Was Charles I a tyrant?
The reviled king was condemned to death as a “Tyrant, Traitor, Murderer and Public Enemy”. But, as 2025 marks the 400th anniversary of his accession, how fair does that judgment seem today? This Long ...
11 Maj 202522min
VE Day: was it really one big party?
It’s been 80 years since Britons heard the news that the war in Europe was over. But how did those who lived through VE Day remember the moment? With the help of the BBC WW2 People’s War archive, this...
4 Maj 202524min
Dangerous delights: Victorian Britain's cocaine habit
In the 19th century, a magic new drug took the medical community by storm, riding a wave of scientific endeavour. But, as this Long Read written by historian Douglas Small reveals, it wasn’t long befo...
27 Apr 202520min
Mercia: the lost kingdom
Battered by the Vikings, outshone by King Alfred, Mercia has long been painted as the also-ran of the Anglo-Saxon world. Yet, as this Long Read written by Max Adams considers, this mighty Midlands kin...
20 Apr 202522min
Did Ronald Reagan 'make America great again'?
This year has seen Donald Trump retake the US presidency, repeating his vow to ‘make America great again’. But he’s not the first to wield such a slogan, as this Long Read written by Phil Tinline expl...
13 Apr 202519min
Fingers, frogs and fairies: fortune telling in early modern Britain
Fortune telling was all the rage in the 16th and 17th centuries, and practitioners would stop at nothing to tap in to the supernatural. This Long Read written by Martha McGill tells a story of Highlan...
6 Apr 202519min
WW2 evacuees: when Britain escaped to the country
It was a moment of possibilities, dislocation – and dread. This Long Read, written by Dan Todman, tells the story of the 1.5 million urban Britons evacuated to the countryside at the start of the Seco...
30 Mars 202524min
500,000 years of African history
Slavery, exploitation and racism. These tragedies have long dominated histories of Africa. But there’s another way to tell this story. And, as this Long Read written by Luke Pepera explains, it’s one ...
24 Mars 202519min
