As broadcaster and natural historian David Attenborough celebrates his 100th birthday, Amy Matthews explores how Britain learned to observe, record and make sense of the living world and why those early questions about nature still matter today.
Beginning at Down House, the family home of Charles Darwin, this episode explores how natural history was shaped ... Show More
Apr 30
Northumberland: the story of Norham Castle
On the banks of the River Tweed, where England meets Scotland, Norham Castle has stood watch over one of Britain’s most contested landscapes for centuries. But beyond the sieges, treaties and shifting borders lies a more human story. In this episode, Amy Matthews explores a world ... Show More
34m 15s
Apr 16
Northumberland: castles and the borderlands of power
A stone knight, an emerging frontier and a story of shifting identity: this time, Amy and her guests explore how the Anglo-Scottish border began to evolve in the centuries following the Norman Conquest, right through to a critical 1237 treaty. English Heritage’s Will Wyeth and Pr ... Show More
50m 20s
Jul 2019
Rachel B. Herrmann, "No Useless Mouth: Waging War and Fighting Hunger in the American Revolution" (Cornell UP, 2019)
When the British explored the Atlantic coast of America in the 1580s, their relations with indigenous peoples were structured by food. The newcomers, unable to sustain themselves through agriculture, relied on the local Algonquian people for resources. This led to tension, and th ... Show More
43m 28s
Feb 2025
The Rise of Modern Hydroponics
<p>The practice of growing plants in water rather than soil isn't new, though early examples are difficult to substantiate. In the 1930s, hydroponic plant culture made headlines, but the field also had conflict among researchers.</p> <p>Research:</p> <ul> <li>Bacon, Francis. &ldq ... Show More
41m 14s
Jul 2024
The Mighty Ashanti: Rival to the British Empire
<p>At the end of the 17th century, a small clan - the Akan - in West Africa began growing into what would later become the powerful Ashanti Empire. The state grew rapidly in both wealth and land until it spanned most of modern day Ghana, the Ivory Coast, and Togo. </p> ... Show More
29m 42s