Goodbye For Now
Between working full time and the impending arrival of baby WDF, I would be lying if I pretended as if nothing was going to change. It is, i...
Radio and PodcastLive Radio & Podcasts
Society & Culture
When Diplomacy Fails Podcast
A weekly podcast covering the build up to, breakout of and consequences of various conflicts in history.
Episodes
20 of 744 episodes
#70: July Crisis Q&A
During this series we have encountered a wide variety of fascinating characters and controversial decisions, but even though the story of wh...
State of the Podcast Address 21 July 2025
It's been a while since I last checked in with you, and I've been sitting on some incredible news for a while now. If you'd like to know how...
#69: The First World War - Whose Fault Is It Anyway? Part 3
In our final part, we bring this saga of a series to an end by focusing our attention on the most focused on country of all - Germany. We kn...
#68: The First World War - Whose Fault Is It Anyway? Part 2
For generations, examinations of the First World War excluded arguably the most important actor - Russia. In this episode, we will hone in o...
#67: The First World War - Whose Fault Is It Anyway? Part 1
By now we've seen the absolute worst that Europe had to offer in 1914. We've seen naive statesmen, misinformed statesmen, distrustful states...
The Unreality of Realism w/ Alexander von Sternberg
Something special for you here - Alex and I had a great conversation about realism in international relations on his History Impossible podc...
#66: The July Crisis - Conclusion
What have we learned after 65 episodes of background, analysis, and day-to-day coverage of the most consequential diplomatic failure in huma...
#65: 5 August 1914 - 'This Frantic Stampede to Hell'
The world was at war, and there was much to do. In London, attention turned to the British Expeditionary Force. The BEF had been ruled out s...
#64: 4 August 1914 IV - The Final Countdown
With only hours left until the ultimatum expired, the mood in London and Berlin was anxious and excited. Was this truly it? Was the Anglo-Ge...
#63: 4 August 1914 III - A Mere Scrap of Paper
The 1839 Treaty on Belgian neutrality was a mere scrap of paper - that was the phrase which doomed Bethmann Hollweg, and Germany, to moral c...
#62: 4 August 1914 II - The Last Ultimatum
No matter what Britain did, it was impossible for Germany to evacuate Belgium. War was inevitable. Why, then, did most of Britain not even r...
#61: 4 August 1914 I - Into Belgium
Germany's invasion of Belgium had finally begun. After several anxious days of negotiations, warnings, and second guessing, Berlin was firml...
#60: 3 August 1914 IV - Who Turned Out The Lights?
In the evening of 3 August, Germany finally declared war on France. The war, Berlin insisted, was caused by hostile French acts, but most kn...
#59: 3 August 1914 III - House on Fire
Finally, Sir Edward Grey was ready to make his case to the House of Commons. Parliament had been starved of news for a week, and the press h...
#58: 3 August 1914 II - Brussels Doubts
The German ultimatum to Belgium had roused the Brussels government and rallied the nation, but other than this, much was still unclear by th...
#57: 3 August 1914 I - Illusions and Delusion
The German army was firmly in control of German policy, but its next steps were obvious to any contemporary with even the slightest grasp of...
#56: 2 August 1914 IV - Let Loose World Madness
Even as Moltke examined Germany's strategic options, the world was turning against Germany. Berlin pressed its case by pointing out the Russ...
#55: 2 August 1914 III - Lichnowsky's Last Stand
While Germany covered itself in infamy, the German ambassador in London did his best to maintain the fragile Anglo-German relationship. His...
The State of America w/ Thom Daly - Part 2
In this second part of my conversation with Thom, we discuss the unlawful way in which the Trump administration behaves at home, including i...