Montaigne: Philosopher of the French Renaissa...

How did the gun become a fashion item in Renaissance Italy? Why do debates over firearms, self-defence and public safety sound so familiar today?Professor Suzannah Lipscomb and historian Catherine Fletcher trace the rise of guns from battlefield technology to coveted courtly acce ...  Show more

How did two Indigenous men help shape Elizabethan England's dreams of empire? What do these early encounters tell us about the contested beginnings of colonial America?In the 1580s, English explorers ventured west in search of land, influence and advantage. But this was not an in ...  Show more

Marcus Tullius Cicero is one of the most famous orators in ancient history, and a central figure during the final years of the Roman Republic.

To explore his life and career, Tristan is joined by Dr Henriette van der Blom from the University of Birmingham. Together t ...

*SPOILER ALERT: THIS EPISODE CONTAINS DETAILS OF SEASON 3 OF BRIDGERTON*

With the second part of season 3 of Bridgerton dropping on Netflix in the last few days, Kate is joined by Catherine Curzon, author of Inside the World of Bridgerton: True S ...

Jacke continues his journey through the list of the 25 Greatest Books of All Time with a look at Flaubert's "perfect novel," Madame Bovary (1856-57). Telling the story of the bored wife of a provincial doctor who enters into a series of infidelities, Flaubert's debut caused an im ...  Show more

From doublethink and thoughtcrime to coming face-to-face with our worst nightmares inside Room 101, few writers have had as much impact on the popular imagination as George Orwell. But what compelled the author of 'Animal Farm' and 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' to conjure up such dark, ...  Show more