What causes cultures to decline and fall?
The new BBC TV series Civilisations: Rise and Fall charts the decline of some of history's most famous cultures, from the Aztecs to the ancient Egyptians. Three of its experts – Islam Issa, Caroline D...
26 Nov 202544min
Christopher Marlowe: life of the week
From his possible espionage work for the Elizabethan state to his open flirtations with atheism and subversive sexual themes, the brief life of playwright Christopher Marlowe tells us much about the s...
25 Nov 202542min
Uprising: the Civil Wars untangled
On 30 January 1649, Charles I was led on to a freshly erected scaffold outside Whitehall’s Banqueting House in London. Thousands of spectators watched in shock and awe as the king of England, Scotland...
24 Nov 202537min
The Nazis’ crimes laid bare
When the Nazi leaders went on trial in Nuremberg from November 1945, the true horrors of their regime were exposed to the world. In the second episode of our four-part series on the trials, the lawyer...
23 Nov 202546min
What does Hitler’s DNA really tell us?
A recent documentary drawing conclusions from new analysis of Adolf Hitler’s DNA has sparked headlines around the world. But how did the programme’s researchers get hold of the key evidence? And what ...
22 Nov 202548min
Mutilated corpses and undead mothers-in-law: vampire epidemics through history
Fears of the undead rising from their graves to cause trouble have recurred in societies around the globe throughout the centuries. But why was your mother-in-law especially likely to become a vampire...
21 Nov 202538min
The problem with poo: a millennium of manure
When did poo become a problem? Why was manure so important in the medieval economy? And why don't we have vacuum-powered sewers? All these questions – and more – are answered in this brief history of ...
19 Nov 202535min
James Garfield: life of the week
US president James Garfield's life is often overshadowed by his untimely death in 1881, as the second president to be assassinated in office. However, his story is now once again in the limelight, tha...
18 Nov 202556min
