The editor of Aspects of History, Ollie Webb-Carter, interviews historians and authors on the past - from the ancient world right up to the modern day. In each ...
The Mafia & the Kennedys with Louis Ferrante Part 1
In early 1957, the Robert F Kennedy and his brother Jack were part of the US Senate Rackets Committee and they both attacked the notorious Jimmy Hoffa, the leader of the Teamsters union and a man with numerous connections to the mob. But as Hoffa probably knew at the time, the two of them were themselves involved with the mafia. Joining today is former member of the Gambino crime family and friend of the show Louis Ferrante, the author of three volumes on the history of the mafia in American and today we discuss the second, Borgata Vol 2, Clash of Titans. This is a two part special, with the second episode following on Wednesday.
Louis Ferrante Links
Borgata Vol II: Clash of Titans: A History of the American Mafia
Borgata Vol I: Rise of Empire: A History of the American Mafia
Episode from 2024 with Louis Ferrante
Aspects of History Links
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33:30
Film Club: Salvador (1986)
On the 2nd December 1980, four American nuns were driving from San Salvador international airport when their van was attacked and run off the road. Men from the El Salvador National Guard, the ruling government’s military, dressed in civilian clothing, raped, shot, then buried the four women. This event failed to halt US funding of the Salvadorian regime as billions of dollars were spent in propping up the fascist rulers. In 1985, before shooting Platoon, Oliver Stone began filming Salvador, starring James Woods as Richard Boyle so this is your January film club. Please do like, subscribe and follow, and if you can leave a kind rating then thank you, but it’s over to me, Roger and Tim on Salvador.
Links
Robert E White Obituary
Salvadoran Civil War
Salvador on IMDB
Salvador on Wikipedia
Ollie on X
Tim on X
Roger on X
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1:01:46
William Tell with Nick Hamm & Almut Seurbaum
Early in 14th century Switzerland was under the control of their far more powerful neighbour, Hapsburg Austria. In the small town of Aldorf in the canton of Uri, which is at the centre of Switzerland, near Lake Lucern and the city of Zurich there lived a brutal Austrian governor, Albrecht Gessler. Gessler hated the Swiss, a proud and rebellious people, and to remind them of their subjugation he placed his hat on a large post in the middle of the town, and demanded the Swiss bow when passing.
William Tell, an expert crossbowman and hunter, refused. Furious, Gessler set Tell a challenge. Shoot an apple off his son’s head, from 100 yards, as the wretched child was tied to the post or the boy would be executed. Tell reluctantly agreed, and with a miraculous shot he succeeded, and so began the revolt against Austria and Switzerland’s journey to independence for which it is known today, as well as dubious banking practises.
Joining the podcast is the director Nick Hamm who has made a film of William Tell, starring Claes Bang, Ben Kingsley, Jonathan Pryce, Golshifteh Farahani, Rafe Spall, Ellie Bamber and Connor Swindells. Also on the chat is the historian Almut Seurbaum.
William Tell Links
William Tell Movie on Wikipedia
William Tell Movie on IMDB
Aspects of History Links
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40:55
SAS Rogue Heroes Series 2 with Gavin Mortimer
Gavin Mortimer joins me this week for a rollicking ride through the invasion of Sicily and Italy with the SAS and Paddy Mayne, Bill Stirling and his brother David. We discuss the portrayal Mayne, what the show gets right, and what it gets wrong. Rogue Heroes S2 stars Jack O'Connell and Connor Swindells.
!SPOILER ALERT!
Gavin is the author of The Phoney Major, a new book that examines both Stirling and Mayne closely, and one that has exploded the myth of David Stirling, so he's well placed to discuss the series.
Gavin Mortimer Links
The Phoney Major
The SAS in 1943: Operations in Sicily and Italy
The SAS in Italy with Gavin Mortimer
Aspects of History Links
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42:11
Espionage and Duplicity with William Boyd
Today’s episode is a chat with the acclaimed and bestselling author, William Boyd. He has written countless books including a Solo a Bond novel, screenplays, operas and he even took part in a brilliant art hoax with David Bowie. Last month I had the chance to talk with him about his new book, Gabriel’s Moon, the first in a trilogy of espionage novels set in the 1960s featuring the hero Gabriel Dax. We cover that period, spy writing and plenty of other subjects. I should mention that this episode first appeared on our sister podcast SpyMasters and you should definitely check it out where my colleague Antonia Senior interviews spy authors, historians and maybe even a few spooks themselves.
William Boyd Links
Gabriel’s Moon
William Boyd & David Bowie Art Hoax
Aspects of History Links
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The editor of Aspects of History, Ollie Webb-Carter, interviews historians and authors on the past - from the ancient world right up to the modern day. In each episode, Ollie seeks to get to the bottom of a story or scrutinise a figure from history. There are bonus episodes too, on current events and anniversaries to the Aspects of History Film Club.