Rethinking the crusades

The 18th century was an age of industrialisation, scientific exploration and ‘progress’, but what happened when those rational foundations were shaken? Cultural and art historian Madeleine Pelling – whose latest book is Hoax: Truth and Lies in the Age of Enlightenment – speaks to ...  Show more

The Hotel Lutetia in central Paris lived several lives in the tortured times of the 1930s and 1940s. Before the war, it was the hub of dissenting activity from anti-Nazi German exiles. During the war, it was the HQ for German military intelligence – and after the war, it was a de ...  Show more

Hosted by historians Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook, The Rest is History dives deep into history's most dramatic moments and fascinating figures - exploring the stories of great empires, epic battles, and world-changing events. From the rise and fall of the Roman Empire to the ...  Show more

Of all the Crusades, the Fourth Crusade was the least successful: It created a permanent divide between Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches. But what exactly went wrong? Tune in and learn more in this podcast.

Much has been written about the Crusades, the religiously-inspired wars that pockmarked the later centuries of the Middle Ages. Yet for all of the many books on the subject there has been surprisingly little focus on the men and the women who were entangled in these conflicts. In ...  Show more

The first Crusade began in 1095, and launched a struggle for control of Jerusalem in a series of arduous battles spanning more than two centuries. Learn more about the origin, escalation and consequences of the Crusades in this podcast from HowStuffWorks.