
Chanel: glamour and controversy on the Riviera
As AppleTV+ new drama The New Look hits our screens, we revisit this classic episode surrounding one of the series' central characters – fashion icon Coco Chanel. Speaking to Elinor Evans in 2020, wri...
17 Feb 202443min

Victorian death rituals
Death was an everyday part of life in 19th-century Britain – and the Victorians were fascinated by it, developing a wealth of customs and rules about how people should bury their dead and how they sho...
16 Feb 202442min

Conspiracy | 5. Legends of the Knights Templar
In the early 14th century, the Knights Templar were suppressed and the 200-year history of this military religious order came to an abrupt end. Or did it? What if some of the Templars escaped persecut...
15 Feb 202439min

Happily ever after? Love and marriage in Austen's era
From unwanted proposals and lingering looks across ballrooms to a wet-shirted Mr Darcy emerging from a lake, the romantic stories of Jane Austen – and their countless adaptations – have captured the h...
14 Feb 202430min

History Behind the Headlines: the Post Office, US elections and Alexander the Great
The latest instalment of our monthly series sees Hannah Skoda and Rana Mitter explore the long history behind the Post Office Scandal, the historical precedents behind recent developments in US politi...
13 Feb 202437min

Drag: a British history
Drag is an art form that's seen a great deal of success – and a little controversy – in recent years. Yet, as Jacob Bloomfield argues in his recent book, Drag: A British History, it's also entertained...
12 Feb 202437min

Medieval Ireland: everything you wanted to know
How did medieval Ireland come to have 150 kings at the same time? Who were the gallowglass? What is Brehon law, and why is it so influential in our understanding of the country in the Middle Ages? Spe...
11 Feb 202459min

Peking to Paris: the world’s first great motor race
In June 1907, five plucky teams departed the Chinese capital and embarked on a 9,317-mile automobile race to Paris. Traversing scorching deserts and perilous mountain passes in ill-equipped vehicles, ...
9 Feb 202432min



















