Best The Society for Nautical Research Podcasts (2025)

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A Corsair's Meal: Maritime Malta 5 37:56

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12d ago37:56

37:56

For the final episode in our mini series on the rich maritime history of Malta Dr Sam Willis and Daisy Turnbull find themselves out in a boat in Valletta’s grand harbour, and this time we’re being treated to a culinary extravaganza: a meal that would have been eaten by Maltese corsairs. The Matese corsairs were a major ingredient in Maltese maritim…

1
Island Fortress - Malta in World War 2: Maritime Malta 4 36:58

14d ago36:58

36:58

Continuing our mini series on the fascinating maritime history of Malta, we jump several centuries forward to the Second World War, in which Malta, an isolated rock in the middle of the Mediterranean, suddenly found itself at the very heart of the war. To the north the Italians were flexing their naval muscles; to the south the Germans had invaded …

1
Seapower and The Knights of St John: Maritime Malta 3 39:06

16d ago39:06

39:06

The Order of St John was founded in the eleventh century in Jerusalem as a religious and military order dedicated to caring for sick and poor pilgrims in the Holy Land. How they ended up over 1000 miles away on an island in the middle of the Mediterranean, embedded in one of the greatest fortifications of the medieval world, is one of history's gre…

1
Shipwrecks of Malta: Maritime Malta 2 32:50

19d ago32:50

32:50

Malta’s strategic location at the centre of the Mediterranean, combined with its long maritime history, means that its sea-beds are rich with heritage. In this episode we explore Malta's astonishing underwater cultural heritage, managed by Heritage Malta. Visiting the headquarters of Malta's Underwater Cultural Heritage Unit, Dr Sam Willis speaks w…

1
Valletta's Grand Harbour and the Rolex Middle Sea Race: Maritime Malta 1 43:21

21d ago43:21

43:21

This is the first episode in a new mini series on the rich and fascinating maritime history of Malta. The episode is recorded on a yacht in the centre of Valletta's historic Grand Harbour, at the opening of the Rolex Middle Sea Race, one of the world's most famous yacht races. Dr Sam Willis uncovers the history of the race and its magnificent histo…

1
The Frozen Frontier: The Scottish National Antarctic Expedition, 1902-04 32:18

1M ago32:18

32:18

Dr Sam Willis and archivist Zach Schieferstein discuss the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition of 1902-1904 led by William Spears Bruce. The expedition's vessel, the Scotia, was extensively rebuilt for polar exploration, featuring two laboratories and advanced scientific equipment. The Scotia established Omond House, the first permanent weather …

1
HMS Victory's Conservation 43:58

2M ago43:58

43:58

In this episode, Dr Sam Willis discusses the conservation of HMS Victory. As the flagship of Admiral Lord Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar, Victory holds immense historical and cultural significance, but preserving her is proving to be a monumental challenge. Simon Williams, who leads the ship’s conservation project 'HMS Victory: The Big Repair', …

1
Where Nelson Died 37:45

2M ago37:45

37:45

In this commemorative episode of Mariner’s Mirror Podcast, host Dr Sam Willis marks the anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar by exploring the exact location and circumstances of Admiral Lord Nelson’s death aboard HMS Victory on the 21st of October 1805. Joined by Andrew Baines, Executive Director of Museum Operations at the National Museum of the…

1
Lifeboats and Lessons: Memories of Safety at Sea 56:34

2M ago56:34

56:34

Studying the history of safety at sea reveals how hard-earned lessons from past tragedies have shaped the protections we rely on today. For centuries, seafaring was one of the most dangerous human activities. Shipwrecks, storms, fires, and collisions claimed countless lives, often because of poor ship design, inadequate training, or the absence of …

1
No More Napoleons: Britain and the Balance of Power 53:33

2M ago53:33

53:33

Dr Sam Willis meets Andrew Lambert to discuss his fantastic new book No More Napoleons. Lambert has reshaped how we think about Britain’s role in international politics from the 19th century onward and focuses on Britain’s determination to prevent the rise of any single, dominant continental power after the defeat of Napoleon. This strategic goal—m…

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In Search of the Clan Line Sailors 1:02:00

3M ago1:02:00

1:02:00

This is the second episode in a mini series on the history of the Clan Line, one of Britain’s most distinctive and influential shipping companies. In this episode Dr Sam Willis travels the length and breadth of the UK to speak with sailors who served on Clan Line ships, to hear and preserve their memories of this most crucial time in global maritim…

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Ocean Empire: The Clan Line Legacy 1:01:20

3M ago1:01:20

1:01:20

The Clan Line was one of Britain’s most distinctive and influential shipping companies, leaving a lasting mark on maritime and economic history. Founded in Glasgow in 1877 by Charles Cayzer, the line quickly grew into a vast fleet that connected Scotland with Africa, India, and beyond. Famed for its combination of commercial power and cultural iden…

