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A A Gill

Andrew Swanston read law at Cambridge, but was inspired to write by his lifelong interest in early modern history. His Thomas Hill novels – The King’s Spy, The King’s Exile and The King’s Return – are set against the backdrops of the English Civil War, Cromwell’s Commonwealth and the early Restoration respectively. He is also the author of Waterloo: The Bravest Man and Beautiful Star and Other Stories. His first historical thriller set during the reign of Elizabeth I – Incendium (published in paperback as The Incendium Plot) – introduced readers to the academic, lawyer and intelligencer Dr Christopher Radcliff, whose adventures continue in Chaos. Andrew Swanston lives in Surrey.

A D Swanston

A E Langsford

A G Hopkins

A. J. BAIME is the New York Times best-selling author of The Arsenal of Democracy: FDR, Detroit, and an Epic Quest to Arm an America at War and Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans. Both books are in development for major motion pictures. Baime is a longtime regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal, and his articles have also appeared in the New York Times, Popular Science, and Men’s Journal. He lives in Granite Bay, California. Visit him at facebook.com/ajbaime and trumanbook.com.

A J Baime

A J Jacobs

A J P Taylor

Anthony James Pollard is a British medieval historian, specialising in the fifteenth century and in particular the Wars of the Roses. A leading authority in the field, he is profesor emeritus of Teesside University. His books include North-Eastern England during the Wars of the Roses, Richard III and the Princes in theTower, Imagining Robin Hood: the Late Medieval Stories in Historical Context and Warwick the kingmaker: Politics, Power and Fame.

A J Pollard

A J Rochester

A K Benjamin is a clinical neuropsychologist and the author of Let Me Not Be Mad: A Story of Unravelling Minds.

A K Benjamin

A. L. Berridge read English at Oxford, and taught for ten years before moving into television, where her production credits range from period drama and thrillers to long-running soaps. She has written two previous novels, Top Ten besteller Honour and the Sword and In the Name of the King. Into the Valley of Death is her third novel.

A L Berridge

Alison Gaylin's first job was as a reporter for a celebrity tabloid, which sparked a lifelong interest in writing about people committing despicable acts. More than a decade later, she wrote and published her Edgar-nominated first novel, HIDE YOUR EYES. 
 
She's since published nine more books, including the USA Today and international bestselling Brenna Spector suspense series, which has been nominated for the Edgar, Anthony and Thriller awards and won the Shamus award. 
 
She lives in upstate New York with her husband, daughter, cat and dog.

A L Gaylin

A Maxwell-Hyslop

A McArthur

A P Wavell

A.S. Webb is the Sunday Times bestselling author of Daughter of Chaos, the first instalment of The Dark Pantheon Trilogy. She is inspired by stories rooted in history and mythology, that push the boundaries of imagination and urge us to reflect on what it means to be human.

A S Webb

A. A. Dhand is the author of six previous novels, and has been shortlisted for the CWA Steel Dagger Award. His DI Harry Virdee novels are currently being adapted for TV by the BBC. He was raised in Bradford and spent his youth observing the city from behind the counter of a small convenience store. After qualifying as a pharmacist, he worked in London and travelled extensively before returning to Bradford to start his own business and begin writing. The history, diversity and darkness of the city have inspired all his novels. For more information about A. A. Dhand and his books, follow him on X @aadhand, and on Instagram @aa_dhand.

A. A. Dhand

A. A. Gill

A. A. Milne

A. Anatoli

A. B. Poranek grew up sharing her time between Ontario, Canada and rural Poland, and eventually completed a veterinary degree at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences. A lover of mythology and history, she enjoys exploring both in her writing. Her debut novel, Where the Dark Stands Still, an instant New York Times bestseller, is an ode to Poland's folktales, while A Treachery of Swans transports readers to a world inspired by 17th century France.

A. B. Poranek

A. Bradley

Professor A. C. Grayling is Principal of the New College of the Humanities at Northeastern University, London, and a Supernumerary Fellow of St Anne's College, Oxford. He has written and edited over thirty books on philosophy, history, science and current affairs. For several years he wrote columns for the Guardian newspaper and The Times and was the chairman of the 2014 Man Booker Prize.

A. C. Grayling

A.D. Miller is the author of Snowdrops, The Earl of Petticoat Lane and The Faithful Couple. Snowdrops was a bestseller and was shortlisted for many prizes including the Man Booker and the CWA Gold Dagger. It was translated into 25 languages. As Moscow Correspondent of The Economist A.D. Miller has travelled across the former Soviet Union and covered the Orange Revolution in Ukraine; he is now the magazine’s Culture Editor based in London. 
 
admillerbooks.com

A. D. Miller

A. E. Ellis

A. E. W. Mason

A. Humphreys

A. Igoni Barrett was born in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, in 1979 and lives in Lagos. He is a winner of the 2005 BBC World Service short story competition, the recipient of a Chinua Achebe Center Fellowship, a Norman Mailer Center Fellowship, and a Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center Residency. His short story collection, Love is Power, or Something Like That, was published in 2013. In 2014 he was named on the Africa39 list of sub-Saharan African writers under 40. Blackass is his first novel.

A. Igoni Barrett

The short life of A.J.A. Symons (1900-41) was described by his biographer as an intricate and largely harmless confidence trick. His many interests included the collection of musical boxes and rare books as well as the study and practice of forgery; they left him time to edit an anthology of Edwardian verse and compose studies of H.M. Stanley and other notable figures. He is remembered for The Quest for Corvo, one of the most remarkable biographies ever written, and for co-founding the Wine and Food Society.

