Activity Overview
Episode publication activity over the past year
RIHC: Disney's Legacy, with Bob Iger
07 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What’s the first question people at Disney ask themselves when they have a great idea? How does Bo...
615. Disneyland: The Modern American Utopia
06 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why is Disneyland one of the most influential architectural creations of the 21st century? How did t...
614. Walt Disney: The Great American Storyteller
03 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How did Walt Disney come to found the company that still bears his name, and would change the world ...
Spartacus and Gladiators, with Mary Beard
31 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Where did gladiatorial combat originate? Who was Spartacus, the legendary gladiator? How did he come...
613. Nelson: Glory at Trafalgar (Part 6)
30 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How did the British fleet prepare for war, on the morning of the Battle of Trafalgar? With the flags...
612. Nelson: The Final Showdown (Part 5)
27 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
After two years at sea chasing the combined fleet of France and Spain, what was Nelson’s next step...
Julius Caesar, with Mary Beard
23 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What is the main difference between Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great? When did Julius Caesar be...
611. Nelson: Bonaparte Prepares to Strike (Part 4)
22 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
With Britain at war for more than eight long years, and her people depleted and hungry, how did her ...
610. Nelson: The Battle of Copenhagen (Part 3)
19 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
With fears that the powerful Danish fleet would join with the French against the British, what great...
Alexander the Great, with Mary Beard
16 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
No one was like him, terrible were his crimes… Where was Alexander the Great born, and who were h...
609. Nelson: The Gathering Storm (Part 2)
15 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
After two years at sea, what happened when Horatio Nelson - now Britain’s most celebrated naval co...
608. Nelson: Slaughter in Naples (Part 1)
12 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What happened when the heroic Horatio Nelson, victor of the Battle of the Nile, sailed into the seet...
The Trojan War, with Mary Beard
09 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Did the Trojan War - the ten year, cosmic clash between the Greeks and the Trojans, featuring the Ol...
607. Nelson’s Lover: The Scandalous Lady Hamilton
08 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Who was Emma Hamilton, Horatio Nelson’s strikingly beautiful, and famously fashionable mistress? H...
606. Enoch Powell: Rivers of Blood
05 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Who was Enoch Powell, the deeply controversial British conservative politician? Why is he the father...
605. Greek Myths: Jason & The Quest for the Golden Fleece (Part 4)
01 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What terrifying trials did Jason and the Argonauts have to overcome to win the famous Golden Fleece ...
604. Greek Myths: Sex, Drugs & Tragedy (Part 3)
28 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Who was Dionysus, the son of Zeus, and Greek god of ecstasy, revelry and madness? Why was he so cent...
603. Greek Myths: The Riddle of the Sphinx (Part 2)
24 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What is the story behind the writing of Oedipus, the notorious king of Thebes who murdered his fathe...
602. Greek Myths: Zeus, King of the Gods (Part 1)
21 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What are the mythic origins of Zeus, King of the Olympians, and the other Greek gods? From what peri...
601. Scandal in the White House
17 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Who was Grover Cleveland, and why is he one of the most controversial American Presidents of all tim...
600. CHATHAM HIGH STREET
14 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why is Chatham High-street both futuristic and riddled with the past? Why was it a magnet for histor...
599. The First World War: Downfall of the Habsburgs (Part 6)
10 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
After endeavouring to wreak their revenge on Serbia, what would be the greatest hammer blow to the A...
598. The First World War: The Eastern Front Explodes (Part 5)
05 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
While the Western front was raging following the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, what was u...
597. The First World War: The Massacre of the Innocents (Part 4)
03 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What happened at the crucial, bloody, Battle of Ypres in October 1914? How did the battle come about...
596. The First World War: The Miracle on the Marne (Part 3)
31 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What extraordinary events saw the French - already on the brink of defeat - take on the formerly for...
595. The First World War: The Battle of the Frontiers (Part 2)
27 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What was Britain's first military move following the outbreak of the First World War? Where did the ...
594. The First World War: The Invasion of Belgium (Part 1)
24 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Following the declaration of war in 1914, how did the outbreak of the First World War unfold? What w...
