Antony Beevor on the Russian revolution

Has the United States always seen Latin America as its ‘backyard’? And when did influence tip into intervention? In this episode, Danny Bird is joined by Yale University's Greg Grandin to explore the long, turbulent history of US–Latin American relations, from westward expansion ...  Show more

What do exploding bats and amphibious galleons have in common? They're both fascinating features of some of the world's most mysterious manuscripts, as revealed by journalist and author Garry J Shaw in his book, Cryptic. From Hildegard of Bingen’s secret language to the hoaxes of ...  Show more

*Content Warning - This episode contains references to rape and suicide* The Russian Civil War was a brutal episode in the rise of Bolshevik Russia. Taking place between 1917 and 1922 (after the perhaps better known, Russian Revolution) it pitted the Communist Red Army, led by Vl ...  Show more

Russian politics is fast destabilising. Strikes, assassinations, and famines have made Russia increasingly turbulent at the turn of the century. Revolutionary politics is on the rise, as is dissatisfaction with the tsar. When compounded by the strains of the defeat in the Russo-J ...  Show more

The Tsar has abdicated and the provisional government rules Russia, but Petrograd is overflowing with revolutionaries who want more radical change. Lenin has returned from exile and is looking to seize power for the Bolsheviks. Their momentum is growing and with Russia still in t ...  Show more

In 1917, revolution changed Russia forever. Putting an end to 300 years of the Romanov dynasty, it made way for what ordinary Russians believed would be a fairer, more egalitarian system. But what sparked the rebellion? What was it like to witness the collapse of the autocracy? A ...  Show more