From ancient empires to modern metropolises, what do rivers tell us about the way humans build, worship, and fight for their worlds?
In this episode, historian Vanessa Taylor joins host Caroline Dodds Pennock to explore the powerful role rivers have played in shaping human history, culture, and identity. Drawing from her new book, Seven Rivers, Vanessa take ... Show More
Today
Is it Game Over for Keir Starmer? Martin Wolf for The Intelligence Squared Economic Outlook 2026 (Part One)
2025 has been an unprecedented year. Donald Trump’s tariff war, conflicts in the Middle East, Sudan and Ukraine, and breakneck innovation in AI have put enormous pressure on the existing world order. Now 2026 is set to be another test of resilience for the global economy. All eye ... Show More
36m 58s
Feb 13
Fascism, Exile, and Redefining Home in the 21st Century, with Ece Temelkuran
What does it mean to belong when the very idea of home is under threat? In this episode we’re joined by award-winning author and political thinker Ece Temelkuran. Forced into exile for her critical views of President Erdoğan, Temelkuran has long signalled the alarm that fascism t ... Show More
43m 43s
Feb 11
Why Changing How You Breathe Can Transform Your Health, with James Nestor
Each of us takes on average 25,000 breaths a day. Yet, as a species we have lost the ability to breathe correctly – and this has consequences for our health. That’s the argument of bestselling author James Nestor who has travelled the world to explore how ancient cultures used br ... Show More
38m 46s
Jul 2025
How the Horse Changed the World: Interview with Author David Chaffetz
<p>David Chaffetz, author of the recent and truly outstanding book Raiders, Rulers, and Traders: The Horse and the Rise of Empires, joins Tides to talk about the long and intertwined history of horses and people in Central Asia and beyond. The trade in horses, not silks and spice ... Show More
40m 8s
Sep 2025
A fossil, a hat and a T-Rex
Catherine gets an invigorating lesson on the corner of Bedford Square, in London’s Bloomsbury.---Named 'Podcast of the Year' by Radio Times and picked as 'Best Podcasts of the Year 2023' by the Financial Times, Observer, Pod Bible and The Week. ---The conversations that follow ar ... Show More
9m 25s
Jul 2025
A delivery, a stream and a very precise walk.
Catherine is up with the sparrows to talk to people starting the week with work and some good intentions. ---Named 'Podcast of the Year' by Radio Times and picked as 'Best Podcasts of the Year 2023' by the Financial Times, Observer, Pod Bible and The Week. ---The conversations th ... Show More
11m 32s
Feb 2025
279: Finding Aubrey: Langtang National Park
In April of 2010, a young woman from Colorado was living her dream in Asia. At the tail end of her five month solo journey to the continent, Aubrey Sacco elected to embark on a week long trek within Langtang National Park, a place known for its welcoming teahouses, ancient monast ... Show More
56m 59s
Sep 2025
Alexander's Successors and the Danube Frontier
<p>While Alexander the Great's successors were fighting over control of his empire, Celtic-speaking migrants were moving east along the Danube River, mostly unseen and unnoticed by the Greeks to their south. The Macedonian kings should've been paying more attention, because soon, ... Show More
41m 9s
Jun 2025
A cup of coffee, a grandpa and an A lister
Catherine and Pepper talk family and celebrity on a summery walk to Grantchester.---Named 'Podcast of the Year' by Radio Times and picked as 'Best Podcasts of the Year 2023' by the Financial Times, Observer, Pod Bible and The Week. ---The conversations that follow are always unpr ... Show More
10m 57s
Jun 2025
Some eyelashes, some sequins and a lot of pride
Catherine’s Lincoln night out draws to a close with a beautiful chat about identity and pride.---Named 'Podcast of the Year' by Radio Times and picked as 'Best Podcasts of the Year 2023' by the Financial Times, Observer, Pod Bible and The Week. ---The conversations that follow ar ... Show More
11m 33s
Oct 2025
Kathryn Hurlock, "Holy Places: How Pilgrimage Changed the World" (Profile, 2025)
This year, as they have for millennia, many people around the world will set out on pilgrimages. But these are not only journeys of personal and spiritual devotion - they are also political acts, affirmations of identity and engagements with deep-rooted historical narratives. In ... Show More
55m 7s