The Enclosures
The enclosure of the commons was a centuries-long process. Gradually, through a combination of legal degrees and private acts, the land across Britain moved from a system of open field system to large...
31 Mar 202229min
The Real Cyrano de Bergerac
One of the world's much loved stage and screen characters has just returned to the cinema in a new film version starring Peter Dinklage. But what may not be generally known is that Cyrano de Bergerac ...
30 Mar 202241min
Benjamin Franklin with Ken Burns
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) was a scientist, inventor, writer and diplomat. As one of the leading figures of early American history, Franklin helped to draft the Declaration of Independence in 1776,...
29 Mar 202233min
The Demerara Uprising and Britain’s Legacy of Slavery
The Demerara Rebellion of 1823 was an uprising of over ten thousand enslaved people in the Crown colony of Demerara-Essequibo (now part of Guyana) on the coast of South America. Having grown tired of ...
28 Mar 202226min
Destroying a Nazi Stronghold: The St Nazaire Raid
On 28 March 1942, in the darkest months of World War Two, Churchill approved what seemed to many like a suicide mission. Under orders to attack the St Nazaire U-boat base on the Atlantic seaboard, Bri...
27 Mar 202227min
The Wonder of Stonehenge
Towering above the Wiltshire countryside, Stonehenge is perhaps the world's most awe-inspiring ancient stone circle. Shrouded in layers of speculation and folklore, this iconic British monument has sp...
27 Mar 202225min
200 Years of British-Russian Relations
Russia and the UK have very different political structures and ambitions, from their alliance at the Battle of Navarino in 1827 to the historic low of their relations now. In this episode of Warfare, ...
25 Mar 202231min
The Forgotten Hero of Everest
Ed Caesar joins Dan on the podcast to tell the extraordinary but largely forgotten story of World War I veteran Maurice Wilson, Britain's most mysterious mountaineering legend. Wilson served with dist...
24 Mar 202220min
