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In the first episode of season 2 of History’s Greatest Conspiracy Theories, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Steve Twomey joins Rob Attar to tackle the "back door to war" conspiracy theory, expla...
· 11 min 11 sec
From her introduction into the royal family to the tragic circumstances of her death, Diana, Princess of Wales was never far away from a newspaper front page or TV headline. She was a media sensation,...
· 43 min 13 sec
On first glance, what might you notice about a medieval manuscript? Maybe the material it's made from, the elaborate script, or ornamental illustrations. But, look a little closer, and there's a lot m...
· 49 min 58 sec
On 7 December 1941, Japan attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbor. It’s one of the most notorious surprise attacks in history, but how much of a surprise actually was it? Did President Franklin Roo...
· 38 min 22 sec
Famed for his dramatic and determined revolt against English rule in the early 15th century, as well as his bold vision for an independent Wales, Owain Glyndŵr has gone down in history as a symbol of...
· 54 min 40 sec
When the Spartacus revolt erupted in 73 BC, it exposed a terrifying truth: that the cocksure Roman Republic was nowhere near as invincible as it liked to believe. This Long Read written by historian G...
· 23 min 19 sec
Metal detectorists and members of the general public have contributed hugely to our understanding of Britain's past, through the artefacts they have found hidden in the ground. Speaking to David Musgr...
· 38 min 22 sec
From parachuting into Nazi-occupied France to silent assassinations and exploding rats, many of the missions undertaken by the Special Operations Executive during the Second World War sound like the e...
· 49 min 56 sec
In the latter half of the 19th century, Europe was dazzled by the beauty, charm and sensibility of two empresses: Eugénie, Empress of the French via her marriage to Napoleon III; and Elisabeth (or 'Si...
· 43 min 58 sec
Millions of tourists flock to London each year, eager to snap a selfie in front of Buckingham Palace or Big Ben. But beyond the crowds lies a darker – and distinctly stranger – side to the city: a got...
· 27 min 5 sec
In the latest episode of our monthly series charting the historical background of current news events, regular panellists Hannah Skoda and Rana Mitter look back at centuries of challenges to internati...
· 38 min 43 sec
Did NASA fake the moon landing? Did the Knights Templar discover America? And was Elizabeth I really a man in disguise? In Season 2 of History's Greatest Conspiracy Theories, Rob Attar is joined by ex...
· 1 min 58 sec
In 16th and 17th-century Scotland, many hundreds of ‘witches’ were put to death – 10 times the proportion executed in England. This Long Read written by Martha McGill asks what drove the killings. Hi...
· 20 min 51 sec
The Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Mercia played an important role in the development of England. Although it was sandwiched between the other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Northumbria and Wessex, unlike those two...
· 41 min 37 sec
Professor James Palmer guides us through the 300-year reign of the Merovingians, the Frankish dynasty whose legacy helped birth the very idea of France. Speaking to Kev Lochun, he explores how they us...
· 37 min 38 sec
This summer it's 80 years since the greatest conflict in human history came to an end. To mark the anniversary, the military historian, author and broadcaster James Holland has co-written a book that...
· 34 min 4 sec
The science of health and wellbeing is a hot topic of modern life, and it was no different for the ancient civilisations of Greece and Rome. From what you should eat, to how you should exercise, and w...
· 37 min 42 sec
Thomas Aquinas was a 13th-century Dominican theologian whose groundbreaking ideas set medieval Europe aflame – and continue to resonate today. As 2025 marks the 800th anniversary of Aquinas's birth, E...
· 42 min 20 sec
Bogus sex parties, fake corpses, exploding tin cans and belligerent pigs. If you thought that James Bond's fictional escapades were outrageous, then the real-life experiences of his creator, Ian Flemi...
· 39 min 30 sec
When blight began devastating potato crops across Ireland in 1845, British officials immediately recognised the dangers. And yet, within six years, the Great Famine had caused the deaths of at least 1...
· 23 min 13 sec