The Birth of New York City

What does it take to rule as an equal in a man's world? How did a quiet, devout queen help reshape Britain’s monarchy forever?All this month, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is exploring the Restoration monarchs. In this episode, she focuses on Queen Mary II, England’s first and only ...  Show more

This episode contains discussions of sexual assault, violence and child abuse. Listener discretion is advised. How did the mob lynching of a notorious astrologer and occultist in June 1628 act as a grim prelude to the demise of King Charles I? Why did John Lambe - accused of witc ...  Show more

How did the English take Manhattan from the Dutch in the 17th century without firing a single shot? Speaking to Elinor Evans, historian Russell Shorto explains a many-layered colonial history, including pragmatic deals, personal rivalries, and ideological divides, that led to the ...  Show more

When was the first bank robbery? What does it take to be successful in organized crime? Is it possible to be non-violent? And how might you avoid getting caught? The story of Ma Mandelbaum, the mother of New York's criminal underworld, has the answer to these questions and mor ...

Embark on an epic journey with Tristan Hughes and acclaimed author William Dalrymple as they unravel the enigma of the Kushan Empire, the ancient superpower of Central Asia. Together they tell the riveting stories behind the Empire's rise in Bactria (modern-day Afghanistan), t ...

When fossils were discovered in the US during the 19th Century, it altered American understandings of science, religion, race and more. So what was the Hadrosaurus Foulkii, and why did it have such an enormous effect?

Caroline Winterer, William Robertson Coe Professo ...