In Our Time: History
Historical themes, events and key individuals from Akhenaten to Xenophon.
The Spanish-American War 1898
Misha Glenny and guests discuss a turning point in world affairs in 1898 that left Spain greatly reduced...
ListenMargaret Beaufort
Misha Glenny and guests discuss the woman who, as a child bride, became mother to the boy who would...
ListenThe Columbian Exchange
Misha Glenny and guests discuss the exchange of cultures and biology across the Atlantic and Pacific...
ListenThe Code of Hammurabi
Misha Glenny and guests discuss the laws that Hammurabi (c1810 - c1750 BC), King of Babylon, had carved...
ListenThe Roman Arena
Misha Glenny and guests discuss the countless venues across the Roman Empire which for over five hundred...
ListenPaul von Hindenburg
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and role of one of the most significant figures in early 20th...
ListenThe Korean Empire
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Korea's brief but significant period as an empire as it moved from the...
ListenThe Battle of Clontarf
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the best known events and figures in Irish history. In 1014...
ListenThe Gracchi
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the brothers Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus whose names are entwined with...
ListenCyrus the Great
Melvyn Bragg and guests explore the history and reputation of the Persian ruler Cyrus the Great. Cyrus...
ListenCatherine of Aragon
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536), the youngest child of the newly dominant...
ListenThe Battle of Valmy
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the most consequential battles of recent centuries. On 20th September...
ListenPlutarch's Parallel Lives
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Greek biographer Plutarch (c46 AD-c120 AD) and especially his work...
ListenThe Hanoverian Succession
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the intense political activity at the turn of the 18th Century, when...
ListenThe Antikythera Mechanism
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 2000-year-old device which transformed our understanding of astronomy...
ListenThe Venetian Empire
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the remarkable rise of Venice in the eastern Mediterranean. Unlike other...
ListenThe Haymarket Affair
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the notorious attack of 4th of May 1886 at a workers rally in Chicago...
ListenBenjamin Disraeli
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the major figures in Victorian British politics. Disraeli (1804...
ListenIntroducing History's Secret Heroes - Series 2
Helena Bonham Carter shines a light on extraordinary stories from World War Two. Join her for tales...
ListenThe Orkneyinga Saga
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Saga of the Earls of Orkney, as told in the 13th Century by an unknown...
ListenMarsilius of Padua
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the canonical figures from the history of political thought....
ListenEmpress Dowager Cixi
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the woman who, for almost fifty years, was the most powerful figure...
ListenNapoleon's Hundred Days
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Napoleon Bonaparte's temporary return to power in France in 1815, following...
ListenJulian the Apostate
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the last pagan ruler of the Roman Empire. Fifty years after Constantine...
Listen