593. The Fight of the Century
20 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why did two men - John Heenan and and Tom Sayers - illegally meet in a field in Hampshire, in 1860, ...
592. Mad Victorian Sport
17 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How and when was football invented, and what are the origins of football clubs? What is the connecti...
591. The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln: Manhunt for the Killer (Part 2)
13 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How was President Abraham Lincoln murdered on Good Friday 1865, at Ford’s Theatre, just five days ...
590. The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln: Death at the Theatre (Part 1)
10 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
After passing the 13th amendment, in the closing weeks of the brutal American Civil War, what did pr...
589. Mary, Queen of Scots: Downfall (Part 6)
06 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Following the murder of her husband, Lord Darnley, how did Mary Queen of Scots - thought to have con...
588. Mary, Queen of Scots: The Mystery of the Exploding Mansion (Part 5)
03 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How and why was Mary Queen of Scots’ traitorous husband, Lord Darnley, murdered, and by whom…? W...
587. Mary, Queen of Scots: Murder Most Foul (Part 4)
30 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why did Mary Queen of Scots’ second marriage to the volatile Lord Darnley threaten to send Scotlan...
586. Mary, Queen of Scots: The Battle for Scotland (Part 3)
27 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Following the death of her husband, the King of France, was the glamorous Mary welcomed back to Scot...
585. Mary, Queen of Scots: The Royal Rivals (Part 2)
23 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What was life like in the glittering French court, for the young and newly married Mary Queen of Sco...
584. Mary, Queen of Scots: Birth of a Legend (Part 1)
20 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Where was Mary Queen of Scots - Elizabeth I’s most famous rival - born, and who were her parents? ...
583. The Lion, the Priest and the Parlourmaids: A 1930s Sex Scandal
16 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Who was the Rector of Stiffkey, Harold Davidson - the "Prostitutes' Padre" - and why was he Britain’...
582. The Body in the Woods: A Medieval Murder Mystery
13 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why was a boy grotesquely and mysteriously murdered in a wood in Norwich in the 12th century? Who wa...
581. The Irish Civil War: The Killing of Michael Collins (Part 2)
09 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
After the assassination of Sir Henry Wilson and the signing of the polarising Anglo-Irish Treaty, ho...
580. The Irish Civil War: The Assassination of Sir Henry Wilson (Part 1)
06 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Who was Sir Henry Wilson, and how was he shockingly murdered in 1922? Who ordered it? What was his a...
579. The Irish War of Independence: Showdown in London (Part 4)
02 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What were the terms of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed in December 1921, following negotiations betwe...
578. The Irish War of Independence: Bloody Sunday (Part 3)
29 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What occurred on Bloody Sunday on 21 November 1920 - a turning point in the Irish War of Independenc...
577. The Irish War of Independence: The Violence Begins (Part 2)
25 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What was Sinn Féin’s totemic first move after winning a majority seat in 1917? Were the IRA’s m...
576. The Irish War of Independence: Rise of the IRA (Part 1)
22 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What are the origins of the Irish War of Independence? What impact did the First World War have on I...
575. The Medici: The Bonfire of the Vanities (Part 4)
19 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Following the death of Lorenzo the Magnificent, who was his Medici successor? Could he overcome the ...
575. The Medici: The Bonfire of the Vanities (Part 4)
18 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Following the death of Lorenzo the Magnificent, who was his Medici successor? Could he overcome the ...
574. The Medici: Curse of the Mad Monk (Part 3)
15 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Did Lorenzo de’Medici’s rule in Florence incur prosperity, or was it a corrupt and autocratic re...
573. The Medici: Lorenzo the Magnificent (Part 2)
11 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Who was Lorenzo the Magnificent, the most glamorous, glittering, and blood-soaked of all the Medici,...
572. The Medici: Masters of Florence (Part 1)
08 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What are the origins of one of history’s most glittering, and for a time, most powerful families ...
571. Hannibal: Roman Bloodbath at Cannae (Part 4)
04 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
How did the Battle of Cannae - one of the most important battles of all time for Ancient Rome, with ...
570. Hannibal: The Invasion of Italy (Part 3)
01 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
How did Hannibal achieve the remarkable feat of crossing the Alps with his army, and elephants? How ...
