James Gillray: life of the week

From pioneering railways and awe-inspiring bridges to ocean-spanning passenger ships and flatpack hospitals, there was no engineering challenge too ambitious for Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The impressiv...

9 Sep 202442min

Recent developments in the Russia-Ukraine war have seen Kursk make headlines – provoking parallels with the Second World War battle that took place in the region. But are such links helpful? And how i...

8 Sep 202452min

Why were people tortured in the Middle Ages? Was it ever legal? Did the infliction of physical pain play as large a role in medieval prosecutions as we might think? And did anyone actually experience ...

7 Sep 202427min

Just how far does our understanding of the medieval past rely upon written sources? And what happens when these precious fragments of knowledge are destroyed? Taking in shocking cases of destruction a...

5 Sep 202444min

What would an average ancient Egyptian citizen's relationship have been with the pyramids? Why did they wear gooey wax cones on their heads? And what was it like to attend an Egyptian religious ritual...

4 Sep 202448min

Were hunter-gatherer societies among the most equal in history? What impact did the French and American Revolutions have on the concept of equality? And has equality been on the retreat over the past ...

3 Sep 202434min

From his famed statue of David to the extraordinary paintings that adorn the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo’s work still inspires awe. In this episode, Professor Catherine Fletcher speaks...

2 Sep 202431min

The battle of Megiddo is one of the most important battles you've (probably) never heard of. When an army led by Pharaoh Thutmosis III clashed with a coalition of enemy forces 35 centuries ago, Egypt'...

1 Sep 202430min