The Hipstorians

Author of history of United States of America titled 'Fantasyland' brings us on a fascinating journey through America's eclectic mix of persecuted religions that made the move firstly across the water from Europe and then further pressed to make the journey west. Kurt Anderson is also a novelist and lives in rural Kentucky.

Irish journalist and writer, Sally Hayden, says she "stumbled on a human rights disaster of epic proportions" when she wrote about the ongoing migrant crisis in Europe in her award-winning book ' My Fourth Time, We Drowned' (Orwell Prize & Irish Book of the Year). A foreign correspondent, she has reported from Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda and Rwanda.

Baltimorean journalist Justin Fenton joins us to talk about his book on police corruption ‘We Own This City’ that was made into a HBO Series of the same name. He reveals the scale of scandalous police corruption in a city with a declining population and is yet one of the murder capitals in the US and is ravaged with drug related deaths. We discuss the failing war on drugs and Justin’s ride along experience in Dublin’s mean streets with the Irish Garda Siochana.

Hope you're not squeamish! In his first book, the author of 'Spare Parts', Paul Craddock, explored transplant surgery, from the sixteenth century to the present day. Paul guides us through some of the extraordinary advances through medical science over the centuries. Gory, gritty, and endlessly fascinating!

In his book 'Russia's War on Everybody: And What it Means for You' author Giles Keir lifted the lid on how Russia has been waging a clandestine war against the West for decades. But here, he reveals why the 2022 attack on Ukraine is a threat to us all, regardless of where we live.

The American author Gwen Strauss tells the story of how her great aunt Hélène Podliasky led a band of nine female resistance fighters as they escaped a German forced labour camp and made a ten-day journey across the front lines of WWII from Germany back to Paris

Mark Blake, the author 'Us And Them: The Authorised Story Of Hipgnosis' - the history of record sleeve designers, who created some of the most iconic album covers of all time, including Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side Of The Moon and Led Zeppelin’s Houses Of The Holy

Sean D Naylor spent 20 years writing for Army Times and, being embedded with frontline troops, he was well placed to record the story of the rise of JSOC, Joint Special Operations Command.

Derek and Neil get schooled in unexpected ways after some chit chat and musings on their childhood fears of nuclear Armageddon. Alex Wellerstein reorients our long held views of nuclear history.