What did Victorians get up to on the beach? When did fish and chips first become popular? And what’s the dark story behind Punch and Judy? It’s time to grab your bucket and spade, because for our latest Everything You Wanted to Know episode we’re taking a jolly holiday back through the history of the British seaside with Dr Kathryn Ferry. Speaking to Charlot ... Show More
Today
Elizabeth’s enemies: plots, rivals and the Spanish Armada
Elizabeth I’s reign was defined by constant threat, both at home and abroad. In this third episode of our four-part Sunday Series on the Tudor monarch, Rachel Dinning is joined by historian Nicola Tallis to examine the rivals and conspiracies that endangered the queen's security ... Show More
31m 57s
Mar 20
Britain and the looted African gold
In the 1870s, British troops invaded the African kingdom of Asante, razed its capital, prowled its palace and plundered its exquisite golden treasures. In this episode, Barnaby Phillips tells Spencer Mizen about the fate of the Asante gold – and explores the decades-long campaign ... Show More
39m 38s
Mar 18
The devastating Jewish revolt against the Roman empire
It was under the rule of the infamous emperor Nero that the Great Revolt, the first of the Jewish-Roman wars, began, sparking many decades of continuous conflict. Speaking to James Osborne, historian and author Barry Strauss traces the story, following the the fate of the Jewish ... Show More
47m 37s
Aug 2022
222. Victorian Holidays
The birth of guide books, resorts, and the package holiday.
In the second episode in our holidays series Tom and Dominic drill down into the story of Thomas Cook, package tours, and nightmarish German spa treatments.
The third holidays episode, 'Sun, Sea and Sex', will be out o ... Show More
52m 37s
Jul 2017
Introducing Tides of History
<p>History does not repeat itself, but it does rhyme, said Mark Twain. From the fall of the Roman Empire to the rise of the modern world: history ebbs and flows over the centuries, driven by great tides of economic, social, political, religious, and cultural change that shap ... Show More
1m 49s