logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2023
30m 35s

The North: from Bede to Lowry

IMMEDIATE MEDIA
About this episode
From the glories of early medieval Northumbria to the urban powerhouses of the industrial revolution, northern England has long had an identity of its own. In his book Northerners, Brian Groom traces the story of the North from the Ice Age to the present day. He tells Ellie Cawthorne about some of the key moments in the history of the region – and how the No ... Show More
Up next
Today
Uprising: the Civil Wars untangled
On 30 January 1649, Charles I was led on to a freshly erected scaffold outside Whitehall’s Banqueting House in London. Thousands of spectators watched in shock and awe as the king of England, Scotland and Ireland was executed as a traitor. It was the climax of one of the most des ... Show More
37 m
Yesterday
The Nazis’ crimes laid bare
When the Nazi leaders went on trial in Nuremberg from November 1945, the true horrors of their regime were exposed to the world. In the second episode of our four-part series on the trials, the lawyer and author Philippe Sands chronicles the dramatic days when the likes of Herman ... Show More
46m 30s
Nov 22
What does Hitler’s DNA really tell us?
A recent documentary drawing conclusions from new analysis of Adolf Hitler’s DNA has sparked headlines around the world. But how did the programme’s researchers get hold of the key evidence? And what issues – and implications – are prompted by linking the Nazi leader with a range ... Show More
48m 17s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2021
18. The North South Divide
England has long been divided by an invisible line somewhere north of Watford and south of the Mersey. But do northerners really have more in common with Scots and Welsh people than their fellow Englishmen in London? Dan Jackson, author of The Northumbrians and a former advisor ... Show More
55m 7s
Aug 2023
How The North Turned Christian
<p>Christianity's inroads into the pagan north of England began with the marriage of Æthelburh&nbsp;of Kent to King Edwin of Northumbria.&nbsp;A condition of their marriage was Edwin's conversion to Christianity.&nbsp;But most of the things we know about this period come from the ... Show More
43m 12s
Jun 2024
Cumbria: the forgotten Anglo-Saxon kingdom
William of Normandy sailed across the Channel and swiftly conquered England in 1066 – or at least that’s how the story goes. But, in this Long Read written by Sophie Thérèse Ambler and James Morris, we reveal how the northern stronghold of Cumbria remained untouched for another 2 ... Show More
19 m
Aug 2023
Æthelstan: First King of the English
<p>The grandson of Alfred the Great, Æthelstan the Glorious was the first&nbsp;King of England, reigning from 924 to 939. Æthelstan inherited the title King of Mercia from his father&nbsp;Edward the Elder, but was not immediately accepted as King of England. Shortly after his cro ... Show More
26m 49s
Sep 2023
Rise of the Tudors
<p>Join Dan as he rollicks through the tumultuous life and rise to power of Henry Tudor, the man who would ultimately become King Henry VII of England. Step back to the late 15th century, a period marked by conflict, political manoeuvring and alliances as a young Henry Tudor, hav ... Show More
50m 39s
Jul 2023
Jersey: Ice Age Island
<p>The largest of the Channel Islands, when you think of Jersey, it's doubtful that Neanderthals, Woolly Mammoths, and Woolly Rhinoceroses come to mind. But thanks to 20th-century excavations and advancing science in the modern age, we now know that Jersey was one of the largest ... Show More
47m 48s
Feb 2024
Origins of the Civil War
<p>The war between the Union and the Confederacy is a major turning point in the history of the United States. But why did it happen?</p><br><p>From slavery and states' rights, to economic, legislative, moral, and political issues, in this episode, Don and Professor Adam Smith ex ... Show More
34m 54s
Mar 2017
North and South
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Elizabeth Gaskell's novel North and South, published in 1855 after serialisation in Dickens' Household Words magazine. It is the story of Margaret Hale, who was raised in the South in the New Forest and London's Harley Street, and then moves North ... Show More
48m 1s
Feb 2022
The Origins of London
<p>London is today one of the greatest cities in the world, and the story of its origins is fittingly spectacular. Founded by the Romans as Londinium in around 47-50 AD, the metropolis served as a major commercial hub and indeed military target until its abandonment in the 5th ce ... Show More
1 h