The Dark History of Ballet

Accessing stories from the past can be difficult, but how do we access smells from the past?In today's episode, Kate is joined by Eleanor Jackson, curator of a new British Library exhibition, Mediaeva...

17 Dec 202444min

Henry VIII called her his 'rose without a thorn', but the teenage Catherine Howard was to fall out of favour less than 18 months after becoming Queen of England.Out of all of Henry's wives it could be...

13 Dec 202437min

The history of lonely hearts ads might be a lot deeper than you'd expect.For as long as people have been printing newspapers, people (read: men) were enquiring about potential partners.By the time the...

10 Dec 20241h

Anne of Cleves gets a pretty raw deal in the history books.She's often accused of being ugly, after Henry VIII claimed the painting he had made of her was overly flattering.While their marriage was sh...

6 Dec 202439min

What did Queen Elizabeth I gain from being thought of as celibate? Why was property so essential to the Christian church embracing celibacy? And what's really behind the 'No Nut November' movement?In ...

3 Dec 202438min

Meek and mild, or smart and scheming? Have we all been underestimating the third wife of Henry VIII?Was Jane Seymour the meek and mild lady she's often portrayed as, or was she more smart and scheming...

29 Nov 202438min

We often think of the way we treat pubic hair as a relatively modern thing.But how did they manage pubic hair in Ancient Greece, or the Middle Ages? Why would someone wear a pubic wig (also known as a...

26 Nov 202444min

How did Anne Boleyn go from being a commoner to being the Queen of England?As soon as she arrived in the Tudor court she stood out from the other beautiful women who were throwing themselves at Henry ...

22 Nov 202441min