Discover the extraordinary history of ordinary items all around you.
Sounds,·31 episodes
A boy scout assembles parts for the nuclear reactor he’s building in his mother’s shed.
22 Oct 2024,·27 mins,·
The Ancient Romans use questionable substances to clean their clothes.
15 Oct 2024,·28 mins
A whole city is built from waste in Neolithic Turkey.
08 Oct 2024,·29 mins
Villagers across Europe turn on each other with dangerous accusations of witchcraft.
01 Oct 2024,·32 mins
Ryebread causes a devastating disease in medieval Germany.
24 Sep 2024,·31 mins
A king in dire financial straits institutes a controversial tax on fireplaces.
17 Sep 2024,·30 mins
On a windswept island in the Bristol Channel, radio is born…
10 Sep 2024,·30 mins
The most elaborate clock the world has ever seen is constructed in 11th-century China.
03 Sep 2024,·28 mins
In Victorian London, a rat catcher turns his profession into street entertainment.
27 Aug 2024,·33 mins
At a feast in Norway, drunk Vikings engage in a rap battle.
20 Aug 2024,·30 mins
A tax on windows leads to some interesting architectural solutions.
13 Aug 2024,·29 mins
A gaggle of geese stands guard outside a whisky distillery in Scotland.
06 Aug 2024,·31 mins
Pigs form an unlikely part of the sewage system in ancient China.
30 Jul 2024,·30 mins
In the Middle Ages, poison rings are used to covertly contaminate food and drink.
23 Jul 2024,·30 mins
Landscape gardening leads to the downfall of a powerful politician in 17th century France.
16 Jul 2024,·28 mins
In Mughal India, an emperor just can’t do without his favourite tandoori meals…
09 Jul 2024,·31 mins
On the Isle of Lewis, a lost cow unearths the most famous chess pieces in history
02 Jul 2024,·31 mins
Napoleon Bonaparte causes a stir, by rotating his bicorne 90 degrees…
25 Jun 2024,·31 mins
A young girl’s innovation turns a small Georgia town into the carpet capital of the world.
18 Jun 2024,·31 mins
A radical apothecary causes a stir during the English Civil War...
11 Jun 2024,·31 mins,·
A bed proves fatal for three men in medieval France…
04 Jun 2024,·32 mins
Prohibition in America leads to the production of potentially deadly drinks…
28 May 2024,·33 mins
The world’s first cat lady is found living in Victorian London.
21 May 2024,·30 mins
In medieval England, gardening brings an inquisitive monk closer to God.
14 May 2024,·32 mins
A goat herder in 9th century Ethiopia finds a stimulating plant.
07 May 2024,·32 mins
At a wedding in medieval Italy, a woman’s death is blamed on a two-pronged utensil...
30 Apr 2024,·32 mins
A summit between Henry VIII and his French counterpart leaves a mountain of dirty dishes.
23 Apr 2024,·30 mins
In the hills of Northern Spain lamps help an anthropologist make an incredible discovery.
16 Apr 2024,·32 mins
A murderous emperor builds the grandest bath complex ever seen in Ancient Rome.
09 Apr 2024,·33 mins
In Ancient Persia, ice houses refrigerate food in one of the hottest deserts on earth...
02 Apr 2024,·45 mins
