The programme that explains the present by exploring the past.
World Service,·763 episodes
How colour affects our mood and thoughts
21 May 2020,·44 mins
Who made a fortune and who was crushed in the rush for gold in California in 1849?
14 May 2020,·44 mins
An exceptionally talented musician who always stood her ground
07 May 2020,·41 mins
The last global pandemic and what it can tell us about tackling Covid-19 .
30 Apr 2020,·44 mins
The mapmaker who defined the modern world
23 Apr 2020,·44 mins
A pianist and activist who fought for women’s votes and better lives
16 Apr 2020,·39 mins
The Japanese literary giant of the early 20th Century
09 Apr 2020,·44 mins
Exploring how an Ancient Greek school of thought has resonated through the ages
02 Apr 2020,·44 mins
The Italian Baroque artist who's become a hero for modern-day feminists
26 Mar 2020,·39 mins
How did the idea of systematically training dogs for the blind originate?
19 Mar 2020,·44 mins
Brazil's visionary architect and leading pioneer of modernism
12 Mar 2020,·44 mins
The life and legacy of the man who became ‘the Father of Africa’
05 Mar 2020,·44 mins
The life and work of a remarkable 18th-century polymath
27 Feb 2020,·39 mins
How humans have waged war against the mosquito for thousands of years
20 Feb 2020,·44 mins
The stories behind some of the world's greatest masterpieces in bronze
13 Feb 2020,·44 mins
The prodigious talent and restless life of Tang dynasty's literary rebel
06 Feb 2020,·44 mins
The story behind the beautiful bust and the powerful woman it represents
30 Jan 2020,·38 mins
The life of Erasmus Darwin, one of the most remarkable minds in 18th Century Britain
23 Jan 2020,·44 mins
Uncovering the rich cultural and medical history of the world's oldest sweet
16 Jan 2020,·44 mins
Exploring the background to the music which has absorbed so many cultural influences
09 Jan 2020,·44 mins
Regenerating Yiddish – the language and culture of the European Jews
02 Jan 2020,·44 mins
From dining in Song-dynasty China to the modern open kitchen
26 Dec 2019,·44 mins
How the wife of US President Franklin Roosevelt became a powerful political operator
19 Dec 2019,·40 mins
The life and work of a pioneering social scientist and historiographer
12 Dec 2019,·44 mins
The swashbuckling poet of a late 19th-century French play and his real-life inspiration
05 Dec 2019,·44 mins
The nomadic warriors who ruled vast swathes of Asia and Europe and who knew how to party
28 Nov 2019,·44 mins
How the events of the Russian civil war led to Lenin’s communist dictatorship
21 Nov 2019,·44 mins
The polar adventures of a remarkable man whose humanitarian work saved thousands of lives
14 Nov 2019,·44 mins
Exploring the life of a man who pushed the boundaries of ballet.
07 Nov 2019,·44 mins
How the co-inventor of cornflakes inspired a healthy living revolution
31 Oct 2019,·44 mins
