Thomas Edison: life of the week

Slavery in the Islamic world has a diverse and controversial history. Speaking to Emily Briffett, historian and journalist Justin Marozzi explores some of the stories at the heart of his latest book Captives and Companions, tracing networks of enslavement that stretched from sub- ...  Show more

National icons aren’t born – they’re engineered. But how were historical figures such as Joan of Arc and Isabella of Castile transformed into political symbols, their real lives lost beneath centuries of myth-making? In this episode of the HistoryExtra podcast, Janina Ramirez tel ...  Show more

How did British Army General Murray fail to take Gaza in 1917? Who was General Allenby and how did his tactics in the cavalry charge on Gaza City lead to transformation in the region? What are the connections between the Gallipoli campaign and the siege of Gaza? Anita Anand and W ...  Show more

Why did Britain and America nearly go to war over the capture of two Confederate officers from a British Ship? What did President Lincoln’s Emergency War Cabinet respond to Britain’s threatening ultimatum? How did Prince Albert keep the peace with the last letter he ever sent? Jo ...  Show more

While the Western front was raging following the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, what was unfolding on the Eastern Front? Why was it an even bloodier and more brutal arena than the West? As Austria took on its great antagonist - the spark of the entire war - Serbia, why ...  Show more

Following the declaration of war in 1914, how did the outbreak of the First World War unfold? What were the earliest military engagements of this terrible, totemic event? Who were its key political players and how did they respond? What was the attitude to the war in Germany? Wer ...  Show more