Author: Tom Brothwell

Tom Brothwell

Bristol History Podcast

Bristol History Podcast: The Bristol Blitz

2020 marked the eightieth anniversary of the Bristol Blitz, which saw 77 Nazi air raids on the city, with six major raids taking place in the winter of 1940-41. I spoke with Eugene Byrne of the Bristol Post to discuss the origins of the Blitz and how Bristolians coped with being bombed. We also e...

Tom Brothwell

Bristol History Podcast

Bristol History Podcast: West Country Counterculture in the 1960s and 70s

Tom Brothwell

Bristol History Podcast

Bristol History Podcast: The Mystery of Princess Caraboo

Tom Brothwell

Bristol History Podcast

Bristol History Podcast: The Pneumatic Institute in Hotwells

At the end of the eighteenth century, ‘pneumatic’ (gas) chemistry was at the forefront of scientific knowledge. In 1799 the remarkable physician Thomas Beddoes opened...

Tom Brothwell

People's History

Bristol History Podcast: Centuries of slavery and the city, and how enslaved people helped abolish the trade

Tom Brothwell

Bristol History Podcast

Bristol History Podcast: The Bristol Bus Boycott

Tom Brothwell

Bristol History Podcast

Bristol History Podcast: 'Know Your Place' and Planning in Bristol

This week I spoke with Pete Insole, Historic Environment Officer for Bristol City Council, to discuss the historical mapping tool ‘Know Your Place’. We also...

Tom Brothwell

Bristol History Podcast

Bristol History Podcast: Bristol and the 1918 'Spanish' Flu Pandemic

Arriving at the end of the First World War, the 1918 ‘Spanish’ Flu was one of the deadliest pandemics in human history, killing between 40...

Tom Brothwell

Bristol History Podcast

Bristol History Podcast: Witches and Witchcraft in the West Country

This week I met with Mike Slater, West-Country Occult Historian, to discuss the history of witchcraft in the West Country. We spoke about the continuance...

Tom Brothwell

Bristol History Podcast

Bristol History Podcast: Graffiti and Street Art in Bristol

Nowadays Bristol is internationally known as a centre of graffiti and street art culture. I met with John Nation – pioneer and promoter of graffiti...

Tom Brothwell

Bristol History Podcast

Bristol History Podcast: Dr. Edson Burton In Conversation

This week I met with the writer, poet, historian and playwright Dr. Edson Burton. We discussed (among other things) how his historical outlook shapes his...

Tom Brothwell

Podcast

Bristol History Podcast: Election Special: Polling Day in 18th Century Bristol

As we approach December's election, the Bristol History Podcast asks: how did we get here? To this end I spoke with UWE Professor of History and Heritage Steve Poole about what elections in Bristol looked like some 300 years ago.

Tom Brothwell

Bristol History Podcast

Bristol History Podcast: Everyday Life in the Early Modern West Country

how much do we know about what life was like for the ordinary men and women living under Henry VIII's rule?

Tom Brothwell

Bristol History Podcast

Bristol History Podcast: Natural History of the West Country

This week I met with Joe McSorley of the Avon Wildlife Trust to discuss the natural history of the West Country – from the earliest...

Tom Brothwell

Bristol History Podcast

Bristol History Podcast: Bristol University and its Historians

This week I met with Dr. John Reeks to discuss Bristol University and its historians. The university was founded in 1909 and dominates much of...

Tom Brothwell

Bristol History Podcast

Bristol History Podcast: Bristol's Overseas Trade

Bristol was born as a trading hub. We look at the history of the city's overseas trade, from its foundation to present day.

Tom Brothwell

Bristol History Podcast

Bristol History Podcast // 'Out of the Comfort Zone: From Bristol to Massive Attack.'

This week I met with author and journalist Melissa Chemam to discuss her book 'Out of the Comfort Zone: From Bristol to Massive Attack.'

Tom Brothwell

Podcast

Bristol History Podcast // Concorde

This week I met with Dr. Keith McLoughlin of Bristol University to discuss the remarkable story of Concorde - the first supersonic passenger aircraft.

Tom Brothwell

Bristol History Podcast

Bristol History Podcast // Benjamin Dickson in Conversation

Author on his graphic novel about a family struggling to come to terms with life following the end of the Second World War.

Tom Brothwell

Bristol History Podcast

Bristol History Podcast // Bristol Rugby Club

Bristol Bears' historian Mark Hoskins talks Bristol Rugby - the club's origins in the late-Victorian era, its community role during the World Wars and the professional age.

Tom Brothwell

Bristol History Podcast

Bristol History Podcast // Bristol's Public Memory of Slavery

This week I met with Dr. Jessica Moody of Bristol University to discuss the ways in which Bristol has publicly addressed its involvement in the...

Tom Brothwell

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Bristol History Podcast // Mike Manson in Conversation

This week I met with author, historian and one man Bristolian institution: Mike Manson. In a whistle-stop tour through his literary career we discussed the...

Tom Brothwell

Bristol History Podcast

Bristol History Podcast // Being Brunel - A Bristol icon

Being Brunel is one of Bristol's newest and most innovative museums that attempts to get behind the myth of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, one of the country's most famous engineers.

Tom Brothwell

Bristol History Podcast

Bristol History Podcast // Bristol and the Civil War

The English Civil War is often reduced to a stereotype of haughty Cavaliers and humourless Roundheads. Yet in reality it was was one of the...

Tom Brothwell