As statues of controversial historical figures continue to hit the headlines, Alex von Tunzelmann – author of Fallen Idols: Twelve Statues that Made History – looks at some of the most illuminating examples from across the centuries. She explores why the debate has proven so divisive, and gives her take on what should happen to controversial statues.
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Yesterday
Magna Carta: king v barons
In the early 13th century, England was a kingdom under pressure, as the challenges posed by King John’s reign had left the realm restless. By 1215, tensions had reached boiling point. What began as isolated grumblings among nobles soon evolved into an organised challenge to royal ... Show More
44m 29s
Feb 6
Untold LGBTQ stories of the National Trust
In 1895, when the National Trust was founded, homosexual acts of ‘gross indecency’ were still illegal in Britain. And yet, as Michael Hall reveals in his new book, A Queer Inheritance: Alternative Histories in the National Trust, the organisation had queer connections from its ve ... Show More
33m 30s
May 2023
330: Herodotus: The Birth of History
Born on the Western edge of an empire that stretched all the way to India, Herodotus was a Greek historian of the 5th century BC. His major work The Histories, a long and detailed account of the Greco-Persian Wars and the cultures of the ancient world, is considered the founding ... Show More
53m 45s
Nov 2022
Alexander the Great: Man and Myth
<p>Alexander the Great is one of the most famous figures from history. Legends and fantastical versions of his life were told almost immediately upon his death, often merging fact with fiction. Through his interaction, both good and bad, with so many different empires and societi ... Show More
46m 18s
Jul 2023
Lion Man: The First Myth?
<p>Discovered in a German cave, days before the Second World War broke out, the Lion Man statue remained an enigma for decades. A figurine that represents a hybrid creature with the body of a human and the head of a lion, the statue is made from mammoth ivory and is estimated to ... Show More
32m 45s
Mar 2022
The Legacy of Julius Caesar's Assassination
<p>The legacies of the Ides of March stretch from that very afternoon on March 14th 44BC to the modern day. From Roman times to the Medieval period, from Dante to Shakespeare, and from Brutus to the other infamous assassin he inspired in John Wilkes Booth, the echoes of Julius Ca ... Show More
55m 26s
Dec 2022
The Rise and Fall of Crassus
<p>Often overshadowed by his more successful peers (anyone heard of Julius Caesar?), Crassus' rise and fall from power is that of legend. A Roman General, Statesman, and once called the 'Richest Man In Rome', Crassus' power and influence is undisputed. But how did Crassus come to ... Show More
35m 16s