In the middle of the first world war, a group of artists, poets, and philosophers created an artistic and intellectual movement in response to the war.
While the movement itself didn’t last very long, its legacy of it laid the foundation for modern art in the 20th century, and can still be seen in modern art today.
Learn more about Dadaism, what it was, and ... Show More
Today
The Trial of Galileo Galilei
In 1633, one of the greatest minds in Europe stood before a tribunal, not for a crime of violence or treason, but for an idea. Galileo Galilei had looked to the heavens and reached a conclusion that challenged centuries of accepted belief. What followed was a confrontation betwee ... Show More
15m 25s
Yesterday
Julius Caesar's Quadruple Triumph
In 46 BC, after 12 years away, Julius Caesar finally returned home to Rome. A lot had changed since he was last there. The entire Roman system had been upended, and he was now the man on top. To celebrate his homecoming, he did something that had never been done before or since. ... Show More
14m 7s
May 2
Horse Racing: From Ancient Chariots to the Modern Track
For thousands of years, humans have gathered to watch horses run. What began as tests of speed and endurance on ancient plains evolved into chariot races before roaring crowds, royal competitions in medieval courts, and eventually a global sport worth billions. Along the way, it ... Show More
14m 25s
Aug 2023
Episode #116: Modern Love--Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, Part 1
This season, I’m rounding up stories about modern artists in love, in lust, in relationships— digging into these individuals, see how their liaisons, marriages, affairs, and connections played in or on their respective works of art, and how, if anything, they affected art history ... Show More
32m 15s
Oct 2024
The speech that inspired the Law of the Sea
In November 1967, the Maltese diplomat, Arvid Pardo, addressed the United Nations with a remarkable speech that shaped the laws governing the sea.Pardo's message is immortalised in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which was adopted in 1982, and is now the fund ... Show More
9m 9s
Mar 2025
Fiction and the Fantastic: ‘Invisible Cities’ by Italo Calvino
Italo Calvino’s novella Invisible Cities is a hypnagogic reimagining of Marco Polo’s time in the court of Kublai Khan. Polo describes 55 impossible places – cities made of plumbing, free-floating, overwhelmed by rubbish, buried underground – that reveal something true about every ... Show More
16m 20s
Aug 2025
The Olmec: Mother of Mesoamerican Civilisations
Iconic monumental stone heads, the intriguing Lord of Las Limas, the enigmatic 'were-jaguar' figures, so much survives from the ancient Olmec civilisation.Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr. Jillian Mollenhauer to unravel the Olmec's sophisticated artistry, the symbolic significance ... Show More
1h 8m