Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchPeking to Paris: the world’s first great motor race
Episode 1899
In June 1907, five plucky teams departed the Chinese capital and embarked on a 9,317-mile automobile race to Paris. Traversing scorching deserts and …
2 years, 1 month ago
Conspiracy | 4. The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
Episode 1898
First published in Russia in 1903, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion purported to demonstrate evidence of a global Jewish conspiracy. Though it has…
2 years, 1 month ago
Love: a weird & wonderful history
Episode 1897
From prehistoric carvings and medieval spell books to grand romantic gestures and tokens of affection, throughout history there has been no shortage …
2 years, 1 month ago
Life of the week: the Duke of Wellington
Episode 1896
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington has gone down in history as one of Britain's most formidable military commanders. But how did he earn such a…
2 years, 1 month ago
Ploughman's for the people: a culinary history of Britain
Episode 1895
Did you know that the seemingly bucolic Ploughman's lunch actually came about because of a marketing ploy? Or that turnips were once thought to be an…
2 years, 1 month ago
Chivalry: everything you wanted to know
Episode 1894
Where does the word "chivalry" come from? How should an honourable knight treat his vanquished foes? And do chivalric ideals underlie modern-day miso…
2 years, 1 month ago
Alexandria: the first modern city
Episode 1893
According to legend, when Alexander the Great rocked up on the island of Pharos in northern Egypt, he had a vision of a spectacular city – a vision t…
2 years, 1 month ago
Conspiracy | 3. Who killed JFK?
Episode 1892
On the 22 November 1963, President John F Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested and charged with the murder, but over th…
2 years, 1 month ago
Masters of the Air: the real history behind the new show.
Episode 1891
Donald L Miller shares how US 'bomber boys' made D-Day possible, a story now dramatised in the Apple TV+ series Masters of the Air
Masters of the Air…
2 years, 1 month ago
Life of the week: Spartacus
Episode 1890
"I am Spartacus" is one of the most iconic lines in cinema history: from the 1960 film starring Kirk Douglas in the titular role, it has come to defi…
2 years, 1 month ago