Podcast Episodes

Toilets through time | 4. Victorian lavatories

Episode 2061

In the final episode of Toilets Through Time, we’ve finally reached the age of avant-garde sewerage systems and shining porcelain cisterns: the Victorian era. David Musgrove is joined by historian an…

Published on 1 year, 4 months ago

How games changed history

Episode 2060

From Chess and Go, to Snakes and Ladders, Monopoly and the ancient Egyptian game of Senet, people have long had a fascination with games. But according to author and academic Kelly Clancy, these game…

Published on 1 year, 4 months ago

George Orwell: life of the week

Episode 2059

From doublethink and thoughtcrime to coming face-to-face with our worst nightmares inside Room 101, few writers have had as much impact on the popular imagination as George Orwell. But what compelled…

Published on 1 year, 4 months ago

Lines on a map: borders that shaped world history

Episode 2058

People have been drawing lines on maps as long as there have been maps to draw on – whether for political, geographical or sometimes completely arbitrary purposes. But, when it comes to borders, thes…

Published on 1 year, 4 months ago

Tartan: everything you wanted to know

Episode 2057

We're all familiar with the checks and stripes of tartan. But, how much do you know about the colourful history of the textile famously sported by the Scottish clans? According to historian and tarta…

Published on 1 year, 4 months ago

Olympic History: everything you wanted to know

Over the past two weeks, we've witnessed spectacular sporting achievements in Paris. And for anyone who doesn't feel quite ready for the Olympics to be over just yet, we've got the pod for you. In th…

Published on 1 year, 4 months ago

Hidden labs, sex gardens & torture attics: secrets of British royal palaces

Episode 2056

If walls could talk, what secrets would those of a British royal palace whisper? Murder, debauchery, treason and more, says Professor Kate Williams. Speaking to Kev Lochun, she reveals how palaces ma…

Published on 1 year, 4 months ago

Toilets through time | 3. Tudor garderobes

Episode 2055

Did constipation turn Henry VIII into a tyrant? For the third episode of our mini-series Toilets Through Time, David Musgrove revisits the luxurious surroundings of the royal Tudor water closet. To t…

Published on 1 year, 4 months ago

Gulbadan Begum: princess, explorer, author

Episode 2054

Gulbadan Begum was meant to live a quiet life in a Mughal harem. Instead she set off on a daring pilgrimage to Islam's holy cities and, on her return, wrote an extraordinary account of her dynasty. I…

Published on 1 year, 4 months ago

Anne Frank: life of the week

Episode 2053

Anne Frank was one of six million Jews to be murdered by the Nazis. A number of these victims' lives were lost to history. But Anne had left behind a diary – a diary that would become a global sensat…

Published on 1 year, 4 months ago