Were the soldiers of the First World War really lions led by donkeys? Was everyone and no-one responsible for the outbreak of the First World War? Were Colonial troops better than the British? And was Gallipoli a brilliant plan let down by poor execution? Mat is joined by Professor Gary Sheffield to mythbust the First World War! Want to know more? Subscribe to listen to a special BONUS EPISODE about the myth of the Chateau General, by clicking here:...

We are revisiting some of our most popular episodes as part of the new season of Living History! Today it's our interview with Apollo astronaut Charlie Duke, the tenth man to walk on the moon. Presenter: Mat McLachlan Guest: Charlie Duke Producer: Jess Stebnicki Join one of our battlefield tours and walk in the footsteps of the Anzacs! Visit www.battlefields.com.au for more information. Find out more about the podcast and everything Mat is doing at https://linktr.ee/matmclachlan For more...

We are back! Welcome to a new season of Living History. To kick off Season 8, Mat is joined by historian John McManus to discuss the new Tom Hanks/Steven Spielberg production Masters of the Air, currently streaming on Apple TV+. Mat and John discuss the history behind the mini-series, and the immense contribution made to victory in the Second World War by the US Army Air Forces. What was is like to take to the skies in a B-17 over Nazi Germany, what psychological effect did the terror of...

We are revisiting some of our most popular episodes in the lead-up to the new season of Living History! Today it's our interview with Vietnam veteran Dave Sabben, who was a platoon commander during the Battle of Long Tan in 1966, Australia's costliest and most famous battle of the war. Presenter: Mat McLachlan Guest: Dave Sabben Producer: Jess Stebnicki Join one of our battlefield tours and walk in the footsteps of the Anzacs! Visit www.battlefields.com.au for more information. Find out more...

We are revisiting one of our most popular episodes, a discussion of the Battle of Britain with historian James Holland. This was recorded in the depths of lockdown in 2020 - how far we've come since then! Presenter: Mat McLachlan Guest: James Holland Producer: Jess Stebnicki Join one of our battlefield tours and walk in the footsteps of the Anzacs! Visit www.battlefields.com.au for more information. Find out more about the podcast and everything Mat is doing at...

We're back! In advancer of our new season, we are revisiting some of our favourite episodes from recent years! This week we are exploring the last days of Ned Kelly before his execution at Old Melbourne Gaol. Presenter: Mat McLachlan Producer: Jess Stebnicki Join one of our battlefield tours and walk in the footsteps of the Anzacs! Visit www.battlefields.com.au for more information. Find out more about the podcast and everything Mat is doing at https://linktr.ee/matmclachlan For more great...

I've just spent the weekend at the We Have Ways Festival, the UK's largest WW2 event! I heard some fascinating discussions from some of the world's leading military historians, and was able to record some interviews with them! My full overview of this brilliant event, and why you should attend next year! Presenter: Mat McLachlan Producer: Jess Stebnicki Join one of our battlefield tours and walk in the footsteps of the Anzacs! Visit www.battlefields.com.au for more information. Find out more...

Mat is joined by archaeologist Richard Osgood to discuss his latest project, an excavation of the English village where Easy Company, the famous 'Band of Brothers', trained before parachuting into Normandy on D-Day. Presenter: Mat McLachlan Guest: Richard Osgood Producer: Jess Stebnicki Join one of our battlefield tours and walk in the footsteps of the Anzacs! Visit www.battlefields.com.au for more information. Find out more about the podcast and everything Mat is doing at...

Historian Mat McLachlan would love you to join him on his Signature Tour of the battlefields of France and Belgium in 2024. The Signature Tour is the only tour that Mat personally escorts, and it is the most popular tour offered by Mat McLachlan Battlefield Tours. In 2024 the tour will visit all the key Australian battlefields of the Somme, the Ypres Salient and French Flanders. It starts and ends in Paris, and includes upgraded accommodation in the heart of the battlefields, many meals, plus...

In this special Anzac Day episode, Mat McLachlan speaks to historians Pete Smith and Peter Hart about the landscape of Belgium, France and Gallipoli, and how the secrets of the battlefields are still being revealed more than a century after the guns fell silent. Pete Smith reveals relics he's found on the battlefields of the Western Front, and Peter Hart describes how getting off the beaten track at Gallipoli can be the most rewarding adventure of all. To book your own journey in the...

Mat is back walking the battlefields of the Ypres Salient! This time it's Polygon Wood, scene of a great Australian victory in September 1917, but also a vitally important site for Canadian, New Zealand and British visitors. Mat is joined by historian Simon Louagie as they explore the former battlefield. Presenters: Mat McLachlan and Simon Louagie Producer: Jess Stebnicki Watch the video version here: https://youtu.be/I-wuOIS4thI Join one of our battlefield tours and walk in the footsteps of...

In the second episode of his special series about walking the battlefields of the Ypres Salient, Mat is exploring the cratered landscape of Hill 60 to tell the story of bitter battles, huge mine explosions and desperate fights to the last man. Presenter: Mat McLachlan Producer: Jess Stebnicki Watch the video version here: https://youtu.be/h8ExHk9U_b8 Join one of our battlefield tours and walk in the footsteps of the Anzacs! Visit www.battlefields.com.au for more information. For more great...

Mat is back walking the battlefields of the Western Front. In this special episode he explores Passchendaele, scene of one of the most horrific battles of the First World War. Presenter: Mat McLachlan Producer: Jess Stebnicki Watch the video version here: https://youtu.be/3pwy5tSAtco Join one of our battlefield tours and walk in the footsteps of the Anzacs! Visit www.battlefields.com.au for more information. For more great history content, visit www.LivingHistoryTV.com, or subscribe to our...

