Why the Ukraine conflict isn’t a new Col...

Histories of British involvement in the Caribbean tend to focus mainly on the period of plantation slavery but, in her new book Empire Without End, Imaobong Umoren argues that we need to take a broader view. It's only by taking the story back to the 16th century and forward until ... Show More

Human beings tend to identify with being in a group, and, historically, few groupings have been more potent than the idea of the nation. But when did people first embrace the idea of the nation state? Is nationalism predominantly a right-wing creed? And does it thrive during peri ... Show More

In 1775, a respectable lady, a mild-mannered apothecary and his fast-living identical twin stood accused of pulling off a scam that had earnt them a fortune. But as their trial unfolded, the defendants turned on one another, and the plot thickened – who was the real orchestrator ... Show More

In this new series, Saul and Patrick explore the current conflict in Ukraine. They begin by looking back to the first days of hostilities in Kyiv with BBC journalist Paul Kenyon, followed by Ukrainian-American journalist Irena Chalupa giving an overview of the historic enmity bet ... Show More

On the 24th of February, 2022, the world looked on in disbelief as Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. One year on he shows no signs of easing his commitment to the conflict, despite the many setbacks that Russian forces have faced. The question is, why hasn ... Show More

Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine on 24th February 2022, but how did we get to this point? After the brutality of the Second World War, Ukraine was completely under the control of Moscow. Then in the 1980s, with Chernobyl as the catalyst, the Ukrainian nationalist movement regained ... Show More

Russia's current conflict in Ukraine was supposed to be a showcase of military prowess, a quick war that solidified her status as a great power. Instead, it has laid bare issues in leadership, training, supply and morale, all of which have crippled the military's operational capa ... Show More

The history of Russia and Ukraine has been irrevocably entwined for centuries. When the Bolsheviks took over and Civil War erupted across the Russian Empire, Ukraine was one of the bloodiest centres of the conflict. Antisemitic pogroms and wanton violence destroyed whole communit ... Show More

This week legendary war reporter Anthony Lloyd, discusses the media coverage that has surrounded the War in Ukraine and how this conflict has differed to others when reporting from the ground. Plus the latest developments this past week are discussed, including the Nord stream ga ... Show More

A horrifying feature of the War in Ukraine has been the atrocities committed, particularly against the civilian population. Veteran war reporter Janine di Giovanni joins Patrick and Saul this week to discuss this and the work she is doing as part of the Reckoning Project.  Hosted ... Show More

It has been an eventful past week in the war in Ukraine, following the recapture of Kherson by Ukrainian forces, as well as a missile strike killing two in neighbouring NATO member state Poland. Joining Patrick and Saul to discuss all this and more is one of the most incisive com ... Show More

It's not often we cover current affairs on The Ancients (the clue is in the name), but in light of Putin’s claims that Ukraine was “entirely created by Russia”, we wanted to highlight Ukraine’s extraordinary ancient history. From the Palaeolithic to the Iron Age. To provide an ov ... Show More

Six months into Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, host Jon Fasman asks historian Orlando Figes how Russian history can help make sense of the conflict. The bestselling author explains how past myths and ideologies continue to shape Russia’s attitude to its neighbours and the West– ... Show More