Podcasts

Normal Women with Philippa Gregory

Did women really do nothing to shape England’s culture and traditions through centuries of turmoil, plague, famine and religious reform? In...

The Venerable Bede

Bede, whose name towers over early medieval English literature, is often referred to as the “father of English history.” He calculated the...

Gladiators in Britain

When you think of Gladiators you tend to think of Roman Amphitheatres, Hollywood films, and probably not Colchester in the UK. But thanks to the...

England's Greatest Monarchs with David Mitchell

David Mitchell joins Dan in today's episode to ask the all-important question - who was England's greatest monarch? From the 'overrated' William...

Achilles

This episode contains themes of a sexual nature

Achilles is one of the greatest heroes in Greek mythology. The son of Peleus, a Greek King,...

Sex: The Medieval Rules

Given that the medieval period covers the best part of 1000 years, there's a fair amount of sexual myth and beliefs to get through.

How...

Suleyman the Magnificent

The Lion House is a riveting new book from journalist and historian Christopher De Bellaigue, written like a novel that tells the dramatic story...

The American Buffalo with Ken Burns

'It's one of those threads you pull on and immediately you're connected to the whole fabric of American history.'

The American Buffalo,...

The Habsburgs

How did an obscure Swiss family grow in power to gain control of the Holy Roman Empire in the 15th century? How did they manage to then take in a...

How Shakespeare Depicted Race

In the same way that Shakespeare’s women characters were performed by boys in female costume, African, Middle Eastern, Hispanic and Jewish roles...

The Palace of the Golden Gate

Alongside the Great Mosque, the palace was the first structure built in Baghdad. Let’s imagine this…

You’re a new visitor, you’ve...

The Caravanserai

Let’s take a jaunt to an ancient structure that made all of medieval Baghdad possible, the caravanserai or funduq. Originally built by the...