We dive into the reign of the first Stuart monarch of England - his political savvy, and the controversies that shaped his rule. From the Gunpowder Plot to the King James Bible, we ask whether history has judged him too harshly - or not harshly enough.

Historian, author and broadcaster Anna Whit...

Why does King Arthur loom so large in British history? And what do we really know about him?

In this episode, Dan explores the man behind the legend - a leader who emerged from the ruins of Roman Britain, and unified the Britons against Anglo-Saxon invaders. Dan looks through the Ruin Of Britain...

Boudicca, the warrior queen of the Iceni tribe, has become a symbol of resistance and British defiance. But what do we really know about her, and her bloody revolt against Roman rule?

Dr Shushma Malik from the University of Cambridge joins us to untangle this mystery, and explore the lasting leg...

Few dinosaurs are as instantly recognisable as the plated titan Stegosaurus - it's the Jurassic giant with a brain the size of a walnut and a tail that could kill.

In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr Susannah Maidment of London’s Natural History Museum to uncover the ...

More than 1,500 people perished in the icy North Atlantic after the RMS Titanic sank beneath the waters on 15 April 1912. In this new video, Titanic expert Tim Maltin takes Dan Snow through the details of that fateful night as it happened. Could the disaster have been avoided? Is it like the movi...

n the heart of the Pacific Ocean, over 2,000 miles from the nearest continent, lies one of the world’s most iconic archaeological treasure troves - Rapa Nui, known to the outside world as Easter Island. Famed for the towering stone faces of the moai, the island has undergone extraordinary transfo...

Sparta was ancient Greece's most formidable warrior society. Their rigorous militaristic culture and battlefield feats have become the stuff of legend - but what are the cold, hard facts behind the six-packs and leather loincloths of the popular imagination?

Dr Andrew Bayliss of the University o...

Dan narrates the remarkable story of how George Washington's newly established Continental Army tried to conquer Canada in the brutal winter of 1775. The American Revolutionary forces believed their northern neighbour would surely welcome them as liberators, as they themselves fought off the yoke...

Humans are everywhere. How did we get from the savannahs of Africa across to the most northern reaches of Alaska and Greenland, to the outbacks of Australia and the islands of the Pacific millennia ago? How did we master fire, figure out how to craft tools and survive the Ice Ages?

In this episo...

Tristan Hughes and Conn Iggulden talk all about Emperor Nero's traumatic rise to power in the Julio-Claudian dynasty, featuring Agrippina the Younger, Caligula, and Claudius in this episode of the Ancients.

In this in-depth ancient history podcast, host Tristan Hughes welcomes acclaimed historic...

Tristan Hughes and Raven Todd Dilva discuss Arctic archaeology, revealing the Thule Inuit, an ancient civilisation that mastered survival across northern Canada and Greenland. This episode explores the remarkable migration of the Thule Inuit from Alaska around 1000 CE, their eventual replacement ...

Was the Eye of Sauron based on ancient Irish mythology? What can we know about these prehistoric legends and their effect on our stories today?

Tristan Hughes and ancient history expert Anthony Murphy dive deep into the written tales to uncover how the seemingly "pagan" stories, written down by ...

Did you know fossil sharks are older than the dinosaurs and even the rings of Saturn?

Tristan Hughes and leading palaeontologist Professor John Long delve into the epic evolutionary journey of these ocean survivors, from the earliest microscopic scales to the monstrous apex predators of the 'Gol...

Uncover the historical, archaeological, and religious context of the Ten Commandments (the Decalogue) with Dr. Dylan Johnson.

Historian and biblical scholar Dr. Dylan Johnson joins Tristan Hughes to delve into the complex history of one of the world’s most famous texts. We go beyond the biblical...

Exploring the origins of the fall of Rome, ancient history expert Dr David Gwynn uncovers the 4th-century transformation of the Roman Empire under emperors like Diocletian and Constantine. This episode delves into a period often overlooked, examining how the empire consolidated after the tumultuo...

A brilliant general. A brooding autocrat. A recluse surrounded by scandal. Few Roman emperors divide opinion like Tiberius. But was he truly a monster, or the victim of centuries of salacious storytelling?

In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr Daisy Dunn to uncover the ...