Podcast Episodes

Cuban Missile Crisis TRAILER

On 16 October 1962, US President John F Kennedy was made aware of the presence of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba, just 90 miles away from the shores of the United States. The 13 October days that fo…

Published on 3 years, 1 month ago

American psychiatry: a tortured history

Episode 1514

From the earliest asylums that sold themselves as restorative “retreats”, to the damaging vogue for lobotomies and electric shock therapy, psychiatry in America has gone through many iterations since…

Published on 3 years, 1 month ago

The Mary Rose | 6. protecting the wreck

Episode 1513

When the Mary Rose was first pulled from the Solent, you could be forgiven for thinking that what had been salvaged was just a “pile of old wood”. But, over the years, incredible developments in cons…

Published on 3 years, 1 month ago

Spiritualism, fairies, and Arthur Conan-Doyle

Episode 1512

Historians Fiona Snailham and Anna Maria Barry reveal why the creator of Sherlock Holmes was so obsessed with contacting the dead. Speaking to Ellie Cawthorne, they discuss the rise of spiritualism i…

Published on 3 years, 1 month ago

Desk killers: the psychology of committing crimes against humanity

Episode 1511

Author Dan Gretton discusses his book I You We Them, which examines the psychology of individuals who organised and implemented some of the worst crimes against humanity, from the Holocaust to human …

Published on 3 years, 1 month ago

Mary, Queen of Scots: The Scottish years

Episode 1510

Mary, Queen of Scots became queen when she was only six days old, but her reign had collapsed by the time she was 24. Speaking to Rhiannon Davies, Rosemary Goring explores the queen’s tumultuous Scot…

Published on 3 years, 1 month ago

World Cup history: everything you wanted to know

Episode 1509

Throughout its 92-year existence, the FIFA Men’s World Cup has delivered its fair share of iconic moments – and controversies. But how did the competition originally begin? Who were its first heavywe…

Published on 3 years, 1 month ago

Crassus: Rome’s richest man

Episode 1508

Author Peter Stothard explores the eventful life of Marcus Licinius Crassus, an enormously wealthy politician and general, who rivalled Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great in late Republican Rome. In …

Published on 3 years, 1 month ago

The Mary Rose | 5. the mysterious men on-board

Episode 1507

Imagine yourself standing on-board the Mary Rose, surrounded by the crew – how do you picture the men around you? If you look at their faces, what do you see? In this episode, we’ll be introducing yo…

Published on 3 years, 1 month ago

Global stories of museum artefacts

Episode 1506

As part of our series of conversations with winners of the 2022 Dan David Prize, Dr Mirjam Brusius speaks with Helen Carr about her research into the global stories of museum artefacts, and how they …

Published on 3 years, 1 month ago