226. The Lord of the Rings

How did the Napoleonic Wars contribute to the enshrinement of the British national anthem? What are the Jacobite origins of this legendary melody? And, which British monarch was it written for? Join Tom and Dominic as they discuss the creation of Britain’s legendary national anth ...  Show more

How did the War of 1812 result in America’s national anthem, the Star Spangled Banner? Who came up with it? And, why does this origin story make the anthem so controversial? Join Dominic and Tom as they launch into the first episode of their Football World Cup special, with the s ...  Show more

In 43 AD, the Romans set up temporary forts along the banks of a river to wait for their Emperor, Claudius, to march onto the enemy capital of Camulodunum (Colchester), and eventually conquer Britain. The river was the River Thames. At the time, it was an area of marshy low-ly ...

The popular BBC television series Villages by the Sea explores coastal life through the centuries. Its presenter Ben Robinson is an archaeologist with the fantastic job of exploring lost villages and uncovering their secrets, including those that give an insight into ...

Three soldiers of the Black Watch are put to death at the Tower of London. Their sentence: mutiny. Their silence, historic. Why did they choose not to defend themselves? Is the truth wound up with the mysterious stranger who visited them on the eve of their court martial, and how ...  Show more

The nonfiction book The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour is the first full narrative account of the Battle off Samar, which the book's author, James D. Hornfischer, calls the greatest upset in the history of na ...  Show more