American War of Independence (Radio Edit)

You're Dead to Me

BBC

Comedy, History

4.7 • 10.9K Ratings

🗓️ 31 October 2025

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Greg Jenner is joined in the 18th century by Professor Frank Cogliano and comedian and actor Patton Oswalt to learn about the American War of Independence. Also known as the American Revolutionary War, 2025 marks 250 years since the start of the conflict in 1775, when the first battles between the British army and the colonial resistance were fought at Lexington and Concord. But what caused Britain’s North American colonies to rebel against the king and government in London? At what point did they start to see themselves as American and not British? And how did a colonial militia take on an imperial superpower?

This episode charts the growing rift between Britain and its American colonists, taking in famous events like the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party and the calling of the first Continental Congress, all the way through to the Declaration of Independence and the course of the revolutionary war itself. We learn how America fought to free itself from the shackles of British rule, and meet some well-known names from history, including Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin and George Washington. And we also ask whose freedom was being fought for, and who – such as Black and Indigenous Americans – got left behind.

This is a radio edit of the original podcast episode. For the full-length version, please look further back in the feed.

Hosted by: Greg Jenner Research by: Charlotte Emily Edgeshaw Written by: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Emma Nagouse, and Greg Jenner Produced by: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow and Greg Jenner Audio Producer: Steve Hankey Production Coordinator: Ben Hollands Senior Producer: Emma Nagouse Executive Editor: Philip Sellars

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts.
0:07.3	Welcome back to the home of the oxymoron.
0:10.5	Evil genius.
0:11.6	He asked the newspaper to print his obituary early so he'd enjoy it.
0:15.5	That's like hiding at your own funeral.
0:17.1	Yeah, a bit great gig.
0:18.6	I'm Russell Kane.
0:19.6	Join me to weigh in on whether the biggest players in history are more evil or genius.
0:24.1	Becoming that rich, I'd say that is some level of genius.
0:26.4	It also helps that it's a long time ago, right?
0:29.4	It's like the podcast version of telling your kids the ice cream van plays music when it's out of ice cream.
0:34.9	Listen to Evil Genius on BBC Sounds.
0:39.7	Hello and welcome to You're Dead to Me, the BBC Radio 4 comedy podcast that takes history seriously.
0:45.0	My name is Greg Jenner.
0:45.9	I'm a public historian, author and broadcaster.
0:48.4	And today, we are chucking our tea in the harbour and charging back to the 18th century
0:52.6	for a very special 250th anniversary episode
0:56.0	about the American War of Independence, smash American Revolution, whatever you call it.
1:00.4	And to help our cause, we have two fearsome freedom fighters. In History Corner, he's Professor
1:04.6	of American History at the University of Edinburgh, where his research focuses on revolutionary
1:08.6	and early national America. Maybe you've read one of his wonderful books, including a revolutionary friendship, Washington, Jefferson, and the American Republic, is Professor Frank Cogliano. Welcome, Frank. Thank you very much, Greg. I'm thrilled to be here. Delighted to have you here. And in Comedy Corner, he is an Emmy and Grammy Award-winning comedian and actor. you'll know him for many of my favourite sitcoms, including Bojack Horseman, AP Bio, Parks and Recreation, Feepe, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, the Goldbergs, the King of Queens. His amazing film careers put him in the Marvel Universe, the Zoolandah Zooniverse, the Ghostbusters Gulliverse and the Pixar 2 universe. He is Remy the Rat himself from Pixar's Ratatooie. is the wonderful Paton Oswald. Welcome, Patton. Thank you, Greg.
1:45.1	I'm looking forward to winning some big prizes today. You've played a history presser in 22
	...

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