The Taj Mahal

Our summer series “Wonders of the World” continues with one of Europe's most iconic landmarks “The Leaning Tower of Pisa". Architectural Historian Danielle O’Donovan joins Shane Beatty to discuss the story of the misshapen tower. Listen and subscribe to The Hard Shoulder on Apple ...  Show more

This week, Danielle O'Donovan told the story behind Big Ben, Westminster and the Houses of Parliament from the mid-nineteenth century, when a political hot potato was tossed between the two sides of the house as they seek an architect for their new parliament. Listen and subscrib ...  Show more

Within days of his beloved wife’s death, Shah Jahan starts designing his grandest architectural project yet to express his love for her. Her mausoleum is to be a domed, symmetrical, bright white building surrounded by aromatic gardens. But the Taj Mahal is not the only beautiful ...  Show more

India’s transformation of the ancient world is indisputable, and tangible evidence of this can be found in the magnificent Hindu and Buddhist temples scattered across the landscapes of South East Asia. But what was the process by which India transported its vast empire of art, cu ...  Show more

We're speaking to all the authors shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2021 and tonight it's the turn of Cherie Jones. Her novel, How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House, is set on and around the Barbados beaches of the 80s. Lala braids tourists’ hair in the idyllic se ...  Show more

The vibrant red sandstone temples of India's Deccan Plateau, such as the Pattadakal temple cluster, have attracted visitors since the eighth century or earlier. A UNESCO World Heritage Site and the coronation place of the Chalukya dynasty, Pattadakal and its neighboring sites are ...  Show more