A. J. A. Symons

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Chris Bowlby

Journalist Chris Bowlby reveals why some of postwar Britain’s most controversial policies, fashions and fads became the orthodoxies of their time‘History presented the way it should be – as entertainment’ The TimesEverybody makes mistakes – and some of humanity’s biggest ones have been made with the best of intentions. Hoping for a brighter future (and believing they knew best), 20th century scientists, doctors and politicians turned to quick-fix solutions, miracle cures and panaceas: only to find they came with hidden costs.Over seven series, between 1998 and 2005, journalist Chris Bowlby took a deep dive into post-war history to examine the roots of many of these misguided decisions and contentious policy blunders – from factory farming and football fencing to the mass demolition of housing, scrapping the trams and selling arms abroad. Rediscovered in the BBC archive, this fascinating series has much to say to us today.Find out how asbestos, heavily marketed as a brilliant building material, turned out to be a killer; how electro-convulsive therapy – initially regarded as lifesaving – became one of the most stigmatised medical treatments in mental health care; and how the great British Railways modernisation plan of the 1950s ran into the buffers, with dire consequences for present-day rail travellers. Plus, Chris’s investigations take in trade unions, mortgages, eugenics and penicillin – as well as some more surprising bad ideas such as white sliced bread, early retirement and sitting down...Using a distinctive mix of interviews and research to uncover the roots of problems of the day, Why Did We Do That? is full of unexpected twists and turns, and revels in the black humour with which our greatest blunders are laced. Production creditsPresented by Chris BowlbyProduced by Chris Bowlby, Smita Patel and Jo GlanvilleEditor: Nicola MeyrickFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the following dates:The Motorised City 19 Feb 1998Bring on the Bulldozers 8 Jul 1999We Believe in Bunkers 15 Jul 1999Tartan Steel 22 Jul 1999To Cap It All 29 Jul 1999Factory Farming 11 May 2000Football Fencing 18 May 2000Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) 25 May 2000Asbestos 8 Jun 2000Scrapping the Trams 26 Apr 2001Trashing the Future 3 May 2001The Closed Shop 10 May 2001Mortgage Mania 17 May 2001Railway Frustration 16 May 2002Cheap Concrete 30 May 2002Arming the World 6 Jun 2002Bad Bread 2 Jun 2003Deadly Streets 9 Jun 2003Eugenics 16 Jun 2003Early Retirement 23 Jun 2003The Bugs’ Revenge 14 Feb 2005Glued to Our Seats 21 Feb 2005The Supercity and Its Shadow 28 Feb 2005The Ideas Strangler 7 Mar 2005© 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Why Did We Do That?

A BBC Radio History Series

Aubrey Manning

All 31 episodes of the archaeological series investigating the mysteries and secrets of the pastMuch of human history is hidden from us, buried deep under our feet. Layered beneath the landscape are the unknown stories of ancient peoples and civilizations, written in bones and long-lost artefacts, waiting to be revealed and deciphered. Between 1999 and 2006, over eight radio series, renowned author and broadcaster Aubrey Manning followed geological and archaeological clues in an attempt to unravel some of these mysteries – from the Lost Map of London and the Amber Room to the Pharos Lighthouse of Alexandria, the Antikythera Mechanism and the Land of Punt. This landmark radio series, lost for years, can now be listened to again.Journeying around the British Isles and worldwide, he visits sites including tombs, tunnels and temples, setting out to uncover the secrets that lie within them. Could ‘KV 55’ in the Valley of the Kings be the final resting place of the great Pharaoh Akhenaten? What can the ‘Red Lady’ of Paviland tell us about how homo sapiens succeeded Neanderthals? Did the Saxons make top-notch steel 1,000 years before the Industrial Revolution? And was a swamp in the South Anatolian plain the unlikely location for the world’s first city?These and other burning questions are tackled by Manning, with erudite input from a host of expert researchers, historians, scientists and archaeologists. His investigations take in a Roman drinking cult; a Bronze Age archer dubbed the ‘King of Stonehenge’; Boudica’s forgotten husband, Prasutagus; the tale of a saint, severed hands and a sword in the stone – and the remarkable discovery of British prehistoric cave art...Production creditsPresented by Aubrey Manning and Brian Moffat (Series 1, Episode 4)Produced by Dave Sharp, Sue Broom, Pam Rutherford, Helen Sharp and Martin RedfernFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the following dates:Series 1 (first broadcast 13 July-3 August 1999)Valley of the KingsGlozelLost Map of LondonSoutraSeries 2 (first broadcast 7-28 November 2000)Sounds of the Stone AgeThe Amber RoomThe Drinking CultThe Pharos Lighthouse of AlexandriaSeries 3 (first broadcast 30 October – 20 November 2001)The 'Red Lady' of PavilandLondon's Mediaeval MedicineSaxon SteelSan Galgano and the Sword in the StoneSeries 4 (first broadcast 5-26 November 2002)Taming the HorseCatal HuyukThe Amesbury ArcherMeadowcroft Rock ShelterSeries 5 (first broadcast 5-26 August 2003)Lynford NeanderthalsAncient Egyptian IllnessesTri Radial CairnsGreat Orme MineSeries 6 (first broadcast 7-28 December 2004)The Land of PuntWharram PercyBritish Cave ArtMound BuildersSeries 7 (first broadcast 20 December 2005-17 January 2006)The Tunnellers of the First World WarThe Romans in IndiaBen Lawers and Loch TayThe First AmericansSeries 8 (first broadcast 12-26 December 2006)The Antikythera MechanismFirst Residents of BritainPrasutagus, husband of Boudicca© 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Unearthing Mysteries: The Complete Series 1-8

Michael Portillo

Michael Portillo presents these specially selected shows exploring the history of democracy and the modern political system 
 
In a parliamentary career spanning over 20 years, Michael Portillo served as a Conservative MP and held numerous Cabinet posts. Few people are better placed to comment on politics than him, and in these thought-provoking programmes, he gives us his take on the development of democracy and contemporary political theory. 
 
