In August 1911, an Italian handyman walked out of Paris' Louvre museum with the Mona Lisa tucked under his arm. It was an audacious theft that shocked the art world, aroused the attention of the world's greatest detectives and even saw Picasso eyed with suspicion. Speaking to Charlotte Hodgman, Dr Noah Charney separates fact from fiction in the story of what ... Show More
Today
A poetic history of England
How can you do justice to the story of 1,300 years of English history? Through verse, according to cultural historian Catherine Clarke – whose latest book is A History of England in 25 Poems. She takes Lauren Good on a poetic journey through time, exploring how it could be used f ... Show More
40m 17s
Mar 4
The hidden history behind Mount Rushmore
Mount Rushmore is one of the most iconic images in US history – but its story is far more complex and controversial than that of a simple sculpture. In this episode, historian Matthew Davis joins Elinor Evans to discuss his latest book, A Biography of a Mountain, which delves int ... Show More
40m 29s
Mar 3
Juana Inés de la Cruz: life of the week
She led “a life that really, in many ways, shouldn't have been possible”. So says historian Paul Gillingham of Juana Inés de la Cruz. This 17th-century polymath and nun challenged a host of social conventions – earning, through her extraordinary books and poems, a place in the pa ... Show More
30m 40s
Aug 2024
The Man Who Stole the Mona Lisa (Replay)
HISTORY This Week returns with new episodes starting September 16th! In the meantime, listen to a favorite classic from the archives.
August 21, 1911. On a Monday morning, a department store employee on a Paris street sees a man hurrying by. He carries a white-wrapped package an ... Show More
31m 30s
Mar 2025
Uncovering the Louvre’s Hidden Stories
The Louvre is among the largest, most-visited, and best-known museums in the world, and for nearly too many reasons to count. It’s home to some of the most celebrated works of art, from the Venus de Milo to the Mona Lisa. Its blended contemporary and historic architecture is asto ... Show More
34m 43s
Nov 2024
Leonardo da Vinci with Ken Burns
<p>Leonardo da Vinci was a man like no other. A restless visionary and polymath, his paintings are some of the best known of all works of art.</p><br><p>To talk about Leonardo, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Ken Burns, the multi-award winning American filmmaker who has ... Show More
39m 26s
Aug 2024
Two Cops Walk Into a Museum: The Story of America’s Greatest Art Heist
In 1990, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston was the site of a major art heist, where two thieves disguised as police officers gained entry and stole 13 pieces of art valued at around $500 million. Among the stolen works was "The Concert" by Vermeer, one of only 34 know ... Show More
34m 12s
Apr 2024
The history of art heists
Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.It's 30 years since Edvard Munch’s painting, The Scream, was stolen from the national gallery in Oslo, Norway. We hear from the man who helped to recover it.Our expert guest is hi ... Show More
50m 59s