The secret history behind the Odyssey

What happens when football becomes far more than a game? As the 2026 World Cup unfolds, this Long Read written by Tony Shaw and Alan McDougall revisits four matches played during the Cold War that turned the beautiful game into a battleground of ideology, identity and state power ...  Show more

The Enlightenment was an era of open-eyed progress, of the advance of science and reason – right? So why, in the 18th and early 19th centuries, did British people continue to be hoodwinked? This Long Read written by Madeleine Pelling exposes eight frauds and forgeries from a gold ...  Show more

Take a deep dive into the past as we bring you the very best of BBC History Magazine, Britain’s bestselling history magazine. With a new episode released every Monday, enjoy fascinating and enlightening articles from leading historical experts, covering a broad sweep of the centu ...  Show more

Historians Sam Willis and James Daybell explore some of the fascinating stories that appear in their Histories of the Unexpected book and podcast, from signatures to lions Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcast ...  Show more

In the latest episode of our monthly series charting the past behind the present, historians Rana Mitter and Hannah Skoda explore the ways the Second World War continues to shape the world of today. Plus the medieval manuscripts hitting the headlines, and an express history of ra ...  Show more

The latest instalment of our monthly series sees Hannah Skoda and Rana Mitter explore the long history behind the Post Office Scandal, the historical precedents behind recent developments in US politics and more Our new monthly series explores the history hitting the headlines – ...  Show more