The music of the past can tell us a great deal about the time in which it was created - from societal trends to political affiliations. As part of the '100 Ballads' project, Professor Christopher Marsh and Dr Angela McShane have identified 100 of the biggest musical hits from 17th-century England. They speak to Charlotte Hodgman about the popularity of these ... Show More
Jun 28
The astonishing laws of medieval Wales
From divorce settlements and cattle disputes to surprisingly modern ideas about gender and compensation, the laws of Hywel Dda shed unique light on how society functioned, in a turbulent age of rival princes and conquest. Speaking to Elinor Evans, legal historian Sara Elin Robert ... Show More
45m 39s
Oct 2023
Dick Whittington: London’s golden boy
Over the past 200 years, Dick Whittington has become one of Britain’s best-loved pantomime heroes. Yet, as today’s long read explores, the real-life story that inspired Dick’s rags to riches tale is even more remarkable than the fiction. Based on his interview with author Michael ... Show More
17m 37s
Jul 2017
Introducing Tides of History
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 shape the wo ... Show More
1m 49s
Mar 2024
Transgender & Non-Binary Royals & Nobles
Throughout history, across cultures and in every walk of life, there have always been people whose identity went beyond the two-gender mold. And those who do not fit the gender assigned to them at birth. Though people in the past did not often have the concepts, terminology or re ... Show More
30m 24s