BBC History UK
“She was in the world of change but somehow apart from it”
Throughout her reign, Queen Elizabeth II remained a constant presence in an era of vast social, technological and geopolitical transformation. Anna Whitelock charts an era in which Britain, but not its queen, changed beyond recognition
9 min |
December 2022
BBC History UK
Noor Inayat Khan 1914-44
MY HISTORY HERO Actor and TV presenter Sam Naz chooses
2 min |
December 2022
BBC History UK
The television age
In 1936, the BBC launched its new TV service - and changed British broadcasting at a stroke. DAVID HENDY charts the technological innovations that produced the so-called "magic rays" - and explores the delights they offered the viewing public
6 min |
October 2022
BBC History UK
THE RACE TO DECIPHER ANCIENT EGYPT, SACRED SCRIPT
The discovery of the Rosetta Stone in 1799 breathed life into a quest long deemed impossible: the reading of Egyptian hieroglyphics. Toby Wilkinson tells the tale of the two rivals who raced to be first to crack the code
10+ min |
October 2022
BBC History UK
When Richard rose again
Ten years ago a skeleton in a Leicester car park transformed our understanding of a medieval king, and turned him into a media sensation. Mike Pitts tells the remarkable story of the discovery of Richard III's remains
10+ min |
October 2022
BBC History UK
One thing's for sure: religion will not fade away any time soon
In my job, travelling the world making films on history and culture, I've spent a lot of time exploring religion in its many manifestations. Religion, after all, is a gift for the camera: full of colour, action and often moving rituals. It's also a crystallisation in words and gestures of humanity's beliefs, hopes and dreams, making for a powerful sensory insight into the ways in which our ancestors understood their relation to the universe.
3 min |
October 2022
BBC History UK
The pleasures and pains of life as a medieval monk
Our podcast editor ELLIE CAWTHORNE tells us about a recent episode focusing on life in a monastery in the Middle Ages, and why it wasn't necessarily all that bad
2 min |
October 2022
BBC History UK
Political battles
ANDREW ROBERTS applauds a masterful exploration - required reading for any seeking high command - of why warfare and politics went hand in hand in the 20th century
2 min |
October 2022
BBC History UK
Dancing feet
SOCIAL
1 min |
October 2022
BBC History UK
The stomach for the fight
In the Third Reich, food was not a personal matter but a way for Germans to show their patriotism and sacrifice. Lisa Pine investigates how the Nazis micromanaged what was being served on the nation's tables
10+ min |
October 2022
BBC History UK
"There's still this hangover that has to be seen through everything the prism of enslavement"
HAKIM ADI speaks to Rhiannon Davies about his wide-ranging study of the experiences of African and Caribbean people in Britain, from the height of the Roman empire to the modern day
10 min |
October 2022
BBC History UK
Marching to war
DAN JONES talks to Rhiannon Davies about his debut historical novel Essex Dogs, which follows a group of hard-bitten mercenaries fighting for their lives in the 1346 Crécy campaign
3 min |
October 2022
BBC History UK
HOW TO SURVIVE THE DARK AGES
The collapse of Roman rule in Britain left a vacuum that numerous powers competed to fill - but only a few realms endured. How did some thrive while others vanished or were vanquished? Thomas Williams offers six crucial survival tips for would-be rulers of early medieval kingdoms
8 min |
October 2022
BBC History UK
FLOATING HELL
Convicts experienced notoriously miserable conditions in Georgian and Victorian Britain – and inmates of prison hulks endured the harshest of these deprivations. ANNA McKAY reveals the horrors of these “wicked Noah’s arks”
10+ min |
October 2022
BBC History UK
Science’s global revolution
James Poskett introduces some brilliant thinkers who shatter the theory that, when it came to the scientific revolution of the 16th to 18th centuries, Europe was at the centre of the universe
9 min |
October 2022
BBC History UK
To the four corners of the world
CORMAC Ó GRÁDA commends an ambitious and accessible overview of the Irish diaspora, seen through the ordinary people who travelled to countries all over the world to find new lives
2 min |
October 2022
BBC History UK
Nation building
JANET HARTLEY finds much to admire in a new history of Russia, while wanting more that might help explain the "one nation" belief that led to the recent invasion of Ukraine
5 min |
October 2022
BBC History UK
Thelonious Monk 1917-82
Singer, songwriter and composer Laura Mvula chooses
2 min |
September 2022
BBC History UK
Smooth operator
SECOND WORLD WAR | KATE VIGURS acclaims a vibrant account of the life and wartime travails of American-French cabaret artist - and covert resistance operative - Josephine Baker
2 min |
September 2022
BBC History UK
Caledonian chronicle
RAB HOUSTON has mixed feelings about an energetic but uneven romp through four centuries of Scottish political, social, cultural and economic history
4 min |
September 2022
BBC History UK
A dramatic solar storm lights up the Earth
2 SEPTEMBER 1859 | The "Carrington Event" causes auroras and telegraph chaos
2 min |
September 2022
BBC History UK
Why PMs get the push
Boris Johnson's announcement that he is set to resign as prime minister threw the British government into turmoil in July - and saw him join a small group of PMs brought down by scandal. RICHARD TOYE explores what we can learn from the demise of previous premiers
6 min |
September 2022
BBC History UK
Want to know why Henry VI's reign was such a disaster? Then look no further than his father
Henry VI fell foul of the French, his soldiers, even his own advisors. Yet, writes Lauren Johnson, his greatest enemy was the revered warrior-king who left him the throne 600 years ago
10+ min |
September 2022
BBC History UK
Stalingrad through German eyes
Iain MacGregor explores the previously unpublished testimony of a German officer on the front line | In September 1942, German lieutenant colonel Friedrich Roske declared himself "the master of the centre of Stalingrad" after his troops had smashed their way into the heart of the city. But with thousands of Soviet guardsmen poised to launch a furious counter-attack, his triumph was to be short-lived. Roske's previously unpublished testimonies reveal, in unsparing detail, the grim fate of the German troops holed up in Stalingrad as the Red Army began to tighten its grip...
10+ min |
September 2022
BBC History UK
"For too long medieval women have been written out of history. It's high time we put them back in"
Janina Ramirez introduces three trailblazers whose stories show that medieval women were far more than the wives, sisters and aunts of men
9 min |
September 2022
BBC History UK
In 1678, Catholic assassins a plot to murder hatched Charles II... or did they?
Victor Stater tells the story of the Popish Plot, an elaborate fake news story that reshaped British politics - and sent dozens of innocent people to the gallows
10+ min |
September 2022
BBC History UK
The enduring trauma of partition
In 1947, British India was split in two, sparking a wave of violence that defined the new nations for decades. On the 75th anniversary of partition, Kavita Puri looks at how subsequent generations in south Asia and the UK have come to terms with its legacy
10+ min |
September 2022
BBC History UK
Enter the dragon
It's brought its own unique brand of magic to everything from Game of Thrones to Harry Potter. But how did the modern dragon come into being? Daniel Ogden traces the six stages of the creature's evolution in the west - from ancient serpent to medieval fire breather
8 min |
September 2022
BBC History UK
THE DIG THAT CHANGED (URBAN) HISTORY
Sixty years ago, one of Britain's most important archaeology projects was launched in Hampshire. Michael Wood reviews the groundbreaking discoveries of the dig at Winchester, once the showpiece of Alfred the Great's royal dynasty
8 min |
September 2022
BBC History UK
"Henrietta Maria has been looked at far too much through the male gaze - it's time for another perspective"
Leanda De Lisle speaks to Emily Briffett about her new study of Charles I's reviled queen and reveals why she doesn't deserve her rotten reputation
10 min |