Colin Jones tells the story of Maximilien Robespierre’s fall from power – a dramatic 24 hours that ended with the revolutionary titan facing the guillotine
Maximilien Robespierre awoke on the morning of 27 July 1794 as arguably the most powerful man in Paris – the intellectual driving force behind the French Revolution. Twenty-four hours later he was langu ... Show More
Nov 3
Ancient goddesses: love, violence and ecstatic experiences
What do goddesses of love have in common with goddesses of war? Historian Ronald Hutton argues that some of the ancient world’s most powerful female deities were united by a potent combination of sex, violence and ecstatic experience. Speaking to Danny Bird, Hutton traces a linea ... Show More
29m 56s
Nov 2022
Famous Revolutionaries: Maximilien Robespierre Pt. 2
In 1791, France adopted a new constitution, placing power in the hands of the people. Robespierre’s job was done... or so he thought. War was coming, and with it, the growing threat of enemies both internal and external. In his quest to squash the counter-revolution, Robespierre ... Show More
46m 37s
Nov 2022
Famous Revolutionaries: Maximilien Robespierre Pt. 2
In 1791, France adopted a new constitution, placing power in the hands of the people. Robespierre’s job was done... or so he thought. War was coming, and with it, the growing threat of enemies both internal and external. In his quest to squash the counter-revolution, Robespierre ... Show More
44m 37s
Mar 2025
547. The French Revolution: The Execution of the King (Part 4)
The second revolution that engulfed France over the course of 1792 reached its climax in December, with an astonishing, world-changing spectacle, which held all the eyes of Europe spellbound: Louis Capet, formerly King Louis XVI of France, was on trial for his very life. A guilty ... Show More
1h 1m
Mar 2025
544. The French Revolution: The September Massacres (Part 1)
‘Still more traitors, still more treason…" It is 1792 and France has been at war since April; it is not going well. In Paris, the Tuileries Palace has been stormed, and the royal family imprisoned. Meanwhile, tensions are rising between the main political factions of the Revoluti ... Show More
1 h
Nov 2023
383. Young Napoleon: The Shadow of the Guillotine (Part 2)
Within the turmoil of the French Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte stands out to his military superiors, first by defeating the British at Toulon, then by putting down a royalist mob in Paris when outnumbered four to one, with a “whiff of grapeshot”. Having finally shaken off the hu ... Show More
51m 52s
Sep 2023
365. Le Marquis de Sade: Sex and Violence
The father of sadism and a prophet of totalitarianism, the Marquis de Sade was a French aristocrat and writer, an uncompromising and unashamed libertine with the eerie ability to corrupt those around him. Arrested first by the French monarchy and then by the revolutionaries, he s ... Show More
56m 17s