Historically Speaking Podcast

Uncommon history with an unconventional pair. Join married hosts Rebecca Robbins (a Broadway actress) and Kim Kimmel (her college history instructor) as they delve into topics that run the historical gambit. A gifted storyteller, Kim taught history at the collegiate level for 29 years while as a student, Rebecca always sat in the front row of his Western Civilizations class soaking up every word he said. For the record, she made an A in his class. She went on to pursue a Broadway career (The Phantom of The Opera, A Tale of Two Cities) while he continued to teach at her alma mater (Curtis Institute of Music). Though you couldn't get more different than these two with their 23-year age difference, together they bring history to life with their unique perspectives, entertaining banter, and shared love of the past. Sometimes quirky, sometimes obscure, this is the kind of history you’ll actually want to remember. Now in our Second Season. New episodes bi-weekly on Wednesday mornings.

All Episodes

Historically Speaking Podcast

Famous Spies: The Male Edition

July 28, 2021 • Rebecca Robbins & Kim Kimmel • Season 1 • Episode 26

Spy: (noun) “A person employed by one nation to secretly convey classified information of strategic importance to another nation.” When someone says the word spy, the image that pops into most people’s minds is James Bond (for us here at Historically Speaking that would be Sean Connery, the original,) but the father of modern-day espionage can be traced all the way back to the court of Queen Elizabeth I. But no matter what century you are playing your deadly game, spying often times isn’t as glamorous as it seems. Yes, you may be hobnobbing with the elites of society, but in order to not reveal your cover you have to be tough enough to survive some extraordinarily perilous circumstances, while at the same time being clever enough to convince your adversaries that you’re truly on their side. John le Carré, Ian Fleming and Frederick Forsyth had to base their novels on someone, could it possibly be one of these three gentlemen that we discuss here in Episode 26? We’ll let you decide.

BOOKS

Sir Francis Walsingham:

The Reign of Elizabeth: 1558-1603 by J. B. Black
Queen Elizabeth I by J.E. Neale
Elizabeth’s Spymaster: Francis Walsingham and the Secret War That Saved England by Robert Hutchinson

Wilhelm Canaris:

Canaris: The Life and Death of Hitler’s Spymaster by Michael Mueller
The Secret War: Spies, Ciphers and Guerrillas, 1939-1945 by Max Hastings

Richard Sorge:

An Impeccable Spy: Richard Sorge, Stalin’s Master Agent by Owen Matthews
Stalin’s Spy: Richard Sorge and the Tokyo Espionage Ring by Robert Whymant
The Oxford Companion to World War II

FILM

Richard Sorge: Master Spy (2019) – Russian miniseries 12 episodes