How opium became a powerful global commodity

For hundreds of years, people have gathered after dark to drink, dance and escape the pressures of everyday life. But how did 'going out' become a habit across the world? Jon Bauckham chats to Imogen Willetts about the hedonistic history of partying, journeying from 17th-century ...  Show more

Yuri Gagarin’s journey from a Nazi-occupied Soviet village into outer space make him one of the most famous people on Earth. In this episode, historian Asif Siddiqi tells Danny Bird about the life behind the legend, revealing how Gagarin came to embody the USSR’s postwar ambition ...  Show more

In this episode of The Ancients, host Tristan Hughes speaks with historian Honor Cargill-Martin about the notorious Empress Messalina, third wife of Emperor Claudius. A lot has been said about Messalina over two millennia: that she was a nymphomaniac who organised orgies and e ...

Messy Messalina has not gone down in history with the tidiest reputation. In fact, we may even say her reputation is kind of messy. Empress Messalina was the wife of Roman Emperor Claudius, who ruled from AD 41 to 54. She is infamous for her promiscuity and extravagance. But, was ...  Show more

How sexually depraved were the Romans?Whilst they were a civlised, stoic and innovative bunch, they were also a promiscuous bunch with very questionable morals.Joining us today is friend of the show Emma Southon, author of A History of the Roman Empire in 21 Women.How did the Rom ...  Show more

"Enough of the Princeps, what remains to be described, is the monster..." The Roman emperor Caligula endures as one of the most notorious figures in not only Roman history, but the history of the world. Famed as a byword for sexual degeneracy, cruelty and corruption, the account ...  Show more