Selling Happiness, Shaping Minds – A Radio Luxembourg Story is a student podcast series developed in connection with the Master in Digital and Public History programme at the University of Luxembourg. It explores the power of radio, DJ culture, seductive advertising, global audiences, and the thin line between information and propaganda.

In this episode, hosted by Nouha & Monyck, they tell the story of one of the most “inconvenient” radio stations in media history. Radio Luxembourg was a station that kept broadcasting against all the odds, multiplying its audiences as well as its rivals, challenging the leading European public service radio stations – and even disturbing the ionosphere.

Credits:

jingle track ( 1960s 2 house) provided by mobygratis.

Archival material taken from the CLT UFA collection at the CNA.

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DJ Culture

Hosted by: Magnus & Nicole

In this episode, we zoom in on the voices behind your parents’ or your grandparents’ teenage rebellion: the DJs of Radio Luxembourg.

Selling Happiness, Shaping Minds – A Radio Luxembourg Story is a student podcast series developed in connection with the Master in Digital and Public History programme at the University of Luxembourg. It explores the power of radio, DJ culture, seductive advertising, global audiences, and the thin line between information and propaganda.

Credits:

jingle track ( 1960s 2 house) provided by mobygratis.

FM Radio Tuning Sweep by davidbain -- https://freesound.org/s/259706/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

Dramatic Sound and Inspiring Uplifting Piano Vibe by DenisPavlovMusic -- https://freesound.org/s/757531/ -- License: Attribution 4.0

80s Loop #5 by danlucaz -- https://freesound.org/s/515367/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

Archival material taken from the CLT UFA collection at the CNA.

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In this fifteen-minute conversation, host Véronique Faber speaks with Dr. Vanessa Toulmin, Professor at the University of Sheffield and founder of the National Fairground and Circus Archive, to explore the tradition of “barking” or “telling the tale” at the fairground. Coming from a show people family herself, Dr. Toulmin shares both historical insights and personal memories of this vocal performance used to attract visitors. She discusses how the practice has evolved through shifts in technology and music—highlighting how showmanship continues to adapt and embrace new developments. The episode concludes with a story about the Crazy Cinematograph, a traveling cinema at Luxembourg’s Schueberfouer.

This episode wouldn’t have come together without Dr. Vanessa Toulmin’s stories and reflections, Hanna Siemaszko’s podcast wisdom, and Isabelle Voegeli’s thoughtful facilitation at C²DH. Thanks also the MediaLab at the University of Luxembourg.

Publication on social media

This fifteen-minute oral history, produced by the Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C²DH), features a conversation between Dr. Vanessa Toulmin, Professor at the University of Sheffield and founder of the National Fairground and Circus Archive, and host Véronique Faber, PhD student on the Popkult60 project

Together, they explore the tradition of “barking” or “telling the tale”—the vocal performance that invites visitors into the fairground experience. Drawing from historical research and personal memories as someone from a showpeople family, Dr. Toulmin reflects on how this practice continues to evolve through changing technologies and music. The episode closes with a story about the Crazy Cinematograph, a traveling cinema at Luxembourg’s Schueberfouer.

🎙️ With thanks to:

• Dr. Vanessa Toulmin for sharing her stories and insights
• Hanna Siemaszko for podcast expertise and support
• Isabelle Voegeli for facilitating this podcast at C²DH
• MediaLab, University of Luxembourg

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Le 9 mai, aujourd’hui "Journée de l’Europe", rappelle les débuts de l’Europe communautaire. Lorsque Robert Schuman, à l’époque ministre français des Affaires étrangères, propose le 9 mai 1950 la mise en commun de la production du charbon et de l’acier sous une haute autorité supranational, le projet n’est pas acquis d’office. La genèse de la déclaration Schuman est racontée à travers les hommes de l’entourage de Schuman et de leurs actions. Ce podcast met en lumière les derniers jours, voire les dernières heures avant que Robert Schuman ne s’adresse dans sa fameuse conférence de presse le soir du 9 mai 1950 aux Européens.

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Dans cet épisode, nous avons utilisé, entre autres, les sons suivants :
- pouchard.wav by schafferdavid -- https://freesound.org/s/162132/ -- License : Attribution 4.0
- The_Star-Spangled_Banner - Composition : John Stafford Smith Exécution : U.S. Army 1st Armored Division Band, Domaine public, via Wikimedia Commons

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Camilla Portesani – On participatory public history, working with museums, and writing a thesis along the way

In our fourth episode, we are joined by Camilla Portesani, a doctoral candidate working on the PHACS Project (Public History as the new Citizen Science of the Past) since 2021. As part of her PhD, Camilla launched the Participatory Public History Lab, a pilot project developed in collaboration with the House of European History in Brussels. Her work has meant working across departments, institutions, and mindsets, navigating the complex realities of collaborative frameworks in large cultural institutions, all while bringing together a group of students-turned-co-curators.

