Talking History with Patrick Geoghegan

Episoder

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  The Odyssey 04.08.2026 49min

  The Odyssey: we find out why a story of monsters, magic, gods and vengeance continues to inspire and enthrall people nearly 3,000 years after it was first composed. Featuring: Dr Catherine Ware, lecturer in the Department of Classics, University College Cork; Dr Matthew Ward, Teaching Associate in Classics at the University of Cambridge; Dr George A. Gazis, Associate Professor in Greek Literature and Philosophy at Durham University; and Dr Alexandra Madeła, Irish Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Classics at Trinity College Dublin.
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  250: The US Declaration of Independence 05.07.2026 52min

  'We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal'. In this episode we find out how these iconic words in the US Declaration of Independence changed the history of America forever and how it impacted the world. Featuring: Prof Stephanie McCurry, Professor of U.S. History at Columbia University; Prof Eliga H. Gould, Professor of American History at the Rothermere American Institute, Fellow of Queen’s College, University of Oxford, and Professor of History at the University of New Hampshire; and Prof Kathleen (Kathy) Burk, Emeritus Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at University College London.
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  Eva Gore-Booth 25.06.2026 51min

  Featuring: Dr Sonja Tiernan, National Coordinator of the Irish Humanities Alliance, Royal Irish Academy, and the author of ‘Eva Gore-Booth: An Image of Such Politics’ and ‘Eva Gore-Booth: Irish Radical Poet, Rebel and Reformer’; Dr Mary McAuliffe, historian, lecturer, and Director of Gender Studies at UCD; and Dr Catherine Healy, historian-in-residence at EPIC, The Irish Emigration Museum.
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  Medieval Dublin 25.06.2026 52min

  In this episode, we look back at our excavation of the medieval history of Medieval Dublin - with Ruth Johnson, Dublin’s City Archaeologist; Paul Duffy, archaeologist, historian and author; Dr Grace O’Keeffe, a medieval historian based in Dublin and the editor of Archaeology Ireland; and Dr Catherine Swift, Department of History, Mary Immaculate College Limerick.
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  Mussolini and Fascist Italy 10.06.2026 49min

  In this episode, we look at Mussolini and Fascist Italy in myth and memory and explore the regime through the eyes of Mussolini's daughter Edda, once described as the most dangerous woman in Europe. Featuring: Prof Paul Corner, University of Siena, and author Caroline Moorehead.
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  The Rise & Fall of the Nazi Regime 10.06.2026 52min

  In this episode, we discuss the rise to power of the Nazis and what it meant for ordinary Germans. Featuring Prof Nick Stargardt, Professor of Modern European History at Magdalen College, Oxford University, and Katja Hoyer, historian and journalist, Visiting Research Fellow at King’s College London and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
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  Wellington and Ireland 24.05.2026 52min

  In this episode, we explore the life and times of the Irishman who defeated Napoleon and went on to become the prime minister of Britain and find out his complicated relationship with this country. Featuring: Dr Síle McGuckian, historian and lawyer; Gareth Glover, military historian; and Prof Michael Broers, Emeritus Professor of Western European History at Oxford University.
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  Gulliver's Travels at 300 17.05.2026 52min

  We mark the 300th anniversary of the publication of one of the most influential books ever written, Gulliver's Travels, & we find out how Jonathan Swift created one of the landmarks of world literature.Featuring Dr Jason McElligott, Director of Marsh’s Library; Prof Daniel Cook, Chair of English and Scottish Literature at the University of Dundee; Dr Clíona Ó Gallchoir, Head of English at University College Cork; & Prof David Kenny, Professor in Law at the Law School of Trinity College Dublin.
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  Best of May Books 15.05.2026 51min

  ‘Seven Sisters: Captives and Rebels in Revolutionary Europe's First Family’ with Veronica Buckley, historical biographer; ‘Gothic: Building Castles in post-Union Ireland’, with Dr Judith Hill, architectural historian; and ‘Survivors: The Lost Stories of the Last Captives of the Atlantic Slave Trade’, with Dr Hannah Durkin, historian specialising in transatlantic slavery and African diasporic art and culture.
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  Irish Emigration To Britain 05.05.2026 53min

  We explore the economic and social history of the Irish in England, with our panel: Prof Louise Ryan, Senior Professor of Sociology, and Director of the Global Diversities and Inequalities Research Centre at London Metropolitan University, Prof Neil Cummins, Professor of Economic History at the London School of Economics, Cormac Ó Grada, economic historian and professor emeritus of economics at University College Dublin, and Dr Christopher Kissane, Engagement & Impact Lead at LSE Dept of Economic History, and curator of the EPIC exhibition.
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  William Blake 28.04.2026 51min

