War & Peace 2016
War & Peace is a British historical drama television serial first broadcast on BBC One on 3 January 2016, produced by BBC Cymru Wales, in association with The Weinstein Company,…
Who Was The Best English Monarch? David Mitchell Rates The Royals!
Who was the worst King and Queen of England? What made a King or Queen successful? In this video, comedian and author of 'Unruly: A History of England's King and…
Astral Travels with Jack London
On the centenary of Jack London's death, Benjamin Breen looks at the writer's last book to be published in his lifetime, The Star Rover — a strange tale about solitary…
History Extra podcast: The librarian who stole KGB secrets
When an elderly man with a battered suitcase walked into the British embassy in Vilnius in 1992, few could have guessed what he was about to hand over. Gordon Corera…
History Extra podcast: The problem with poo: a millennium of manure
When did poo become a problem? Why was manure so important in the medieval economy? And why don't we have vacuum-powered sewers? All these questions – and more – are…
In Search of Lost Stein
DESPITE HER REPUTATION as a long-winded writer, Gertrude Stein had a talent for pithiness. Of Oakland, the town where she grew up, she famously remarked: “There is no there, there.”…
The tough reality of Tudor childhood: Ruth Goodman on harsh lessons and discipline
Historian Ruth Goodman dives into the demanding world of Tudor childhood – a world where respect was compulsory, work began early, and most young people were expected to leave home…
Wifredo Lam: The Power of Art, Exile, and Transformation
This short documentary revisits the extraordinary life and legacy of Wifredo Lam (1902–1982)—the Cuban artist who bridged continents, cultures, and movements. Through the words of his son, curators, and a…
What did ordinary Tudors do for work? Inside the 16th-century daily grind
Forget silk-clad courtiers – most people in the 16th-century toiled from dawn to dusk just to keep food on the table. Men ploughed, hedged, and hauled in the fields while…
Raising the Bardo
Amie Barrodale’s contemporary book of the dead