Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchWW2's U-boat war: a theatre of hate?
Episode 124
Did German U-boats conduct a ‘clean’ campaign during the Second World War? Or were they guilty of routinely murdering survivors in the water? In this…
9 months, 1 week ago
Doctor, doctor: remarkable medieval medical cures
Episode 123
What did medieval physicians prescribe for stomach ache? Could weasels’ testicles really help you conceive? In this Long Read. written by James Freem…
9 months, 2 weeks ago
Spectral beasts and hounds from hell
Episode 122
From infernal black dogs attacking churches to ravening, red-eyed brutes on remote roads, Britain has long been haunted by fearsome canine phantoms. …
9 months, 3 weeks ago
The slippery truth of the Dreyfus Affair
Episode 121
The wrongful conviction for treason of a Jewish army captain in France in the late 19th century exposed antisemitism and virulent nationalism – and a…
10 months ago
1066: who was the rightful king?
Episode 120
Which of four main contenders for the English throne in 1066 had the strongest claim? Was it the Anglo-Saxon strongman, the Norman duke, the ‘Thunder…
10 months, 1 week ago
Carthage: the making of Rome's monster
Episode 119
In the second century BC, Roman troops razed the city of Carthage and obliterated its civilisation. So why, asks this Long Read written by Eve MacDon…
10 months, 2 weeks ago
Treachery, deceit and the death of the Tudor dynasty
Episode 118
Did James I 'steal' Elizabeth I's crown? This Long Read, written by Tracy Borman, considers evidence that the transition from Tudor to Stuart dynasti…
10 months, 3 weeks ago
The Assassins: a reign of terror
Episode 117
In the 12th century, a sect of killers spread fear across the Middle East, executing a series of high-profile political murders. This Long Read, writ…
10 months, 4 weeks ago
Victoria's secret love affair
Episode 116
There have long been whispers of a romance between Queen Victoria and her Scottish servant John Brown, but nothing concrete to support them. This Lon…
11 months ago
Æthelstan: England's colossus
Episode 115
The rise of Æthelstan was as important a moment in English history as 1066 and Magna Carta. On the 1,100th anniversary of his coronation, this Long R…
11 months, 1 week ago