Tune in as Camilla shares her reflections on the project, what it’s like to collaborate with major institutions, the skills she had to develop along the way, and the juggling act of doing hands-on work while writing a PhD thesis.

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C²PhD - the podcast series that looks at ('sees to') the doctoral researchers among the members of C²DH and explores the stories, ambitions, and ideas that have shaped and continue to shape their thesis journey at C²DH. Through short ten- to fifteen-minute conversations, you get a short glimpse of what doing a PhD at our research centre looks like

In our third episode, we are joined by Zoé Konsbruck, a doctoral candidate working on the history of deindustrialisation in Luxembourg. Having pursued part of her undergrad studies in Luxembourg, she left for Munich, before returning to Luxembourg two years ago. While her research is Luxembourg-focused, as she looks into the impact of the steel crisis in towns throughout southwestern Luxembourg, her project is anything but local. From the onset, she took part in international networks of academics and historians such as the DEPOT and CONDE projects, before deciding to take things a step further and successfully applying for the Europaeum Scholars Programme, a two-year policy and leadership training course. Tune in as Zoé shares her insights on diversifying and shaping the PhD journey into your own, acquiring new skills and experiences, and what ice cream has to do with all of this.

Host Joé Voncken, historian and himself a doctoral researcher at the centre currently in the fourth year of his thesis project, initially came up this podcast project as part of a DESCOM internship in Science Communication which took place over the course of summer and autumn of '24. Since then, the project has developed a life of its own, with a total of four episodes to come out on a monthly basis between December '24 and March '25, and more in the works.

Thanks for listening! Follow us on Linkedin and on Instagram or find us on Facebook.

C²PhD - the podcast series that looks at ('sees to') the doctoral researchers among the members of C²DH and explores the stories, ambitions, and ideas that have shaped and continue to shape their thesis journey at C²DH. Through short ten- to fifteen-minute conversations, you get a short glimpse of what doing a PhD at our research centre looks like.

In our second episode, we are joined by Nicolas Arendt, a doctoral candidate navigating the unique challenges and opportunities of a cotutelle program at two universities. Since 2022, Nicolas has been splitting his time between Luxembourg University and Vienna University while working on the TransARB project. This transnational research project, funded by the Luxembourgish Fonds National de la Recherche, explores the transformation of the ARBED company since the 1970s. Tune in as Nicolas shares his insights into managing research across borders, balancing time between two institutions, and, of course, his pick for the best university restaurant.

Host Joé Voncken, historian and himself a doctoral researcher at the centre currently in the fourth year of his thesis project, initially came up this podcast project as part of a DESCOM internship in Science Communication which took place over the course of summer and autumn of '24. Since then, the project has developed a life of its own, with a total of four episodes to come out on a monthly basis between December '24 and March '25, and more in the works.

Discover how C²DH is redefining history with digital innovation, community engagement, and groundbreaking research: C²DH - Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History

Thanks for listening! Follow us on Linkedin and on Instagram or find us on Facebook.

C²PhD - the podcast series that looks at ('sees to') the doctoral researchers among the members of C²DH and explores the stories, ambitions, and ideas that have shaped and continue to shape their thesis journey at C²DH. Through short ten- to fifteen-minute conversations, you get a short glimpse of what doing a PhD at our research centre looks like.

For this very first episode, public historian and visiting researcher Marianna Tavares talks about the experiences she made her ten-month stay in Luxembourg. Marianna, who is currently pursuing a PhD focused on teacher's narratives in a quarter of her home city of Natal in Northeastern Brazil, speaks about her dual identity as a teacher and academic, her main takeaways of her stay abroad, and – perhaps most importantly – about her deep affection for Luxembourg's buses.
Marianna also recently gave an interview in which she delves into further aspects of her research.

Host Joé Voncken, historian and himself a doctoral researcher at the centre currently in the third year of his thesis project, initially came up this podcast project as part of a DESCOM internship in Science Communication which took place over the course of summer and autumn of '24. Since then, the project has developed a life of its own, with a total of four episodes to come out on a monthly basis between November '24 and February '25, and more in the works.

Discover how C²DH is redefining history with digital innovation, community engagement, and groundbreaking research: C²DH - Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History

Thanks for listening! Follow us on Linkedin and on Instagram or find us on Facebook.