17th Century Female Spies
If you think that the female spy is a 20th century phenomenon, be it Mata Hari, Mrs Zigzag or Eve Polastri, think again! Accounts of numerous 17th century 'she-intelligencers' have lain undiscovered i...
13 Maj 202141min
Tudor Banquets
The Tudors loved a good banquet, to show off their wealth and social status. Guests were plied with the most superb food, made from the most expensive ingredients and displayed in the most outrageous ...
10 Maj 202133min
The Aztecs
What we know about the Aztecs of Mexico often comes from the accounts of their Spanish conquerors. But the Aztec culture was far more sophisticated than the European invaders chose to portray. In this...
6 Maj 202151min
The Queer Shakespeare: John Lyly
John Lyly's name may not be so familiar. He was a playwright and poet writing at the same time as Shakespeare and, in his day, was more famous than the Bard himself. Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks ...
3 Maj 202140min
Bridewell: The Palace that became a Prison
In the heart of Shakespeare's London, there was a palace that had become a prison: Bridewell. Professor Duncan Salkeld has explored the records of this notorious destination for the poor and the indig...
29 Apr 202141min
An Early Modern Teenage Werewolf
The witch-hunts of sixteenth and seventeenth century Europe are well-known. But did you know that some 300 people were convicted of being werewolves? In this revelatory podcast with Dr. Jan Machielsen...
29 Apr 202134min
Henry VIII's Billionaire Wardrobe
Venetian ambassador Sebastian Giustinian described Henry VIII as the 'best dressed sovereign in the world'. The King spent the equivalent of £2 million a year on clothes. In this episode with Professo...
29 Apr 202143min
Velazquez and the Spanish Court
Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Laura Cumming - author and art critic for The Observer - about Velázquez, arguably the greatest genius of Spanish painting. They particularly discuss one of the wo...
29 Apr 202149min
