Drama at TU Dublin and Vice President of the Irish Society of Theatre Research; Mairéad Delaney, Archivist at the Abbey Theatre Archive; Dr Bess Rowen, assistant professor of theatre and a theatre theorist and historian at Villanova University, Pennsylvania, and an expert on Seán O’Casey’s work and the 1926 riot; and Prof Nicholas Grene, Fellow Emeritus in English Literature at Trinity College Dublin.

In this episode, we're finding out about the making of Ancient Egypt - the makers, materials, and remarkable innovations of one of the most iconic civilisations in human history. Featuring Helen Strudwick, Lead Curator of the Made In Ancient Egypt exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge; Prof Joyce Tyldesley, Professor of Egyptology at the University of Manchester; and Salima Ikram, Distinguished University Professor in Egyptology at the American University in Cairo.

10 years on from David Bowie's death, we reflect on the life and music of one of the most influential cultural figures of our age, and assess his remarkable legacy. Our panel is Prof Eoin Devereux, Co-Director for the Centre for The Study of Popular Music and Popular Culture at the University of Limerick, Dr Leah Kardos, Senior Lecturer in Music at Kingston University London, and Harriet Reed, Assistant Curator in the Theatre and Performance Department at the Victoria & Albert Museum, and part of the curatorial team behind The David Bowie Centre at the V&A East Storehouse, a permanent home for Bowie's archive.

In this episode, we're going back to 1066 as we debate the Norman Conquest and what it meant for England and indeed Ireland. Featuring: · Prof Judith Green, Professor Emeritus at the School of History, Classics and Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh; Prof Clare Downham, Professor of Medieval History at the Institute of Irish Studies at the University of Liverpool and author of ‘Medieval Ireland AD400-1500’; Professor Tom Licence, Professor of Medieval History and Literature, University of East Anglia; Prof Seán Duffy, Professor of Medieval Irish and Insular History at Trinity College Dublin; and Prof David Bates, Emeritus Professor in Medieval History at the University of East Anglia, and author of ‘The Normans and Empire’ and ‘William the Conqueror’.

In this episode: The History of the DPP with UCD's Niamh Howlin; Siege in Ireland, 1641-53, by Pádraig Lenihan; and Irish Food History: A Companion, with Máirtín Mac Con Iomaire and Dorothy Cashman.

Marking the 250th anniversary of the birth of Jane Austen, we'll discuss her life and legacy. Featuring: Lizzie Dunford, director of the Jane Austen House museum, John Mullan, author of the book What Matters in Jane Austen?, and Janet Todd of the University of Cambridge.

Featuring: Dáithí O'Ceallaigh, former Irish diplomat who served as Irish Ambassador in London, involved in framing and operating the agreement; Eoin O’Malley, Associate Professor in Political Science at the School of Law and Government, Dublin City University and author of ‘Charlie Vs Garret: The rivalry that shaped modern Ireland’; and Daniel Mulhall, former Irish diplomat and a former Ambassador of Ireland to the UK and the US.

In this episode: 'Mitchell - Father of the Spitfire' by Paul Beaver; 'Wolfpack' by Roger Moorhouse; and 'Summer of Fire and Blood: The German Peasants' War' by Lyndal Roper.

In this episode, we look at the life, legacy and ideas of one of the most influential philosophers in human history, Plato, as we get to the heart of how we debate with each other. Featuring: Mary Margaret McCabe, Professor of Ancient Philosophy Emerita, King’s College London; Catherine Rowett, Emeritus Professor, School of Politics, Philosophy and Area Studies at the University of East Anglia; Dr David Horan, Irish Centre for Platonic Studies at Trinity College Dublin; and Prof Angie Hobbs, Professor of the Public Understanding of Philosophy Emerita at the University of Sheffield.

Featuring: 'The First King of England: Æthelstan and the Birth of a Kingdom' by David Woodman, Professor and Fellow in History at Robinson College, University of Cambridge; 'Queer Georgians', by historian Dr Anthony Delaney; 'Ireland: Mapping The Island', with Joe Brady, co-author; and Changing Ireland at the National Museum of Ireland, with Dónal Maguire, Keeper of Art & Industry collections, and Sandra Heise, Curator of Historical Collections.

We discuss one of the greatest figures in film history - Orson Welles - on the 40th anniversary of his death. We'll explore his genius, the myths around him, and his deep connections to Ireland.Featuring: Prof Ruth Barton of Trinity College Dublin, Dr David Clare of Mary Immaculate College in Limerick, and W. Joseph Campbell of American University in Washington DC.

On its 220th anniversary, we're debating The Battle of Trafalgar, as we find out about strategy, sacrifice and victory on the high seas.Featuring Dr Katherine Gazzard from Royal Museums Greenwich, Dr Ciarán McDonnell, historian of 18th century war and society, and Prof Andrew Lambert, Professor of Naval History at King’s College London.

On the 250th anniversary of the start of the American Revolution, we'll discuss the Irish involvement in the conflict and the impact it had on our history.Featuring: Prof Finola O'Kane Crimmins, Professor at the School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy at UCD; Dr Joel Herman, Research Fellow at the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland, History Department at Trinity College Dublin; Prof Patrick Griffin, Madden-Hennebry Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame, and Bye-Fellow at St Edmund's College at the University of Cambridge; and Prof Eliga Gould, Harmsworth Professor of American History at Oxford.

We explore Ireland's journey through science, engineering, technology and mathematics over the last four centuries.Featuring Dr Eoin Kinsella, managing editor of the Dictionary of Irish Biography; Prof Jane Grimson, a Member of the Royal Irish Academy and past president of Engineers Ireland and of the Irish Academy of Engineering; and Turlough O’Riordan, online and digital editor of the Dictionary of Irish Biography.

In this episode: Dublin’s Industrial Heritage by Rob Goodbody; the Voices of the Showmen exhibition at the University of Galway; The Great Reversal - Britain, China and the 400-Year Contest for Power, by Kerry Brown; and Irish settlers’ roles in Native American history, in Éire agus Na Chéad Naisiúin on TG4, with producer Ronan McCloskey.

We assess the life and legacy of US Supreme Court judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the fifth anniversary of her death.Featuring: Kelsi Brown Corkran, Supreme Court Director at the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection and a Senior Lecturer at Georgetown Law; Prof Aoife O'Donoghue, Professor at the School of Law at Queen’s University Belfast; and Prof David Kenny, Head of the School of Law, Trinity College Dublin.

In this episode, we're exploring how individuals experience history, and how lives are lived against the backdrop of conflict and revolutions.Featuring: Prof Dónal Hassett, Professor of History at Maynooth University; Dr Clodagh Tait, Lecturer in History at Mary Immaculate College; and Prof M’hamed Oualdi, Chair in European History, 19th and early 20th centuries, European University Institute.

In this episode, we'll be exploring two of the most iconic Irish presidential elections, 1990 and 1997.Featuring Dr John Walsh, School of Education, Trinity College Dublin, and Prof Kevin Rafter, Full Professor of Political Communication at DCU.