Scotland & England's Union
The union between the nations of Great Britain goes back to 1707. On each side of the border, statesmen started to realise that a closer relationship offered solutions to problems both countries were ...
10 Okt 202423min
Scotland's Disastrous Attempt at Empire
In the late 17th century, Scotland tried to establish a colony in Panama - and it all went horribly wrong.In July 1698, a fleet of five ships departed from the Firth of Forth with some 1,200 people on...
8 Okt 202429min
Robert the Bruce, King of Scots
Robert the Bruce is best remembered as a rebel king, and for good reason. He was an unrelenting thorn in the side of any English monarch with ambitions to subdue Scotland. His heroics at the decisive ...
6 Okt 202459min
Rise of the Medici
The House of Medici ruthlessly wielded control of Florence for nearly 300 years. Through financial and political machinations, they transformed the city into a cultural powerhouse and the epicentre of...
3 Okt 202441min
The British Agent Who Tried to Kill Lenin
Robert Bruce Lockhart was one of the most extraordinary and unconventional agents of the 20th century. A British diplomat, spy, and propagandist, his life was one of scandal and deception - from the j...
1 Okt 202435min
The Creation of Modern China
On the 1st of October 1949, a huge crowd gathered in Tiananmen Square. In the shadow of Beijing's imperial Forbidden City, they listened as Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, proclai...
29 Sep 202435min
The Iranian Embassy Siege with Ben Macintyre
On the drizzly, grey morning of 30th April 1980, six heavily armed gunmen stormed the Iranian Embassy in London. They charged through the front door and took 26 people hostage, including embassy staff...
26 Sep 202446min
Mansa Musa: History's Wealthiest Man?
Mansa Musa's wealth is a thing of legend. It's impossible to know exactly how much he was worth, but he himself spread rumours that gold grew like a plant within the Mali Empire. When he embarked on a...
24 Sep 202427min