In the three-part series Democracy on Trial, Portillo investigates the difficult and dangerous global journey taken by this fragile ideal over 2,500 years, and the surprisingly tenuous grip it holds upon the world today. From Athens in the fifth century BC to the present day, he examines the effectiveness of a form of government we take for granted, and analyses its rise, fall and future. 
 
For Whom the Division Bell Tolled sees him looking at the history and peculiarities of the back-bencher, asking historians whether these traits have been present since the very first Parliaments in the 1300s. Across three episodes, he traces the origins of the back-bench revolt, recalls the good and noble works of back-benchers from the past, and wonders whether those on the back bench have always been more interested in keeping their jobs than changing the world. 
 
In The Right Stuff, Portillo considers the lasting influence of the author and philosopher Ayn Rand, questioning whether her work remains a blueprint for those on the political right. Talking to contemporaries and critics, he probes the origins and impact of Rand's writings, and assesses how her controversial ideas relate to the current political landscape. 
 
Capitalism on Trial finds him pondering years of bailouts, stagnating growth and market instability, and asking whether free-market capitalism is looking a little tarnished. Over two programmes, he talks to leading thinkers including Amartya Sen, Will Hutton and Gillian Tett as he weighs up the costs and benefits of the economic system that governs our lives. 
 
Finally, in Things We Forgot to Remember: The 1945 Labour Government, Portillo looks back at Clement Attlee's postwar government, querying how radical their agenda really was and how much our collective memory of it is due to myth-making by subsequent Labour administrations. 
 
Production credits 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the following dates: 
 
Democracy on Trial 
Episode 1 11 May 2010 
Episode 2 18 May 2010 
Episode 3 25 May 2010 
Produced by Philip Sellars and Julia Johnson 
 
For Whom the Division Bell Tolled 
Episode 1 14 May 2008 
Episode 2 21 May 2008 
Episode 3 28 May 2008 
Produced by Philip Sellars 
 
The Right Stuff 11 November 2008 
Produced by Owen McFadden 
 
Capitalism on Trial 
Episode 1 27 September 2011 
Episode 2 4 October 2011 
With Amartya Sen, Will Hutton, Ha-Joon Chang, Gillian Tett, Nigel Lawson and Hernando De Soto 
Produced by Julia Johnson 
 
Things We Forgot to Remember: The 1945 Labour Government 6 May 2007 
With Denis Healey, Peter Carrington and Tony Benn 
Produced by Julia Adamson 
 
© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

Michael Portillo: On Politics

A BBC Radio Collection

Specially selected history series presented by Michael Portillo, exploring the most significant events before, during and after the First and Second World Wars 
 
Journalist and broadcaster Michael Portillo has always been fascinated by the past. A former politician and history graduate, he has presented several TV documentaries, including Portillo's Empire Journey and Great British Railway Journeys. Now, in these fascinating radio programmes, he turns the spotlight on World War One and Two, examining the cultural, political and economic upheaval surrounding these devastating global conflicts. 
 
1913: The Year Before sees him challenging the notion that the Great War was responsible for seismic shifts in British society. Over 10 episodes, he looks at themes including the suffrage movement, the Irish question, the decline of the liberal party and the arts, and argues that to a great extent, Britain was already in the process of transforming itself by 1913. 
 
The 2-part series The Great War of Words finds Portillo revealing how our understanding of World War One has been distorted by historians, politicians and cultural commentators. He analyses Germany's invasion of neutral Belgium in August 1914, showing how it transformed Britain's war into a moral cause; and considers how arguments over the origins of the war and the issue of war guilt evolved into a fierce, high-stakes battle for meaning. A follow-up episode, The Great War of Words: Peace before Annihilation?, centres around the factors that prevented peace breaking out between 1914 and 1918, and the attempts that were made to achieve it. 
 
In four episodes from Things We Forgot to Remember, he delves into the First World War and the interwar years, reflecting on the Somme and the victories of 1918, the failings and successes of the League of Nations, the 1936 Nazi Olympics in Berlin and Neville Chamberlain's notorious 1938 declaration of 'peace for our time'. 
 
The aerial bombardment of Britain is the subject of The Blitz, in which Portillo chairs a discussion with leading historians about the strategy and legacy of Nazi Germany's decision to bomb and destroy key British cities. And in a concluding programme, Things We Forgot to Remember: Morgenthau Plan and post-war Germany, he recalls the short-lived precursor to the Marshall Plan, which aimed to destroy German industry and turn the country into an agrarian 'pastoral' society. 
 
Production credits 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the following dates: 
 
1913: The Year Before 
The Long Summer 10 June 2013 
Women's Rebellion 11 June 2013 
The Irish Question 12 June 2013 
The Tides of War 13 June 2013 
Cultural Upheaval 14 June 2013 
Labour Relations & the Triple Alliance 17 June 2013 
Poverty 18 June 2013 
Politics and the Tory Gamble 19 June 2013 
The Empire 20 June 2013 
The Great Change 21 June 2013 
Produced by Tom Alban 
 
The Great War of Words 
Episode 1 4 February 2014 
Episode 2 11 February 2014 
The Great War of Words: Peace before Annihilation? 28 April 2015 
Produced by Mark Burman 
 
Things We Forgot to Remember 
First World War 4 December 2006 
The League of Nations 15 December 2008 
Jesse Owens and the Nazi Olympics 22 November 2010 
Chamberlain and 'Peace for our Time' 1938 14 December 2009 
Morgenthau Plan and post-war Germany 4 June 2012 
Produced by Tom Alban, Joanne Cayford and Neil McCarthy 
 
The Blitz 8 September 2010 
With Juliet Gardiner, Sir Ian Kershaw and Terry Charman 
 
© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

Michael Portillo: On the World Wars

A BBC Radio History Collection

Tim McGarry

David Hume

Comedian Tim McGarry and Orangeman Dr David Hume investigate Irish history from different perspectives 
 
'We're basically the Little and Large of Irish history' Tim McGarry 
 
Tim McGarry and Dr David Hume couldn't be less alike. Tim's a six-foot-four funnyman from Belfast, while David's a vertically challenged historian from Ballycarry. But although they disagree about almost everything, they have a great rapport and a passionate interest in their native island - and in this fascinating series, they join forces for some good-natured, intelligent debate about Irish history, politics and culture. 
 
