Leonardo da Vinci with Ken Burns

What if Henry VIII’s “discarded bride” actually showed real promise as queen?Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Dr James Taffe to discuss new discoveries about Anne of Cleves’ surviving account book, a rare 200-page record of every pound, shilling and penny that reveals Ann ...  Show more

How did a condemned Spanish Armada captain survive shipwreck, betrayal, and war to leave behind one of the most extraordinary first-person accounts of the 16th century?Francisco de Cuéllar was a career officer shaped by the harsh realities of early modern warfare, surviving looti ...  Show more

Legendary documentary filmmaker Ken Burns is famous for his deep dives into topics of American history, ranging from the American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin, the Civil War, and the history of baseball, to name just a few. Now Burns is delving into the fascinating life of 15th ...  Show more

The Renaissance is known for its heady combination of sex, art and exciting new ideas about the world.Was Raphael, one of the superstar painters of the period, a Renaissance top shagger? Were sex workers essential to the artistic process of painting nudes? Why did historians thin ...  Show more

Early Modern Italy birthed artistic giants like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, saw architectural marvels like Florence's dome and St. Peter's Basilica, and pushed scientific frontiers in astronomy. This same vibrant era was also home to Bologna's uniquely regulated sex wo ...

In August 1911, an Italian handyman walked out of Paris' Louvre museum with the Mona Lisa tucked under his arm. It was an audacious theft that shocked the art world, aroused the attention of the world's greatest detectives and even saw Picasso eyed with suspicion. Speaking to Cha ...  Show more