Deeply flawed accounts of the Holocaust persist throughout Central and Eastern Europe. University of Ottawa historian Jan Grabowski argues that nowhere are the distortions of the Holocaust more glaring than in Poland. The almost complete eradication of the Jewish population in Poland, the second largest in the world, was simply not possible without the active and willing participation of Polish gentiles. Yet the Polish state continues to use its considerable resources to present Poles as either saviors of the Jews or the war’s greatest victims. A conversation with Jan Grabowski about his book, Whitewash: Poland and the Jews, and the story of Holocaust distortion in Poland. Next on the March 3rd episode of the Realms of Memory podcast.

Fifty years after Francisco Franco’s death Spain remains deeply divided over the past. For over twenty years British native and renowned history tour guide Nick Lloyd has made his living explaining the complexity of this past through his Spanish Civil War tours in Barcelona. Author of Forgotten Place: Barcelona and the Spanish Civil War and most recently, Travels Through the Spanish Civil War, Nick’s has developed a deep understanding of this multifaceted conflict and the ways it lives on in the present. I had the opportunity to take his tour in June 2025 and to interview him in August 2025 about the challenges of explaining this past and his perspective why it remains unresolved in the present.

Ninety years after the start of the Spanish Civil War the past is not past, it’s not even over. Nick Lloyd, who moved from Britain to Barcelona over three decades ago, explains that the left and right in Spain remain profoundly divided over the memory of the Civil War and these divisions have only deepened in recent years. Described by renowned television and travel personality Rick Steves as the “crescendo” of his visit to Barcelona, Nick has made his living over the past twenty-five years enthralling thousands, including myself, with his Spanish Civil War tours of Barcelona. In the February 3rd episode of Realms of Memory I will be sharing my conversation with Nick about his book, Forgotten Places: Barcelona and the Spanish Civil War and his experience telling the story of the Civil War past in Barcelona.

In the age of climate change and global pandemics how do we remember the victims? University of Madison, Wisconsin historian Richard C. Keller examines this question through his study of the 2003 heat wave in Paris. This was the worst natural disaster in French history claiming some 15,000 lives. In his book, Fatal Isolation: The Devastating Paris Heat Wave of 2003, Keller explains the myriad ways in which victims were forgotten and the disaster was misremembered. From the science of counting the dead to historically rooted animosity toward marginalized, elderly women, Keller unpacks the causes and consequences of the skewed memory of the 2003 heave wave.

In his study of the 2003 heat wave in Paris, historian Richard C. Keller reveals the myriad ways we forget the victims of natural disasters. We relegate marginalized and vulnerable populations to the most precarious housing then blame them for the inevitable outcome of their own life choices. We formulate categories of susceptible, at-risk populations whose subsequent deaths become unsurprising, anticipated, and less memorable. From the architecture of modern cities to the science of deciphering mass death counts, the reasons we forget the victims of natural disasters are increasingly relevant in our current age where calamity can strike any of us at any time. A conversation with Dr. Richard C. Keller about his book, Fatal Isolation: The Devastating Paris Heat Wave of 2003, next on the January 6th episode of the Realms of Memory podcast

How can we understand the extraordinary scope and magnitude of global fame and notoriety achieved by Anne Frank? The Anne Frank diary has been translated into over sixty languages and sold over twenty million copies. It has inspired everything from graphic novels and Japanese anime to movies and off-Broadway musicals. The Anne Frank House in Amsterdam has become a major tourist destination attracting over 1.2 million tourists in 2019. Dutch historian David Barnouw, world renowned Anne Frank specialist, explains the enduring memory of Anne Frank in his book, The Phenomenon of Anne Frank. A conservation with David Barnouw about the Anne Frank phenomenon and the Holocaust in the Netherlands.

How did the diary of a thirteen year old girl transform Anne Frank into an international memory sensation? Dutch historian David Barnouw, the world’s leading Anne Frank memory expert, has spent his career explaining the Anne Frank phenomenon. Find out more on the December 2nd episode of the Realms of Memory podcast.

From global warming to mass species extinction we are now living in what Alan Weisman describes as the make or break century. What decisions we make now will determine how we come out on the other side. For the past quarter century Alan has traveled the globe reporting on the crises that imperil the planet. In The World Without Us (2007), which became a New York Times bestseller, he chronicles what would become of our environmental impact if we suddenly vanished from the planet tomorrow. In Count Down: Our Last Best Hope for a Future on Earth (2013), he explains the history and dangers of the population explosion we are now experiencing and what measures are being taken to address it. Most recently, Hope Dies Last: Visionary People Across the World Fighting to Find Us a Future (2025), Alan finds inspirational examples of innovative people from across the globe who are finding creative solutions to the world’s most pressing problems. I had the opportunity to engage Alan in a wide ranging conversation about all three books with a particular focus on the themes of memory and forgetting.