History Podcast
Historical themes, events and key individuals from Akhenaten to Xenophon.
Episodes to download
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The Spanish-American War 1898
Thu 2 Apr 2026
How a war that began in Cuba saw the US acquire the Philippines, Guam and Puerto Rico.
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Margaret Beaufort
Thu 5 Mar 2026
How one woman helped her son survive the Wars of the Roses to become the first Tudor king.
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The Columbian Exchange
Thu 26 Feb 2026
The impact of the spread of animals, crops and diseases between continents after 1492.
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The Code of Hammurabi
Thu 12 Feb 2026
The impact of the wide-ranging laws of Hammurabi, King of Babylon from 4,000 years ago.
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The Roman Arena
Thu 29 Jan 2026
Misha Glenny and guests discuss the origins and harsh realities of the gladiator life.
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Paul von Hindenburg
Thu 22 May 2025
How the cult of personality around this German WWI figurehead helped usher in Hitler.
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The Korean Empire
Thu 1 May 2025
How Korea embraced modernisation at the end of the 19th Century in a bid for independence.
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The Battle of Clontarf
Thu 10 Apr 2025
Brian Boru's celebrated defeat of Hiberno-Norse forces and allies outside Dublin in 1014.
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The Gracchi
Thu 3 Apr 2025
Why two brothers became linked to the fall of the Roman Republic and rise of the emperors.
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Catherine of Aragon
Thu 13 Feb 2025
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the woman so important that two Tudor royals married her.
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The Battle of Valmy
Thu 16 Jan 2025
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the day in 1792 when the French Revolution risked defeat.
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Plutarch's Parallel Lives
Thu 19 Dec 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the influential Greek biographer and his main work
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The Hanoverian Succession
Thu 28 Nov 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the politics that led to the coronation of George I.
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The Antikythera Mechanism
Thu 14 Nov 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the mysterious ancient Greek astronomical computer.
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The Venetian Empire
Thu 31 Oct 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the rise and eventual decline of the Venetian Empire.
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The Haymarket Affair
Thu 3 Oct 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 1886 bombing in Chicago amid violent labour conflict.
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Benjamin Disraeli
Thu 19 Sep 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the most prominent Victorian politicians.
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The Orkneyinga Saga
Thu 6 Jun 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Saga of the Earls of Orkney up to the 13th century.
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Marsilius of Padua
Thu 30 May 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the great figures in the history of political ideas
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Empress Dowager Cixi
Thu 23 May 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the woman who dominated China's court for almost 50 years.
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Napoleon's Hundred Days
Thu 18 Apr 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Napoleon Bonaparte's surprise coup in 1815 before Waterloo
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Julian the Apostate
Thu 21 Mar 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the emperor who aimed to return Christian Rome to paganism
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The Mokrani Revolt
Thu 7 Mar 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss a major Algerian uprising against French rule in 1871.
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The Sack of Rome 1527
Thu 22 Feb 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Holy Roman Emperor's army's notorious attack on Romans
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The Hanseatic League
Thu 1 Feb 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the medieval trading network the Hanseatic League.
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Nefertiti
Thu 18 Jan 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and impact of ancient Egypt's best-known queen.
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Tiberius
Thu 14 Dec 2023
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the man born in Republican Rome who became second Emperor.
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Marguerite de Navarre
Thu 23 Nov 2023
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss writer and Renaissance queen Marguerite de Navarre.
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The Theory of the Leisure Class
Thu 16 Nov 2023
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Veblen on conspicuous consumption and conspicuous leisure.
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