569. Hannibal: Elephants Cross the Alps (Part 2)
28 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Why did Hannibal choose to cross the Alps with his elephants in 218 BC, when invading Rome? Was it a...
568. Hannibal: Rome's Greatest Enemy (Part 1)
25 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Who was Hannibal, the flawed but brilliant Carthaginian general? What makes Rome vs Carthage in the ...
567. The Great Northern War: Murder in Moscow (Part 4)
21 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
What were the consequences of Peter the Great’s mighty victory over Sweden at the Battle of Poltov...
566. The Great Northern War: Slaughter on the Steppes (Part 3)
18 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Why was the greatest and most climactic battle of the Great Northern War, the Battle of Poltova, one...
565. The Great Northern War: Revenge of the Cossacks (Part 2)
14 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
After establishing the city of St Petersburg, what was Peter the Great’s next step in his titanic ...
564. The Great Northern War: The Battle of the Baltic (Part 1)
11 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
How did the Great Northern War, which saw Sweden pitted against Peter the Great’s Russia and her a...
563. Peter the Great: Bloodbath in the Kremlin (Part 2)
07 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
What abominable mischief and hedonism did the seventeen year old Peter the Great revel in during his...
562. Peter the Great: The Rise of Russia (Part 1)
04 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Why was the early life of Peter the Great - Tsar and autocrat of all the Russias, who endures to thi...
561. The Golden Age of Japan: Secrets of the Imperial Court (Part 2)
30 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
In the vibrant but vicious golden age of Imperial Japan, how did women use writing as a way to secur...
560. The Golden Age of Japan: Lady Murasaki and the Shining Prince (Part 1)
27 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
At the height of Imperial Japan, during a golden age of court intrigue, obsessive hierarchy, and fab...
559. The Rolling Stones: Satanic Majesties of Sixties Rebellion (Part 2)
23 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
"We're not worried about petty morals." What happened to the Rolling Stones in 1967 to see them on ...
558. The Rolling Stones: Sex, Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll (Part 1)
20 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
What are the origins of Britain’s original bad boys, The Rolling Stones? Where did they all come f...
557. 1066: The Norman Conquest (Part 4)
16 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
What happened in the aftermath of the Battle of Hastings? What horrors did William the Conqueror hav...
556. 1066: The Battle of Hastings (Part 3)
13 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Following King Harold Godwinson’s climactic victory at the Battle of Stanford Bridge, and the deat...
555. 1066: Slaughter at Stamford Bridge (Part 2)
09 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
In the tumultuous climax of 1066, why was Harold’s very own brother Tostig the first of the mighty...
554. 1066: The Shadows of War (Part 1)
06 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Why is 1066 the most important year in English history? Who were the three main candidates vying for...
553. The Last Viking: Warrior of the New Rome (Part 2)
02 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Harald Hardrada; exiled prince of Norway and mercenary, has landed in the greatest city on Earth: Co...
552. The Last Viking: The Saga of Harald Hardrada (Part 1)
30 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
“I swear I will not flee from this fight. I will triumph, or I will die!” In the 1066 game of t...
551. The Road to 1066: Countdown to Conquest (Part 4)
27 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
In the triumvirate of 1066, William of Normandy, Harald Hardrada, and Harold Godwinson, the latter h...
550. The Road to 1066: Rise of the Normans (Part 3)
24 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Born into a world of treachery, violence and death, William of Normandy defied all expectations, for...
549. The Road to 1066: Revenge of the Vikings (Part 2)
20 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Following the bloody St Brice’s Day Massacre, of the 13th of November 1002, which saw King Æthelr...
548. The Road to 1066: Anglo-Saxon Apocalypse (Part 1)
17 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
The Norman Conquest of 1066, culminating in the legendary Battle of Hastings, is perhaps the greates...
547. The French Revolution: The Execution of the King (Part 4)
13 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
The second revolution that engulfed France over the course of 1792 reached its climax in December, w...
546. The French Revolution: The Monarchy Falls (Part 3)
10 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
“From this place and from this day forth commences a new era in the world’s history, and you can...
