How and Why History: Charlemagne
Charlemagne was one of history’s most ruthless and ambitious warriors – King of the Franks, then King of the Lombards, conqueror of the Saxons, leading to the Pope crowning him Roman Emperor. But plen...
28 Jul 202033min
Churchill's Speeches
"Their finest hour", "we shall fight on the beaches", "never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few". These words of Winston Churchill are synonymous with our idea of the...
27 Jul 202027min
Saudi Arabia and Iran
Kim Ghattas joined me on the podcast to explore how Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran - who were once allies and the twin pillars of US strategy in the area - became mortal enemies after the revolution...
26 Jul 202025min
Monarchy
For hundreds of years, monarchy has reigned as the dominant political model in Europe. But how has this system - where political life was shaped by the births, marriages and deaths of the ruling famil...
25 Jul 202028min
SS Great Britain
SS Great Britain was the longest passenger ship in the world from 1845 to 1854, and now resides in Bristol as a museum. She was the brainchild of Isambard Kingdom Brunel for the Great Western Steamshi...
24 Jul 202021min
How Did Hitler Seize Supreme Power?
I was delighted to be joined by Nicholas O'Shaughnessy, who took me through the remarkable rise of Adolf Hitler. Starting with his experience of the First World War, Nicholas took me through the event...
23 Jul 202045min
Transforming Our Understanding of The Battle of Kursk
The Battle of Prokhorovka was one of the largest tank battles in military history. Taking place on the Eastern Front, it was fought on 12 July 1943 as part of the wider Battle of Kursk. Two elite SS d...
22 Jul 202024min
How and Why History: The Genius of Shakespeare
Arguably the world’s greatest ever dramatist, after five and a half centuries William Shakespeare remains as popular as ever. But how did he became so famous? How did later authors boost his reputatio...
21 Jul 202021min
