What if the fairy tales you grew up with were never meant for children at all?Long before these stories were transformed into family-friendly animated films, they were forged in the gritty reality of Renaissance Italy and later weaponized by rebellious Parisian aristocrats to cha ...Show more
How to Survive Henry VIII
How did one man survive serving Henry VIII as principal secretary when others lost their heads? Why is the mastermind behind the King’s final, most turbulent decade so often forgotten?Rising through sheer intellect and royal favour, William Paget navigated bitter religious confli ...Show more
Britain's Slave Traders
How did a risky 16th-century venture evolve into a national enterprise that fuelled the rise of the British Empire? How did a vast network of royalty, politicians, cultural figures, and ordinary citizens finance human exploitation to expand British wealth and naval power?Professo ...Show more
John Dudley, The 'Wicked' Duke
How did the son of an executed traitor rise to become the power behind young Edward VI? Was John Dudley a visionary patriot saving England from crisis or a ruthless opportunist who risked everything for ultimate power?Following the death of Henry VIII, Dudley seized control of th ...Show more
How the Americas Transformed Tudor England
In 1588, mathematician Thomas Harriot mapped a doomed colony and drafted the playbook for English empire. But did Indigenous culture reshape Shakespeare's England just as profoundly?Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Dr. Lauren Working to explore how indigenous knowledge, l ...Show more