545. The French Revolution: The First Feminist (Part 2)
06 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
In the summer and Autumn of 1792 - with the Prussians bearing down on Paris, the streets thronged wi...
544. The French Revolution: The September Massacres (Part 1)
03 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
‘Still more traitors, still more treason…" It is 1792 and France has been at war since April; i...
543. Death in the Amazon: Aguirre, the Wrath of God
27 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
“Anyone who even thinks of abandoning this mission will be cut up into a thousand pieces…I am th...
542. Elizabeth I’s Sorcerer: Angels and Demons in Renaissance Europe
24 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
In Tudor England, during the reign of Elizabeth I, there lived in the very heart of her court a magi...
541. Heart of Darkness: Fear and Loathing in the Congo
20 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
“The horror! The horror!” Joseph Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’ - the inspiration for Franc...
540. Horror in the Congo: A Conspiracy Unmasked (Part 3)
17 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Exposing the dark pit of human suffering, cruelty and corruption that had long been secretly festeri...
539. Horror in the Congo: The Crimes of Empire (Part 2)
13 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
“A secret society of murderers with a king for a ringleader”. In 1885 King Leopold of Belgium; ...
538. Horror in the Congo: The Nightmare Begins (Part 1)
10 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
The story of King Leopold of Belgium’s brutal regime in the Congo Free State, during the late 19th...
537. Emperors of Rome: Claudius, Paranoia and Poison (Part 4)
06 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Following the bloody assassination of the twenty-eight year old Emperor Caligula, Rome found herself...
536. Emperors of Rome: Caligula, Incest and Insanity (Part 3)
03 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
"Enough of the Princeps, what remains to be described, is the monster..." The Roman emperor Caligul...
535. Emperors of Rome: Tiberius, Slaughter and Scandal (Part 2)
30 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
The Roman historian Suetonius’ biography of the controversial Emperor Tiberius is one of his most ...
534. Emperors of Rome: Sex Secrets of the Caesars (Part 1)
27 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
The Roman historian Suetonius’ The Lives of the Caesars, written during the early imperial period ...
Russian Spies, Pigeons, and The Rest Is Classified…
24 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
How did a Russian spy manage to infiltrate the upper echelons of London and New York society? Was An...
533. Wojtek: The Bear Who Beat the Nazis
23 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
The story of Wojtek - the bear who took on the Nazis - amidst the death and devastation of the Secon...
532. Hitler's War on Poland: The Fall of Warsaw (Part 3)
20 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
The Nazi invasion of Poland is one of the most harrowing episodes of the Second World War, which saw...
531. Hitler's War on Poland: The Pact with Stalin (Part 2)
16 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
By the 11th of April 1939, Adolf Hitler and his Nazis were in the process of drawing up a plan of at...
530. Hitler’s War on Poland: Countdown to Armageddon (Part 1)
13 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Following the Munich agreement of September 1938, Nazi troops marched into Czechoslovakia and ruthle...
529. The Nazis' Road to War: Showdown in Munich (Part 2)
09 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
On 17th September 1938, in Munich, one of the most extraordinary meetings in history took place. Nev...
528. The Nazis' Road to War: Hitler Prepares to Strike (Part 1)
06 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Throughout the course of the 1930s, Adolf Hitler’s Nazi party has overwhelmingly, terrifyingly sei...
527. Beethoven: Napoleon and the Music of War LIVE at the Royal Albert Hall
02 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
Ludwig Van Beethoven, like his precursor and possible acquaintance Mozart, is one of the most famous...
526. Mozart: History's Greatest Prodigy LIVE at the Royal Albert Hall
30 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
In 1756 a musical prodigy was born in Salzburg, Austria: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Thanks to the eff...
525. Charlemagne: Emperor of the West (Part 3)
25 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
“And from that moment on, he was addressed as emperor and Augustus!” The coronation of Charlema...
524. Charlemagne: Pagan Killer (Part 2)
23 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
“Here was a program to wet the ambitions of warlords as well as scholars, and to send men into bat...
523. Charlemagne: Return of the Kings (Part 1)
19 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas • Default Dataset
The Frankish king, Charlemagne the Great, is one of the titanic figures of European history, simulta...