History Podcast
Historical themes, events and key individuals from Akhenaten to Xenophon.
Episodes to download
-
The Haymarket Affair
Thu 3 Oct 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 1886 bombing in Chicago amid violent labour conflict.
-
Benjamin Disraeli
Thu 19 Sep 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the most prominent Victorian politicians.
-
The Orkneyinga Saga
Thu 6 Jun 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Saga of the Earls of Orkney up to the 13th century.
-
Marsilius of Padua
Thu 30 May 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the great figures in the history of political ideas
-
Empress Dowager Cixi
Thu 23 May 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the woman who dominated China's court for almost 50 years.
-
Napoleon's Hundred Days
Thu 18 Apr 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Napoleon Bonaparte's surprise coup in 1815 before Waterloo
-
Julian the Apostate
Thu 21 Mar 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the emperor who aimed to return Christian Rome to paganism
-
The Mokrani Revolt
Thu 7 Mar 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss a major Algerian uprising against French rule in 1871.
-
The Sack of Rome 1527
Thu 22 Feb 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Holy Roman Emperor's army's notorious attack on Romans
-
The Hanseatic League
Thu 1 Feb 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the medieval trading network the Hanseatic League.
-
Nefertiti
Thu 18 Jan 2024
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and impact of ancient Egypt's best-known queen.
-
Tiberius
Thu 14 Dec 2023
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the man born in Republican Rome who became second Emperor.
-
Marguerite de Navarre
Thu 23 Nov 2023
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss writer and Renaissance queen Marguerite de Navarre.
-
The Theory of the Leisure Class
Thu 16 Nov 2023
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Veblen on conspicuous consumption and conspicuous leisure.
-
The Barbary Corsairs
Thu 9 Nov 2023
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the impact of North African privateers on law and language
-
The Federalist Papers
Thu 12 Oct 2023
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Hamilton, Madison and Jay's urgings for a US Constitution.
-
The Economic Consequences of the Peace
Thu 28 Sep 2023
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Keynes' influential attack on the Treaty of Versailles
-
Louis XIV: The Sun King
Thu 25 May 2023
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and reign of the French king who built Versailles
-
The Shimabara Rebellion
Thu 11 May 2023
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 1637-8 Christian uprising in Japan.
-
The Battle of CrΓ©cy
Thu 13 Apr 2023
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 1346 conflict between the armies of France and England
-
Cnut
Thu 6 Apr 2023
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Dane who became a powerful King of England in 1016.
-
Solon the Lawgiver
Thu 23 Mar 2023
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the statesman who transformed Athens in the 6th century BC
-
Mercantilism
Thu 16 Mar 2023
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the idea which dominated European economies for 300 years.
-
Megaliths
Thu 2 Mar 2023
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss what we know about ancient stones placed in the landscape.
-
Chartism
Thu 9 Feb 2023
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 19th-century campaign for greater democracy.
-
Tycho Brahe
Thu 2 Feb 2023
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 16th-century astronomer, renowned for his accuracy.
-
The Great Stink
Thu 29 Dec 2022
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 1858 crisis from the flow of sewage into the Thames.
-
The Irish Rebellion of 1798
Thu 8 Dec 2022
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the causes and early consequences of the 1798 rebellion.
-
Demosthenes' Philippics
Thu 17 Nov 2022
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the speeches that set the standard for political attacks.
-
The Morant Bay Rebellion
Thu 3 Nov 2022
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the events in Jamaica in 1865 and their consequences.
In Our Time podcasts
Download programmes from the huge In Our Time archive.
The In Our Time Listeners' Top 10
If you’re new to In Our Time, this is a good place to start.
Arts and Ideas podcast
Download the best of Radio 3's Free Thinking programme.