Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchJosephine Baker: dancer, activist, spy
Episode 94
Today she’s widely remembered as a risqué entertainer – yet she was also involved in many of the earth-shaking events of her era. As 2025 sees the 50…
1 year, 4 months ago
Was Charles I a tyrant?
Episode 93
The reviled king was condemned to death as a “Tyrant, Traitor, Murderer and Public Enemy”. But, as 2025 marks the 400th anniversary of his accession,…
1 year, 4 months ago
VE Day: was it really one big party?
Episode 92
It’s been 80 years since Britons heard the news that the war in Europe was over. But how did those who lived through VE Day remember the moment? With…
1 year, 4 months ago
Dangerous delights: Victorian Britain's cocaine habit
Episode 91
In the 19th century, a magic new drug took the medical community by storm, riding a wave of scientific endeavour. But, as this Long Read written by h…
1 year, 4 months ago
Mercia: the lost kingdom
Episode 90
Battered by the Vikings, outshone by King Alfred, Mercia has long been painted as the also-ran of the Anglo-Saxon world. Yet, as this Long Read writt…
1 year, 5 months ago
Did Ronald Reagan 'make America great again'?
Episode 89
This year has seen Donald Trump retake the US presidency, repeating his vow to ‘make America great again’. But he’s not the first to wield such a slo…
1 year, 5 months ago
Fingers, frogs and fairies: fortune telling in early modern Britain
Episode 88
Fortune telling was all the rage in the 16th and 17th centuries, and practitioners would stop at nothing to tap in to the supernatural. This Long Rea…
1 year, 5 months ago
WW2 evacuees: when Britain escaped to the country
Episode 87
It was a moment of possibilities, dislocation – and dread. This Long Read, written by Dan Todman, tells the story of the 1.5 million urban Britons ev…
1 year, 5 months ago
500,000 years of African history
Episode 86
Slavery, exploitation and racism. These tragedies have long dominated histories of Africa. But there’s another way to tell this story. And, as this L…
1 year, 6 months ago
Henry III and the Magna Carta that mattered
Episode 85
King John’s sealing of Magna Carta at Runnymede in 1215 is one of the most feted moments of the Middle Ages. Yet, as this Long Read written by David …
1 year, 6 months ago