  We're exploring the extraordinary world of visionary artist and poet William Blake and we'll be finding out how this radical thinker influenced writers and artists from WB Yeats to U2 and beyond. Featuring: Anne Hodge, the exhibition curator and Curator of Prints & Drawings at the National Gallery of Ireland; Alice Insley, Curator of British Art c. 1730–1850 at Tate and co-curator of the William Blake exhibition; and Dr Christina Morin, Professor of English and Assistant Dean of Research for the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Limerick.
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  Proust & His Irish Connections 19.04.2026 52min

  We discuss the life and work of Marcel Proust and explore his connections with Ireland. Featuring: Dr Max McGuinness, Postdoctoral Fellow at the School of Languages, Literatures and Cultural Studies at Trinity College Dublin, and co-editor of ‘The Irish Proust: Cultural Crossings From Beckett To McGahern’; Prof Patrick ‘Paddy’ O’Donovan, Emeritus Professor of French at University College Cork; Prof Barry McCrea, Donald R. Keough Family Professor of Irish Studies, Professor of English, Concurrent Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures and Concurrent Professor of Irish Language and Literature at the University of Notre Dame in the US; and Dr Richard Robinson, Associate Professor in English Literature at Swansea University.
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  Samurai: the legendary Japanese warriors 29.03.2026 54min

  Featuring: Dr Rosina Buckland, Curator of Japanese Collections in the Department of Asia at the British Museum and Lead Curator of the Samurai exhibition; Joe Nickols, curator in the Japan section of the British Museum, co-ordinating the Samurai exhibition; and Prof Oleg Benesch, Professor of Modern History and Head of the Department of History at the University of York, who specialises in the history of Japan and China in a global context.
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  Rasputin 24.03.2026 53min

  Rasputin rose from obscurity to become the most controversial figure at the court of Tsar Nicholas II. This episode features: Sir Anthony Beevor, writer and historian, and Dr Helen Rappaport, author, media consultant, and historian specialising in the British and Russian history from 1837 to 1918.
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  Mary, Queen of Scots 24.03.2026 51min

  In this episode: An Accidental History of Tudor England - From Daily Life to Sudden Death, with historian Prof Steven Gunn; Exile: The Captive Years of Mary, Queen of Scots, with author Rosemary Goring; and Élie Bouhéreau: the collections and communities of a Huguenot refugee, by Amy Boylan, special collections librarian in Marsh’s Library.
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  Emily Brontë and Wuthering Heights 18.03.2026 52min

  In this episode: we hear from Dr Claire O’Callaghan, Senior Lecturer in English at Loughborough University and Editor-in-Chief of Brontë Studies, the official journal of the Brontë Society; Prof Melissa Fegan, Professor of Irish and Victorian Literature at the University of Chester; and Dr Sophie Franklin, Postdoctoral Fellow at the School of English, Drama and Film at University College Dublin and author of ‘Violence and the Brontës: Language, Reception, Afterlives’. She is also an Associate Editor of the Brontë Studies journal.
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  What Did Anne Boleyn Look Like? 10.03.2026 49min

  In this episode: to mark International Women's Day, we discuss a number of prolific women across history - 'A History of France in 21 Women', by Katherine Pangonis, the author Maria Edgeworth and the 225th anniversary of her novel Belinda, and Hever Castle historian Dr Owen Emmerson tells us about how and why Anne Boleyn's image has changed over the centuries.
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  Steinbeck's Life and Times 01.03.2026 50min

  In this episode: Dr Danica Cerce from the Steinbeck Review; Dr Susan Shillinglaw, Director of the Steinbeck Center, California; Dr Nicholas P Taylor, Cox Center for Steinbeck Studies, San Jose State University; and Dr Tara Guissin-Stubbs, Associate Professor in English Literature and Director of Studies in English Literature and Creative Writing at Oxford University.
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  De Valera And His Time In America 24.02.2026 53min

  Featuring: Dr Bernadette Whelan, professor emeritus at the School of History and Geography at the University of Limerick; Dr Colum Kenny, Professor Emeritus, Dublin City University; and Prof Eunan O’Halpin, Fellow Emeritus in History at Trinity College Dublin.
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  Michael Davitt, Land League Founder 17.02.2026 32min

  In this episode: Nationalist Michael Davitt and how he inspired reform movements around the world; the aristocrat who became a champion of Catholic emancipation; and the history of intelligence. Featuring Ciara Daly, curator of the Michael Davitt exhibition at Trinity College Dublin; Síle McGuckian, author of Anglesey in Ireland, 1828-1833: Worse Than War; and Dr David Brydan, King's College London historian.