Aspects of History

In the early 20th century, the Arctic remained one of the last great unexplored regions of the world. When the celebrity explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson sets out to chart its unknown territory, the expedition’s flagship, the Karluk, becomes trapped in the ice, leaving its crew, scientists and Indigenous members facing an extraordinary struggle for survival.

In this week's episode of the podcast, bestselling historian Giles Milton joins Zeb Baker-Smith⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Editor of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aspects of History⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, to discuss his new book, Empire at the Edge of the World, including the Karluk disaster, Captain Robert Bartlett’s remarkable journey to raise the alarm, and the ill-fated attempt to establish a colony on Wrangel Island. They explore the realities of Arctic exploration, from temperatures of minus 50 degrees to starvation, contaminated food and the treacherous sea ice.

Giles also discusses Ada Blackjack, the Indigenous seamstress who found herself stranded on Wrangel Island, and the diaries and accounts that reveal what happened there. From Stefansson’s vision of the Arctic as the future of the world to his eventual fall from celebrity to disgrace, the conversation also considers Wrangel Island’s continuing geopolitical importance a century later.

Episode Links

Empire at the Edge of the World: Endurance and Madness in the High Arctic

Giles Milton Links

Giles ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠online⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Giles on Twitter/X

Giles on ⁠Instagram⁠

Giles on ⁠Facebook⁠

Aspects of History Links

AoH ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠online⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

AoH on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter /X⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

AoH on Instagram⁠⁠

AoH on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Zeb Links

Zeb on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter /X⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Zeb on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠

Zeb on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Substack⁠
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In 1963, former model Evelyn Westbrook is secretly beginning psychotherapy to understand a recurring nightmare. But as her relationship with Dr Daley develops, her search for answers becomes increasingly unsettling.

In this episode of the Aspects of History⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast, author Lucy Ashe joins Ella Beales to discuss The Model Patient, her psychological suspense novel inspired by her own experience of therapy. Together they examine the complex relationship between patient and therapist in the novel, and the narrative's blurred boundary between care and control.

Lucy also discusses her character's struggle for autonomy, shifting expectations of women in the 1960s, the role of art in expressing hidden emotions and poses the question of what happens when we trust someone else to help us understand ourselves.

Episode Links

The Model Patient⁠

Lucy Ashe Links

Lucy online

⁠Lucy on Twitter/X⁠

Lucy on Instagram

⁠Lucy on Tiktok

Ella Links

Ella online

Ella on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠

Aspects of History Links

AoH ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠online⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

AoH on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter /X⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

AoH on Instagram⁠

AoH on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
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In the early 80s, at the height of the Cold War, a senior KGB officer in revolutionary Iran offered to spy for Britain. His motivation was deeply personal: desperate to save his marriage, Vladimir Kuzichkin believed the West possessed medicines that could cure his erectile dysfunction. What followed was an extraordinary intelligence operation involving MI6, the KGB, the Iranian Communist Party and a Soviet plot that could have transformed the balance of the Cold War.

In this episode of the Aspects of History⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast, bestselling author Ben Macintyre joins Phil Craig to discuss Redwood, his story of Kuzichkin and the young MI6 officer, Ian McCredie, who ran him as a source in one of the most dangerous environments imaginable. Kuzichkin possessed detailed intelligence about a planned Soviet-backed communist coup in
Iran, including the networks, personnel and weapons involved. Ben outlines how MI6 handled this highly sensitive intelligence, why it was initially withheld from the Americans, and the extraordinary operation to get Kuzichkin out of Iran.

The conversation also considers the consequences of the decision to share
Kuzichkin's intelligence with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, and, alongside the geopolitics, brings to life the remarkable human stories at the heart of the operation, from Kuzichkin's new life in Britain to the moral ambiguities faced by those involved.

Episode Links

Redwood: The Untold Story of the Cold War's Most Extraordinary Spy

Ben Links

Ben ⁠online⁠

Ben on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter /X⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Ben on ⁠Facebook⁠

Phil Links

Phil online

Phil on ⁠⁠⁠The Scandal Mongers⁠

Phil on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter /X⁠⁠⁠⁠

Phil on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠

Aspects of History Links

AoH ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠online⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

AoH on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter /X⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

AoH on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
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For much of the Cold War, Sweden presented itself as a neutral country standing apart from the confrontation between NATO and the Soviet Union. In reality, its strategic position left it acutely exposed to the possibility of Soviet attack, and behind the public policy of non-alignment lay extensive secret preparations for occupation and resistance. Among them was a clandestine civilian network designed to survive invasion, gather intelligence and organise sabotage behind enemy lines.

In this episode of the Aspects of History⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast, Paul Burke, host of Spymasters, talks to political scientist Johan Wennström, author of The Stay Behinds: Sweden’s Cold War Guardians, about the origins, organisation and operation of this secret resistance movement. They discuss how the network emerged in 1949 from wartime preparations for resistance, why it remained under Swedish national control despite cooperation with the CIA and MI6, and how it operated through tightly compartmentalised cells of ordinary civilians.

Johan also explains Sweden’s apparently neutral position during the Cold War, the very real fear of Soviet invasion, the network’s links to the Swedish state and its eventual legalisation in 1955.

Episode Links

The Stay Behinds: Sweden’s Cold War Guardians

Johan Links

Johan online

Johan on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter /X⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Johan on Substack

Johan on Instagram

Paul Links

Paul on ⁠Spymasters and Aspects of Crime

Paul online

Paul on ⁠⁠⁠Twitter /X⁠⁠⁠

Paul on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠

Aspects of History Links

AoH ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠online⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

AoH on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter /X⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

AoH on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

AoH on Instagram
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Remain loyal to Britain or join the Indian National Army and its campaign for Indian independence? Set against the backdrop of atrocities committed by their captors, this was the choice faced by many in the Indian Army.

In this episode of the Aspects of History⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast, historian and author Gautam Hazarika joins Phil Craig to discuss the experiences of Indian soldiers captured by the Japanese following the fall of Singapore in February 1942. He explains how an unexpected discovery of a manuscript produced inside Changi Prison led him to investigate a largely overlooked aspect of the war in Southeast Asia.

Gautam’s book, The Forgotten Indian Prisoners of World War II: Surrender, Loyalty, Betrayal and Hell, documents the experiences of those who escaped Singapore, the difficult reintegration of soldiers on both sides of the divide, and the families left behind, including the ‘waiting wives’ who spent years without news of their husbands. This is a story not simply about strategy and battle, but about memory and the human cost of war.

Episode Links

The Forgotten Indian Prisoners of World War II: Surrender, Loyalty, Betrayal and Hell⁠

Gautam Links

Gautam online

Gautam on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter /X⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Gautam on Facebook

Gautam on LinkedIn

Phil Links

Phil on ⁠⁠The Scandal Mongers

Phil on ⁠⁠⁠Twitter /X⁠⁠⁠

Phil on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠

Aspects of History Links

AoH ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠online⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

AoH on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter /X⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

AoH on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
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