This is the story of a fake Princess from far-off lands who hoaxed Georgian Britain. What was the truth of her story? Today we are celebrating the upcoming publication of Maddy's new book 'Hoax: Truth and Lies in the Age of Enlightenment' by sharing one of the stories from it.

In the 19th century, Japan's samurai era ended, and the country transformed from a secluded feudal society into a modern industrial superpower. From sweeping political reforms to rapid industrialisation, this is the story of how Japan reinvented itself in just decades and emerged as a formidable ...

Today we are celebrating the upcoming publication of Maddy's new book 'Hoax: Truth and Lies in the Age of Enlightenment' by sharing one of the dark stories from it. The haunting of Cock Lane is the most iconic ghost story in London's long history, taking place in the year 1762. Was it a hoax?

Yersinia Pestis - the most feared disease in human history - has long been thought to be the Plague of Justinian in 541 AD. But new studies of ancient DNA have revealed traces of Yersinia pestis dating back more than 5000 years.

In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by Laura...

In Ancient Mesopotamia, the boundary between the living and the dead was not always fixed... some even believed it could be crossed. But why would the living seek counsel from the dead? How common were these practices? And what answers did people hope the spirits might reveal?

In this episode, A...

In 1553, Mary Tudor became the first woman to sit on the English throne - a reign of just five years, that history has remembered almost exclusively through the lens of her enemies. But today, we revisit the story of "Bloody Mary" to ask: was she really a ruthless tyrant?

Joining us is Professor...

In 79 AD, life in Pompeii unfolded beneath the shadow of a tremoring Mount Vesuvius. Streets bustled, businesses thrived, and merchants built fortunes, unaware disaster was hours away. But what happened when that disaster struck? How did these ordinary Roman citizens seek to survive the last days...

On a summer day in Sarajevo in 1914, a young man fired two rounds of his pistol in the middle of the street, killing a Royal couple... He didn't know it then, but his actions would cause a chain reaction, resulting in the First World War. But who were Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, the Du...

An ice axe, a bloody study in Mexico City, and a betrayal years in the making.

In this episode, we uncover the true story behind the brutal assassination of Leon Trotsky. At its centre is Ramón Mercader, a Soviet-trained agent who infiltrated Trotsky’s inner circle and killed him. But this was m...

A legend of the great Greek city of Athens, Themistocles rose from obscurity to save ancient Greece and helped shape one of the greatest naval powers in history. Yet his story ends in exile, condemned as a traitor and serving the very empire he once defeated: Persia.

In this episode of The Ancie...

For the third episode in our mini-series on the Crusades, we dive into the 1291 Siege of Acre - the desperate, violent last stand that ended two centuries of crusading in the Holy Land. We hear how, outnumbered, divided and desperate, the Christian defenders fought to the bitter end against the M...

On the night of Saturday, the 9th of March, 1566, a pregnant Mary Queen of Scots was having a dinner party. It was a night that ended in the brutal murder of one of her closest friends, David Rizzio, led by her husband, Lord Darnley. How did this happen? How did Mary handle this traumatic moment?...

Paleoanthropologist Ella Al-Shamahi joins Tristan Hughes to explore the relationship between Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens.

What interactions between early Homo sapiens and Neanderthals may have been like, from communication and cultural exchange to interbreeding and the possibility of hybrid c...

He's known as one of history's most murderous kings, but was he always a monster? Or was he acting in ways expected of a king during his time.

Joining Anthony as special guest co-host is author and historian Gareth Russell, to explore the theories that support the latter.

Did the break from R...

For the second episode in our mini-series on the Crusades, we explore the legendary rivalry between two extraordinary medieval orders: the Assassins and the Templars. Separating myth from history, we uncover their beliefs, covert operations and lasting legacy, revealing how truth and legend becam...

This episode contains graphic descriptions of violence, including suicide.

What really happened to Judas Iscariot? From shifting accounts in the Gospels to the 30 pieces of silver, Tristan Hughes is joined by Professor Paul Middleton to trace the stories that made Judas Christianity’s most infam...

To launch our mini series on the Crusades, we've put together your complete guide to almost two centuries of holy war - from start to finish. We untangle faith, politics and myth, and reveal how the Crusades reshaped Europe, the Middle East and relations between Islam and Christianity forever.

F...

The book and TV series "Outlander" has introduced millions of fans to Scottish history and the story of the Jacobites.

One of those fans is Maddy Pelling! Maddy is back (in a pre-recorded episode) to delve into the tragic story of the Bonnie Prince Charlie and his army.

Joining her today is Dr...

What did it take to become a Roman centurion? To command, to punish and to lead from the very front of Rome’s armies?

In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr Ben Kane to uncover the reality behind one of the most iconic ranks of the ancient world. From the brutal discipli...

Peaky Blinders. Who were the gangsters behind the myths? And what was life actually like in the backstreets of late 19th and early 20th-century Birmingham?

We’re joined by social historian Carl Chinn to uncover the true story of Birmingham’s infamous gangs. Carl is the author of ‘PEAKY BLINDERS:...

It was the original modern ghost hunt, the one that set the template for all the haunted houses to come. When a wealthy plantation family moves into a crumbling Georgian mansion in the 1760's the haunting begins. By the end, even royalty were on tenterhooks. Eleanor Janega joins Anthony Delaney ...

In September 1999, just weeks after 46-year-old Vladimir Putin became Russia’s prime minister, a series of apartment bombings ripped through Russian cities, killing hundreds as they slept and plunging the country into fear. The government blamed Chechen militants—but questions soon emerged. Some ...

What happened to the Princes in the Tower? Did Richard III kill them? In this After Dark podcast episode, Eleanor Janega, Anthony Delaney and Matt Lewis answer these questions.

It's one of history's greatest mysteries - 'what happened to the Princes in the Tower?' In 1483, young Edward V and hi...

Roel Konijnendijk is on this new episode of The Ancients with Tristian Hughes about Herodotus.

What drove Herodotus to write the first great story of history? Tristan Hughes speaks with Dr. Roel Konijnendijk to uncover the world of Herodotus of Halicarnassus—the traveler, investigator, and stor...