Liangzhu: Cradle of Chinese Civilisation?

In 60 AD Roman Britain was very nearly brought to the brink. Cities burned, authority crumbled, and for a brief moment one woman challenged the might of the Roman Empire. Her name was Boudica.Today, Tristan Hughes is joined by novelist and historian Elodie Harper to explore the l ...  Show more

538 million years ago, life on Earth changed forever. In an evolutionary burst known as the Cambrian Explosion, complex animals rapidly appeared in the oceans, laying the foundations for almost every major animal group alive today.Tristan Hughes is joined by the mighty Henry Gee ...  Show more

How did the people of Ancient China think about sex?

From sexual vampirism to unrealistic representations of courtesan culture, from wife lending to avoiding *ahem* finishing: in this episode Kate and Paul R. Goldin from the University of Pennsylvania delve into the ...

Genghis Khan roughly translates to 'Universal Ruler', a fitting name for the most famous nomadic conqueror to have ever lived. He was born as Temüjin, outcast by his tribe as a young child and left to fend for his family in the wild. But the determined young man would go on to ...

The urban cultures of ancient Mesopotamia formed the foundation for so much of our modern world. Nowhere exemplifies this better than the city of Babylon, which was the cultural seedbed for the Greek and Roman civilisations that in turn left such lasting legacies.

On ...

China’s written history goes back more than 3,000 years, stretching deep into the Bronze Age. But just how far back does it go, and how reliable are those first legendary texts when discussing a world that had already been lost for centuries? They speak of powerful kings and c ...