Mussolini's Favourite Daughter

Has Burlesque always meant the same thing? Where did it come from? And how has it changed?Kate is joined by Dr Marissa Vigneault, Associate Professor of Art History at Utah State University, to find out more about how burlesque has become the art form it is today.This episode was ...  Show more

Madam du Barry's life was remarkable: from rags, to riches, to... revolution. And she pi**ed off Marie Antoinette along the way, too.How did this courtesan from a poor background make it to be royal mistress in Versailles? How did the French Revolution impact her? And what her 's ...  Show more

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook discuss the 'first' fascist, Gabriele D'Annunzio, with historian Lucy Hughes-Hallett. D'Annunzio was a key figure in Italian literature before becoming a political figure later in his life. Although never personally identifying with fascism, his ...  Show more

Exactly a century after the 1922 March on Rome which brought fascist dictator Benito Mussolini to power, the far-right party Brothers of Italy have been voted into government.Fratelli d'Italia (FDL), which has its roots in Italy’s post-war Neo-fascist social movement, is lead by ...  Show more

EPISODE 2 -- David discovers a surprising personal relationship between his great-grandfather and Benito Mussolini. Stanley Tucci brings this great-grandfather to life, revealing how he witnessed Mussolini's rise to power - and what happens when a dictator turns against you. For ...  Show more

September 1943, and German troops have just landed in gliders to rescue Benito Mussolini from the mountain resort where he was being held. “I knew my friend Adolf Hitler would not desert me,” he said later. But Mussolini died before the end of the war, shot and then strung up ...