Beastly Victorians: preventing animal cruelty in the 19th century
The first piece of legislation preventing animal cruelty was passed in Britain during the 1820s – but that's not to say the British have always lived up to the cherished idea of being a nation of anim...
6 Juni 202436min
D-Day: was Churchill really against the operation?
Today, 6 June, marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day, one of the key episodes in the Second World War. But what did Winston Churchill make of the plans for the Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France? W...
5 Juni 202449min
D-Day: Land
The Allied invasion of Normandy saw troops coming ashore across five landing beaches and dropping behind enemy lines by parachute and glider. But what happened to the men after they had arrived in Fra...
5 Juni 202432min
A 17th-century scandal & a writer's secret life
To poet, playwright and writer Aphra Behn, the tale of a runaway aristocrat's daughter Lady Henrietta Berkeley, her scandalous affair and equally dramatic subsequent trial was rich material for some o...
4 Juni 202431min
Plato: life of the week
Ancient Greece produced some of the most celebrated philosophers in history. Yet in terms of fame and enduring influence, none rival Plato. This Athenian's theories on everything from the nature of th...
3 Juni 202435min
Breastfeeding in the Middle Ages
Breastfeeding has been part of raising children since the dawn of time. However, studying its history also highlights stories of grief, community support and enforced labour. Speaking to Emily Briffet...
2 Juni 202436min
Death and mourning in Britain: everything you wanted to know
Why did people start cremating bodies? When did black become the colour of mourning? And who are the 'invisible dead'? Speaking to Charlotte Hodgman, historian Douglas Davies answers your top question...
1 Juni 202452min
Julian: the Roman emperor who (almost) changed the world
It's one of the great what-ifs of ancient history. After Constantine the Great had converted Rome to Christianity it seemed that the faith's progress was inevitable, but just a few decades later a new...
30 Maj 202429min
