Greg Jenner has given my children so many hours of happiness as the historical brains behind the Horrible History tv shows and movie, not to mention the Homeschool History podcast that it would have been grotesquely unfair not to have him on the show and talk about his new book on the history of celebrity. Greg has tried to define exactly what we mean by this title and suggests that it all began in the early 18th Century with the rise of a literate mass audience and the magazines and papers that catered to it. His suggestion of the first celebrity will surprise every one of you, but his stories about the people that we have thrown onto pedestals and then cast aside will amaze you. As i should know by now, nothing, nothing at all, is new in this world.
Joshua Levine was the historical advisor on Dunkirk, directed by Christopher Nolan. He is also the author of Dunkirk: The History Behind the Major Motion Picture.
There are more historic artefacts on our ocean floor than there are in every museum in the world put together. Over thousands of years ships carrying every conceivable cargo have sunk in the rivers and oceans of the world. Protecting them is an enormous challenge. Thankfully there are heroes out ...
Dan talks to the editor of the Times Literary Supplement, Stig Abell about what ideas and institutions govern Britain, and how they have developed.