James Gillray: life of the week

George Villiers, the Duke of Buckingham, had charm and political ambition by the bucketload – and his rise as a favourite of King James I and VI in the late 16th century was meteoric. Speaking to Elin...

3 Feb 202543min

From the depths of the Ice Age to the 20th century, why – and how – have species gone extinct? And are humans always to blame? In conversation with James Osborne, Dr Ross Barnett unpacks how the cause...

2 Feb 202534min

From medieval mystic Julian of Norwich to countercultural figures of the 1960s, various individuals down the centuries have felt they have access to spiritual forces beyond human understanding. But wh...

31 Jan 202532min

How did we go from sharing homegrown cures free of charge to buying medicine from strangers on the open market? This transition is more complex than you might think, and it's something that Karen Bloo...

30 Jan 202540min

History is full of dysfunctional families, but few more so than the Carolingian ruling clan. The empire was at the height of its power under renowned ruler Charlemagne. But just two generations later,...

29 Jan 202541min

Charles Dickens is one of the most famous figures in literary history. But, there's lots about the author that you might not know, from his obsessive workaholism and marital strife, to the fact he was...

28 Jan 202546min

In September 1940, the German Luftwaffe began raining bombs on British cities, causing death and destruction on a scale never before seen. But, in the capital, the Blitz wasn’t the only threat to peop...

27 Jan 202533min

From early shows that looked as if they were filmed "in a heavy and persistent shower of rain" to today's multi-platform streaming world, the history of television has been marked by rapid innovation ...

26 Jan 202556min