Travelling the length and breadth of Éire and Northern Ireland, they visit important historical sites, gain new insights into pivotal stories and people, and interview a wide range of experts to give listeners the long and the short of it. Mixed in with the discussions are humorous sketches, bringing the history alive and providing light relief. 
 
Over 41 episodes, Tim and David lock horns and trade blows over controversial topics including the 1798 Rebellion, the Great Famine, the Battle of the Boyne, the birth of the Orange Order, the Irish War of Independence and Civil War, and Home Rule. They also consider Ulster heroine Mary McCracken, ask whether renowned figures such as Sir Winston Churchill, Lord Edward Carson and James Craig were heroes or villains, and wonder whether the Vikings and Oliver Cromwell were really that bad. Plus, in the 2-part special The Long and the Short of Christmas, the duo unite to take a light-hearted but scholarly look at the history of the festive season, from the birth of Jesus to modern times. 
 
Winner of the Gold Award for Specialist Speech Programme at the 2021 IMRO Radio Awards, this wry, engaging and eye-opening series is full of jokes, facts, opinions - and arguments. Irish history has never been so much fun! 
 
Production credits 
Presented by Tim McGarry and Dr David Hume 
Produced by Zoe Robinson 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio Ulster & BBC Radio Foyle on 20 July-10 August 2014 (Series 1), 19 July-23 August 2015 (Series 2), 6 November-4 December 2016 (Series 3), 3 December 2017-7 January 2018 (Series 4), 9 May-13 June 2020 (Series 5), 24-25 December 2020 (The Long and the Short of Christmas), 24 April-29 May 2021 (Series 6), 27 August-1 October 2022 (Series 7). 
 
© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

The Long and the Short of It

A BBC History of Ireland

David Miles

Caradoc Peters

Melanie Giles

Nicki Howarth-Pollard

Menna Elfyn

Ilka Tampke

David Greig

Ron Hutton

Miles Russell

Mandy Haggith

Sarah Moss

Guy de la Bédoyère

Melvyn Bragg

From warrior queens to King Arthur, this epic collection explores the tribes, rulers and civilisations of Britain's Iron Age 
 
In the first millennium BC, the Iron Age arrived in Britain, bringing with it huge technological and social changes. New civilisations arose, the landscape was transformed, and societies developed new cultures and lifestyles. 
 
In this comprehensive collection, we take an in-depth look at Iron Age Britain and its inhabitants. The Essay: Unearthing Britannia's Tribes takes us on a 15-part 'woad trip' from the western reaches of Cornwall to the wilds of Scotland and Wales, as archaeologists, historians and writers reveal the peoples of ancient Albion and those who encountered them. We meet Queen Cartimandua, King Arthur, Boudicca, Pytheas and Lindow Man; hear the stories of the Cantiaci, the Demetae, the Durotriges and the Druids; and probe their myths, ideas and characters. Reaching journey's end, we learn how tribal Britain succumbed and was integrated into the Roman world. With the arrival of Caesar's armies, nothing would be the same again... 
 
Bookending this fascinating series are three episodes from In Our Time, unpacking the context behind this pivotal period of history. In the first programme, Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the transition from Bronze to Iron and the dawning of the European Iron Age; while the second and third examine the legacy of both the prehistoric Celts and their ultimate conquerors, the Romans, analysing their lasting impact on Britain today. 
 
Production credits 
In Our Time presented by Melvyn Bragg 
Produced by Thomas Morris 
 
The Essay: Unearthing Britannia's Tribes presented by David Miles, Caradoc Peters, Melanie Giles, Nicki Howarth-Pollard, Menna Elfyn, Ilka Tampke, David Greig, Ron Hutton, Mandy Haggith, Miles Russell, Sarah Moss and Guy de la Bédoyère 
Produced by Ellie Bury and Mark Burman 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 (In Our Time) and BBC Radio 3 (The Essay) on the following dates: 
 
Part I: Context 
In Our Time: The Iron Age 24 March 2011 
With Barry Cunliffe, Sue Hamilton and Timothy Champion 
 
Part II: Unearthing Britannia's Tribes 
The Cantiaci 17 January 2022 
Cornwall 18 January 2022 
The Parisi 19 January 2022 
Queen Cartimandua & the Brigantes 20 January 2022 
The Demetae 21 January 2022 
Boudicca-Warrior Queen 24 January 2022 
The Maeatae 25 January 2022 
In Search of The Druids 26 January 2022 
Pytheas and the Iron Sea 27 January 2022 
Arthur Begins 28 January 2022 
Lindow Man 14 February 2022 
The Roman Orbit 15 February 2022 
The Atrebates 16 February 2022 
The Durotriges 17 February 2022 
Maidens, Matriarchs and Crones 18 February 2022 
 
Part III: Iron Age Culture 
In Our Time: The Celts 21 February 2002 
With Barry Cunliffe, Alistair Moffat and Miranda Aldhouse Green 
 
Part IV: Roman Invasion and Occupation 
In Our Time: Roman Britain 1 May 2003 
With Greg Woolf, Mary Beard and Catharine Edwards 
 
© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

Unearthing Britannia's Tribes

A BBC history of Iron Age Britain

Various

Individuals who have experienced some of society's biggest issues tell their stories - and search for answers 
 
 From climate change, fake news and vaccine hesitancy to mental health, addiction and domestic violence, there are no shortage of societal problems facing the UK right now. But while we are aware these challenges exist, without personal experience it is hard for us to understand what it is like to struggle with them, and harder still to envision potential solutions. 
 