1
Nazi Midget Submarine: Seehund 36:48

4M ago36:48

36:48

Today we travel to the final months of the Second World War when the Germans began to develop midget submarines. The allies had crossed the channel and invaded Normandy in June 1944 and were slowly battling their away through France towards Germany. The Russians meanwhile were making huge advances in the east. German UBoats continued to fight in th…

1
Seapower Past & Present 7: South China 38:17

4M ago38:17

38:17

This episode forms part of a new strand of our podcast: Seapower Past and Present which explores seapower as it is understood and practised in the modern world whilst offering a historical perspective on the themes we explore. Each episode is chosen according to a theme or a location – a hotspot in the modern world where seapower has a major influe…

1
Who Should We Rescue? The Morals of Maritime Emergency 47:27

4M ago47:27

47:27

This episode explores a subject of great contemporary interest and significance: the morals of behaviour at sea. What are the origins of the idea of a captain going down with his ship? When did it become expected to save anyone from shipwreck - regardless of their nationality, religion or status? Are we living in a world where the expected moral no…

1
Mapping the Atlantic: The Meteor Expedition, 1925 1:04:13

4M ago1:04:13

1:04:13

This episode explores the fascinating story of the German Atlantic expedition of 1925, in which the survey ship Meteor spent two years mapping the seafloor of the Atlantic as well as making other scientific discoveries which fundamentally changed the way that we think about the world. It’s a hugely important moment in oceanography and science as we…

1
Tales from the Cinque Ports: New Romney 56:47

4M ago56:47

56:47

This episode continues our series on the Cinque Ports, an ancient confederation of towns in southeast England that provided ships and men to the crown in return for special powers and privileges. They have since become rightly dubbed as the cradle of the Royal Navy. This episode brings us to New Romney, one of the original five head ports. New Romn…

1
Seapower Past & Present 6: Black Sea 1:06:13

5M ago1:06:13

1:06:13

This episode forms part of a new strand of our podcast: Seapower Past and Present which explores seapower as it is understood and practised in the modern world whilst offering a historical perspective on the themes we explore. Each episode is chosen according to a theme or a location – a hotspot in the modern world where seapower has a major influe…

1
Sir John Ross's Arctic Exploration Ships 41:45

5M ago41:45

41:45

This episode explores the career of the nineteenth-century Scottish naval officer and explorer Sir John Ross and focuses in particular on the vessels he took to on his voyages to the Arctic. These were the Isabella, a Hull-built merchantman of 385 tons; Victory, a side-wheel steamer with paddles that could be lifted away from the ice and was fitted…

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Seapower Past & Present 5: Technology 1:13:08

5M ago1:13:08

1:13:08

This episode forms part of a new strand of our podcast: Seapower Past and Present which explores seapower as it is understood and practised in the modern world whilst offering a historical perspective on the themes we explore. Each episode is chosen according to a theme or a location – a hotspot in the modern world where seapower has a major influe…

1
Seapower Past & Present 4: Middle East 55:55

6M ago55:55

55:55

This episode forms part of a new strand of our podcast: Seapower Past and Present which explores seapower as it is understood and practised in the modern world whilst offering a historical perspective on the themes we explore. Each episode is chosen according to a theme or a location – a hotspot in the modern world where seapower has a major influe…

1
The Last Seagoing Paddle Steamer: PS Waverley 29:51

6M ago29:51

29:51

The paddle steamer Waverley is one of the real treasures of the maritime world. The last surviving seagoing and passenger-carrying paddle steamer, she continues to this day to take day trippers on joyrides around our coast, her paddles churning up the sea as she goes. Built on the Clyde in 1946 she spent almost thirty years taking passengers up to …

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Tales from the Cinque Ports: Tenterden 55:19

6M ago55:19

55:19

This episode continues our series on the Cinque Ports, an ancient confederation of towns in southeast England that provided ships and men to the crown in return for special powers and privileges. They have since become rightly dubbed as the cradle of the Royal Navy. This episode brings us to the lovely town of Tenterden, which joined the Cinque Por…

1
Seapower Past & Present 3: The Arctic 1:05:00

7M ago1:05:00

1:05:00

This episode forms part of a new strand of our podcast: Seapower Past and Present which explores seapower as it is understood and practised in the modern world whilst offering a historical perspective on the themes we explore. Each episode is chosen according to a theme or a location – a hotspot in the modern world where seapower has a major influe…

1
Seapower Past & Present 2: Critical National Infrastructure 49:50

7M ago49:50

49:50

This episode forms part of a new strand of our podcast: Seapower Past and Present which explores seapower as it is understood and practised in the modern world whilst offering a historical perspective on the themes we explore. Each episode is chosen according to a theme or a location – a hotspot in the modern world where seapower has a major influe…

