History Today Podcast

This year marks the 900th anniversary of the worst maritime disaster suffered by the English Crown and, arguably, by England.

The sinking of the White Ship – a vessel carrying the English king Henry I’s sole heir – on 25 November 1120, was a disaster from which anarchy would follow. 

Join Charles Spencer, author of The White Ship: Conquest, Anarchy and the Wrecking of Henry I’s Dream (William ...

In the Wars of the Roses, Margaret is remembered as a warrior queen, the ‘she-wolf of France’. But the means by which she operated in the period of Lancastrian exile from 1461-71 – her unceasing diplomatic efforts in Europe and campaign of resistance in northern England – have tended to be sidelined in histories of this apparently national conflict. 

The story of Margaret’s campaign to regain the crown for the House of Lanc...

Over the past hundred years, foreign correspondents have been central to the West’s understanding of Russia’s political and cultural turning points, the revolutions, wars and changes in political power.

In this episode, History Today Editor Paul Lay is joined by James Rodgers, whose latest book, Assignment Moscow, focuses on the stories of those journalists who have forged this understanding.

Assignment Moscow: Repo...

During the last week of September an Azerbaijani offensive re-ignited a decades-old conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh (‘Mountainous Karabakh’) region. 

The Nagorno-Karabakh dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan is sometimes explained as a result of ‘ancient hatreds’. In reality, it is nothing of the sort, despite both sides using history to bolster their claims to the region. 

T...

The Sikh queen Jind Kaur inherited an empire shaken by unexpected deaths and embroiled in civil war, but her biggest problem was the British. 

Who was Jind Kaur and how did she become such a formidable woman?

This article is from the October issue of History Today: buy a copy of the issue from our website, from newsstands across the UK, or read it via the History Today app, available on Google Play and the App St...

A terrorist attack on Wall Street on 16 September 1920 aroused suspicion of anarchists, socialists and foreigners, as America saw danger around every corner.

This article is from the September issue of History Today: buy a copy of the issue from our website, from newsstands across the UK, or read it via the History Today app, available on Google Play and the App Store.

Read by Greig Johnson. Written by James Crossland.

In 1660, the Royalist exiles were returning with European languages, manners and culture in tow. Yet, of all the European imports that Charles and his Royalist entourage ferried back to their homeland, it was the courtly position of the maîtresse-en-titre that would prove most significant. 

Despite the scandalous overtones of adultery inherent in the job title, it was a much sought-after role, offering financial a...

Life and death in a Viking battle depended not on military prowess, but on the favour of the valkyries. Why were these mythical figures, who decided a warrior’s fate, female?

This article was part of our Miscellanies series. Sign up to receive this free weekly long read in your inbox, at https://www.historytoday.com/miscellanies.

Written by Jóhanna Katrín Friðriksdóttir. Read by Greig Johnson. 

Music: Kai Engel.

Shortly after 5pm on 7 June 1520, Henry VIII of England and Francis I of France met for the first time. That first meeting, and their time together over the following fortnight, became known to history as the Field of Cloth of Gold.

In a spirit of rivalry and cooperation, the two young Renaissance monarchs asserted their power and authority at one of the last great demonstrations of the chivalric age.

This article is from...

In this podcast, History Today Editor Paul Lay is joined by David Abulafia, winner of the 2020 Wolfson History Prize, for his book The Boundless Sea.

The Boundless Sea traces the history of human movement and interaction around and across the world's greatest bodies of water, charting our relationship with the oceans from the time of the first voyagers. 

David also wrote an article for the November 2019 issue of History ...

The hero of the Haitian Revolution’s lonely death in a French prison cell was not an unfortunate tragedy but a cruel story of deliberate destruction.

This article is from the June issue of History Today: buy a copy of the issue from our website, or read it via the History Today app, available on Google Play and the App Store.

Introduced by History Today editor, Paul Lay. Read by Greig Johnson. Written by Marlene L. Daut.

...

Join Marlene Daut in conversation with History Today Editor, Paul Lay, as they discuss the background of the Haitian Revolution, Toussaint Louverture, and the revolution's legacies.

Marlene has written an article for the June issue of History Today on 'The Wrongful Death of Toussaint Louverture', which is also available to listen to as an audio long read on our podcast.

Buy a copy of the June issue from our website, or r...

The city of Thebes was central to the ancient Greeks’ achievements in politics and culture. For many centuries it has been largely – and often deliberately – forgotten.

Join Paul Cartledge in conversation with History Today Editor, Paul Lay, as they discuss Paul Cartledge's article on 'Thebes: The Forgotten City', which is in the June issue of History Today.

Buy a copy of the June issue from our website, or read it via t...

In the 17th century, fanciful solutions to the mystery of the swallow’s whereabouts were the result of an intense battle over the nature of scientific reasoning, which had been raging for centuries – and which is still raging today.

This article is from the May issue of History Today. Buy a copy of this issue from our website, or read it via the History Today app, available on Google Play and the App Store.

Written by Ale...

Myanmar’s colonial legacy includes racial hierarchies and authoritarian government. In the new nation state, not everyone is welcome.

To understand why Rakhine State is in such turmoil we need to follow the threads of ethnic nationalism back to before Myanmar existed.

This article is from the May issue of History Today. Buy a copy of this issue from our website, or read it via the History Today app, available on Google Pl...

Four historians discuss what we learn from history about how diseases spread, and how we respond to them.

Buy a copy of the April issue of History Today from our website: www.historytoday.com

John Henderson: ‘Strategies to cope with plague have formed the basis for later policies’. Read by Paul Lay.

Patricia Fara: ‘Fear and suspicion multiply more rapidly than any virus’. Read by Katie Holyoak.

Samuel Cohn: ‘Epidemics s...

France’s attraction to right-wing populism has been a constant, if shape-shifting, presence in its politics since the end of the 19th century.

This article appeared in the April 2020 edition of History Today. Read the article online or buy a copy of this issue from our website.

Written by Martin Evans

Read by Greig Johnson

Produced by History Today

Music by Kai Engel

Ho...

In 1942, Lieutenant Lyudmila Pavlichenko, a Soviet frontline sniper, was sent on a mission to convince US and British allies to open up a Second Front against Hitler’s forces.

Her arrival in Washington DC coincided with a historic moment of American-Soviet friendship, even while the press found the female sniper, with her claimed tally of 309 German kills, rather shocking.

Historian Dr Julie Wheelwright in conversation with H...

In March 1876, the young Sigmund Freud arrived in Trieste, looking for the testicles of an eel. For centuries past, these troublesome organs had proved elusive. Despite the most intensive – not to say intimate – research, no one had managed to track them down. 

This article appeared in the March 2020 edition of History Today. Read the article online or buy a copy of this issue from our website.

Written by ...