 These compelling documentaries, first broadcast on radio under the title 'My Name Is...', introduce us to a range of individuals who have confronted various hardships, telling their stories and following them as they ask difficult questions and endeavour to drive positive change. Among those we meet are Rachel, who has been sectioned multiple times and seeks to challenge the status quo around psychiatric treatment; Katie, a onetime problem gambler investigating how online gambling firms target the vulnerable; Abi, who almost died at the hands of her violent boyfriend and now helps others stay safe; and Fozia, a doctor horrified by the Covid conspiracy theories that leave patients afraid to come to hospital even when they're seriously ill. 
 
 We also hear from others whose stories are less harrowing, but equally absorbing. There's Noga, a 17-year-old youth strike organiser doing everything she can to save the planet; Hamza, a basketball and martial arts coach who believes broadening access to sport can improve opportunities for disadvantaged kids; Lucy, who's looking for love and wondering whether to ditch the dating apps; and 11-year-old Roman, who adores Minecraft and wants to know if his parents' limits on his screen time are fair. 
 
 Offering unique insight into the lives of a host of extraordinary people, these fascinating first-person accounts highlight the complexity of the issues affecting Britons today, and provide diverse perspectives on how we can set about tackling them. 
 
 Production credits 
 Presented by Noga Levy-Rapoport, Rachel Waddingham, Katie, Josh Walker, 'Courtney', Peter Trimingham, Beth Miles, Abi Blake, Imogen Rhodes, Fozia Hayat, Natasha Saunders, Lucy, Roman, Niellah Arboine, Jordan Lee, Anna, Elvis MacGonagall, Hamza Malik, Joshua Styles, Anna, Christina Adane, Natalie, Haroon Mota, Sam, Kate Deeming, Bex Wilson, Laura Brothwell, Claire Randall, Chris Fox 
 
 Produced by Sue Mitchell, Ben Crighton, Lydia Thomas, Miles Warde, Richard McIlroy, Ben Carter, Eliza Lomas, Kevin Core, Mugabi Turya, Seren Jones, Lucy Proctor, Giles Edwards, Beth Hemmings 
 
 Production Coordinators: Anne Smith, Gemma Ashman, Dave James, Sarah Goodman, Helen Surtees, Siobhan Maguire 
 
 Editors: Philip Sellars, Emma Rippon, Gill Farrington 
 
 First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the following dates: 
 
 My Name is Noga 1 April 2019 
My Name is Rachel 8 April 2019 
My Name is Katie 22 April 2019 
My Name is Josh 6 May 2019 
My Name is Courtney 27 May 2019 
My Name is Peter 6 January 2020 
My Name is Beth 27 January 2020 
My Name is Abi 3 February 2020 
My Name is Immie 10 February 2020 
My Name is Fozia 27 July 2020 
My Name is Natasha 3 August 2020 
My Name is Lucy 17 August 2020 
My Name is Roman 24 August 2020 
My Name is Niellah 31 August 2020 
My Name is Jordan 1 February 2021 
My Name is Anna 8 February 2021 
My Name is Elvis 15 February 2021 
My Name is Hamza 1 March 2021 
My Name is Josh 8 March 2021 
My Name is Anna 16 August 2021 
My Name is Christina 30 August 2021 
My Name is Natalie 6 September 2021 
My Name is Haroon 28 February 2022 
My Name is Sam 7 March 2022 
My Name is Kate 14 March 2022 
My Name is Bex 21 March 2022 
My Name is Laura 25 July 2022 
My Name is Claire 08 August 2022 
My Name is Chris 29 August 2022 
 
 
 © 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

Hardship Britain: Personal Stories of Social Issues Today

A BBC Radio 4 collection

Mark Lawson

Mark Lawson takes an international look at celebrated literary detectives, talking to their creators to explore how mystery fiction reflects society's trends and tensions 
 
'Masterly'' Gillian Reynolds, The Telegraph 
 
Throughout its long history, crime fiction has broadened our horizons, introducing us to unfamiliar places, people and cultures and showing us new ways of looking at the world. In this fascinating series, Mark Lawson takes a global tour of the genre, putting detective novels under the magnifying glass to examine how they have depicted - and predicted - social and political change. Focussing on famous fictional investigators - from Hercule Poirot, Jules Maigret, Van der Valk and Martin Beck; through Dalgliesh, Rebus, Jane Tennison and Harry Hole; to Benny Griessel, Tess Monaghan and Easy Rawlins - he explores what these iconic protagonists can tell us about the historic character of their nations. 
 
Through the framework of their cases, he pursues the shadows of the Second World War and the Cold War; conflicts between the politics of the left and right; the rise of nationalism; and the pressures caused by migration. He also finds out how crime novels have portrayed transitional societies in South Africa and Northern Ireland; examined the legacies of military rule in Argentina and the Castro revolution in Cuba; and tackled post-colonialism in Australia and Nigeria. 
 
