Georgian Christmas
Pantomimes, pleasure gardens, bare-knuckle boxing and political upheaval. Christmas in the 18th and early 19th centuries was a very different affair from the peaceful family celebration of the Victori...
18 Dec 202437min
The Cod Wars
In the long and lamentable history of human conflicts, the Cod Wars have to be among the most bizarre. And what was the catalyst for them? You guessed it - fish. These 20th-century confrontations pitt...
16 Dec 202440min
The Syrian Civil War: How It Started
Dan is joined by the Defence Editor for The Economist, Shashank Joshi, to explore the origins of the brutal Syrian civil war that has left the country in ruin and with an uncertain future. They unrave...
13 Dec 202434min
Henry VIII's Tudor Christmas
Tudor Christmas was a time for revelry and fun. Henry VIII and his court celebrated the full 12 days of Christmas in excess, with tables ladened with roast swan, suckling pig and venison pasties, amon...
11 Dec 202432min
Surviving the Great War: Medics in the Trenches
Warning: this episode contains graphic details of injuries.The brutal nature of the First World War presented frontline medical personnel with an array of horrific and debilitating wounds, inflicted o...
9 Dec 202425min
Fascism in America
The rise of fascism in America in the 1920s & 30s looked just like the rise of fascism in Germany at the same time- scapegoating, the dissemination of false information, the attempted erosion of democ...
6 Dec 202432min
Roman Saturnalia
Episode 1 in our 'Origins of Christmas' series. This Roman winter festival laid the foundations for many of our Christmas customs today- feasting, gift-giving and revelry. During Saturnalia, Emperors ...
4 Dec 202422min
Churchill & FDR: The Origins of the 'Special Relationship'
Today we explore one of history's most consequential relationships - that of Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt, a pivotal alliance that shaped the world we live in today.Alongside Lindsay Gr...
2 Dec 202450min
