Education
BBC History UK
Why are we so hung up with historical dates?
From 1066 to 1918, our obsession with battles, elections and even voyages of discovery risks distorting a true understanding of the past
10+ min |
November 2025
BBC History UK
The physicist as hero
JIMENA CANALES argues that a new study of Einstein misses some of the complexity in his story
2 min |
November 2025
BBC History UK
Different class
MILES TAYLOR is absorbed by a study of how Britain's hereditary peers have negotiated changing times
2 min |
November 2025
BBC History UK
Dear doctor...
What did medieval physicians prescribe for stomach ache? And could weasels' testicles really help you conceive?
8 min |
November 2025
BBC History UK
New York City in five places
The Big Apple's story features chapters of conflict, competition, immigration and social revolution.
3 min |
November 2025
BBC History UK
Star witness
From the moment it was founded 350 years ago, the Royal Observatory in Greenwich drove our understanding of astronomy, navigation and time.
9 min |
November 2025
BBC History UK
They arrived with just £3. Imagine starting a new life with so little
I REMEMBER LOOKING IN THE BBC ARCHIVES for stories of the first arrivals of South Asians in the postwar years, and being surprised at how little program- ming had been made documenting the experiences of my parents' generation. That was well over 10 years ago now. From then on, I began to record testimonies of people who came to the UK from South Asia after the Second World War for my Radio 4 series Three Pounds in My Pocket. The title of that programme was inspired by the fact that, for years after the war, strict currency controls dictated that those arriving from India could not bring more than £3 into the UK. Imagine starting a new life in a new country with so little.
2 min |
November 2025
BBC History UK
A THEATRE OF HATE
Did German U-boats conduct a 'clean' campaign during the Second World War?
10+ min |
November 2025
BBC History UK
Who should decide the stories museums tell?
Increasingly, museums are being challenged on how they select, display and interpret their collections. Six historians explain how these institutions can adapt to suit 21st-century audiences
8 min |
November 2025
BBC History UK
"Economists studying history tend to focus on men, overlooking the contributions of half the population"
VICTORIA BATEMAN speaks to Danny Bird about the crucial roles women played in historical economies - and how recognising those contributions transforms our understanding of the past
10 min |
October 2025
BBC History UK
Adapting ancient beliefs
EMMA WILBY is fascinated by a look at how long-held religions and traditions of pre-Christian Europe endured right into the modern era
2 min |
October 2025
BBC History UK
Rita Levi-Montalcini
When I had to help my daughter find an inspirational woman in history for a school research project.
2 min |
October 2025
BBC History UK
Who was Prester John?
In 1165, the Byzantine emperor received a letter purporting to have been sent by the mysterious ruler of an unknown distant land in the east.
1 min |
October 2025
BBC History UK
Fighting talk
GUY DE LA BÉDOYÈRE is impressed by a deep dive into the world of ancient Roman gladiators that shines a light on diverse aspects of that civilisation
4 min |
October 2025
BBC History UK
The lie of succession
Did James I 'steal' Elizabeth I's crown? Tracy Borman considers evidence that the transition from Tudor to Stuart dynasties may not have been quite as seamless as we've been led to believe
10 min |
October 2025
BBC History UK
Raising our voice
As the abolitionist Frederick Douglass argued in 1857, if there is no struggle there is no progress.
1 min |
October 2025
BBC History UK
Plumbing ocean depths
This is a history of margins and fringes – not only of the Atlantic Ocean itself, but also of the imaginations of those who worked on its surface and lived at its edges.
1 min |
October 2025
BBC History UK
Golden years
PAT THANE commends a richly detailed study of attitudes to older people through history
2 min |
October 2025
BBC History UK
Continental rift
GILBERT M JOSEPH is enthused by a novel exploration of the intertwined stories of North and Latin America
2 min |
October 2025
BBC History UK
What was Chairman Mao's 'mango cult'?
In summer 1968, Beijing factory workers received a strange gift: a box of fragrant mangoes, a fruit virtually unknown in China at that time, sent by Chairman Mao himself.
1 min |
October 2025
BBC History UK
Soul cakes
ELEANOR BARNETT bakes a forgotten sweet treat that formerly lay at the heart of our Halloween traditions
2 min |
October 2025
BBC History UK
Siege warfare
JAMES OSBORNE plays a crusades-themed reboot of an old favourite among real-time strategy fans
1 min |
October 2025
BBC History UK
What was the first ever beer recipe, and how did it taste?
When you think of beer, you're probably not envisioning a thick, sour, porridge-like concoction.
1 min |
October 2025
BBC History UK
Frontier tales
Having long made a big chunk of his living from playing frontiersmen and cowboys, notably Lieutenant John J Dunbar in the Oscar-laden Dances with Wolves, Kevin Costner turns TV presenter to front an eight-part series charting the story of the American frontier.
1 min |
October 2025
BBC History UK
Reign of terror
In the 12th century, a sect of killers spread fear across the Middle East, executing a series of high-profile political murders. Steve Tibble introduces the original Assassins
9 min |
October 2025
BBC History UK
What was the Temple of Artemis?
When ancient travellers of the Mediterranean Rim compiled their lists of must-see architectural marvels, which became the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, one landmark that always made the cut was the Temple of Artemis.
1 min |
October 2025
BBC History UK
The making of Rome's monster
In the second century BC, Roman troops razed the city of Carthage and obliterated its civilisation. So why, asks Eve MacDonald, did the victors remain obsessed by their conquered foes for the next 200 years?
10 min |
October 2025
BBC History UK
Were postcards the world's first global social media?
They were certainly once as popular as social media is today.
1 min |
October 2025
BBC History UK
WHO WAS THE RIGHTFUL KING?
Which of four main contenders for the English throne had the strongest claim? Was it the Anglo-Saxon strongman, the Norman duke, the 'Thunderbolt of the North' or a callow teenager? Caitlin Ellis sizes up the rivals
10+ min |
October 2025
BBC History UK
The 'battle of Cable Street' stymies Mosley's fascists
Impassioned crowds block the Blackshirts' march through London's East End
2 min |