The history of India and a terrible explosion

How did a muddy settlement on the banks of the river Tiber grow into the greatest empire the world had ever seen? Who was the more diabolical: Caligula or Nero? And was there really such a thing as Pa...

12 Jan 38min

In AD 79, Pompeii and Herculaneum were subsumed by the eruption of Vesuvius, buried and preserved under metres of volcanic ash. Today, they are among the most famous ruins of the ancient world – and i...

11 Jan 41min

In the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars, it fell to Britain to maintain the balance of power in continental Europe – but how could a small island manage such a task? How could it prevent the rise of a...

9 Jan 44min

The past 12 months have seen protests around the world make headlines and dominate social media feeds. But how have such popular demonstrations changed the course of history? In this episode, historia...

7 Jan 38min

Hatshepsut is one of ancient Egypt’s most extraordinary figures: a pharaoh who deftly asserted her right to the throne, reigned over an era of prosperity, and commissioned some of the most iconic monu...

6 Jan 42min

The chaos of the Spanish conquest, the humiliation of military defeat to the United States, the disruption of the revolution… Mexican history is often viewed through the lens of trauma and violence. Y...

5 Jan 34min

What does Austen’s later writing tell us about her changing ideas? And what factors contributed to her death? In this fourth and final episode of our series chronicling the novelist’s life and work, D...

4 Jan 33min

A prophetess who warned Oliver Cromwell against killing the king. A Yorkshire maidservant who gained an audience with the Ottoman Sultan. The religious tumult of the 17th century gave ordinary women o...

2 Jan 34min