We Didn't Start the Fire (podcast)

We Didn't Start the Fire is a modern history podcast that ran from January 2021 to June 2023. It was hosted by Katie Puckrik and Tom Fordyce and produced by Crowd Network.

Premise The podcast takes topics from the pop song "We Didn't Start the Fire", released by Billy Joel in 1989. The song lists, via a series of fast-paced lyrics, brief references to 118 significant political, cultural, scientific, and sporting events between 1949, the year of Joel's birth, and 1989, in a mainly chronological order. The podcast looks at these in turn with expert guests, with topics including the politics of Harry S. Truman, space exploration, rock'n'roll and also including American, Korean and Cuba–Soviet Union relations at the height of the Cold War.

Reception Miranda Sawyer in The Guardian reviewed a "funny, informative discussion.. genuinely interesting and fun" and described it as her "new favourite show". Sawyer later noted that "Puckrik and Fordyce are funny, but also excellent interviewers and this show, which incorporates war, philosophy, celebrity and political machinations, is far better than you would ever imagine." Sawyer later put the podcast in her top 10 of the year for 2021.

Billy Joel himself heard the show and appears as a special guest on an episode first broadcast on October 25, 2021.

Episodes Episode Subject Guest Notes1 Harry TrumanEleanor Clift2 Doris DayTamar Jeffers-McDonald3 Red ChinaYangwen ZhengThe Cultural Revolution was a sociopolitical movement in China from 1966 until Mao Zedong's death in 19764 Johnnie RayCathi Unsworth5 South PacificCara RodwayA musical composed by Rodgers and Hammerstein6 Walter WinchellChris Shoop-Worrall7 Joe DiMaggioJosh Chetwynd8 Joe McCarthyJosh Hollands9 Richard NixonRivers GambrellPart 1 of 3 episodes on Nixon10 StudebakerGreg DiffenAutomobile manufacturer 11 TelevisionDick Fiddy"The Babysitter"12 North KoreaSojin Lim13 South KoreaMary Lynn Bracht14 Marilyn MonroeShar DawsTie-in with sister podcast Death of a Film Star15 RosenbergsJosh HollandsConvicted of being Soviet spies16 H-bombMargaret MacMillanThe first full-scale thermonuclear test was carried out by the United States in 195217 Sugar RaySteve BunceSugar Ray Robinson was an American professional boxer who competed from 1940 to 196518 PanmunjomColin ThackeryThe location where the 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement that paused the Korean War was signed19 BrandoJonathan RossInfluential actor and activist Marlon Brando20 The King and ICara Rodway1951 musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein, made into film in 195621 The Catcher in the RyeCaroline O'DonaghueNovel by J.D. Salinger22 EisenhowerRivers Gambrell23 VaccineGareth MillwardThe first effective polio vaccine was developed in 1952 by Jonas Salk and a team at the University of Pittsburgh24 England's got a new QueenMargaret MacMillanElizabeth II was crowned in June 195325 MarcianoSteve BunceRocky Marciano was an American professional boxer who held the World Heavyweight title from 1952 to 195626 LiberaceJo Kendall27 Santayana GoodbyeMatthew FlammGeorge Santayana was a philosopher, poet, essayist and novelist28 Joseph StalinAlex Halberstadt29 MalenkovNatalya ChernyshovaGeorgy Malenkov briefly succeeded Joseph Stalin as the leader of the Soviet Union30 NasserTarek OsmanGamal Abdel Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952, and was Egyptian president from 1954 to 197031 ProkofievAlexander KarpeyevRussian composer, pianist and conductor 32 RockefellerAngie Maxwell33 CampanellaJosh ChetwyndRoy Campanella (1921–1993), a former catcher and a member of the baseball Hall of Fame34 Communist BlocEric HalseyWith