In the latest episode of History Behind the Headlines, Hannah Skoda and Rana Mitter are joined by award-winning journalist and producer Kavita Puri to discuss the history of famine, and the challenges of tackling the contentious legacies of events such as the 1943 Bengal Famine – the subject of her new series Three Million, available now on BBC Sounds, BBC R ... Show More
Yesterday
Bess of Hardwick: life of the week
Bess of Hardwick fell out spectacularly with Mary, Queen of Scots and was dumped in the Tower of London by Elizabeth I. Yet nothing could get in the way of this extraordinary social climber. In this episode, Tracy Borman tells Spencer Mizen about a woman who accrued vast wealth, ... Show More
34m 45s
Jul 19
Alliance and acrimony: a history of Jewish-Muslim relations
From Islam’s emergence in the early medieval period, Muslims have been deeply connected with the followers of another faith: Judaism. In conversation with James Osborne, historian Marc David Baer examines the long relationship between these two religions and their communities, tr ... Show More
43m 15s
Jul 2024
171. The Bengal Famine: Chaos in Calcutta
By 1943, the price of rice was beyond unaffordable for most in Bengal, and people were dying in the streets. Despite government censorship of letters, news spread about the famine and the tide turned with the introduction of a new Viceroy. Yet when aid eventually did arrive from ... Show More
43m 51s
Jul 2024
Three Million: 7. Live show
The BBC’s Yogita Limaye speaks to Kavita Puri, the creator and presenter of Three Million, to explore how the series was made, and how she went about tracking down eye-witnesses to the Bengal Famine of 1943. They are joined by author and historian Srimanjari and ‘memory collector ... Show More
49m 42s
Apr 2025
Stories We Don't Tell: Realities of Surviving the Great Hunger
The history of the Great Hunger is often recounted through statistics and impersonal narratives. There are many reasons for this, but one significant factor is that many survivors were reluctant to share their stories of survival. In this episode, based on letters from the 1840s, ... Show More
37 m
Jul 2021
Trailer: Short History Of...
Each week, Short History Of... gives you a front-row seat as history’s most extraordinary moments play out right before you.
You’ll be up close with the gladiators and the Mongols, unearthing the Terracotta Army, setting sail in Blackbeard’s pirate ship, watching on as the Cold W ... Show More
1m 59s