Greenland, forest fires and presidential power: history behind the headlines
Historians Hannah Skoda and Rana Mitter look at the shifting dynamics of presidential power and discuss the history behind President Trump's stated desire to acquire Greenland, in 2025's first instalm...
4 Feb 202540min
George Villiers: from royal favourite to enemy number one
George Villiers, the Duke of Buckingham, had charm and political ambition by the bucketload – and his rise as a favourite of King James I and VI in the late 16th century was meteoric. Speaking to Elin...
3 Feb 202543min
Extinct animals: everything you wanted to know
From the depths of the Ice Age to the 20th century, why – and how – have species gone extinct? And are humans always to blame? In conversation with James Osborne, Dr Ross Barnett unpacks how the cause...
2 Feb 202534min
Agony and ecstasy: the lives of mystics
From medieval mystic Julian of Norwich to countercultural figures of the 1960s, various individuals down the centuries have felt they have access to spiritual forces beyond human understanding. But wh...
31 Jan 202532min
How medicine became a moneymaker
How did we go from sharing homegrown cures free of charge to buying medicine from strangers on the open market? This transition is more complex than you might think, and it's something that Karen Bloo...
30 Jan 202540min
Carolingians in crisis: the medieval civil war that shaped Europe
History is full of dysfunctional families, but few more so than the Carolingian ruling clan. The empire was at the height of its power under renowned ruler Charlemagne. But just two generations later,...
29 Jan 202541min
Charles Dickens: life of the week
Charles Dickens is one of the most famous figures in literary history. But, there's lots about the author that you might not know, from his obsessive workaholism and marital strife, to the fact he was...
28 Jan 202546min
Murder in WW2 London
In September 1940, the German Luftwaffe began raining bombs on British cities, causing death and destruction on a scale never before seen. But, in the capital, the Blitz wasn’t the only threat to peop...
27 Jan 202533min
