THE CANADIAN WARGAMER

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A relative newcomer to the pod casting scene, the Canadian Wargaming Podcast is the brainchild of the Reverend Micheal Peterson, late of the Royal Canadian Chaplain Service who see to the spiritual wellbeing of the Canadian Armed Forces, and James Manto, wargamer, Tolkien aficionado and raconteur. The podcast was started as an answer to the question, “Does every wargaming podcast have to feature English accents?”

It would appear the answer is no. Now so far as I can tell this is the only Canadian wargaming podcast and the hosts work quite hard to distinguish themselves by including some specifically Canadian content. The topics include wargaming generally, but with a particular emphasis on the Canadian scene, history and interviews. The interview with Bob Murch of Pulp Figures was a highlight. I’ve always admired his

work, particularly on the early Grenadier Call of Cthulhu figures.

The podcasts run long – usually about two hours – but they cover a lot of ground. I generally skip the specifically Canadian wargaming content (as with the best will in the world, I’m not going to get to the Hot Lead convention for example), but the Canadian military history section is always the best bit for me. The recent material on the Canucks in Normandy and Italy was enlightening as well as the Canadian indigenous peoples’ experience of Vikings, which was an eye opener (though any podcast that has a section called “Why we think the Vikings were dicks” gets my vote...). I’d recommend the CW to any wargamer with a yen for podcasts, but I’d say it’s essential listening for those based in the Great White North.

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This is almost certainly the Podcast on this list that has the largest number of subscribers. It’s produced by Al Murray, the comedian of Pub Landlord fame and Second World War enthusiast and historian and novelist James Holland, author of Fortress Malta and Italy’s Sorrow. If you’re interested in history or wargaming, you are probably aware of it. I – on the other hand – live under a stone and only came across on it when I learned on Twitter that they had paid tribute to the late Mike Hobbs, of @HobbsTheGamer fame, during one of their episodes.

While Holland is the historian, Murray has clearly done his homework and has a breadth of knowledge of the period that is impressive. There are more than three hundred episodes and they cover a wide variety of topics: Bazooka versus PIAT, the Dambusters, Ordnance Disposal amongst others. While they do like a technical subject, they also cover broader topics like how the Nazi’s implemented their racial policies, the Hunger Winter in Holland and how maps were used in propaganda operations, so it’s not all boys toys.

As you can imagine, the production values are excellent and the hosts are no slouches. There are few enough podcasts on this list that can do an episode on landing craft from an actual landing craft, but the results speak for themselves. Each episode is about forty five minutes and – while I think they could do sometimes with a bit more editing – a lot of people do like Holland and Murray’s conversational style.