Knights, dragons and beasts: the strange worl...

The 18th century was an age of industrialisation, scientific exploration and ‘progress’, but what happened when those rational foundations were shaken? Cultural and art historian Madeleine Pelling – whose latest book is Hoax: Truth and Lies in the Age of Enlightenment – speaks to ...  Show more

The Hotel Lutetia in central Paris lived several lives in the tortured times of the 1930s and 1940s. Before the war, it was the hub of dissenting activity from anti-Nazi German exiles. During the war, it was the HQ for German military intelligence – and after the war, it was a de ...  Show more

How would a medieval woman achieve a Brazilian bikini line? Why can’t you trust a nun in the night time? And what were women doing at Medieval universities? 

Kate is joined for the THIRD time by Eleanor Janega to talk about how women were expected to be in the m ...

Aethelfled, a warrior queen who crushed the Vikings, Jadwiga, the first Queen Regent of Poland and Hildegard of Bingen, an 11th-century polymath abbess who became a 20th-century feminist icon and saint. Art and cultural historian Dr Janina Ramirez joins Dan on today's episode ...

Embark on a thrilling adventure with our young listeners as we delve into the captivating world of medieval Europe. Discover the journey of a knight's life – from their rigorous training to the code of chivalry they upheld. Learn about the armor that clanked as they rode into bat ...  Show more

Were the Middle Ages funny? Irina Dumitrescu and Mary Wellesley begin their series in quest of the medieval sense of humour with Chaucer’s 'Miller’s Tale', a story that is surely still (almost) as funny as when it was written six hundred years ago. But who is the real butt of the ...  Show more