November 13: The black soldier’s lament

Long-time listeners will know that in the early days of The Europeans, we had a semi-official ban on talking about a certain topic: Brexit, or as we liked to call it, ‘the B word’. A whole decade after the UK’s seismic referendum vote to leave the EU, have Katy and Dominic made t ...  Show more

After a triggering event we’re calling Legislativegate, producer Wojciech has a bone to pick with the English language and all of its irregularities. This week, Katy arranges a therapy session for Wojciech with Rob Watts, the Berlin-based host of the wildly popular YouTube channe ...  Show more

The existence of African-American soldiers has all but been erased from the popular narrative of the Second World War. James Holland and John McManus speak to the esteemed writer and academic Matthew Delmont to help explain how the experience of nearly a million black men on the ...  Show more

In a follow up to our superb episode in which John McManus opened up the archives to a glut of post-war surveys of US soldiers, the boys really dig into the harrowing experience of fighting in the Italian campaign. Not only do we look at the nightmarish conditions in Europe, but ...  Show more

How ordinary people – soldiers, mothers, nurses, even children – experienced World War One and the little-known human side of the world's first truly global conflict. With stories of love, loss, hope and fervour. 

As part of our British black history coverage we look back at the racism faced by London's first black policeman from his own colleagues. We also hear about the death in police custody of black ex-soldier Christopher Alder. Plus, the intriguing story of a Somali sailor based i ...