Iron Mountain: the conspiracy that duped America
As the war in Vietnam spiralled out of control, US president Lyndon B Johnson was confronted by a different type of threat: a fake report so convincing that it tricked Americans into believing dangero...
22 Jul 202533min
Bayeux Tapestry politics & natural disasters: history behind the headlines
In the latest episode of our monthly series charting the historical background of current news events, regular panellists Hannah Skoda and Rana Mitter are joined by Matt Elton and Dr David Musgrove to...
21 Jul 202552min
Deadly bellringing and fatal bacon: grisly accidental Tudor deaths
From drowning and agricultural mishaps to getting stabbed during a football match, crushed by a pig, scalded by porridge or suffocated by a fish, there were myriad ways to accidentally die in Tudor En...
20 Jul 202534min
Beer history: everything you wanted to know
Beer is one of the world’s most popular alcoholic beverages. From refreshing lagers to amber ales and creamy stouts, there’s a style for virtually every drinker to enjoy. But how did this winning comb...
19 Jul 202541min
Mein Kampf: Hitler's dark vision for the future
Published 100 years ago in 1925, Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf was one of the most consequential books of the 20th century. It laid out Hitler's political ideology and future aspirations, as well as makin...
17 Jul 202524min
King vs parliament: the moment that sparked civil war
Over the winter of 1641-2, England stood on the precipice of civil war. Historian and author Jonathan Healey charts how the relationship between the king and parliament disintegrated during those mont...
15 Jul 202541min
The Mitford sisters | 2 : life of the week
Like many families, the Mitfords emerged from the Second World War bearing scars. Yet as the world entered a new, uncertain era, the sisters' knack for making headlines showed no sign of abating. Rele...
14 Jul 202531min
Slavery on the medieval Silk Road
Slavery was a grim but omnipresent reality across the Silk Road during the Middle Ages. Speaking to Emily Briffett, Claire Taylor unpacks the complex networks of enslavement that spanned from Ireland ...
13 Jul 202544min
