55. Black GIs: We Ain’t No Slaves, This Is England (Ep 2)

How did the American army try to enforce segregation by stealth on British towns? Why did the British public perceive the white American GIs as ‘over paid, over fed, over sexed and over here’? How did Churchill respond to the growing tensions in British towns as a result of the ‘friendly invasion’?  David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell tell the story of when the American army brought racial segregation to the UK during World War Two.  Social Producers: Emma Jackson, Harry Balden Assistant Producers: Alfie Rowe, Alfie Norris  Producer: Alice Horrell Head of History: Dom Johnson Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What happened when 1.5 million American GIs, including 130,000 African Americans, were stationed in the UK during WWII? How did the Jim Crow segregation laws work in the American army? What was surprising about how the Brits reacted when America tried to export this segregation to the UK?  Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga look at the forgotten story behind the ‘friendly invasion’ in  WWII.  Social Producers: Emma Jackson, Harry Balden Assistant Producer: Alfie Rowe Producer: Alice Horrell Head of History: Dom Johnson Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Forget what you think you know about reality. The Rest Is Science is a mind-bending new show from Goalhanger that tears down familiar ideas… time, randomness, beauty, it will reveal just how bizarre the world truly is. Join Professor Hannah Fry and science creator Michael Stevens (aka Vsauce) twice a week to explore big, small and surprising questions as they deep dive into theories, concepts, objects and thoughts and take us on a journey into the unexpected. If you love digging into details that usually get skipped over, this is the show that proves reality is stranger than fiction. Click here to subscribe to The Rest Is Science. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How did Harriet Tubman free over 750 enslaved people in the Combahee River Raid? Despite her valiant efforts in the Civil War, why did Harriet have to fight the government to have enough money to live on? What does her legacy say about the politics of today?  David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell look at the final chapter in Harriet’s extraordinary life.  Social Producers: Emma Jackson, Harry Balden Producer: Alice Horrell Head of History: Dom Johnson Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What surprising tactics did Harriet use to avoid detection on her many missions to rescue enslaved people in the south? Who was John Brown, the fierce abolitionist willing to use violence to further his cause? Why was Harriet involved in the Harpers’ Ferry raid, one of the causes of the Civil War?  Join Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga as they look at how Harriet Tubman brought so many people to safety.  Social Producers: Emma Jackson, Harry Balden Producer: Alice Horrell Head of History: Dom Johnson Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why did Harriet Tubman risk her freedom and become the only formerly enslaved person to return to the slaveholding south? How did the secret Underground Railroad guide people north to freedom? Why did the entire country suddenly become slave-catching territory in September 1850? What did this mean for those who thought they were safe in the North?  David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell explore the famous Underground Railroad.  Social Producers: Emma Jackson, Harry Balden Producer: Alice Horrell Head of History: Dom Johnson Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Who was Harriet Tubman? How did Harriet make the perilous journey escaping north to freedom? What was the Underground Railroad, the secret chain of people guiding enslaved people to safety? Join Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga as they explore the early years of abolitionist, spymaster, and activist Harriet Tubman.  Social Producers: Emma Jackson, Harry Balden Producer: Alice Horrell Head of History: Dom Johnson Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How many people were slaughtered in the street-to-street battle for Paris known as the ‘bloody week’? Why did the German Chancellor help the French government start a civil war? Who were the ‘Petroleuses’, the mythical wild-eyed working class women accused of setting the city on fire?  David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell relive the brutal final days of the Paris Commune.   Social Producer: Emma Jackson, Harry Balden Producer: Alice Horrell Head of History: Dom Johnson Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How many of the radical reforms that the Paris Commune implemented in their 72 day existence influence French laws to this day? Why did the communards tear down a statue of Napoleon III and outlaw morning croissants? How did an attempt to take the Archbishop of Paris hostage backfire badly on the radicals?  Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga explore what this short-lived radical government of Paris managed to achieve.  Social Producer: Emma Jackson, Harry Balden Producer: Alice Horrell Head of History: Dom Johnson Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How did pet dogs, street rats, and the zoo’s elephants make their way onto the menu of Parisian fine dining restaurants? Why did Paris feel so slighted by the national government when they surrendered to the Germans? How did defiant Parisian children and housewives defy the national guard and spark a revolution that would lead to the Paris Commune? David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell relive the Siege of Paris and the fight for Parisian independence.  Social Producer: Emma Jackson, Harry Balden Producer: Alice Horrell Head of History: Dom Johnson Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices