The Olympic Games

Where do we come from? The origins of modern humans stretch back hundreds of thousands of years, and new discoveries are reshaping how we understand our species’ story. In this episode, recorded on location at London’s Natural History Museum, Tristan Hughes speaks with Professor ... Show More

Known as the 'King of the World' and the last great king of Assyria, Ashurbanipal bestrode the ancient Mesopotamian world as a warrior but also a scholar, ruling the great Assyrian empire at the height of its power.In this episode, Tristan Hughes is joined by Assyriologist Dr Sel ... Show More

The Huns weren’t just Attila’s warriors in Europe — in Central Asia, the White Huns built the most powerful Hunnic empire, ruling for a century and dominating the ancient Silk Roads.While the European Huns fought Rome, the White Huns commanded trade routes, overthrew kingdoms, an ... Show More

Olympias is known for being the mother of Alexander the Great and for being Very Fond Of Snakes. She was subject to centuries of slander by the historians who followed her - but in this episode, we right some of the wrongs, give you some context for her actions, and reveal her co ... Show More

The first Olympics took place in the sixth century in order to build diplomacy across the Greek world. Learn more about the history of the first Olympics in this HowStuffWorks.com podcast. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/ ... Show More

In 1896 the Olympic Games were reborn in Athens. Here we look at the forgotten tales and little known facts from the start of the modern Olympics through to the outbreak of the Second World War. Tom tells us about the greatest race of all time, whilst Dominic reveals he is somewh ... Show More

The Olympic Games  Join us today as we learn about how the Olympic Games, which are held every four years, got their start and have changed over the years. Sources:  https://www.britannica.com/sports/Olympic-Games/Munich-West-Germany-1972 https://www.history.com/this-day-in-histo ... Show More

The Olympics originated in Ancient Greece, and were resurrected in the 1890's after a 1,500 year ban. Since then, the International Olympic Committee has been behind every Olympic Games. In this episode, we explore the story of how the IOC turned the Olympics into a huge commerci ... Show More

Rediffusion Les Jeux Olympiques trouvent leurs origines dans la Grèce antique, où ils étaient un festival sportif et religieux dédié à Zeus, le roi des dieux. Les premiers Jeux Olympiques ont eu lieu en 776 av. J.-C. à Olympie, une petite ville située dans le Péloponnèse, au sud- ... Show More

The 1904 St. Louis Olympics were marred by controversy and poorly organized events like the marathon. But at least they took place as scheduled. In 1916, after the outbreak of World War I, they were canceled entirely. A century later, in 2020, the Olympics faced another kind of t ... Show More

With the Games underway in Tokyo, Tom and Dominic look back to the Ancient Olympics. They discuss the heroic but incredibly violent stories of the Greek superstars of 2500 years ago, and why the Games were bad news for women, animals and cheats. Plus, Tom reveals how his cricketi ... Show More

In 1904, the U.S. hosted its first Olympics. It had a host of problems. But the event that was the most dangerous for athletes was the marathon. Research: Abbott, Karen. “The 1904 Olympic Marathon May Have Been the Strangest Ever.” Smithsonian. Aug. 7, 2012. https://www.smithsoni ... Show More

In the late 1800s, European fascination with the culture of ancient Greece, and a growing interest in physical education and fitness, led to the idea of resurrecting the Olympic Games of antiquity. A French nobleman named Pierre de Coubertin took up the cause, and under his leade ... Show More