Churchill's toughest decision
In the summer of 1940, the Royal Navy attacked a French fleet moored off the coast of north Africa, killing almost 1,300 sailors. Winston Churchill described his decision to greenlight the operation a...
9 Jun 35min
Henry Paget: life of the week
Henry Paget, 5th Marquess of Anglesey, lived a life of extravagance, luxury and theatre – and for this, he was the subject of much intrigue in the late 19th century. In this episode, Michael Hall spea...
8 Jun 43min
The hidden history of female sexual pleasure
How did women in the past experience sex and pleasure? Kate Lister reveals that this is a rather complicated question. Instead of simply lying back and thinking of England, women have long fought for ...
7 Jun 48min
Why Cleopatra was more than a bewitching beauty
We often think of Cleopatra as using her feminine wiles to secure, and maintain, power. But was that really the case? And what other skills and qualities did she have? In this third episode of our fou...
6 Jun 41min
Better than Bridgerton: the real Georgian masquerade
Is there a real historical phenomenon behind Bridgerton’s masked ball? And what would it really have been like? In this episode, Meghan Kobza takes us behind the doors of the glittering Georgian masqu...
4 Jun 49min
Weimar's descent from democracy to barbarism
Weimar is a small German city. Yet it looms large in European history. In the 1920s, it was synonymous with liberalism, internationalism and the fine arts. Yet, within a decade, many of its residents ...
2 Jun 39min
Alan Turing: life of the week
Alan Turing is one of the most celebrated of all British scientists. His work in cracking Nazi codes at Bletchley Park, and his role in the evolution of the computer, has earned him worldwide acclaim....
1 Jun 45min
The self-made Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe is synonymous with glamour, beauty and stardom – but scratching the surface of her public image reveals another story. Author and professor of film philosophy Lucy Bolton reveals the ca...
31 Mai 49min