1
Seapower Past & Present 1: Economic Warfare 46:16

7M ago46:16

46:16

This episode forms part of a new strand of our podcast: Seapower Past and Present which explores seapower as it is understood and practised in the modern world whilst offering a historical perspective on the themes we explore. Each episode is chosen according to a theme or a location – a hotspot in the modern world where seapower has a major influe…

1
Tales From the Cinque Ports: Faversham 47:45

7M ago47:45

47:45

This episode continues our series on the Cinque Ports, an ancient confederation of maritime towns in southeast England that from the early Middle Ages provided ships and men to the crown in return for special powers and privileges. They have since become rightly dubbed as the cradle of the Royal Navy. Our first episode explored the Cinque Ports’ ri…

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The Bremen Cog: Maritime Germany 2 39:48

8M ago39:48

39:48

The Bremen Cog is a historical gem; the best-preserved medieval trading ship in the world. We know from her beautifully-preserved timbers that her construction dates from 1380, and her discovery dramatically unlocked a fascinating world not only of shipbuilding and seamanship but also of trade. This was a period in which trade routes and shipping w…

1
The Cinque Ports 1:19:21

8M ago1:19:21

1:19:21

This episode is the first of a series on the history of the Cinque Ports in which we bring you a mixture of fascinating history alongside a glimpse into contemporary life in these vibrant and ancient maritime towns. In the eleventh century during the reign of Edward the Confessor, five ports in the south-east of England joined together into a confe…

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The Ocean and Us: Maritime Germany 1 52:43

8M ago52:43

52:43

A mini-series on the maritime history of Germany launches with a visit to the German Maritime Museum in Bremerhaven, which has recently launched a stand-out new permanent exhibition 'Ship Realms - The Ocean and Us.' Through the clever presentation of artefacts amongst immersive displays, the exhibition powerfully makes the point that, the more we k…

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The Ship That Changed Shipbuilding: ss Fullagar 24:51

9M ago24:51

24:51

In 1920, in the Cammell, Laird & Co. shipyard in Birkenhead, a ship was built that would change the shipbuilding industry and shipyards forever. ss Fullagar was the world's first fully welded ocean-going ship. For generations, ships' iron and steel hulls had been held together with rivets, put in place by specialist teams of riveters. In 1920 elect…

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I Sank the Lusitania: The War Diary of Kapitänleutnant Walther Schwieger, May 1915, Commander, U-20, 1915 29:00

9M ago29:00

29:00

This episode continues our work bringing you some of the finest original historical material, written by the people who were actually there. Today we bring you the war diary of the U-boat commander Kapitänleutnant Walther Schwieger, commander of U-20, from May 1915, when he sank the transatlantic liner Lusitania, full of civilian passengers. 1193 p…

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How to Catch a Murderer At Sea: Dr Crippen and the SS Montrose 34:37

10M ago34:37

34:37

This episode links together one of the most important inventions in all of maritime technology with one of the most notorious murders in history. In 1910 Dr Hawly Crippen killed his wife Cora in their London home and buried her dismembered body under the floor of his basement. As the net closed in, Crippen ran and he sought his escape by sea, aboar…

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Great Sea Fights: The Battle of the Nile, 1798 32:21

10M ago32:21

32:21

The Battle of the Nile of 1798 was one of the most important naval battles that has ever been fought. This episode presents an introduction explaining the context of the battle and is followed by a reading of an account written by Captain Samuel Hood of HMS Zealous. The battle was fought at a key moment of French expansion. The French army, led by …

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Predator of the Seas: The Slaveship That Fought for Emancipation 34:46

11M ago34:46

34:46

This is the extraordinary history of a single ship - a Baltimore clipper. Once she was the Henriqueta, a slave ship; but subsequently she became the Black Joke, a hunter of slave ships. In her former life she trafficked over 3000 captives across the Atlantic; in her new life she became the scourge of Spanish and Brazilian slavers. To find out more …

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Kidnapped at Sea: The Tragic Story of David Henry White in the American Civil War 34:57

11M ago34:57

34:57

This episode presents an astonishing and tragic story from the American Civil War with great relevance to the present day. It’s the story of a black teenager called David Henry White who comes from Delaware and has done all in his power to create a life for himself – he has signed onto a merchant ship for work with the prospects of pay and promotio…

1
Secrets of the Great Ocean Liners 44:20

11M ago44:20

44:20

This episode explores one of the world’s greatest historical collections relating to the golden age of ocean liner travel. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with John Sayers, a man who has dedicated his life to creating the most wonderful collection. In the early 1950s John’s parents took him across the Atlantic on the Cunard Line’s RMS Franconi…

