Thony Christie has a blog called the Renaissance Mathematicus. It covers the history of science and is one of the wonders of the blogging world. I asked him to talk to me about the history of astronomy and he delivered a masterclass.

Subject to Change

A history of astronomy - from the Babylonians to Galileo

David Rooney is the author of About Time: A History of Civilisation in Twelve Clocks. He talks about clocks (in the widest sense of the word - sundials, waterclocks, orbiting satellites and more) and about how time is used to demonstrate and exert power. He is quite simply a delightful speaker who knows his subject inside and out and knows how to get you to share his enthusiasm. Such a pleasure!

Clocks, Civilization, Power . . . all About Time with David Rooney

Freddie, Abe and I talk about movies. Three blokes talking about feminism in movies. Well of course. But much more besides. Films discussed include Mad Max Fury Road, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, that Ghostbusters remake . . .I asked everyone to recommend one hidden gem. Freddie delivered his one, Abe crammed in three and I cheated and came up with five:FreddieS.F. W.AbeThe Man Who Wasn&apos;t ThereAdvise & ConsentTalk RadioRussellRed Rock WestRipley&apos;s GameA Stranger of MineOne Cut of the DeadHeadhunters

Talking movies with Freddie deBoer and Abe Callard (Mad Max, OUTIH, Ghostbusters etc)

Julian Sancton is a wonderful guide to the Belgian expedition to Antartica in 1898.  The crew of the Belgica included Roald Amundsen and Frederick Cook who went on to become among the most famous explorers of their time. Julian&apos;s book is a classic of the genre. Check out on Amazon in the UK and in the US.

Julian Sancton on the ill fated voyage of the Belgica to the Antarctic in 1898

Kenji Tierney is a wonderfully engaging speaker. Starting with memories of being introduced by his grandmother to sumo by way of watching TV with her he gives a wonderfully learned and fascinating talk on sumo and its development. The story of how the Japanese tried to impress Commodore Perry with a sumo wrestling exhibition and he responded by putting on a minstrel show is just one of many fascinating stories. If sumo has always left you a bit baffled this is a thoroughly entertaining &apos;deep dive&apos;.

When the Shogun's sumo met Commodore Perry's minstrel show

Robin Gaster&apos;s book Behemoth, Amazon Rising: Power and Seduction in the Age of Amazon is available to buy on, naturally, Amazon. If you want to understand where Amazon came from, why it is so successful and why it needs to be tamed this is a great place to go. I spoke to Robin on my podcast. I still can&apos;t make up my mind. It seems I buy half my stuff from Amazon - but Robin makes a good case for why that is the problem . . .

Amazon the behemoth

Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney is a professor of anthropology at the University of Wisconsin. Here she recalls her life as a young girl in Kobe during World War II and we talk also about the kamikaze pilots of that period. Her books Kamikaze Diaries and Kamikaze, Cherry Blossoms and Nationalisms have been highly influential in explaining how the highly educated young men were led to their fate.

Memories of wartime Japan and reflections on the kamikaze

Roger Crowley tells the story of how Portugal built its empire in the Indian ocean from 1498. The Portuguese were there to trade but also as zealots and crusaders. The story is one of discovery, courage, violence and often unspeakable cruelty. It is astonishing to learn how one of Europe&apos;s smallest and poorest countries could undertake such a project.Roger&apos;s book Conquerors: How Portugal Forged the First Global Empire was hugely popular with critics and with lovers of deeply researched but highly readable narrative history.

Conquerors - how Portugal built its empire in India

Mike Dash wrote the definitive book about the Batavia and its wreck near the coast of Australia in 1629. We talked about the events leading up to the wreck and the bloody reign of terror and murders that followed. Mike&apos;s blog A Blast from the Past is also an absolute goldmine for people interested in history.I&apos;d also highly recommend Gareth Harney&apos;s Twitter thread about the events and one of the treasures from the ancient world that the Batavia was carrying. Absolutely fascinating and some beautiful images (one of which I used for this episode&apos;s artwork).

Mike Dash on Batavia's Graveyard

An absolute joy to spend an hour and a half with history professors David Abulafia and Bret Devereaux. We started with the founding of Alexandria and travelled back and forth in time and all around the Mediterranean. The starting point for the discussion was David&apos;s magnificent book the Great Sea but Bret had plenty to add. (Check out his blog here).

Abulafia and Devereaux - the ancient Mediterranean

Peter Pomerantsev is the author of two outstanding books. The first is Nothing Is True and Everything is Possible. It has some wonderful stories which he made into programmes while working in Russian TV from 2006. Fascinating and sometimes heartbreaking. The next is This is Not Propaganda (adventures in the war against reality). This is about online propaganda, troll farms and influence operations and again is crammed with fascinating tales of Peter&apos;s investigations.

Peter Pomerantsev has stories to tell (and they are all true)

Bean blogs on naval warfare here. He writes on modern naval warfare (well, from the mid 19th century). His first love is battleships but it goes much wider than this. We talked about battleships (the Yamato in particular), the fate of the French fleet in WWII, whether carriers are obsolete and the Falklands War. If you like this kind of thing then, well, this is the kind of thing you may very well like.Bean is also a big hit over at  Astral Codex Ten where his posts in the comments section generate a lot of interest.

Bean on battleships (and much else besides)

David Goodhart is one of the most acute and level headed observers of British society writing today. His influential The Road to Somewhere unpicked the divisions leading to the Brexit vote and he has followed that with Head Hand and Heart arguing for a rebalancing of esteem and resources away from the cognitive jobs and towards manual workers and caregivers. We discussed both books and he is an absolutely delightful and persuasive guide through British society, its problems and its opportunities.

David Goodhart on Head, Hand and Heart and the Road to Somewhere

Professor of ancient history Bret Devereaux concludes his two part evaluation of military strategy in the Lord of the Rings. The Witch King gets two thumbs up. I&apos;m rag tag and bobtail.Check out the blog for more on the Siege of Gondor, Lord of the Rings and much, much more.

The Siege of Gondor - Bret Devereaux rates the Witch King - A Bad Man, a Good General

Roger Crowley takes us through the struggles between the Ottoman Turks and the Knights of St John in the Mediterranean in the mid 1500&apos;s.  Astonishing stories. My favourite line &apos;Once the Venetians learned Bragadin had been skinned alive they were determined to have the battle, on their own if need be&apos;.  Roger&apos;s book Empires of the Sea is top rank narrative history - highly recommended. 

The Knights of St John against the Turks (and the sheer bloody horror of Lepanto)

I talk to people about politics, education, the arts, history and anything else we find interesting.

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Subject to Change

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