Helping Lawson with his inquiries are authors including Andrea Camilleri, who discusses the effects of both the Mafia and Berlusconi on Italian society; Brian McGilloway, who talks about the Troubles and the wave of Irish crime fiction that the peace process has provoked; and Petros Markaris, whose detective series prophesied the Greek financial crisis. Plus, Laura Lippman and Walter Mosley reveal how they introduced the experience of women and black Americans into their work; Russian writer Boris Akunin and Ukrainian novelist Andrey Kurkov meditate on Dostoevsky, Putin, censorship and their different approaches to crime writing; and in a special episode on TV detectives, Lawson talks to creative talent from the ITV hit Broadchurch, the Danish show The Killing and the French success Spiral about the medium's suitability as a crime scene and the rise of female investigators. 
 
Production credits 
Written and presented by Mark Lawson 
Produced by Robyn Read and Martin Williams 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the following dates: 
 
Series 1 
Belgium - Hercule Poirot and Jules Maigret 22 October 2012 
With Val McDermid, Lord Grey Gowrie, Andrea Camilleri and David Suchet 
Germany - Inspector Barlach 23 October 2012 
With Josie Rourke, Simon McBurney, Jerzy Kromolowski, Mary Olson-Kromolowski, Katharina Hall and Ferdinand von Schirach 
Czechoslovakia - Lieutenant Boruvka 24 October 2012 
With Paul Wilson 
Netherlands - Commissaris Van Der Valk 25 October 2012 
With Lord Grey Gowrie and Saskia Noort 
Sweden - Inspector Martin Beck 26 October 2012 
With Jo Nesbø, Henning Mankell, Åsa Larsson, Camilla Lackberg, Jens Lapidus, Val McDermid and Gunnar Staalesen 
UK - Commander Dalgliesh and Chief Inspector Wexford 29 October 2012 
With PD James and Ruth Rendell 
Sicily - Inspector Rogas 30 October 2012 
With Paul Bailey, Gianrico Carofiglio, Andrea Camilleri and Petra Reski 
Spain - PI Pepe Carvalho 31 October 2012 
With Antonio Hill and Jason Webster 
Britain - DCI Jane Tennison 1 November 2012 
With Lynda La Plante, Saskia Noort, Ian Rankin and Val McDermid 
Italy - Inspector Montalbano 2 November 2012 
With Andrea Camilleri 
Germany - PI Kemal Kayankaya 5 November 2012 
With Jakob Arjouni 
Scotland - DI John Rebus 6 November 2012 
With Ian Rankin 
Sweden - Kurt Wallander and Lisbeth Salander 7 November 2012 
With Henning Mankell, Kenneth Branagh, Liza Marklund, Camilla Läckberg and Eva Gabrielsson 
Norway - Harry Hole 8 November 2012 
With Jo Nesbø, Liza Marklund and Gunnar Staalesen 
Russia and Ukraine - Erast Fandorin 9 November 2012 
With Boris Akunin, Ian Rankin and Andrey Kurkov 
 
Series 2 
Greece - Inspector Costas Haritos 8 July 2013 
With Petros Markaris 
Argentina - Superintendent Perro Lascano 9 July 2013 
With Ernesto Mallo and Claudia Pineiro 
Ireland - Inspector Benedict Devlin 10 July 2013 
With Brian McGilloway 
South Africa - Detective Captain Bennie Griessel 11 July 2013 
With Deon Meyer and Sifiso Mzobe 
Screenland - DS Ellie Miller, DI Sarah Lund, Captain Laure Berthaud 12 July 2013 
 
Series 3 
Cuba 17 November 2014 
With Leonardo Padura and Caroline Garcia-Aquilera 
USA 18 November 2014 
With Laura Lippman and Walter Mosley 
Poland 19 November 2014 
With Zygmunt Miloszewski and Joanna Jodelka 
Australia 20 November 2014 
With Peter Temple and Gabrielle Lord 
Nigeria 21 November 2014 
With Helon Habila and CM Okonkwo 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

Foreign Bodies

Crime Fiction Around the World

Michael Portillo uncovers the forgotten events concealed by famous moments in history 
 
History is complicated, and to make sense of it, we construct a narrative, editing and shaping the past to form a coherent story. But in doing so, there is much we leave out, leading to gaps in our collective memory. In this series, broadcaster and former politician Michael Portillo revisits some of history's best-known moments to fill in some of these gaps, rediscovering forgotten events that augment our understanding and shift our perspective. 
 
Reappraising milestones such as the Spanish Armada, the French Revolution, the First World War and the Great Depression, he probes our selective amnesia, asking what we have mythologised, and what we've ignored. Was Alfred the Great really a bold English hero, or an Anglo-Saxon spin doctor? Why is Georgian England remembered for its elegant architecture and regency refinement when this period of history was full of riots and political strife? And could the Bengal famine of 1943, a horrific event in British India that cost at least 1.5 million lives, have been avoided? 
 
Talking to leading historians and experts, Portillo peels back the layers of history to uncover the uncomfortable truths and murky, ambiguous stories behind iconic events such as the 'Glorious Revolution' of 1688, the struggle for Indian independence and the Boston Tea Party. He also reveals a Suffragette plot to assassinate Herbert Asquith; shows how a disastrous attempt at overseas colonisation led to the 1707 Act of Union merging England and Scotland; and takes a look at the real losers of the Battle of Trafalgar - the Spanish. 
 
Not revisionist, but restorative, this fascinating series challenges the orthodox view of history without glossing over its complexities, presenting a surprising, thought-provoking re-evaluation of our past and reminding us that the events we choose to remember are not always those that are the most significant. 
 
