logo
episode-header-image
Oct 1
46m 49s

Inside Venice’s Jewish ghetto

Immediate
About this episode
In the early 16th century, Venice confined its Jewish population to a restricted quarter on an island in the city. It was the first settlement to bear the name 'ghetto' – a word that would go on to shape the history of Jewish persecution and segregation. Alexander Lee explores this history in his book The First Ghetto, which is a finalist for the 2026 Cundi ... Show More
Up next
Sep 29
WW2's bloody battle for Arakan
In 1944, the Allies unleashed an offensive in Burma – a brutal campaign spearheaded by 3 Commando Brigade alongside the Indian and West African troops of XV Corps. Against a ruthless enemy and in one of the world’s most unforgiving environments, these men launched daring amphibio ... Show More
37m 43s
Sep 28
The Bayeux Tapestry: secrets of the stitchers
Mia Hansson has spent 10 years making an exact replica of the Bayeux Tapestry. In conversation with Dave Musgrove, she explains what her modern remake experience can teach us about the women who made the original artefact in the 11th century, and the secrets she has spotted in he ... Show More
32m 15s
Sep 27
How Henry VII seized – and kept – the crown
Henry VII is often remembered as a cold, calculating and penny-pinching monarch whose relentless pursuit of an ever-tightening grip on the throne overshadowed his achievements. But how fair is that reputation? And what can the real history behind this popular perception tell us a ... Show More
48m 50s
Recommended Episodes
Jul 2023
Episode 271 - Twilight Cities with Katherine Pangonis
I talk to Katherine Pangonis about her new book - Twilight Cities: Lost Capitals of the Mediterranean. In it she travels to Tyre, Carthage, Syracuse, Ravenna and Antioch to tell their stories and experience what remains.It's a fantastic book for those who want to learn more about ... Show More
45m 55s
Aug 2024
Medieval Life During Plague & War
When so much of history is written by men, Margaret Paston's letters offer us a rare insight into the life of a woman and the world around her in 15th century England.How did she cope with waves of plague wiping out her town? What did she do when the War of the Roses reached her ... Show More
40m 42s
Jul 2023
Kate Mosse, writer
Kate Mosse OBE is a British novelist and broadcaster. She is the author of ten novels and short story collections, including The Joubert Family Chronicles and the best-selling Languedoc Trilogy. She has also written four works of non-fiction including her memoir about caring, An ... Show More
38m 16s
Aug 2024
Life Lessons From Historical Women
When women's stories aren't being flat-out ignored from the history books, they can often be sidelined.Well not here! Joining Kate today is the comedian and author of Life Lessons from Historical Women, Eleanor Morton, to share some of her favourite stories of inspirational women ... Show More
35m 48s
Aug 2023
Cities of Women: Christine de Pizan with Dr. Kathleen B. Jones
Dr. Kathleen B. Jones joins us on the podcast to discuss not only her new book, CITIES OF WOMEN, but also to dive into the life of literary and artistic icon Christine de Pizan (1364/65-1431). Listen to our conversation to hear how Christine became not only the first professional ... Show More
51m 41s
Nov 2024
Could Shakespeare have been a woman? with Jodi Picoult
<p>Join us as we time-travel through our bookshelves as we recommend must-read historical fiction in answer to your reading requests. Plus, bestselling author Jodi Picoult shares her theory on the true author behind Shakespeare's plays that inspired her new novel, <em>By Any Othe ... Show More
42m 35s
Dec 2024
How Did People Smell in Medieval Times?
Accessing stories from the past can be difficult, but how do we access smells from the past?In today's episode, Kate is joined by Eleanor Jackson, curator of a new British Library exhibition, Mediaeval Women In Their Own Words, which features original texts about, and by, women f ... Show More
44m 17s
Sep 2025
#123 Candida Moss - Were Early Christians Really Persecuted by Rome?
Candida Moss is a historian of Christianity and author of The Myth of Persecution: How Early Christians Invented a Story of Martyrdom. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 
1h 21m
Apr 2021
Stephanie Dray - THE WOMEN OF CHATEAU LAFAYETTE
Stephanie and I discuss The Women of Chateau Lafayette, writing three timelines and weaving them together, what she discovered while researching one of the characters for this novel that required her to rewrite the book several times, the highlight of writing the story, the chara ... Show More
23m 16s
Oct 2024
Home Truths
This week, Oonagh Devitt Tremblay is intrigued by the multiple voices in Sarah Moss's new memoir; and Lucy Dallas speaks to artist William Kentridge.'My Good Bright Wolf', by Sarah Moss'Self-Portrait as a Coffee-Pot', by William Kentridge, streaming on Mubi Produced by Charlotte ... Show More
37m 34s