- Publisher |
- David Borys
- Media Type |
- audio
- Categories Via RSS |
- Education,
- History,
- Society & Culture
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- People |
- Country Of Origin |
- Canada
- Produced In |
- North Vancouver, British Columbia
- Frequency |
- Biweekly
- Explicit |
- No
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Submit ReviewWhile the official start of the Cold War is still debated by historians, many agree that it began at some point in the late 1940s. Yet, it was clear by 1945 that the final battle lines drawn when the war in Europe ended would play a significant role in determining the future of the post-war world. One of the earliest examples of this tension playing out was over the German coastal town of Wismar. In early May 1945 a British airborne division, spearheaded by 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, rushed northwards from the Elbe River to capture this town. While certainly part of the intention was to force the surrender of German forces in the area, the other objective was to cut off the Soviet advance from the east and prevent them from further designs on Denmark. The collision of these two Allied forces at Wismar became a harbinger of the tension to come in the post-war world.
Book recommendation: Tip of the Spear: An Intimate Account of 1 Canadian Parachute Battalion by Col. Bernd Horn and Michel Wyczynski published by Dundurn Press in 2002
https://www.dundurn.com/books_/t22117/a9781550023886-tip-of-the-spear
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The legendary sagas of the Vikings have always spoken of perilous, seaborne adventures to lands so far to the west as to literally drop off the edge of the known European universe. While some of these lands eventually became known as Iceland and Greenland, other parts would later be dubbed the “New World.” Yet, the discovery of the “New World” was attributed to Christopher Columbus. For centuries, legends persisted that Norse explorers came to the new world long before Columbus. In fact, rumours had it that the Norse made it well into the interior of the North American continent. For a long time, it was difficult for most archeologists and historians to prove if this was ever true. That was until 1968. That year two archeologists discovered a small cloak pin of Norse design in a location on the northern tip of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland-Labrador. This discovery triggered a massive archeological dig that would eventually come to prove that over one thousand years ago, and nearly 500 years before Christopher Columbus’ infamous arrival in the West Indies, Vikings indeed arrived in what would become known as the “New World.”
Book recommendation: In Search of First Contact: the Vikings of Vinland, the Peoples of the Dawnland, and the Anglo-American Anxiety of Discovery by Annette Kolodny, Duke University Press, 2012.
https://www.dukeupress.edu/in-search-of-first-contact
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Every city, town and village in this country has its own unique history. For this episode, CCH takes a deep dive into some strange tales from the great city of Toronto. From a brawl between clowns and firefighters, to a bizarre post-mortem request from one of Canada's most important political figures and finally to a strange contest that saw the birth rate of the city spike. Guiding us through these tales is historian Adam Bunch. Adam is the author of the Toronto Book of the Dead and The Toronto Book of Love, host of the Canadiana documentary series on YouTube, and the creator of the Toronto History Weekly newsletter.
He is also one of the organisers of the Festival of Bizarre Toronto History, a festival dedicated
to exploring strange stories from the city's past. This festival is a busy week
filled with online lectures, panels, interviews, and walking tours featuring
some of Toronto's greatest storytellers. The festival runs from April 3 to 9
and tickets are now on sale and can be purchased via the website bizarretoronto.com.
Twitter – https://twitter.com/DocBorys
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Prince Edward Island is one of the most beautiful provinces in Canada. It’s wind-swept beaches are stunning, it’s people are some of the friendliest in the country. It has beautiful golf courses, scenic terrain, a provincial proclivity for incredible music, inspired by both Celtic and French roots. It is the setting for Anne of Green Gables. It has a deep, almost magical connection to the waters that surround it, and if you can catch the perfect day, at the perfect hour, it feels like a small piece of heaven. Today we are talking about one of the most interesting stories regarding Prince Edward Island…the story of how it came to join Canada. Despite the first of the confederation conferences occurring in Charlottetown, the island was not originally part of the Dominion of Canada when first formed in 1867. Why did it not join in then? What happened to make it join in 1873? These questions and more are answered today by Christopher Dummitt. Christopher is a Canadian historian at Trent University, author of Unbuttoned: A History of Mackenzie King’s Secret Life, and host of the podcast 1867 and All That.