1
Indian Figureheads From the Royal Navy's Bombay Dockyard 35:47

12M ago35:47

35:47

Bombay, now Mumbai, was a major shipbuilding centre for the Royal Navy in the first half of the nineteenth century. The ships were magnificent, built from the famous Malabar teak and by the hands of a highly skilled Indian workforce. This episode explores that fascinating history through one particular aspect of a sailing warship’s construction: th…

1
European Ship Surveyors in China, 1869-1918 31:32

1y ago31:32

31:32

In this episode we explore the fascinating history of Europeans working in the complex maritime world of China in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In particular we find out about ship surveyors working for the classification society Lloyd’s Register, and how those employees influenced the global perception of maritime safety and r…

1
The Last Shantyman: The Remarkable Maritime Life of Stan Hugill 34:54

1y ago34:54

34:54

Stan Hugill was known in his lifetime as the ‘Last Working Shantyman’ and became a guardian of the tradition of maritime music. Stan had a colourful and eventful life. He spent 23 years at sea including a stint as the official shantyman on board the steel four-masted barque Garthpool, the last British commercial sailing ship. In the Second World Wa…

1
Merchants, Trawlers and Whalers: The Maritime History of Hull 33:19

1y ago33:19

33:19

In this episode we hear all about the rich and long maritime history of the English port of Hull. Dr Sam Willis spoke with Sam Wright, a tour guide of historic Hull as well as a researcher working on a PhD relating to the historical activities of the marine classification society Lloyd's Register in Hull. The port has more than 800 years of maritim…

1
The Royal Navy in the Cold War 36:52

1y ago36:52

36:52

During the Cold War years the Royal Navy faced some of its greatest challenges, both at sea confronting the increasingly capable and impressive Soviet Navy, and on shore when it faced policy crises that threatened the survival of much of the fleet. During this period the Navy had rarely been so focused on a single theatre of war - the Eastern Atlan…

1
The Amazing History of Icebreakers 33:51

1y ago33:51

33:51

The ability to navigate in icy seas is one of the most important themes in the historical and contemporary story of human interaction with the sea. Over centuries of development ships are now able to operate safely in and amongst giant ice-islands or semi-submerged floes as deadly as any reef. Specialist vessels have been designed with strengthened…

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Nelson's Pathfinders: A Forgotten Story in the Triumph of British Sea Power 37:02

1y ago37:02

37:02

Today we discover the remarkable story of how a handful of intrepid scientific navigators underpinned British naval dominance in the conflict with Napoleon. During the Napoleonic Wars, more than twice as many British warships were lost to shipwreck than in battle. The Royal Navy’s fleets had to operate in unfamiliar seas and dangerous coastal water…

1
Black Mariners in the Royal Navy 28:58

1y ago28:58

28:58

Throughout the eighteenth century the Royal Navy was the largest employer of free black labour in a period when Britain was - at the same time - the largest trader in human lives across the Atlantic. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Steve Martin, expert on black British history and literature, and who works with museums, archives and the e…

1
The Spice Ports: Mapping the Origins of Global Sea Trade 47:13

1y ago47:13

47:13

We may think of globalism as a recent development but its origins date back to the fifteenth century and beyond, when seafarers pioneered routes across the oceans with the objectives of exploration, trade and proft. And what did they seek? Exotic spices: cloves, pepper, cinnamon, ginger. These spices brought together the European ports of Lisbon, L…

1
Portsmouth Historic Quarter and the SHE_SEES Exhibition 43:12

1y ago43:12

43:12

The SHE-SEES exhibition, hosted in partnership with the Lloyds Register Foundation, Portsmouth Historic Quarter and the University of Portsmouth, taps into archive materials from across the UK and Ireland to uncover the extensive history of trailblazing female voices in the maritime industry and aims to change the tide on diversity. Dr Sam Willis s…

1
Eyewitness: Captain Avery and the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pirates 43:49

1+ y ago43:49

43:49

This year we are launching a new strand of the podcast on eyewitness testimony, in which we bring you the most extraordinary primary sources – history as told and written by the people who were actually there. Today we start with one of the most atmospheric of all maritime sources, one that transports you directly back to the creaky decks of the ag…

1
Finmen: The Inuit Who Paddled 1200 Miles 32:42

1+ y ago32:42

32:42

It is a little known and extraordinary fact that over 300 years ago the Inuit made crossings from Greenland to the Orkney Isles and northern Scotland. The journey across the hostile North Atlantic is over 1200 miles. Their traditional craft were made of nothing more than skin, bone and driftwood. The literature of Scotland, particularly in relation…

1
Lifesavers: How Conflict Innovation Can Build a Better World 48:48

1+ y ago48:48

48:48

We find out about an exciting project run by the Imperial War Museum which explores how conflict has driven innovation in science and technology. Sponsored by Lloyd’s Register Foundation, the project aims to discover how conflict has accelerated innovation, and how this has impacted on the world we live in today. Science and technology are the key …

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