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Ernest Shackleton
Episode 1526
Dan charts the life, successes and failures of the charismatic and chaotic Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton. In late 1914, Shackleton led 27 men …
1 year, 5 months ago
Scotland & England's Union
Episode 1524
The union between the nations of Great Britain goes back to 1707. On each side of the border, statesmen started to realise that a closer relationship…
1 year, 5 months ago
Scotland's Disastrous Attempt at Empire
Episode 1523
In the late 17th century, Scotland tried to establish a colony in Panama - and it all went horribly wrong.
In July 1698, a fleet of five ships departe…
1 year, 5 months ago
Robert the Bruce, King of Scots
Episode 1522
Robert the Bruce is best remembered as a rebel king, and for good reason. He was an unrelenting thorn in the side of any English monarch with ambitio…
1 year, 5 months ago
Rise of the Medici
Episode 1521
The House of Medici ruthlessly wielded control of Florence for nearly 300 years. Through financial and political machinations, they transformed the c…
1 year, 5 months ago
The British Agent Who Tried to Kill Lenin
Episode 1520
Robert Bruce Lockhart was one of the most extraordinary and unconventional agents of the 20th century. A British diplomat, spy, and propagandist, his…
1 year, 5 months ago
The Creation of the People's Republic of China
Episode 1519
On the 1st of October 1949, a huge crowd gathered in Tiananmen Square. In the shadow of Beijing's imperial Forbidden City, they listened as Mao Zedon…
1 year, 5 months ago
The Iranian Embassy Siege with Ben Macintyre
Episode 1517
On the drizzly, grey morning of 30th April 1980, six heavily armed gunmen stormed the Iranian Embassy in London. They charged through the front door …
1 year, 5 months ago
Mansa Musa: History's Wealthiest Man?
Episode 1516
Mansa Musa's wealth is a thing of legend. It's impossible to know exactly how much he was worth, but he himself spread rumours that gold grew like a …
1 year, 5 months ago
On the Frontline at Stalingrad
Episode 1515
Dan explains the bloody Battle of Stalingrad alongside newly translated frontline accounts, taken from the letters of the German soldiers who were th…
1 year, 5 months ago