Richard III: Good Guy or Evil Putz?

George Mallory was a member of the first three European expeditions to Everest, world’s tallest mountain. He wanted to summit it so badly, he gave his life trying. Since that fateful day in 1924, climbers have wondered – was Mallory the first to summit? Listen as Josh and Chuck e ... Show More

Hard to believe we haven't covered this one yet, but here we are. Why did the Hindenburg crash and burn? We still don't really know.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

Strange but true, actor Tippi Hedron kickstsarted the Vietnamese manicure industry in the United States in the 1970s. This is that story. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

Who’s to blame for Hamlet? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) welcomes back Adam Lustick to discuss the events that transpire in the Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet. Arguably Shakespeare’s greatest work, there’s hardly a main character left standing by the time it’s ove ... Show More

Playwright William Shakespeare is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential writers in the English language, and his plays have been read or performed millions of times around the world. He was also quite prolific: Between about 1590 and 1613, Shakespeare wrote at least ... Show More

Love him or hate him, Richard III is a king that has captured people’s imaginations ever since his death on the battlefield at Bosworth. This week, Danièle speaks with Chris Skidmore about the man he calls England’s most controversial king. If you like the podcast and Medievalist ... Show More

Nearly four centuries after his death, no writer has come close to matching Shakespeare’s understanding of the world – or his gift for dramatic poetry. It’s not just kings and queens that he captured so uniquely in his transcendent verse. Shakespeare analysed the human condition, ... Show More

It is a truth universally acknowledged that tragedy is one of the world's highest art forms, and that Shakespeare was one of the form's greatest practitioners. But how did he do it? What models did he have to draw upon, and where did he innovate? In this episode, Jacke talks to S ... Show More

Macbeth, Act Two, Scene Two. In the inaugural episode of Professing Literature we examine a conversation held in the aftermath of one of literature’s most famous murders. Macbeth has just stabbed a king to gain a throne he will never sit upon securely. His tense exchange of words ... Show More

Three generations of the Bamber family died in the family farmhouse in August 1985, in a case which came to be called the White House Farm Murders, one of the most notorious crimes in modern British history. Was it a murder/suicide? Or just straight-up murder? Thirty years later, ... Show More

Why has Shakespeare become such a cultural hero?