On 16 September 1890, inventor Louis Le Prince boarded a train to Paris and vanished without a trace. In his book The Man Who Invented Motion Pictures, Paul Fischer explores his life and disappearance. Speaking to Ellie Cawthorne, he delves into the many theories about what may have happened Le Prince – from an accident or mugging, to murder by his rival Tho ... Show More
Yesterday
The hidden history behind Mount Rushmore
Mount Rushmore is one of the most iconic images in US history – but its story is far more complex and controversial than that of a simple sculpture. In this episode, historian Matthew Davis joins Elinor Evans to discuss his latest book, A Biography of a Mountain, which delves int ... Show More
40m 29s
Mar 3
Juana Inés de la Cruz: life of the week
She led “a life that really, in many ways, shouldn't have been possible”. So says historian Paul Gillingham of Juana Inés de la Cruz. This 17th-century polymath and nun challenged a host of social conventions – earning, through her extraordinary books and poems, a place in the pa ... Show More
30m 40s
Dec 2023
400. Victorian Britain's Maddest Mystery
In 1854, the twenty-five year old aristocrat Roger Tichborne, heir to an impressive fortune, died in a shipwreck ....Or did he? His mother, certain of her son’s survival, advertised extensively with a tantalising reward for her son’s return. Twenty years later a rough, corpulent ... Show More
45m 35s
Jan 2024
411. The Man in the Iron Mask
In the late 17th century, during the glorious reign of Louis XIV, the Sun King, France was at its apogee, with royal absolutism at its zenith. But, beneath the gold and glamour of Louis’ reign, there lay a terrifying darkness: a prison system into which people could be disappeare ... Show More
48m 25s