Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchHow to stay healthy in the Middle Ages
Episode 2510
In reality, were medieval people dirty and covered in mud? What did they think were the healthiest things to eat? And how often did they think they s…
3 months, 2 weeks ago
Europe's Muslim history
Episode 2509
From the magnificence of the Alhambra to the forgotten resting places of the Prophet Muhammad’s own relatives, Islam has long been a part of Europe’s…
3 months, 3 weeks ago
Attila the Hun: life of the week
Episode 2508
Few historical figures have reputations quite as diabolical as that of Attila the Hun. This nomadic leader pitched up on the edge of the Roman empire…
3 months, 3 weeks ago
Captured by Barbary corsairs: an Englishwoman's extraordinary tale
Episode 2507
In 1756, Elizabeth Marsh set sail from Gibraltar to Britain with the intention of meeting her fiancé. Instead, she was captured by Barbary corsairs –…
3 months, 3 weeks ago
Was Elizabeth I's reign really a 'golden age'?
Episode 2506
As Elizabeth I entered the final chapter of her reign, questions of ageing, succession, and legacy loomed large. In this final episode of our four-pa…
3 months, 3 weeks ago
Spy, hero, rebel, traitor: the story of Roger Casement
Episode 2505
Rory Carroll unpacks the dramatic final years of Roger Casement – an Irish diplomat and nationalist whose tangled legacy includes heroism, betrayal, …
3 months, 3 weeks ago
The relentless rise of the mafia
Episode 2504
The 20th century saw the mafia go global. Crime groups, from Japan's Yakuza to southern Italy's Camorra, capitalised on political chaos and mass migr…
3 months, 3 weeks ago
Harriet Martineau: life of the week
Episode 2503
Thinker, feminist, sociologist, campaigner: 19th-century writer Harriet Martineau was a pioneer and a radical across a huge range of areas, but it's …
3 months, 4 weeks ago
Sores, sweat and secretions: the pox in early modern London
Episode 2502
With sinful associations and incredibly painful symptoms, the pox could be a damning diagnosis in the early modern period. In this episode, Olivia We…
3 months, 4 weeks ago
Elizabeth’s enemies: plots, rivals and the Spanish Armada
Episode 2501
Elizabeth I’s reign was defined by constant threat, both at home and abroad. In this third episode of our four-part Sunday Series on the Tudor monarc…
4 months ago