Your chance to walk the battlefields with Pete Smith! In this special episode, Mat McLachlan and Pete Smith discuss their new tour, Battle Tactics on the Western Front, which walks in the footsteps of the Anzacs on some of the most important battlefields in France and Belgium. Battle Tactics on the Western Front Tour: Departs Paris on October 11, 2023. Visit www.battlefields.com.au for full details! Presenters: Mat McLachlan and Pete Smith Producer: Jess Stebnicki For more great history...

On the anniversary of Pearl Harbor, Mat is joined by historian and author Richard B. Frank to look at new aspects of the attack that have only recently come to light. Watch the video version of this podcast on YouTube: https://youtu.be/4KzL8LwGGuE Presenter: Mat McLachlan Guest: Richard B. Frank Producer: Jess Stebnicki Join one of our battlefield tours and walk in the footsteps of the Anzacs! Visit www.battlefields.com.au for more information. For more great history content, visit...

It's November, and a time for reflection and remembrance. In this episode, Mat looks at the origins of Remembrance Day, and explores why this special day is still relevant more than a century after it was first commemorated. Watch the video version of this podcast on YouTube: https://youtu.be/2DNHXDh6kBI Presenter: Mat McLachlan Producer: Jess Stebnicki Join one of our battlefield tours and walk in the footsteps of the Anzacs! Visit www.battlefields.com.au for more information. For more great...

To commemorate the 160th anniversary of the 1862 battles of the American Civil War, Mat speaks to historian Dale Blair about the Battle of Antietam, the deadliest day of the war. Presenters: Mat McLachlan Guest: Dale Blair Producer: Jess Stebnicki Join one of our battlefield tours and walk in the footsteps of the Anzacs! Visit www.battlefields.com.au for more information. For more great history content, visit www.LivingHistoryTV.com, or subscribe to our YouTube channel at...

The final episode in our special series live from the battlefields! Mat and Pete are in the Somme, discussing their adventures exploring the 1916 and 1918 battlefields. Presenters: Mat McLachlan and Pete Smith Producer: Jess Stebnicki Join one of our battlefield tours and walk in the footsteps of the Anzacs! Visit www.battlefields.com.au for more information. For more great history content, visit www.LivingHistoryTV.com, or subscribe to our YouTube channel at...

Mat and Pete are still on the battlefields! Join them live from Ypres as they discuss three busy and rewarding days exploring the Salient! Presenters: Mat McLachlan and Pete Smith Producer: Jess Stebnicki Join one of our battlefield tours and walk in the footsteps of the Anzacs! Visit www.battlefields.com.au for more information. For more great history content, visit www.LivingHistoryTV.com, or subscribe to our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/c/LivingHistoryTV Don't forget to subscribe and...

For the first time in three years, Mat McLachlan and Pete Smith are exploring the battlefields of the Western Front! In the first of a special series of episodes, join them as they discuss their day exploring the Somme 1918 battlefields, live from Ypres! Presenters: Mat McLachlan and Pete Smith Producer: Jess Stebnicki Join one of our battlefield tours and walk in the footsteps of the Anzacs! Visit www.battlefields.com.au for more information. For more great history content, visit...

In the second special episode about the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, Mat shares his thoughts about this moment in history. Presenter: Mat McLachlan Producer: Jess Stebnicki Join one of our battlefield tours and walk in the footsteps of the Anzacs! Visit www.battlefields.com.au for more information. For more great history content, visit www.LivingHistoryTV.com, or subscribe to our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/c/LivingHistoryTV Don't forget to subscribe and review the podcast! Hosted...

In the first of a special series of episodes commemorating the life of Queen Elizabeth II, Mat revisits an episode from 2019, when he toured Kensington Palace, one of the most iconic royal palaces. Presenter: Mat McLachlan Guest: Dr Meredith Crosby Producer: Jess Stebnicki Join one of our battlefield tours and walk in the footsteps of the Anzacs! Visit www.battlefields.com.au for more information. For more great history content, visit www.LivingHistoryTV.com, or subscribe to our YouTube...

Does history repeat itself in meaningful ways, or is each problem unique? How can a knowledge of Australian history enhance our understanding of the present and prepare us for the future? Mat speaks to Professor David Lowe about the compelling new book Lessons from History, and to hear how the challenges of the past are shaping our decisions for the future. Presenter: Mat McLachlan Guest: David Lowe Producer: Jess Stebnicki Join one of our battlefield tours and walk in the footsteps of the...

It's well-known that Britain tested atomic weapons at Maralinga in South Australian in the 1950s, but history has virtually forgotten that weapons were also tested at the nearby Emu Field. In a shroud of secrecy, experimental and unstable atomic bombs were detonated in the outback, and a terrifying black mist spread across the landscape. Why were the British there, what did they do and what lingering affects did the tests have on the local people? Mat speaks to Associate Professor Elizabeth...

Mat is joined by journalist and historian Tom Gilling to discuss the Sandakan Death March, and a controversial witness to Japanese atrocities, Warrant Officer Bill Sticpewich. Sticpewich was one of only six men to survive the Death March and was a key witness in the war crimes trials that brought the Japanese to justice. But was he a war hero or a Japanese collaborator? Tom tells this controversial and fascinating story in his new book, The Witness, which is available now. Presenter: Mat...