Retracing Eleanor of Castile's final journey
At the end of the 13th century, England was gripped by grief as news of the queen's death shook the nation. Eleanor of Castile's funeral procession from Lincoln to London would become one of the most ...
19 Apr 39min
How Alfred the Great saved the Anglo-Saxons from the Vikings
As the Viking Great Heathen Army advanced to the borders of Wessex, the conquest of Anglo-Saxon England appeared all but complete. In the third episode of our Sunday Series on the Viking invasion of A...
18 Apr 33min
How to find a billion-dollar shipwreck
In 1708, the Spanish galleon San José was sunk by a British warship off the coast of Colombia, vanishing beneath the waves with a treasure trove of unimaginable riches. The wreck's exact location rema...
16 Apr 36min
A fantastical history of fairies
When picturing a fairy, you might imagine a childlike creature with wings. But this is a far more modern image than we might think. In this episode, Matthias Egeler tells Lauren Good about the ways in...
14 Apr 29min
Aud the Deep-Minded: life of the week
It was the Vikings of northern Europe who first settled the harsh landscapes of Iceland in the ninth century. Most of the figures leading this movement were men – powerful chieftains who claimed vast ...
13 Apr 43min
How Tudor London inspired literary genius
In the bustling streets of Elizabethan London, a vibrant community of writers helped shape the future of the English language and literature. From poets seeking noble patronage to playwrights hustling...
12 Apr 40min
The rise of Alfred the Great
As the Viking Great Heathen Army refused to leave Anglo-Saxon England, the pressure mounted on the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms to respond, placing the future of the land in the hands of Alfred the Great. In ...
11 Apr 44min
Stalin's murderous vendetta against Trotsky
Mexico City, August 1940: a study door closes, an ice axe is raised and the Bolshevik Revolution’s greatest exile meets his grisly end. But what led to this dramatic moment? Danny Bird speaks to Josh ...
9 Apr 38min
