In a special episode of the podcast, Dan's children join him for a lively retelling of Boudica and the violent uprising that tore Roman Britain apart - a classic bedtime story in the Snow household. Merry Christmas from Dan and his family!

We’re finishing off 2021 with what is perhaps Julius Caesar’s greatest legacy. It’s not a military victory or battle, but one of the many political reforms that truly has stood the test of time: the Julian calendar. Before, calendars were largely based on the lunar calendar, and believe it or not...

Ever wondered why we call Christmas, ‘Christmas’? And why it’s celebrated on the 25th December? Or maybe where the Christmas tree came from, the Yule log, the nativity, Father Christmas and even the advent calendar?

Well you might be surprised to learn they’re all rooted in medieval traditions. ...

A trip to Paris wouldn't be the same without taking a moment to gaze up at the great looming towers of the Gothic Notre Dame Cathedral with its watchful gargoyles on every corner. Today, celebrated journalist Simon Jenkins joins Dan to discuss 'humankind's greatest creation'; the cathedral. Simon...

The permanent home of the Parthenon Marbles, also known as the Elgin Marbles, has been the subject of a heated, decades-long debate.

Currently housed in the British Museum, Greece has been proactively campaigning for their return since the 1980s. But, how did this controversy start and why did t...

For many of us, our Christmas traditions have been passed down generations. Whether we realise it or not. But where could some of these traditions originate from, and could some go back to the Viking age? In today’s episode, Cat is joined by cultural historian Herleik Baklid to discuss midwinter ...

Thanks largely to his feature in the Gospel of Matthew, King Herod ‘the Great’ of Judaea is one of the infamous figures from the whole of history. So what do we know about this ancient near eastern ruler, who in his lifetime had contacts with a series of ‘goliath’ figures from the ancient Mediter...

Nonconforming beyond the limitations of what's typically expected of men and women has been happening for many centuries. A part of history and tradition which, some might say, even crossed into religion. But focusing on the years 200–1400 C.E, how were non-binary identities defined? In this epis...

On a winter day in 1903, in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, two unknown brothers from Ohio changed history. The Wright Brothers took the world's first engine-powered flight. It didn't take long for countries around the world to realise that the Wright flying machine had the potential to revolu...

The Battle of Agincourt looms large in the English historical and cultural imagination, this explainer wades through the mythology to help listeners really understand this infamous battle.

From almost the moment the battle finished the myth of Agincourt was being spun. Henry V milked the victory...

While many traditions regard God to be incorporeal, some three thousand years ago in the Southwest Asian lands, a group of people worshipped a complex pantheon of deities, led by a father god called El. El had seventy children, who were gods in their own right. One of them was a deity, known as Y...

Contrary to popular belief, parties in Ancient Rome were not all depraved wine-fuelled orgies. In fact, Roman get-togethers were relatively tame by the standards of today. They often consisted of noble families sharing elaborate food dishes and entertaining one another with theatrical hysterics. ...

On February 27 1763, thousands of enslaved people in the Dutch colony of Berbice—in present-day Guyana—launched a huge uprising against their oppressors. Surrounded by jungle and savannah, the revolutionaries—many of them African-born—effectively controlled the colony for a year as they resisted ...

British politician Gavin Barwell served as Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Theresa May from June 2017 to July 2019, one of the most turbulent periods in recent British political history.

As the Prime Minister’s senior political adviser, Barwell was at May's side as she navigated tumultuous Brex...

What is a perpendicular church? In this episode, Cat is on location! Invited by expert stonemason Andrew Ziminski to a spectacular perpendicular church in Steeple Ashton in Wiltshire, Andrew takes us on a guided tour. From honky punks to secret libraries. We learn all about what makes this perpen...

What the Book of Genesis is to the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament, songlines are to Indigenous Australians. Epic tales of desire, pursuit, shape-shifting spirits, strength and family ties, these are stories of the land, communicated only by a handful of elders. Today, Tristan is joi...

The Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) was the women's branch of the British Army during the Second World War. Formed in 1938 it saw many thousands of women take on a huge range of vital roles in the war effort which had never before been open to them. This included manning anti-aircraft station...

While the allies reeled from the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour and Hitler's declaration of war on the United States, a ferocious battle was also raging across the icy steppes of Russia in early December 1941. Hitler had launched his invasion of the Soviet Union in June of that year - Operation...

Frederick the Great, Marie Antoinette and Oscar Wilde. Each of them have talked about, or been talked about in terms of, Ancient Greek ideas of homosexual love. From men taking on young apprentices, to Sappho’s yearning poetry, the Ancient Greek traditions have long been called upon in conversati...

With closed borders, a totalitarian regime, electricity blackouts and widespread poverty, North Korea is a brutal place to survive; even looking at a foreign media outlet can get a North Korean citizen sent to a concentration camp. So why, in 2011 did leader Kim Jong Il allow Jean Lee, a celebrat...

On December 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service launched a surprise military strike upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii. Just before 8 a.m., the base was attacked by 353 Imperial Japanese aircraft as fighters, level, dive bomb...

For over one million visitors each year, the main interest of the area around Stonehenge is the world famous prehistoric monument. But what can we learn from what lies beneath the ground? Dr Selina Brace is back on the Ancients to tell us about her studies, the Bronze Age people who once inhabite...

November 30 2021, Bridgetown, fifty-five years since Barbados’ 1966 Independence, the Royal Standard flag representing the Queen was lowered and Dame Sandra Mason was sworn in as the president of Barbados. The handover ceremony marked the birth of the world’s newest republic.

The most easterly o...

Battles, murders, and forgotten treasures - the Burgundians lived life like an episode of Game of Thrones. Once one of the most powerful kingdoms in Western Europe, they are now known as a vanished empire. This week Matt is joined by historian and author Bart van Loos to discuss who exactly were ...