VE Day: a people's history

VE Day: a people's history

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The hidden history behind Mount Rushmore

Mount Rushmore is one of the most iconic images in US history – but its story is far more complex and controversial than that of a simple sculpture. In this episode, historian Matthew Davis joins Elinor Evans to discuss his latest book, A Biography of a Mountain, which delves int ...  Show more

Juana Inés de la Cruz: life of the week

She led “a life that really, in many ways, shouldn't have been possible”. So says historian Paul Gillingham of Juana Inés de la Cruz. This 17th-century polymath and nun challenged a host of social conventions – earning, through her extraordinary books and poems, a place in the pa ...  Show more

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VE Day
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When the Second World War finally ended 80 years ago, there was a mixed reaction in Britain. Today, we hear about these varying responses, from elation and celebration to reticence and restraint.


For the final episode of our 'D-Day to Berlin' series, we're joined by ...

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The Gettysburg Address
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What makes the Gettysburg Address one of the most famous speeches in history? Did Lincoln really write it on the train? How did the audience in the Soldiers' National Cemetery respond?


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1st Parachute Regiment of WW2 with Mark Urban
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2022 marks 80 years since the Red Devils first remarkable campaign in North Africa. In Britain, they were known as the parachute regiment, but after their daring feats in the Second World War the name Red Devils quickly stuck.In this episode, James is joined by BBC journalist and ...  Show more

The Unknown Warrior
Dan Snow's History Hit

In the western nave of Westminster Abbey, nestled between illustrious tombs and beneath a slab of black Belgian marble, lies the body of an unidentified soldier of the First World War. He is remembered as the Unknown Warrior, a symbol of the half a million Commonwealth service ...

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