Yesterday

Being disabled in the medieval era

Prosthetic legs, wheelbarrow wheelchairs and guide… children? Those were just some of the assistive technologies and body augmentations available to our medieval and early modern ancestors. In this episode, Rae Gillibrand highlights how bodily difference was understood in this pr ... Show More

45m 39s

Oct 6

Vanilla: a far from ordinary history

It's now often used as an adjective for anything standard, plain, and borderline boring – but the history of vanilla is anything but. Eric T Jennings – whose book Vanilla: The History of an Extraordinary Bean is among the titles shortlisted for the 2026 Cundill History Prize – te ... Show More

37m 11s

Oct 5

Ancient explosives and the philosopher's stone: a history of alchemy

Think of alchemy, and you likely imagine bubbling vials of strange potions and molten metals. But how close is this popular perception to the truth? That’s the question behind historian and adventurer Kit Chapman’s latest book, The Age of Alchemy, which was recently announced as ... Show More

35m 46s

Feb 2021

This Land Is Whose Land?

When Simon Winchester takes on a big subject, he takes on a big subject. His new book, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/22/books/review/land-simon-winchester.html" target="_blank">“Land: How the Hunger for Ownership Shaped the Modern World,”</a> travels through ... Show More

1h 1m

Sep 2023

The Dig: Long Land War w/ Jo Guldi

Featuring Jo Guldi on the global history of the long land war—a war over everything from agrarian reform to tenant rights, from India and China to England and Ireland, from the late 19th century through the present—and into the future. Support The Dig at <a href="htt ... Show More

2h 19m

Sep 2018

Vol 1 Ep 12 - Hunter-gatherers

A look back at our changing diet and the ways and means in which we had to evolve ourselves and our technologies to succeed in the ever changing and differing environments of the world.

39m 23s

Sep 2018

Vol 1 Ep 15 - The origin of agriculture

We try to unravel the mystery of the human transition from the success of nomadic hunter-gathering, to the laborious risks of sedentary agriculture and farming.

39m 49s

Mar 2022

The Enclosures

The enclosure of the commons was a centuries-long process. Gradually, through a combination of legal degrees and private acts, the land across Britain moved from a system of open field system to larger, enclosed farms. This was a transformative political, social and agricultur ... Show More

29m 53s

Oct 2020

Trailer

Hosted by historians Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook, The Rest is History dives deep into history's most dramatic moments and fascinating figures - exploring the stories of great empires, epic battles, and world-changing events. From the rise and fall of the Roman Empire to the ... Show More

4m 46s

Apr 2023

EP25 The Long View

Dan tries focusing a much wider historical lens on perennial human issues like war, land ownership, immigration, ethnicity, environmental worries and the double-edged sword that is human inventiveness. 1. Agricola and Germania by Tacitus 2. A Most Dangerous Book: Tacitus's German ... Show More

1h 12m

May 2024

The Atomic Bomb & Civil War Cigars: Greatest 'What Ifs' from History

We think of history as a neat chain of predictable events; but what if the truth is far wilder than that? Today, we're talking about the pivotal forces of randomness and chance, and how tiny moments can change the course of our human story. Dan is joined by Brian Kla ... Show More

29m 28s

Jan 2011

1.1 Change and Calamity

This is the story of late antique Britain. How in the 3rd to 5th centuries, Britain went through two waves of economic dislocation and transformation, that changed the face of British society.For maps, resources, transcripts or to become a member, head for https://thehistoryofeng ... Show More

33m 22s

How our hunger for land shaped history