History's Devils

Episodes

• 
  The "Father" of Drones: Archibald Low and the Future of War 19.08.2026 1h 1m

  James Crossland is joined by aerospace historian and author Mark Piesing – author of N-4 Down: The Hunt for the Arctic Airship Italia – to explore the extraordinary life and legacy of British inventor and “father of drones” Archibald Low (1888–1956), from his early experiments with television to his pioneering work on the First World War’s Aerial Target – one of the first full-size radio-controlled aircraft. The episode traces the development of unmanned aircraft through the interwar years, t...
• 
  Charles Manson Part 2: Helter Skelter? Understanding the Manson Family Murders 12.08.2026 1h 2m

  In part two of our Charles Manson episode, James and Jayne discuss how the Manson Family spiralled out of control in the summer of 1969, leading to the infamous Tate-LaBianca murders. Picking up where the previous episode left off, this episode follows the Manson Family during their final months at Spahn Ranch as paranoia, drug use, violence and criminal activity escalated into murder. James and Jayne examine Charles Manson's failed pursuit of a music career through Beach Boys producer Terry ...
• 
  Charles Manson Part 1: The Making of a Maniac and His Murderous "Family" 12.08.2026 47m

  For this episode, James is joined by the ever-game Jayne Friend to explore the early life of Charles Manson, how he built the Manson Family, his connections to the 1960s counterculture and his bizarre relationship with the Beach Boys James and Jayne trace Charles Manson's childhood, criminal career and repeated imprisonments before examining how his release into the social upheaval of late-1960s California shaped his rise as a cult leader. They discuss the influence of the hippie movement, Ha...
• 
  Merchant of Death: Basil Zaharoff and the Origins of the First World War 05.08.2026 1h 5m

  Who was Basil Zaharoff and how did he lay Europe's path to the First World War? This week, James Crossland is joined by military historian and Not So Quiet on the Western Front co-host Spencer Jones to examine the extraordinary life of Sir Basil Zaharoff, the mysterious international arms dealer whose influence stretched from the Ottoman Empire to Britain, Russia, Greece, Spain and Japan. The episode explores how Zaharoff built a fortune through fraud, bribery, political influence and we...
• 
  Scourge of God or Just a Guy with a "Magical" Sword? Attila the Hun and the Fall of Rome 29.07.2026 58m

  Who was Attila the Hun? Did he really bring down the Roman Empire? How much of his reputation as the "Scourge of God" is actually justified? In this episode, James is joined by Jem Duducu (@jemduducu), author of The Devil's Horsemen: A Thousand Years of Conquest by Eurasian Steppe Horse Archers to separate fact from myth in the life, military campaigns and legacy of Attila the Hun during the final century of the Western Roman Empire. Attila the Hun is one of history's most famous conque...
• 
  America's Forgotten King: James Jesse Strang and the Mormon Cult of Beaver Island 22.07.2026 1h

  James Jesse Strang, the only man in U.S. history to crown himself a king, is the focus of this podcast episode exploring his rise as a Mormon schismatic leader, cult founder, and self-declared monarch on Beaver Island, Michigan. Joined by Peter Zablocki (History Shorts Podcast), James uncovers the shocking story of Strang’s transformation from a sickly but highly ambitious child in upstate New York into a lawyer, journalist, and self-proclaimed prophet who broke away from the early Latter Day...
• 
  Sidney Gottlieb Part 2: MK Ultra and the CIA's Insane Assassination Plots 15.07.2026 1h 5m

  James is joined once again by Jayne Friend for part two of our exploration of Sidney Gottlieb, the CIA chemist who led MK-Ultra, developed Cold War mind control experiments, and became involved in some of the agency's most controversial covert operations. This episode continues to story of Gottlieb's obsessions with LSD and psychological warfare, whilst covering his involvement in CIA assassination plots against Patrice Lumumba and Fidel Castro. James and Jayne examine how the lack of oversig...
• 
  Sidney Gottlieb Part 1: MK Ultra and the CIA's Search for Mind Control 15.07.2026 56m

  Who was Sidney Gottlieb, and how did the CIA's MKUltra program attempt to use LSD and psychological warfare to create mind control during the Cold War? In Part One of this epic two-part episode, James is joined by Jayne Friend to explore the origins of MKUltra through the remarkable life of it's chief, Sidney Gottlieb, the CIA chemist who became America's leading architect of mind control research. From Operation Paperclip and Nazi biological warfare research to Cold War fears of communist br...
• 
  The Devils of Red Dead Redemption: How a Video Game Shines a Light on America's Dark History 08.07.2026 51m

  What can a video game teach us about American history, morality, capitalism, race, violence, and the myth of the Wild West? This week, James is joined by Torre Olsen (author of Red Dead's History: A Video Game, an Obsession, and America's Violent Past) to explore the moral grey areas of the Wild West by diving into the Red Dead Redemption video game franchise, and its powerful portrayal of good, evil, and American history. In discussing the fictional characters John Marston and Arthur Morgan,...
• 
  Andrew Jackson Part 2: Populist Politics, The Trail of Tears, and the Creation of the American Presidency 01.07.2026 1h 2m

  In part two of this double-episode on Andrew Jackson, James and Edd explore his rise to the presidency, his turbulent years in the White House, and the lasting impact of his populist politics on America. From the disputed election of 1824 to his victory in 1828, Andrew Jackson transformed American politics and became one of the most controversial presidents in U.S. history. This episode examines Jackson’s battles with political rivals, the expansion of voting rights, the Petticoat Affair, the...
• 
  Andrew Jackson Part 1: The Rise of America's Most Violent President 01.07.2026 1h 6m

