The 'Iron Curtain' speech: why Churchill poked the Russian bear
It’s 80 years since the war victor and ex-prime minister Winston Churchill delivered his ‘Iron Curtain’ speech, sounding the alarm for a perilous new age. The speech, given as tensions with Stalin soared, is among the most famous in modern history. Yet, asks this Long Read writte ...Show more
Anne Boleyn’s image problem
Dark or brunette? Fair or swarthy? A paragon of beauty or a refined charmer? Our picture of Henry VIII’s ill-fated second queen has become distorted over five centuries – but new research by Owen Emmerson and others comes closer to revealing her true appearance. This Long Read, w ...Show more
At 8.15am on 6 August 1945, an atomic bomb exploded over Hiroshima. It was an event that changed the course of history, but it was also one driven by individuals. Here, in conversation with Spencer Mizen, Iain MacGregor tells this story through the eyes of people whose lives were ...Show more
On 6 and 9 August 1945, the US military bombed the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki using a weapon of unprecedented destructive capability, the atom bomb. These bombings marked the beginning of the nuclear age and remain the only use of a nuclear weapon in an active conf ...Show more
Was the atomic bomb necessary to end war with Japan?
The decision by the United States to drop atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 remains one of the most controversial moments in modern history. Did the atomic bombs force Japan's surrender in the Second World War? Or is this far too simple a narrati ...Show more
First-Hand Account of Hiroshima: Before, During, and After the Atomic Bomb Drop
Over the past few years, much has been written and created around Oppenheimer and the Manhattan Project, but little attention is paid to those whose lives were ended or forever changed when the bombs dropped in Japan.
In this episode, we delve into the experiences of the < ...Show more