focus on life in communist Bulgaria35 Roy CohnMatt TyrnauerInvolved in the Army–McCarthy hearings in 195436 Juan PerónNatalia Milanesio37ToscaniniHarvey SachsItalian composer Arturo Toscanini (1967–1957)38DacronCara RodwayPolyethylene terephthalate, a polyester referred to by the brand names Terylene in the UK, Lavsan in Russia and the former Soviet Union, and Dacron in the US.39Dien Bien Phu fallsDan SnowThe Battle of Dien Bien Phu was fought between March 13 and May 7, 1954.40Billy JoelBilly Joel41"Rock Around the Clock"Peter Doggett1954 hit record for Bill Haley & His Comets on Decca Records42EinsteinDavid BodanisAlbert Einstein (March 14, 1879 – April 18, 1955) theoretical physicist43James DeanJake Lambert44Brooklyn's got a winning teamJosh Chetwynd1955 Baseball World Series winners the Brooklyn Dodgers45Davy CrockettDr. Amy Davis 46Peter PanSarah Wolf47 and 48Elvis PresleySally Hoedel 49DisneylandDr. Amy Davis50Bardot Caroline O'Donaghue Brigitte Bardot, French actress born 193451Budapest Eric Halsey Hungarian Revolution of 195652Alabama Chris Wilson Bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955, protesting racial segregation 53 Khrushchev Dr. Natalya Chernyshova Nikita Khrushchev (1894–1971) First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, 1953 to 196454Princess GraceKate Williams Grace Kelly (1929–1982) American actress.55Peyton PlaceDr. Cara RodwayNovel and TV series 56 Trouble in the Suez Tarek Osman57 Little Rock Ryan Davis58 Pasternak Ani Kokobobo59 Mickey Mantle Josh Chetwynd60 Kerouac 61 Sputnik Dan Kendall62 Zhou Enlai Yangwen Zheng63 Belgians in the Congo David Van Reybrouck and Reine Nkambiote This episode was recorded live at the DS podcast festival in Ostend and was republished on August 29, 2022 to maintain the lyric's order in the song. 64Bridge on the River Kwai Helen O’Hara65 Lebanon Chloé Kattar66 Charles de Gaulle Dr. Arthur Asseraf67 California baseball Josh Chetwynd68 Starkweather Homicide David Wilson69 Children of Thalidomide Mikey Argy and C. Jean Grover70 Buddy Holly Christopher Smith71 Ben-Hur Helen O'Hara72 Space monkey Dr. Stuart Clark73 Mafia Jeff Nadu74 Hula hoops Amy Hill75 Castro Dr. Stephen Wilkinson76 Edsel is a no-go Kit Chapman77 U-2 Francis Gary Powers, Jr.78 Syngman Rhee Owen Miller79 Payola Richard Carlin80 Kennedy Fredrik Logevall81 Chubby Checker Jack McCarthy82 Psycho Cara Rodway83 Hemingway Dr. Linda Patterson Miller84 Eichmann Part I Steven Luckert85 Eichmann Part II Ruth Barnett MBE86Stranger in a Strange LandCara Rodway87DylanKerry Shale88BerlinJane Peterson and Wolfgang Müller Subjects of the short documentary Against the Wall89 Bay of Pigs InvasionDr. Stephen Wilkinson90Lawrence of ArabiaHelen O'Hara91 and 92 British Beatlemania Mark Lewisohn Counted as the 88th episode93Ole Miss Charles K. Ross94John GlennDr. Kevin Fong95Liston beats PattersonDeclan Taylor96Pope PaulJames Felak97Malcolm XDr. Peniel Joseph98British politician sexKate Lister99JFK blown awaynone100Birth controlDr. Catherine Roach101Ho Chi Minhnone102Richard Nixon back againDavid Greenberg103MoonshotKit ChapmanCounted as 100th episode104WoodstockBob Spitz105WatergateKurt Andersen106Punk rockMichael Hann107BeginHenry Abramson108Reagannone109PalestineDr. Rashid Khalidi110Terror on the airlineBrendan Koerner111Ayatollahs in IranRamita Navai112Russians in AfghanistanDavid Loyn113Wheel of FortuneAdam Nedeff114Sally RideSue Macy115Heavy metal suicideMichael Hann116Foreign debtIwan Morgan117Homeless vetsStephen Eide118AIDSDeborah Gold119CrackRuben Castaneda120Bernie Goetznone121Hypodermics on the shoreRuth Stringer122China's under martial lawJeff Wasserstrom123Rock'n'roller Cola WarsnoneSeries finale

References