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Blood, sweat & marble: examining ancient bodies
Episode 1565
Imagine an ancient Greek or Roman body, and the first picture that pops into your head is probably made of marble or stone – perhaps an austere bust,…
3 years, 2 months ago
A journey along the Iron Curtain
Episode 1564
In 1946, Churchill declared that “from Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an Iron Curtain has descended across the Continent”. But wha…
3 years, 2 months ago
Fleeing revolution: Russians exiles in Paris
Episode 1563
In 1917, the Russian Revolution saw scores of Russian aristocrats and artists flee to Paris to escape Bolshevik brutality. Speaking to Matt Elton, He…
3 years, 2 months ago
The history of atheism: everything you wanted to know
Episode 1562
When was the word “atheist” first used? How dangerous was it to question the existence of God in the Middle Ages? And how successful were communist r…
3 years, 2 months ago
How FDR transformed the US presidency
Episode 1561
When Franklin Delano Roosevelt assumed the presidency of the United States in 1933, he became the head of a nation facing immense hardship and disenc…
3 years, 2 months ago
Indigenous American travellers in Europe
Episode 1560
When we think about the first encounters between Europe and the Americas, we’ve traditionally imagined a one-sided story of “Old world” Europeans voy…
3 years, 2 months ago
The PoWs who survived Nagasaki
Episode 1559
The Japanese city of Nagasaki is probably best known for being the target of the world’s second-ever nuclear attack in August 1945. Yet the city was …
3 years, 2 months ago
Parachuting monkeys & volcanic eruptions: an extraordinary Victorian zoo
Episode 1558
With parachuting monkeys, volcanic eruptions and performances of Beethoven’s symphonies, Surrey Zoo was no ordinary Victorian attraction. Dr Joanne C…
3 years, 2 months ago
Curious cures for medieval maladies
Episode 1557
If you feel unwell today you can pick up a prescription or head to a medical centre, but how did ill people treat their ailments in the Middle Ages? …
3 years, 2 months ago
Jane Austen’s England: everything you wanted to know
Episode 1556
What was society’s attitude towards female writers in Regency England? How far did class affect the hopes of young couples looking to be wed? And did…
3 years, 2 months ago