Elections Explained: How FDR Won Four Times

How did Hawaiʻi - once an independent, internationally recognised kingdom - become America's 50th state? It's a tale of economic pressure, political manoeuvring, and ruthless military might. We’ll explore how a sovereign nation was overthrown, how annexation followed without cons ...  Show more

Who was the worst American army general of all time? We round off our month of military history by looking at the leaders who standout for all the wrong reasons. Don's guest is the wonderful Cecily Zander author of the upcoming 'Abraham Lincoln and the American West', and 'The Ar ...  Show more

Who was Grover Cleveland, and why is he one of the most controversial American Presidents of all time? Why was the run up to his first term, in 1884 at the height of the Gilded Age, so pivotal to American politics? How did he rocket to the heights of political power? What dark se ...  Show more

For decades after the Second World War, the Soviet Union and the United States of America were locked in a conflict of ideology that took the planet to the brink of catastrophe. Known as the Cold War, it was an era of paranoia, fear and mutual suspicion, where the contest for sup ...  Show more

On 7 December 1941, Japan attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbor. It’s one of the most notorious surprise attacks in history, but how much of a surprise actually was it? Did President Franklin Roosevelt know that the attack was coming and even encourage it as a means of prope ...  Show more

Who is the most successful president in American history? George Washington secured American independence. Abraham Lincoln preserved the union and ended slavery. Franklin D. Roosevelt ended the Depression, remade government, and won World War II. But if we define "success" as the ...  Show more