“At our first salutation he drank damnation to me and my men who styled cowardly puppies saying he would neither give nor take quarter…”
By the end of November 1717 Blackbeard had become one of the most feared pirates of his age. Having declared war upon the British empire in revenge for his imprisoned brethren in Boston, he reigned down violence and destru ... Show More
Feb 26
337. Bronze Age Apocalypse: Philistines, Israelites, & Rebuilding The Ruins (Ep 6)
How did the Phoenicians create the alphabet we still use today? Was the Bronze Age collapse comparable to the fall of Rome? What does DNA evidence tell us about the origins of the Philistines and Israelites? William is joined by Professor Eric Cline, author of 1177 B.C.: The Year ... Show More
56m 47s
Aug 2024
488. Hundred Years' War: The Road to Agincourt (Part 2)
On the 11th of August 1415, King Henry V of England - an austere, pious, thoughtful and terrifying warlord in only his late-twenties - set sail for France. He embarked in the largest ship ever built on English soil at the head of some 15,000 ships, his nobles, brothers and hordes ... Show More
51m 38s
Mar 2025
550. The Road to 1066: Rise of the Normans (Part 3)
Born into a world of treachery, violence and death, William of Normandy defied all expectations, forging a legacy that lasts to this day. Born out of wedlock and dismissed as an upstart, he was originally known as William the Bastard. Inheriting the Duchy of Normandy at just eigh ... Show More
57m 42s
Nov 2024
516. Nelson: God of War (Part 3)
Valentine’s day, 1797: the British Royal Navy are hoping for a decisive clash with the Spanish enemy, off the coast of Portugal, at Cape St. Vincent. Nelson has already narrowly avoided capture at the hands of the Spanish, after sailing through their fleet unnoticed, thanks to th ... Show More
38m 32s
Sep 2024
489. Hundred Years' War: Bloodbath at Agincourt (Part 3)
“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers”.
The Battle of Agincourt in 1415 endures as perhaps the most totemic battle in the whole of English history. Thanks in part to Shakespeare’s masterful Henry V, the myths and legends of that bloody day echo across time, forever enshrini ... Show More
54m 10s
Oct 2025
611. Nelson: Bonaparte Prepares to Strike (Part 4)
With Britain at war for more than eight long years, and her people depleted and hungry, how did her government react to the news that Napoleon Bonaparte was planning a full-scale invasion in 1801? What happened when Nelson tried to attack the French at Boulogne, and what was the ... Show More
1h 9m
Sep 2024
490. Hundred Years' War: England Triumphant (Part 4)
St Crispin’s day, 1415: Henry V stands victorious, after a tremendous defeat of the French forces at the Battle of Agincourt. He is just about to make a historic speech which will be retold by Shakespeare nearly two centuries later. There are mounds of bodies, too many dead for t ... Show More
55m 6s
Feb 2025
539. Horror in the Congo: The Crimes of Empire (Part 2)
“A secret society of murderers with a king for a ringleader”.
In 1885 King Leopold of Belgium; an awkward, ruthless, selfish man, was recognised as the sovereign of the Congo. Long determined to carve out his very own private colonial domain, he had alighted upon the Congo - Afr ... Show More
58m 59s
Feb 2025
538. Horror in the Congo: The Nightmare Begins (Part 1)
The story of King Leopold of Belgium’s brutal regime in the Congo Free State, during the late 19th century, is one of the darkest and most important in global history. It is a story of horror - the murky depths of the human soul pushed to its primal limits, European colonialism a ... Show More
1h 3m