Production credits 
Presented by Michael Portillo 
Produced by Julia Adamson, Tom Alban, Marya Burgess, Joanne Cayford, James Cook, James Crawford, Neil George, Laurence Grissell, Julia Johnson, Roger Mahony, Neil McCarthy, Paula McGinley and Philip Sellars 
Consultant: Chris Williams of the Open University 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the following dates: 
 
Series 1 
The Battle of Mers-el-Kebir 16 May 2005 
The Spanish Armada 23 May 2005 
The French Revolution 6 June 2005 
 
Series 2 
Jack the Ripper 27 November 2006 
The First World War 4 December 2006 
The 1945 Labour Government 11 December 2006 
 
Series 3 
On Suffragettes 24 December 2007 
The Darien Scheme 31 December 2007 
The Bengal Famine 7 January 2008 
The Battle of Trafalgar 14 January 2008 
 
Series 4 
The League of Nations 15 December 2008 
Alfred the Great 22 December 2008 
 
Series 5 
Chamberlain and 'Peace for our Time' 1938 14 December 2009 
The Hanseatic League 21 December 2009 
The Glorious Revolution 28 December 2009 
 
Series 6 
King Harold 15 November 2010 
The Violent Side of Indian Independence 29 November 2010 
The Great Depression in the USA 6 December 2010 
 
Series 7 
The Real Boston Tea Party, 1773 13 November 2011 
Police Strike 20 November 2011 
The English Armada 4 December 2011 
 
Series 8 
The Georgian Façade 11 June 2012 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

Things We Forgot to Remember

A BBC Radio 4 history series

Andrea Catherwood

Ian Hislop

Allan Little

Jeremy Bowen

A BBC Radio 4 season exploring the history and future of the United Kingdom 
 
In this remarkable collection exploring the state of the United Kingdom and the future of its union, five presenters examine the identities, history and struggles of the nations, and ask what keeps them together as a united country. 
 
In the first episode, Jonathan Freedland and a team of historians and BBC correspondents take The Long View of the Union of the United Kingdom, at the constitutional, economic and cultural bonds between the nations, particularly after Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic, and at three moments in the UK's history when its future was under similar scrutiny. 
 
In A Sea Between Us, Andrea Catherwood looks back at the Ireland she left, when the the IRA was still active, the prospect of a united Ireland seemed remote, and unionist parties enjoyed a comfortable majority at the polls. Now, she meets voices from Belfast's unionist community, looks at the Northern Ireland Protocol's potential damage to Northern Ireland's place in the UK, and talks to those from a traditionally pro-union background, who now say they're agnostic about their country's place in the UK. 
 
The Ghost Kingdoms of England sees Ian Hislop telling the stories of the four great Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms - East Anglia, Northumbria, Mercia and Wessex - celebrating their golden ages and trying to understand their journey from groupings of North Sea peoples to powerful kingdoms, and eventually a single entity. He talks to such varied experts as curator of Medieval coinage Gareth Williams, head of archeology at Durham University Sarah Semple, writer Bernard Cornwell, and art historian Janina Ramirez, as he uncovers how the regional identities have left their mark, and how the nations stabilised into becoming 'England'. 
 
In Two Kingdoms, Allan Little presents the epic story of how and why Scotland entered into union with England, why that Union endured for so long, and the historic changes that have brought Scotland closer to independence than it's been since 1707. This is a story about the emergence of a powerful partnership forged in Empire, industry and war, and Allan asks what happens when their values diverge and then clash, with profound consequences for millions of people on both sides of the border. 
 
The final episodes, Being Welsh, see Jeremy Bowen examine what it means to be Welsh, taking in Welsh politics, language, history and culture from the starting point of a Cardiff Stadium rugby match. With contributions from Jac Larner, Martin Johnes, and Siân James, as well as Rhys Jones, Rebecca Thomas, and Uzo Iwobi, Being Welsh investigates the distinct identities across the country, the construction of modern Wales, and the complicated relationship between Wales and England. 
 
'Sensitive but to the point... clear and fair' Guardian 
 
Presented by Jonathan Freedland, Andrea Catherwood, Ian Hislop, Allan Little and Jeremy Bowen 
Produced by Mohini Patel, Conor Garrett, Tom Alban, Jonathan Brunert, Caitlin Smith and Glyn Tansley 
 
The Long View 
Produced by Mohini Patel 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2021 
 
A Sea Between Us 
Produced by Conor Garrett 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2021 
 
The Ghost Kingdoms of England 
Produced by Tom Alban 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2021 
 
Two Kingdoms 
Produced by Jonathan Brunert and Caitlin Smith 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2021 
 
Being Welsh 
Produced by Glyn Tansley 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January and February 2022 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P) BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

This Union

A BBC Radio 4 series exploring the history and future of the U.K.

Neil MacGregor

World-renowned art historian Neil MacGregor takes us across Britain to discover local museums and their hidden gems 
 
 
Neil MacGregor, former director of the National Gallery and the British Museum, knows the importance of public museums. In The Museums That Make Us, he takes us around the country to visit twenty local museums and to talk to their curators, staff and local figures about the most prized objects in their collections. Often a child's first experience of valuable objects and historical belongings, these regional spaces can be a wonderful way to recognise local pride and shine a light on buried history. 
 
At Penrhyn Castle in North Wales, the museum strives to tell the story of their rich collection of art while also being truthful about the slave trade that made it possible; on the Isle of Lewis, the Museum Tasglann nan Eilean wants to share the story of land ownership and clearances through their objects; at the Leeds Museum, a Roman child's sandal has been chosen to demonstrate their ambitious and thriving scheme of having exhibits leave the museum to go out to schools; and in Bristol's M Shed Museum, one of the city's old Lodekka Buses is used to tell the story of the successful Bristol Bus boycott of 1963. 
 
Travelling from Stowe, one of the first examples of a vision of Britain outside London, to the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, where he looks at an ancient Syrian model clay wagon, possibly a child's toy, to examine how museums can provide for a huge breadth of local people from all over the world, Neil MacGregor uses these invaluable community sites to consider how they are run, who they draw in, and how they can inspire us all. 
 
