How to Treat Depression in 17th Century Engla...

Who really ruled Elizabethan England?For almost four decades, William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, guided Queen Elizabeth I through religious turmoil, assassination plots, the threat of the Spanish Armada, the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, and the unresolved question of succes ...  Show more

What was the French Revolution like for those who lived through it? What can private journals reveal that speeches, pamphlets and official records cannot?From the storming of the Bastille to the Terror and the guillotine, ordinary witnesses recorded the personal impact of 1789, p ...  Show more

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Robert Burton's masterpiece The Anatomy of Melancholy.In 1621 the priest and scholar Robert Burton published a book quite unlike any other. The Anatomy of Melancholy brings together almost two thousand years of scholarship, from Ancient Greek p ...  Show more

Quacks, wise women, barber surgeons and private madhouses - just some of the options available if you were to find yourself in ill health in the 16th and 17th centuries. Dan is joined by historian Dr Alanna Skuse to look at healthcare in Renaissance England, from healing the humo ...  Show more

Mental health – it is a sensitive subject that affects every single one of us, with some of us struggling more than others. In this episode, we are going to explore how mental health has been perceived throughout history and look at some of the reasons that led a top UN official ...  Show more

*WARNING this episode includes adult themes and conversations about mental health and drug use.*In 2020, the UK government revealed that 17% of the adult population of Britain were prescribed medication for their mental health. But when were these drugs invented? How were they te ...  Show more