Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchDid Britain really rule the waves?
Episode 2219
It's often proclaimed that British sea power was at its pinnacle in the years following the French and Napoleonic wars. But was this really a time when Britain 'ruled the waves'? And how did the rise…
Published on 10 months, 1 week ago
Jane Austen: life of the week
Episode 2218
Jane Austen remains one of the most influential novelists in English literature. Her sharp social commentary, wit, and exploration of love, class, and gender continue to captivate readers. This year …
Published on 10 months, 1 week ago
The princess who fled Romanov Russia
Episode 2217
Born in 1781, Princess Juliane of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld grew up in a world convulsed by the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars. And her life proved to be as tempestuous as the age she inhabited. We…
Published on 10 months, 2 weeks ago
The Opium Wars: everything you wanted to know
Episode 2216
Why did Britain go to war with China in the 19th century to protect the interests of drug dealers? Speaking with Elinor Evans, Stephen R Platt discusses the web of economics, addiction, and imperial …
Published on 10 months, 2 weeks ago
Rome's most scandalous emperors
Episode 2215
How cruel was Caligula? How depraved was Tiberius? And how monstrous was Nero? The dark reputations of these emperors owe a great deal to the Roman writer Suetonius, whose 121 AD work Lives of the Ca…
Published on 10 months, 2 weeks ago
The royal threesome that rocked Anglo-Saxon England
Episode 2214
In the year 955, Eadwig became king of England – and, according to 10th-century sources, he celebrated in quite a salacious fashion. These stories claim that at his coronation feast, Eadwig left the …
Published on 10 months, 2 weeks ago
Are we celebrating the wrong Magna Carta?
Episode 2213
The history books tell us that Magna Carta was sealed on 15 June 1215. But, according to Professor David Carpenter, that's not actually the date we should commemorate. He explains to David Musgrove w…
Published on 10 months, 2 weeks ago
The forgotten JFK assassination plot
Episode 2212
In December 1960, as president-elect John F Kennedy made his way to church in Florida, a would-be assassin waited nearby, preparing to detonate a bomb that would end the Democrat's presidency before …
Published on 10 months, 3 weeks ago
The Indian Rebellion of 1857: everything you wanted to know
Episode 2211
What ignited resentment at British rule in India into outright violence? How brutal was British troops' suppression of the uprising? And how did the events of 1857 poison relations between the Britis…
Published on 10 months, 3 weeks ago
From dinosaurs to Godzilla: a 15,000-year history of monsters
Episode 2210
What makes a monster, and why do they fascinate us? Dr Natalie Lawrence unravels 15,000 years of human storytelling through the tales of creatures like dragons, Medusa, and even Godzilla. Speaking to…
Published on 10 months, 3 weeks ago