Podcasts

Stonewall Jackson's Last Battle: Chancellorsville

It was Robert E. Lee's greatest strategic triumph but it came at a heavy cost - the loss of his talismanic leader and friend Stonewall Jackson...

Ancient China: The Warring States

How did ancient China plunge into 261 years of chaos, and how did that turmoil forge an empire?

Tristan Hughes is joined by Professor Andrew...

Hoaxes and Lies in the Enlightenment

How did a ghost story bring London to a standstill? Was it a haunting, a fraud, or something even more revealing about Georgian society? Why did...

How Did Japan Become A Superpower?

In the 19th century, Japan's samurai era ended, and the country transformed from a secluded feudal society into a modern industrial superpower....

The Dark Mystery of Princess Caraboo

Today we are celebrating the upcoming publication of Maddy's new book 'Hoax: Truth and Lies in the Age of Enlightenment' by sharing one of the...

Cadaver Synod: Trial of a Dead Pope

What could drive a pope to put a corpse on trial?

In 897, Rome staged one of the Middle Ages’ strangest spectacles: the Cadaver Synod,...

The Fake Princess Who Fooled Georgian England

What you'll hear in today's episode is a story that strikes to the dark heart of the British Empire.

Despite being set in the time of Jane...

A Day in the Life of a Puritan

What if we told you that puritans were actually sex-crazed? Well maybe not crazed but definitely not opposed to it.

What if we told you...

The Scandalous Life of Lord Byron

WARNING: This episode includes discussion of sexual abuse and explicit language.

He appalled and titillated Regency polite society in equal...

Royal Favourites: Robert Dudley, Elizabeth I's Forbidden Love

Passion, scandal, and power collided in the tumultuous relationship between Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley. Rumours of secret trysts between them...

The Haunting of Cock Lane

Today we are celebrating the upcoming publication of Maddy's new book 'Hoax: Truth and Lies in the Age of Enlightenment' by sharing one of the...

The Prehistoric Plague

The first ever outbreak of 'plague' - Yersinia Pestis, the most feared disease in human history - was long thought to be the Plague of...