  This week, James (@historysdevils) is joined by Edd Mair (@eplmair) for a double episode on the life of Andrew Jackson, examining how the seventh president of the United States rose from a frontier orphan to become a war hero, slaveholder, populist political figure, and one of the most influential and controversial presidents in American history. In this first part of Andrew Jackson's story, we trace his journey from the backcountry of the Carolinas during the American Revolution to his emer...
• 
  William Joyce Part 2: The Making of "Lord Haw Haw", Hitler's Voice in Britain 24.06.2026 55m

  In part two of this double episode on William Joyce, James Crossland and Jayne Friend explain how he became Lord Haw Haw, the infamous Nazi broadcaster who transmitted propaganda from Germany to Britain during the Second World War. James and Jayne follow Joyce's journey from fleeing Britain in 1939 to becoming the most recognizable English-language voice of Nazi propaganda. The episode examines how Joyce built his Lord Haw Haw persona, the role of Nazi radio broadcasts during the war, and why...
• 
  William Joyce Part 1: How a British Patriot Became a Nazi Traitor 24.06.2026 52m

  This double episode explores the life of William Joyce, better known as Lord Haw-Haw, the infamous Nazi propagandist who went from self-described British patriot to one of the most notorious collaborators of the Third Reich during World War II. In this first part of the story, James - with the help of Jayne Friend - examines William Joyce's early life, political radicalization, and rise within Britain's fascist movement. From his upbringing in Ireland during the Irish War of Independence to h...
• 
  Kim Philby: Britain's Most Dangerous Spy Was Also A Terrible Human Being 17.06.2026 1h 11m

  In this episode, James is joined by Antonia Senior (author of Stalin’s Apostles: The Cambridge Five and the Making of the Soviet Empire) to discuss Kim Philby, the most notorious member of the Cambridge Five spy ring, and explain how a Cambridge-educated British intelligence officer became one of the Soviet Union's most damaging Cold War agents. From his privileged upbringing and communist radicalization to his recruitment by Soviet intelligence and rise inside MI6, the conversation challenge...
• 
  Allan Pinkerton: Spy, Detective, Strike-Breaking Conspiracy Theorist 10.06.2026 1h 4m

  In this episode of History’s Devils, James is joined by Lewis Sage-Passant (How To Get on A Watchlist) to explore the rise of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency and the violent contradictions at the heart of its founder, Allan Pinkerton. Once a Chartist radical, Pinkerton reinvented himself in America as a celebrated detective and Union intelligence agent during the American Civil War. After the war, his story took a darker turn as he became increasingly consumed by conspiracy thinking, ...
• 
  The Gentleman Pirate with the Mid-Life Crisis: Stede Bonnet and the Golden Age of Piracy 03.06.2026 59m

  This week, James sets sail with Jamie Goodall (author of The Pirates of Chesapeake Bay and Pirates and Privateers) into one of the strangest true stories of the Golden Age of Piracy – the rise and fall of the so-called “Gentleman Pirate”, Stede Bonnet who abandoned wealth, status, and family for a life of crime at sea. Often described as a pirate driven by a midlife crisis, Bonnet’s journey from plantation owner in Barbados to notorious outlaw of the high seas is as chaotic as it is fascinati...
• 
  The Truth About Satanism: Anton LaVey, the Church of Satan & America’s Moral Panic 27.05.2026 1h

  This week, James welcomes Mikki Brock (@historymikki) back onto the show to dive deep into the controversial world of Satanism and the cultural impact of the Church of Satan’s founder, Anton LaVey. This episode explores the origins of LaVey’s church and how his philosophy challenged traditional religion, focusing on libertarian personal freedom and the rejection of societal norms. This episode also examines the wave of fear known as the Satanic Panic, which fuelled widespread misinforma...
• 
  The First War on Terror? Irish Dynamiters and the Bombing of Victorian Britain 20.05.2026 1h 4m

  Long before The Troubles, 7/7 and other modern terrorism, Britain faced a wave of bombings that shocked the Victorian world. Step into one of the most overlooked chapters of British history in this gripping episode on the "Dynamite War" of the 1880s - often described as the first “war on terror.” Joined by Gillian O'Brien (author of The Darkness Echoing: Ireland's Places of Famine, Death and Rebellion), James explains how Irish republican groups like the Clan Na Gael and Irish Republica...
• 
  The Legend of Billy The Kid: Murder, Myth and Reality in the Old West 13.05.2026 1h 6m

  In this episode, James is joined by Jem Duducu (author of The History of the Western Movie) to tell the story of a teenage gunslinger who became a legendary figure wrapped in folklore, media exaggeration, and historical debate – Billy the Kid. Tracing the story of Billy’s criminal career and involvement in the Lincoln County War, we discuss how Hollywood films and pop culture transformed a young outlaw into a Wild West icon, generating the myth that he somehow survived his deadly encounter wi...
• 
  The Carny & The Showman, Part 2: How Wrestling Explains the Donald Trump Presidency 06.05.2026 51m

  Summary In part two of the exploration of Donald Trump and Vince McMahon, James and Jayne examine how Trump’s 2015 presidential campaign announcement at Trump Tower resembled a professional wrestling entrance, setting the tone for his presidency. The episode explains key wrestling concepts including the gimmick, promo, work, shoot, kayfabe and pop, then applies them to Trump’s political persona, campaign rallies, nicknames, claims about election results and his changing image from “babyface” ...