What can the fall of Rome teach us about the decline of the west today? That’s the question at the centre of political economist John Rapley and historian Peter Heather’s new book Why Empires Fall. Peter and John join Ellie Cawthorne to discuss comparisons – and differences – between the two cases, and explore whether lessons from the ancient past could be a ... Show More
Yesterday
The captain's wife who took command
In the middle of the 19th century, the world's fastest ships raced across oceans carrying cargo, and the fortunes of ambitious young sea captains. In this episode, author Tilar J Mazzeo explores one voyage that produced an unlikely maritime legend. Speaking to Elinor Evans, Mazze ... Show More
46m 9s
Jul 7
What could you eat in Georgian London?
Much of what was eaten by inhabitants of Georgian London is, perhaps surprisingly, familiar to us today. In this episode, Peter Ross takes Lauren Good on a culinary journey through the city – from people pocketing baked potatoes on their way home in the small hours to explaining ... Show More
45m 29s
Jul 6
Pablo Picasso: life of the week
From his birth in 1881 to his death in 1973, Pablo Picasso lived a life as revolutionary as his art. A child prodigy who transformed modern art, his story is one of genius, reinvention, scandal and relentless creativity. In this episode, Danny Bird speaks to Sue Roe about the pas ... Show More
43m 33s
Aug 2020
The Fall of the Roman Empire
In 476, the last of the Roman emperors in the West was deposed; in 1776, historian Edward Gibbon wrote “The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”, and Rome’s fate became a major point of comparison for all empires. In Gibbon's view, instead of inquiring why the Rom ... Show More
39m 40s
Mar 2022
157. Byzantium and the Ghosts of Rome
What happened to the Roman Empire after its fall?
In the second of two episodes, Tom and Dominic discuss where Rome endured, how its ghost still haunts 21st century geopolitics, and which member of the British Royal Family Tom thinks is the last true Roman!
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48m 19s
Feb 2022
156. When did the Roman Empire fall?
Tom and Dominic explore what Edward Gibbon called “the greatest, perhaps, and most awful scene in the history of mankind”: the decline and fall of the Roman Empire.
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54m 11s