What is ‘Europe’, anyway?
What defines Europe – is it geography, politics, a shared culture, or perhaps a mix of all three? In this episode, historian Roderick Beaton tells Emily Briffett about the ways in which it has been de...
14 Sep 36min
Christianity, conflict and catastrophe: the life of CS Lewis
He's well-known for creating children's classic The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but what else can history teach us about CS Lewis? Michael Ward explores the life of the author with Isabel King –...
13 Sep 40min
Was Napoleon III the world's first populist leader?
Napoleon III's family was, in the words of historian Edward Shawcross, “the most cutthroat mafioso soap opera in the world”. Exiled to Switzerland as a boy and disowned by his own father, he spent yea...
10 Sep 55min
The Bayeux Tapestry blockbuster at the British Museum
The Bayeux Tapestry exhibition at the British Museum is set to be the biggest historical event in decades. In conversation with David Musgrove, its curator Michael Lewis gives the lowdown on what the ...
8 Sep 45min
The secrets of our DNA
What can DNA tell us about who we are and where we came from? Professor Turi King – who previously appeared on the podcast to discuss her research into Adolf Hitler’s DNA – returns to explore modern...
7 Sep 38min
What's it like to live in a royal palace?
Did Lucy Worsley have 'the best job in history'? And what did she do when she worked in it? In this episode, Lucy reflects on her career so far, her time as Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces and...
6 Sep 36min
Roman kings: myth, memory and the making of power
Before Rome's republic and the age of emperors, there were kings… or so the story goes. Beginning with Romulus, and ending with Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, these rulers loomed large in the Roman imagi...
3 Sep 41min
Philip Augustus: the Plantagenets’ greatest rival
King Philip Augustus of France was the Plantagenets’ ultimate enemy. A ruler with an iron fist and sharp political instincts, he consistently exploited the squabbles of the English dynasty, all while ...
1 Sep 50min
