The Early History of the Olympics

Rasputin rose from obscurity to become the most controversial figure at the court of Tsar Nicholas II. This episode features: Sir Anthony Beevor, writer and historian, and Dr Helen Rappaport, author, media consultant, and historian specialising in the British and Russian history ...  Show more

In this episode: An Accidental History of Tudor England - From Daily Life to Sudden Death, with historian Prof Steven Gunn; Exile: The Captive Years of Mary, Queen of Scots, with author Rosemary Goring; and Élie Bouhéreau: the collections and communities of a Huguenot refugee, by ...  Show more

Every four years, the Modern Olympic Games is a celebration of athletic excellence. From modest roots in 19th Century Athens, to a worldwide phenomenon which will feature almost 15,000 athletes in Paris 2024, the Modern Olympics has developed into the largest sporting festival in ...  Show more

A tradition that endured millennia. The ancient Olympic Games began in 776 BC and took place every four years until at least 396 AD. It was a major religious and sporting festival, attended by over 40,000 spectators who flocked to watch athletes compete in sports like wrestlin ...

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss eighteenth century 'vase-mania'. In the second half of the century, inspired by archaeological discoveries, the Grand Tour and the founding of the British Museum, parts of the British public developed a huge enthusiasm for vases modelled on the anc ...  Show more

From TV commercials and branded soda cans to Emily in Paris spon-con, the Olympics are once again everywhere. In the Olympic spirit, we’re bringing you four stories about the games in all their international, theatrical glory.In the first story, Christopher Johnson introduces the ...  Show more