She is surely one of the most fascinating figures in Royal history. Perceived as a bad match for Edward VIII, Wallis Simpson is at the centre of the scandal surrounding his abdication.
But what do we know about her life besides this? From childhood to exile - Anne Sebba introduces us to the Duch...
The Bahía de Cochinos, also known as the Bay of Pigs, is a place that lives in infamy for the CIA. On April 17 1961, 1,500 US-trained Cuban exiles launched an unprecedented military landing operation on their homeland there, but how did it go so disastrously wrong? With hundreds of men killed, an...
From 1956 to 1971, J. Edgar Hoover ran COINTELPRO (Counterintelligence Program).
A series of covert and illegal FBI operations aimed at surveilling, infiltrating, discrediting, and disrupting left wing political organisations in America. The leaders of pro-civil rights, anti-Vietnam war and pro-...
One of the most famous cities in history - Babylon is shrouded in mystery and myth. Located in ancient Mesopotamia, now modern Iraq, it was one of the epicentres of ancient culture, architecture, and the home of famous figures such as Hammurabi. But what do we actually know about Babylon - and wh...
Anne Frank’s diary is one of the most famous accounts of the Jewish experience during the Second World War, giving us a deeply personal glimpse into the life-in-hiding of a prolific young writer. But on the 1st August 1944, the diary abruptly ends - the Franks, van Pelses and Fritz Pfeffer had be...
It’s time to talk about the toilet, or crapper, or bog, or the john, head, the comfort station, khazi, dunny, can, throne, pissoir.
Join Dallas and his guest, Rose George - author of The Big Necessity, on a trip down the toilet bowl of history as they uncover the origins of the flush toilet.
Li...
From Ancient Assyria to the Byzantine Empire, from the Qing dynasty’s Forbidden City to 19th century operas; Eunuchs have been present across a huge range of the world’s history. Despite this, they are often mainly thought of in terms of their private parts.
So today Betwixt the Sheets, Kate is ...
Waterloo was one of the bloodiest battles in European history, yet until now only two bodies have ever been found on the battlefield. The remains of 10 British and Prussian soldiers who died in battle have just been discovered by the Belgian-German team Waterloo Uncovered; some skeletons had been...
A hundred years ago next to no one was born via Caesarean Section. Today, one in five new arrivals on planet earth come via a Caesarean. Its meteoric rise is down to an invention most people won’t know. The Foetal Heart Monitor.
This is a story about how the law of unintended consequences led ...
Located off the coast of Florida, Puerto Rico, and its namesake Bermuda - the mysterious Bermuda Triangle is an urban myth that's risen in popularity over the decades. But how come so many planes and boats disappear in this region - and what makes Flight 19 so special? In December 1945, at the en...
Located in the US State of Ohio, the Great Serpent Mound is an iconic monument of Ancient America. Nearly 1,400 feet long, and 3 feet high - it's hard to miss. But what do we actually know about this prehistoric colossus, and why was it constructed?
In this episode, Tristan is joined by Dr Brad ...
What did porn look like before the internet? Who was it for? And how has it changed since?
In this episode, Kate chats to Kathleen Lubey, a professor at St. John’s University and specialist in eighteenth-century literature. Kathleen talks us through the history of pornography … that is, the type...
Founded in 1775, the United States Marines Corps (colloquially known as the US Marines) have a long standing history, and a reputation that precedes them. An elite group made up of personnel from across the United States, they played a vital role in the Pacific during the Second World War, and we...
In the cut-throat world of the Elizabethan court, Sir Christopher Hatton became one of Elizabeth I’s favourites. After catching her eye in 1561, Hatton was quickly promoted to the Privy Council, making a significant impact on Elizabeth’s complex religious policy. Yet Hatton has often been oversh...
J. Edgar Hoover was the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for 48 years. He grew the agency from a small, obscure operation to one that employed thousands of agents, investigating everything from kidnapping and bank robberies to political subversion and international espionage. Bever...
The unofficial 8th wonder the Ancient World, the Parthenon is still standing today. Located on the Acropolis in Athens, towering above a busy, modern metropolis - it's a symbol of the city's long standing ancient past. But why was this monumental structure built? And what do we really know about ...
The largest group of tiles in The British Museum was found at the site of Chertsey Abbey in Surrey. These fragmented floor tiles depict the fictional killing of Sultan Saladin during the Crusades by Richard the Lionheart. Groundbreaking technological research has now revealed what the tile fragme...
The brutal nature of the First World War presented frontline medical personnel with an array of horrific and debilitating wounds, inflicted on a previously unimaginable scale. From gas attacks and bayonet wounds to rifle fire and artillery barrages, day-to-day life on the frontlines posed a serio...
When this trick was first performed, ushers poured buckets of blood down the gutter outside the theatre to entice people into the macabre spectacle. Today Dallas is joined by Jim Steinmeyer to talk about the invention and development of the most iconic magic trick of all - Sawing Someone In Half....
The Ming Dynasty emerged in the second half of the 14th century, having achieved a hard-won victory over the declining Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. Admiral Zheng He, a Muslim of Mongol descent, was born into this turmoil in a far-flung, frontier province of the Ming empire. Yet by the early 15th cent...
So much of today’s music takes inspiration from the Blues, but where did Blues music itself come from?
Kate is joined by Lamont Jack Pearley - applied folklorist, ethnographer and historian of African American traditional music - who takes us through the history of Blues music, from influence to...
In 1324, Alice Kyteler became the first woman in Britain and Ireland to be tried for witchcraft. Married to four different husbands - all of whom died in suspicious circumstances - Alice was accused of murder, heresy and having carnal relations with the devil. But was she guilty? Or just another ...
After the fall of France during the Second World War, Britain became an isolated nation - dependent on the strength of it's coastal forces to keep the Axis powers at bay. The task to protect the small island nation fell on 2000 small, wooden boats to fight back against the enemy no matter the wea...
Orkney, a group of islands off Britain’s north coast, famed for their stunning, rural scenery. But 5,000 years ago, during the Neolithic Period - or ‘New Stone Age’ - it was a completely different story.
Back then, these islands were rich in stunning art and architecture. A great centre of the S...
