The Rest Is History
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743 episodes
743 episodes
Alexander the Great, with Mary Beard
No one was like him, terrible were his crimes… Where was Alexander the Great born, and who were his parents? What drove him to go beyond the Aegean empire he had already carved out for himself, and conquer lands beyond the limits of the Gr…
609. Nelson: The Gathering Storm (Part 2)
After two years at sea, what happened when Horatio Nelson - now Britain’s most celebrated naval commander - finally returned home, to his wife and father? Following his involvement in the poisonous politics of Naples, his terrible treatmen…
608. Nelson: Slaughter in Naples (Part 1)
What happened when the heroic Horatio Nelson, victor of the Battle of the Nile, sailed into the seething city of Naples? Why would his meeting with the glamorous celebrity, Lady Emma Hamilton, shape the rest of his life? And, why would his…
The Trojan War, with Mary Beard
Did the Trojan War - the ten year, cosmic clash between the Greeks and the Trojans, featuring the Olympian gods, kings and heroes - actually happen? Is there any evidence for the existence of the Trojan Horse? And, why is it the war the fo…
607. Nelson’s Lover: The Scandalous Lady Hamilton
Who was Emma Hamilton, Horatio Nelson’s strikingly beautiful, and famously fashionable mistress? How did she raise herself up from dire poverty, to become a model, actress, dancer, and even an international celebrity? And, why was theirs o…
606. Enoch Powell: Rivers of Blood
Who was Enoch Powell, the deeply controversial British conservative politician? Why is he the father of Brexit, and possibly even Reform? And, how did he come to make his inflammatory ‘Rivers of Blood speech’, in 1968? Join Dominic and Tom…
605. Greek Myths: Jason & The Quest for the Golden Fleece (Part 4)
What terrifying trials did Jason and the Argonauts have to overcome to win the famous Golden Fleece from a fire-breathing dragon, in one of the greatest greek myths of all time? When and where does this thrilling story come from? How does …
604. Greek Myths: Sex, Drugs & Tragedy (Part 3)
Who was Dionysus, the son of Zeus, and Greek god of ecstasy, revelry and madness? Why was he so central to the ancient Greeks? What is the story of the Bacchae, the play in which a young man is ripped apart by the handmaidens of the goddes…
603. Greek Myths: The Riddle of the Sphinx (Part 2)
What is the story behind the writing of Oedipus, the notorious king of Thebes who murdered his father and unwittingly married his mother? Was it based on a real historical event? What are Oedipus’ cursed mythic origins in Thebes? Who was S…
602. Greek Myths: Zeus, King of the Gods (Part 1)
What are the mythic origins of Zeus, King of the Olympians, and the other Greek gods? From what period did the earliest of the Greek myths derive? Who was Hesiod - alongside Homer, the greatest of the Greek poets, and the father of Europea…