For hundreds of years, monarchy has reigned as the dominant political model in Europe. But how has this system - where political life was shaped by the births, marriages and deaths of the ruling family - maintained such a strong grip for so long? How did these dynasties cope with female rule, child monarchs, mistresses or pretenders to the throne? How were names, numbering and the visual display of heraldry express an identity and cement loyalty? Robert Bartlett is Professor Emeritus at the University of St Andrews, and her joined see on the pod to untangle this complex web of internal rivalries and loyalties in the politics of the royal and imperial dynasties of Europe.
Dan explores the Moscow Metro in search of history.
In 1931, an enormous apartment building was completed in Moscow. Challenging the Kremlin for architectural supremacy on the Moskva River, it was the largest residential building in Europe, combining 505 furnished apartments with every modern luxury - a cinema, library, tennis court and shooting r...
Professor Sarah Knott talks to Dan about the history of motherhood and childbirth. She hasn't taken a linear approach in her research, so her discussion of mothering adopts a broad approach, looking at a variety of cultures and time periods and how they approach one of the most fundamental human ...
