The Great War (WWI) Overview - Part 1

The Great War (WWI) Overview - Part 1

From Kris and Mads by Kristen and Maddie

March 13, 2026 · 1h 14m · Season 1 · Episode 22

About this episode

The episode provides an overview of World War I, exploring its historical context and significance, with guest Mitch sharing his extensive knowledge on the topic.

This is usually a fiction-loving channel, but the more we read classics and historical fiction, the more we want to know the context of what really happened. One HUGE gap we have is the First World War, or the Great War. Lucky for us, Mitch loves to read non-fiction history books and listen to history podcasts and has been amassing knowledge for like 20 years! He's joining us for a three-part series on the war to give us a little insight and fill in those gaps, so we can be prepared and knowledgeable going into our other fiction reading. Plus, our favorite fiction author of all time, J.R.R. Tolkien, fought in the First World War, so this gives us some insight into the lives of authors as well.Hope this episode is fun, approachable, and entertaining, and that you'll join us again next week as we dive into Part 2! Timestamps 0:00 - Intro 3:02 - What we already know about WW1 6:32 - Where to start with WW1 (Pre-War Context) 7:37 - Here’s why you should care about WW1 13:00 - Setting the stage (The Major Players) 17:51 - What classifies a “World War”? 19:34 - What started The Great War (The Murder of Franz Ferdinand) 29:37 - The Central Powers: The Austrian-Hungarian Empire 33:29…

People in this episode

Hosts: Kristen, Maddie

Guest: Mitch

Topics covered

  • World War I
  • historical context
  • fiction and history
  • literature
  • non-fiction
  • authors in war

Keywords

  • World War I
  • Great War
  • historical fiction
  • J.R.R. Tolkien
  • Mitch
  • The Sleepwalkers
  • context of war
  • literature
  • non-fiction history

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Sleepwalkers

More episodes of Kris and Mads

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Kris and Mads podcast page.