Book recommendations:
Unbuttoned: A History of Mackenzie King’s Secret Life
products-9780773548763.php">https://www.mqup.ca/unbuttoned-products-9780773548763.php
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The history of Montreal’s Black community goes as far back as the very first French explorers to settle along the St. Larry River valley. The community has dealt with slavery, oppression, injustice, and both informal and formal racism. Yet, it is a community that has not only endured, it has thrived, despite significant challenges. It is also a community that was very much connected to the emerging civil rights movement in the US, and it is a community that embraced its own struggle, though a struggle that was very much unique to the geopolitical situation of Quebec in the post-Second World War period. While the community was certainly active in fighting for equality no affair highlighted galvanized it more than the Sir George Williams Affair in January 1969, an event that some argue, set off one Montreal’s Black renaissance.
Book recommendation:
Unsettling the Great White North: Black Canadian History by Funke Aladejebi and Michele Johnson. Univ. of Toronto Press, 2022
https://utorontopress.com/9781487529178/unsettling-the-great-white-north/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/DocBorys
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In the autumnal darkness of October 6, 1894, an unseen figure slipped through the streets of Parkdale, rang the doorbell at the home of a well-to-do Toronto family, and shot Frank Westwood in his doorway, murdering him in cold blood. Six weeks later, the spotlight shone on the enigmatic Clara Ford, a Black tailor and single mother known for her impeccable work ethic and resolute personality – and for wearing men’s attire. A former neighbour of the Westwoods, Clara was arrested and confessed to the murder. But as the details of her arrest and her complex connection to the Westwood family emerged, she recanted, testifying that she was coerced by police into a false confession. Clara was the first woman – and only the second person – to testify on her own behalf in a Canadian trial.
On this episode I chat with Dr. Carolyn Whitzman whose recent book Clara at the Door with a Revolver explores the incredible story of Clara Ford
Book recommendation:
Clara at the Door with a Revolver: The Scandalous Black Suspect, the Exemplary White Son and the Murder That Shocked Toronto (UBC Press, 2023)
https://www.ubcpress.ca/clara-at-the-door-with-a-revolver
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In the Autumn of 1945 a Soviet cipher clerk defected to Canada instead of returning home to the Soviet Union. The information he brought with him shocked officials. It named a certain Sam Carr, a Toronto resident and labour activist, as a key figure in not only helping to establish a spy ring, but being the mastermind behind it all!
Book recommendations:
Amy Knight How the Cold War Began: The Gouzenko Affair and the Hunt for Soviet Spies 2005 by Mclelland and Stewart;
https://www.amazon.com/How-Cold-War-Began-Gouzenko/dp/0771095775
Tyler Wentzell Not for King and Country; Edward Cecil-Smith, the Communist Party, and the Spanish Civil War2020 by UTP
https://utorontopress.com/9781487522889/not-for-king-or-country/
David Levy Stalin’s Man in Canada: Fred Rose and Soviet Espionage 2011 by Enigma Books
https://www.amazon.ca/Stalins-Man-Canada-Soviet-Espionage/dp/1936274272
Twitter – https://twitter.com/DocBorys
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Before there was Justin Bieber, Britney Spears, New Kids on the Block, or the Osmonds, there was Paul Anka. One of Canada’s most important contributors to the landscape of modern pop music. While not the first teen star, he was the first one from Canada and defied the odds by leaving Ottawa for New York to make it big, and make it big he did. His career has spanned decades, his success has been global, his work is iconic, and while today younger listeners might now know much about him, his influence on music and music history is undeniable.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!! CCH will return in January of 2023 :)
BOOK RECO: My Way written by Paul Anka and David Dalton published in 2013 by St. Martin’s Press
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250044495/my-way
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If you took a stroll along the banks of Tay River, in Perth Ontario, just on the northeast edge of the town, you would come upon on a strangely named location, Last Duel Park. Certainly, for many, they might just walk on by, chalking it up to just a strangely named location. But the more curious might wonder, how did this park get its name? The name is not a clever one, it’s given to the park because that is the location of the last fatal duel ever fought in Canada. In 1833 two former friends had such a falling out that the only recourse they sought was a pistol duel on a June summer evening. While on the surface it seemed like this dispute was over a betrayal of trust, behind the scenes it seems like there was far more going on, that being a devious plot to secure a love interest. A devious plot that if true horribly backfired and left one young man dead.
Book recommendation: Susan Code A matter of honour: And other tales of early Perth, General Store Pub. House, January 1996
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