We Didn't Start the Fire (podcast)

We Didn't Start the Fire is a modern history podcast that ran from January 2021 to June 2023.[1] It is hosted by Katie Puckrik and Tom Fordyce and produced by Crowd Network.[2]

We Didn't Start the Fire
Presentation
Hosted byKatie Puckrik
Tom Fordyce
GenreHistory, pop culture
Publication
Original releaseJanuary 25, 2021 –
June 19, 2023[1]
Related
Websitecrowdnetwork.co.uk/podcasts/we-didnt-start-the-fire/

Premise

The podcasts takes topics from the pop song "We Didn't Start the Fire", released by Billy Joel in 1989. The song lists, via a series of fast-paced lyrics, brief references to 118 significant political, cultural, scientific, and sporting events between 1949, the year of Joel's birth, and 1989, in a mainly chronological order. The podcast looks at these in turn with expert guests, with topics including the politics of Harry S. Truman, space exploration, rock'n'roll[3] and also including American, Korean and Cuba-Soviet Union relations at the height of The Cold War.[4]

Reception

Miranda Sawyer in The Guardian reviewed a "funny, informative discussion.. genuinely interesting and fun" and described it as her "new favourite show".[5] Sawyer later noted that "Puckrik and Fordyce are funny, but also excellent interviewers and this show, which incorporates war, philosophy, celebrity and political machinations, is far better than you would ever imagine."[6] Sawyer later put the podcast in her top 10 of the year for 2021.[7]

Billy Joel himself heard the show and appears as a special guest on an episode first broadcast on October 25, 2021.[8][9]

