{"podcast":{"title":"New Books in British Studies","slug":"new-books-in-british-studies-6600","podcast_index_feed_id":6600,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/LIT4185533436","website_url":"https://newbooksnetwork.com/category/peoples-places/british-studies/","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/12ba5f1e-ee6e-11e8-b4fe-e3ef39923847/image/321372bbf566e77f150e66c39d797e13.png?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"New Books Network","episode_count":1823,"summary":"This podcast is a channel on the New Books Network. The New Books Network is an academic audio library dedicated to public education. In each episode you will hear scholars discuss their recently published research with another expert in their field. Discover our 150+ channels and browse our 28,000+ episodes on our website: ⁠newbooksnetwork.com⁠ Subscribe to our free weekly Substack newsletter to get informative, engaging content straight to your inbox: ⁠https://newbooksnetwork.substack.com/⁠ Follow us on Instagram and Bluesky to learn about more our latest interviews: @newbooksnetwork Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/british-studies","last_synced_at":"2026-07-01T18:21:14.905597+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-in-british-studies-6600"},"episode":{"title":"Jonathan Schneer, \"Nine Days in May: The General Strike Of 1926\" (Oxford UP, 2026)","slug":"jonathan-schneer-nine-days-in-may-the-general-strike-of-1926-oxford-up-2026","published_at":"2026-07-01T01:54:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-in-british-studies-6600/jonathan-schneer-nine-days-in-may-the-general-strike-of-1926-oxford-up-2026","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-in-british-studies-6600","url":"https://pdst.fm/e/traffic.megaphone.fm/NBNK6116599962.mp3","audio_url":"https://pdst.fm/e/traffic.megaphone.fm/NBNK6116599962.mp3","summary":"In May, 1926, nearly three million British workers downed tools to support nearly one million of their countrymen, miners whose employers meant to lengthen their working day and cut their pay. This General Strike brought the country to a grinding halt - which, according to Conservative Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, represented a threat not merely to the nation but to the parliamentary system itself. For nine days, the world's best organized working class confronted the world's most powerful, and self-confident, government. And yet the outcome was never in doubt, for Britain's most important trade-union leaders thought as Baldwin did, although they kept saying they were engaged in a wages dispute only. Really, they feared winning even more than they feared losing. In Nine Days in May: The General Strike of 1926 (Oxford University Press, 2026), award-winning author and historian Jonathan Schneer mines hitherto untapped archival sources to explain why and how the Strike came about, why and how it was waged and countered, why and how it ended. In addition to government reports and TUC reports, he uses reports of undercover agents and spies, \"special\" constables sworn in for the duration of the Strike, volunteer strike-breakers, Communist agitators, trade-union leaders and rank-and-file members of trade unions; also, of course, the papers of politicians of all parties. This is a tale of Shakespearian dimensions, replete with tragic heroes and villains and buffoons and opportunists and double-dealers, and contending, evenly matched, forces - both of which meant to do their duty whatever the cost. There may never be another general strike in Britain, but the General Strike of 1926 was one for the ages, illuminating the human condition. Jonathan Schneer is Professor Emeritus…","meta_description":"In May, 1926, nearly three million British workers downed tools to support nearly one million of their countrymen, miners whose employers meant to lengthe…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":0,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/new-books-in-british-studies-6600/episodes/jonathan-schneer-nine-days-in-may-the-general-strike-of-1926-oxford-up-2026/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-in-british-studies-6600/jonathan-schneer-nine-days-in-may-the-general-strike-of-1926-oxford-up-2026.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}