Prison Hulks: Floating Hells for Convicts

Is it true that third-class passengers were locked below decks? Or that more lifeboats would have saved more lives? Did the band really play as the Titanic went down? Anthony is joined once again by the marvellous Gareth Russell to debunk the myths around the disaster. Gareth's b ...  Show more

On the night of Saturday the 9th of March, 1566, a pregnant Mary Queen of Scots was having a dinner party.It was a night that ended in the brutal murder of one of her closest friends, David Rizzio, led by her husband, Lord Darnley.How did this happen? How did Mary handle this tra ...  Show more

Why did a British ship carry over 200 women to Australia in the late 18th century? In this episode, we are going inside the Lady Juliana, a convict transportation ship.What crimes were these women being punished for? What was life like on the ship? And why was it called a 'floati ...  Show more

In this episode of Lady Swindlers, Lucy Worsley is exploring the life of Sophie Lyons, pickpocket, blackmailer and conwoman extraordinaire, known as the infamous Queen of the Underworld.Born in Germany in the late 1840s, aged 8 Sophie moves to New York, USA. She is taught from an ...  Show more

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What is it like to receive a life sentence?

We're joined by two peopl ...

There is an overcrowding crisis in UK prisons. There are also problems with gang violence, drug abuse, self harm and a record number of weapons now being made in jails. To deal with the chronic overcrowding, the UK government has begun releasing thousands of prisoners early in En ...  Show more