Episodes
EpisodeSubjectGuestNotes
1Harry Truman Eleanor Clift
2Doris Day Tamar Jeffers-McDonald
3Red China Yangwen Zheng The Cultural Revolution was a sociopolitical movement in China from 1966 until Mao Zedong's death in 1976
4Johnnie Ray Cathi Unsworth
5South Pacific Cara Rodway A musical composed by Rodgers and Hammerstein
6Walter Winchell Chris Shoop-Worrall
7Joe DiMaggio Josh Chetwynd
8Joe McCarthy Josh Hollands
9Richard Nixon Rivers Gambrell Part 1 of 3 episodes on Nixon
10Studebaker Greg Diffen Automobile manufacturer
11Television Dick Fiddy "The Babysitter"
12North Korea Sojin Lim
13South Korea Mary Lynn Bracht
14Marilyn Monroe Shar Daws Tie-in with sister podcast Death of a Film Star
15Rosenbergs Josh Hollands Convicted of being Soviet spies
16H-bomb Margaret MacMillan The first full-scale thermonuclear test was carried out by the United States in 1952
17Sugar Ray Steve Bunce Sugar Ray Robinson was an American professional boxer who competed from 1940 to 1965
18Panmunjom Colin Thackery The location where the 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement that paused the Korean War was signed
19Brando Jonathan Ross Influential actor and activist Marlon Brando
20The King and I Cara Rodway 1951 musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein, made into film in 1956
21The Catcher in the Rye Caroline O'Donaghue Novel by J.D. Salinger
22Eisenhower Rivers Gambrell
23Vaccine Gareth Millward The first effective polio vaccine was developed in 1952 by Jonas Salk and a team at the University of Pittsburgh
24England's got a new Queen Margaret MacMillan Elizabeth II was crowned in June 1953
25Marciano Steve Bunce Rocky Marciano was an American professional boxer who held the World Heavyweight title from 1952 to 1956
26Liberace Jo Kendall
27Santayana Goodbye Matthew Flamm George Santayana was a philosopher, poet, essayist and novelist
28Joseph Stalin Alex Halberstadt
29Malenkov Natalya Chernyshova Georgy Malenkov briefly succeeded Joseph Stalin as the leader of the Soviet Union
30Nasser Tarek Osman Gamal Abdel Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952, and was Egyptian president from 1954 to 1970
31Prokofiev Alexander Karpeyev Russian composer, pianist and conductor
32Rockefeller Angie Maxwell
33Campanella Josh Chetwynd Roy Campanella (1921–1993), a former catcher and a member of the baseball Hall of Fame
34Communist Bloc Eric Halsey With focus on life in communist Bulgaria
35Roy Cohn Matt Tyrnauer Involved in the Army–McCarthy hearings in 1954
36Juan Perón Natalia Milanesio
37 Toscanini Harvey Sachs Italian composer Arturo Toscanini (1967–1957)
38 Dacron Cara Rodway Polyethylene terephthalate, a polyester referred to by the brand names Terylene in the UK, Lavsan in Russia and the former Soviet Union, and Dacron in the US.
39 Dien Bien Phu falls Dan Snow The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was fought between March 13 and May 7, 1954.
40 Billy Joel Billy Joel
41 "Rock Around the Clock" Peter Doggett 1954 hit record for Bill Haley & His Comets on Decca Records
42 Einstein David Bodanis Albert Einstein (March 14, 1879 – April 18, 1955) theoretical physicist
43 James Dean Jake Lambert
44 Brooklyn's got a winning team Josh Chetwynd 1955 Baseball World Series winners the Brooklyn Dodgers
45 Davy Crockett Dr Amy Davis
46 Peter Pan Sarah Wolf
47 and 48 Elvis Presley Sally Hoedel
49 Disneyland Dr Amy Davis
50 Bardot Caroline O'Donaghue Brigitte Bardot, French actress born 1934
51 Budapest Eric Halsey Hungarian Revolution of 1956
52 Alabama Chris Wilson Bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955, protesting racial segregation
53 Khrushchev Dr. Natalya Chernyshova Nikita Khrushchev (1894–1971) First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, 1953 to 1964
54 Princess Grace Kate Williams Grace Kelly (1929–1982) American actress.
55 Peyton Place Dr Cara Rodway Novel and TV series
56 Trouble in the Suez Tarek Osman
57 Little Rock Ryan Davis
58 Pasternak Ani Kokobobo
59 Mickey Mantle Josh Chetwynd
60 Kerouac
61 Sputnik Dan Kendall
62 Zhou Enlai Yangwen Zheng
63 Belgians in the Congo David Van Reybrouck and Reine Nkambiote This episode was recorded live at the DS podcast festival in Ostend and was republished on August 29, 2022 to maintain the lyric's order in the song.
64 Bridge on the River Kwai Helen O'Hara
65 Lebanon Chloé Kattar
66 Charles de Gaulle Dr Arthur Asseraf
67 California baseball Josh Chetwynd
68 Starkweather Homicide David Wilson
69 Children of Thalidomide Mikey Argy and C. Jean Grover
70 Buddy Holly Christopher Smith
71 Ben-Hur Helen O'Hara
72 Space monkey Dr Stuart Clark
73 Mafia Jeff Nadu
74 Hula Hoops Amy Hill
75 Castro Dr Stephen Wilkinson
76 Edsel is a no-go Kit Chapman
77 U-2 Francis Gary Powers, Jr.
78 Syngman Rhee Owen Miller
79 Payola Richard Carlin
80 Kennedy Fredrik Logevall
81 Chubby Checker Jack McCarthy
82 Psycho Cara Rodway
83 Hemingway Dr Linda Patterson Miller
84 Eichmann Part I Steven Luckert
85 Eichmann Part II Ruth Barnett MBE
86 Stranger in a Strange Land Cara Rodway
87 Dylan Kerry Shale
88 Berlin Jane Peterson and Wolfgang Müller Subjects of the short documentary Against the Wall
89 Bay of Pigs Invasion Dr Stephen Wilkinson
90 Lawrence of Arabia Helen O'Hara
91 and 92 British Beatlemania Mark Lewisohn Counted as the 88th episode
93 Ole Miss Charles K. Ross
94 John Glenn Dr Kevin Fong
95 Liston beats Patterson Declan Taylor
96 Pope Paul James Felak
97 Malcolm X Dr Peniel Joseph
98 British politician sex Kate Lister
99 JFK blown away none
100 Birth control Dr Catherine Roach
101 Ho Chi Minh none
102 Richard Nixon back again David Greenberg
103 Moonshot Kit Chapman Counted as 100th episode
104 Woodstock Bob Spitz
105 Watergate Kurt Andersen
106 Punk rock Michael Hann
107 Begin Henry Abramson
108 Reagan none
109 Palestine Dr Rashid Khalidi
110 Terror on the airline Brendan Koerner
111 Ayatollahs in Iran Ramita Navai
112 Russians in Afghanistan David Loyn
113 Wheel of Fortune Adam Needeff
114 Sally Ride Sue Macy
115 Heavy metal suicide Michael Hann
116 Foreign debt Iwan Morgan
117 Homeless vets Stephen Eide
118 AIDS Deborah Gold
119 Crack Ruben Castaneda
120 Bernie Goetz none
121 Hypodermics on the shore Ruth Stringer
122 China's under martial law Jeff Wasserstrom
123 Rock'n'roller Cola Wars none Series finale

[10][11][1]

References
  1. "We Didn't Start the Fire: The History Podcast". Google Podcasts. June 18, 2023. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  2. "Newsday | Long Island's & NYC's News Source". Newsday. January 27, 2021. Archived from the original on August 3, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  3. "A thoughtful look at love and sex – podcasts of the week | Podcasts". The Guardian. February 5, 2021. Archived from the original on August 3, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  4. "New history podcast will use Billy Joel song to unravel "under-explored" 20th-century subject Prolific North". Archived from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  5. Sawyer, Miranda (February 13, 2021). "The week in audio: Welcome to Your Fantasy; Sideways; The Bias Diagnosis – review | Podcasts". The Guardian. Archived from the original on August 3, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  6. "Raves, musicals and a time-travelling diner: 20 must-listen indie podcast gems | Podcasts". The Guardian. August 2021. Archived from the original on August 5, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  7. "Miranda Sawyer's best audio of 2021". TheGuardian.com. December 26, 2021. Archived from the original on January 4, 2022. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  8. "Glass speaks to presenter Katie Puckrik about her new podcast". The Glass Magazine. April 13, 2021. Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  9. "billy joel podcast we didnt start the fire". Newsday. October 28, 2021. Archived from the original on November 8, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  10. "We Didn't Start the Fire: The History Podcast on Apple Podcasts". podcasts.apple.com. Archived from the original on August 2, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  11. "We Didn't Start the Fire: The History Podcast on acast". aca.st. Archived from the original on April 26, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
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