Llunio Hanes: Hanesyddiaeth a Chrefft yr Hanesydd

This is a podcast in Welsh that is a little different from the usual, and which – as the title suggests – tackles some of life's big questions. The podcast is funded by the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol, and the series is presented by Dr Huw Williams, a reader in Philosophy at Cardiff University, who holds lively and witty conversations with various friends, including experts and some leading Welsh academics.  The premise of the series is that we all reflect on profound issues that are part of everyday life, and discussing and reflecting on these themes is a healthy and important thing. The talks present the discussions through the medium of everyday language in an accessible way; It should appeal to 6th form learners, university students, and other adults who have no prior knowledge of the subjects in question.  So join us (and also get ready for a little trip to Roswell...)! The series, with original music, is produced by Osian Gwynedd.

This article discusses the industrial and personal connections between the Crawshay family in Merthyr Tydfil and the Dufaud family in France. It draws on travel diaries, notes and letters by Georges Dufaud and his son Achille Dufaud on their visits to Merthyr, providing insights into the Frenchmen’s impressions of Merthyr and its industrial superiority, and of the practicalities of travel and funding at the time. These texts also suggest the extent of the technological transfer from Wales to France, and reveal Welsh fears of industrial espionage. Following the wedding of Louise Dufaud and George Crawshay, Welsh workers and Welsh machinery (from Neath Abbey) were exported to France. Both played a decisive role in the development of the Fourchambault iron works near Nevers. Author: Heather Williams

The Easter Rising in Dublin in 1916 began a chain of events that led to the independence of most of Ireland, but at the time its momentous significance was not appreciated in Wales. For the vast majority of Welsh people, it was pure treachery as it happened at a time when Ireland (like the rest of the United Kingdom) was engaged in a war unprecedented in its savagery and scale. This article traces how events in Ireland were seen in Wales through the lens of the war against Germany, and how the notion that Ireland (like Wales) was better off within the protective embrace of the British Empire was so widespread that it could not be challenged. Author: Gethin Matthews

The aim of this article is to construct the history of the irrigation system in the Lower Chubut Valley created by the Welsh settlers that arrived in Patagonia (Argentina) in 1865, which complicated the relationship that existed between this infrastructure and the ever-changing sociopolitical framework. This will involve focusing on the institutions that the Welsh settlers themselves established and the conflicts that arose between them and the Argentine state, which took over the administration of irrigation in 1943. Emphasis will be given to the agency of water within the process that led to reinforcing and growing the irrigation infrastructure, and attention will also be given to the symbolic dimension of the objects that constitute this infrastructure, thereby enabling a reflection on their changing meanings. Author: Fernando Williams