The son of a former slave, Pertinax was the Roman Emperor who proved that no matter how lowly your birth, you could rise to the very top through hard work, grit and determination.This previously untold story brings a fascinating and important figure out of the shadows. A self made everyman, a man of principle and ambition, a role model respected by his contemporaries who styled himself on his philosophizing predecessor and sometime champion Marcus Aurelius, Pertinax's remarkable story offers a unique and panoramic insight into the late 2nd century AD Principate Empire. In this episode, Dan is joined by historian, archaeologist and Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Kent Simon Elliot to explore Pertinax's extraordinary biography.
David Shariatmadari dives into the words we say. How did language come about, how and why do we use it?
In 1819, a huge crowd gathered in St Peter's Fields, Manchester, to hear radical speakers demand democratic reform. Dozens were killed and many more were injured by the army and local militia in what became known as the Peterloo Massacre. Dan talks to Jacqueline Riding - historical adviser on the...
Dan talks to Peter Devitt from the RAF Museum about the the RAF pilots from the Caribbean who fought in the Second World War, and what some of them found when they came back to Britain later.
