Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchMedieval make do and mend
Episode 2139
The medieval approach to sustainability was entirely different to ours today. In a world where the modern definition of 'waste' didn't even exist, th…
1 year, 10 months ago
Thomas Cromwell: the triumph and tragedy of Henry VIII's right-hand man
Episode 2138
In the spring of 1540 Thomas Cromwell was at the height of his power, but just a few months later he found himself at the scaffold on Tower Hill prep…
1 year, 10 months ago
Joseph McCarthy: life of the week
Episode 2137
Joseph McCarthy's infamous crusade in the 1950s whipped up a frenzy of anti-communist sentiment across America – and wrecked the reputations of score…
1 year, 10 months ago
Gladiator tales
Episode 2136
How did gladiators supercharge the rise of Julius Caesar? What can we learn about arena fighters from the petrified remains at Pompeii? And why did g…
1 year, 10 months ago
The Brontës: everything you wanted to know
Episode 2135
From their remote Yorkshire parsonage, sisters Emily, Charlotte and Anne Brontë penned stories that would capture the imaginations of generations of …
1 year, 10 months ago
Lord Lucan: the vanishing earl
Episode 2134
On 7 November, 1974, nanny Sandra Rivett was found murdered in the affluent London neighbourhood of Belgravia. The prime suspect? The father of her y…
1 year, 10 months ago
The Tyrant, the usurper and the hero | Henry V: hero
Episode 2133
Henry V only had a short reign, but his legacy looms large over the medieval landscape. Remembered as a heroic warrior king, who bested the French at…
1 year, 10 months ago
How Stalin won WW2
Episode 2132
In June 1944 Allied armies landed in force in northern France, and the liberation of western Europe began. But, the battle that really sealed Hitler'…
1 year, 10 months ago
The Venerable Bede: life of the week
Episode 2131
The Venerable Bede was a monk who lived in Northumbria 1300 years ago, but his influence reached far beyond the confines of his monastic home. In fac…
1 year, 10 months ago
Decoding Mary, Queen of Scots
Episode 2130
How might cryptic messages written from within a political prison bring us closer to understanding a captive queen? Historian Jade Scott has studied …
1 year, 10 months ago