Podcast Episodes

WW2's greatest battles | 2. Stalingrad

Episode 1964

In 1942, the forces of Nazi Germany and its allies came head-to-head with those of the Soviet Union at a city on the Volga. The battle of Stalingrad was to become one of the war's grimmest, as infant…

Published on 1 year, 8 months ago

Aztec myths

Episode 1963

Were the Aztecs really obsessed with death and sacrifice? Did they have a pantheon of deities similar to the ancient Greeks or Romans? And how did a magical gem change the fortune of the Aztec people…

Published on 1 year, 8 months ago

David Lloyd George: life of the week

Episode 1962

David Lloyd George regularly features in lists of Britain’s greatest prime ministers. Born in Manchester and raised in rural Wales, the Liberal luminary helped lay the foundations of the modern welfa…

Published on 1 year, 8 months ago

Graffiti's golden age: radicalism & romance in the 18th century

Episode 1961

From etchings scratched into the earliest monuments, to the spray can designs that appear on structures today, the urge to leave our mark is universal. But in 18th-century Britain, the nature of graf…

Published on 1 year, 8 months ago

Highwaymen: everything you wanted to know

Episode 1960

Were highwaymen really as dashing and gentlemanly as the stories would have us believe? How did these bandits pick the best locations to rob from the rich? And how much of the legend surrounding Dick…

Published on 1 year, 8 months ago

An African perspective on the history of Africa

Episode 1959

Africa's story has long been presented in western narratives as one that only 'began' with the arrival of non-Africans – yet modern science has revealed that the African continent was, in fact, the c…

Published on 1 year, 8 months ago

WW2's greatest battles | 1. Battle of Britain

Episode 1958

In the summer of 1940, the skies over Britain filled with the sounds as of engines and gunfire, as the battle of Britain saw the RAF and Luftwaffe go head-to-head in a fight for air dominance. For th…

Published on 1 year, 8 months ago

WW2's greatest battles | Trailer

Did Allied victory in the Second World War really hinge on the battle of the Atlantic? What made Stalingrad such a pivotal victory for the Soviet Union? And how did forces adapt to desert warfare at …

Published on 1 year, 8 months ago

How Kissinger transformed the Cold War

Episode 1957

Henry Kissinger, who died in November 2023 at the age of 100, was one of the most significant, and controversial, figures of the 20th century. Matt Elton spoke to historian Rana Mitter about the Amer…

Published on 1 year, 8 months ago

Lord Byron: life of the week

Episode 1956

Famously branded "mad, bad and dangerous to know", Lord Byron captured the imagination – and attention – of early 19th-century Britain with his soul-bearing poetry, decadent lifestyle and torrid love…

Published on 1 year, 8 months ago