Episode guide 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the following dates: 
Stowe and the Temple of British Worthies 7 March 2022 
The Tower Museum, Derry Londonderry 8 March 2022 
Penrhyn Castle, North Wales 9 March 2022 
PK Porthcurno - Museum of Global Communications 10 March 2022 
Museum &amp; Tasglann nan Eilean, Stornoway 11 March 2022 
Derby - The Museum of Making 14 March 2022 
The Food Museum, Suffolk 15 March 2022 
The Auckland Project, Bishop Auckland 16 March 2022 
The Hepworth, Wakefield 17 March 2022 
Royal Pavilion and Museums, Brighton 18 March 2022 
Leicester Museum and Art Gallery 11 April 2022 
Bristol's M Shed Museum 12 April 2022 
Birmingham 13 April 2022 
Liverpool 14 April 2022 
Leeds 15 April 2022 
The National Museum of Scotland 18 April 2022 
The National Museum of NI, Belfast 19 April 2022 
The National Museums of Wales, Cardiff 20 April 2022 
The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford 21 April 2022 
What are museums for? 22 April 2022 
 
Production credits 
Presented by Neil MacGregor 
Produced by Tom Alban 
Original music by Phil Channell 
 
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Museums That Make Us

Curating Our Shared History

John Reed

A dramatised retelling of John Reed's thrilling eyewitness account of the Russian Revolution - plus bonus documentary 
 
'Fizzy and fast, but never flippant' The New Statesman 
 
John Reed's first-hand description of the October Revolution was written in early 1918 and published in the USA the following year. The veracity and impact of his dynamic, snapshot-style reportage made the book an instant bestseller, and it has since become a modern classic, inspiring films including Sergei Eisenstein's October and the Oscar-winning Reds. 
 
This fast-paced dramatisation begins in autumn 1917, with news of upheaval in Russia hitting the headlines worldwide. The Tsar has abdicated, and the Provisional Government, formed to replace him, is losing control. American journalists John Reed and Louise Bryant arrive in Petrograd to find the city in chaos. The tension between factions is palpable, and it's only a matter of time before the situation explodes - but in what direction? As revolutionaries and counter-revolutionaries struggle to seize power, the duo find themselves at the very heart of the insurrection, experiencing history as it unfolds... 
 
Vividly capturing the anarchy and confusion of those tumultuous days, Reed's sensational blow-by-blow account, adapted by acclaimed dramatist Robin Brooks, transports us to the chilly, mud-churned streets of Petrograd as these world-changing events play out. It is accompanied by a fascinating retrospective documentary, Start the Week: Russian Revolution a hundred years on, in which Tom Sutcliffe travels to Moscow to discover the forces that led to the Revolution, and finds out how far Russians today embrace or reject such a pivotal moment in their country's story. 
 
Production credits 
Written by John Reed 
Dramatised by Robin Brooks 
'The Internationale' sung by Eiry Thomas 
Directed by Alison Hindell 
A BBC Cymru/Wales production for BBC Radio 4 
 
Cast 
John Reed - Richard Laing 
Louise Bryant - Kelly Burke 
Lenin/Driver/Soldier/Shatov/Colonel/Meshkovsky/Cab Driver - Nicholas Murchie 
Liazonov/Kerensky/Doorman/Kameniev - Ewan Bailey 
Lunacharsky/Trotsky/Comberg - Matthew Gravelle 
Buchanan/Karelin/Commissar/Baklanov - Richard Elfyn 
Doorwoman - Lynn Hunter 
Zorin/Robert/Saratov/Antonov/Leonsky/Student/Zinoviev - Sion Pritchard 
Woman - Sarah Ridgeway 
Spiridonova/Girl - Gwawr Loader 
Oblomov/Sverdlov - Simon Ludders 
Krylenko - Tom Forrister 
Mayor/Nathanson - Philip Fox 
Dybenko - Richard Nichols 
Melcher - Charlie Clements 
Wife - Eiry Thomas 
Other parts played by members of the cast 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 9-20 October 2017 
 
Start the Week: Russian Revolution a hundred years on 
Presented by Tom Sutcliffe 
With Konstantin Kosachev, Mikhail Zygar, Arkady Ostrovsky and Zelfira Tregulova 
Produced by Katy Hickman 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 9 October 2017 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Ten Days That Shook The World

A BBC Radio full-cast dramatisation

Greg Jenner

A funny, fascinating and personal look at 100 years of history in the BBC archives 
 
 
Historian Greg Jenner uses a random date generator to visit somewhere in the BBC's vast archives of remarkable sound clips from the last 100 years. Using that clip as a jumping-off point to explore what has changed between then and now, Greg talks to experts and those connected to the archived people, places, and ideas, including Stephen Fry, writer Naomi Alderman, playwright Nell Leyshon, social historian Carol Dyhouse, author and disability campaigner Dr Amit Patel, food historian Annie Gray, and inveterate tennis fan Geoff Dyer. 
 
 
From dance crazes, post-war Christmases and communist sitcoms to pub evolution, life on the waterways and women's political activism, Past Forward provides a rich and thought-provoking look at the oral histories, personal stories, big moments and small joys of the past and the present, and how our history has shaped the people we have become. 
 
 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the following dates: 
The Lambeth Walk 03 January 2022 
1984 - Comrade Dad 04 January 2022 
Christmas 1945 05 January 2022 
Mary Whitehouse 06 January 2022 
Porton Down 07 January 2022 
Match Point 10 January 2022 
Kitty Hart-Moxon 11 January 2022 
If People Can't Let Slip... 12 January 2022 
Traffic 13 January 2022 
England v Argentina 1998 14 January 2022 
Dinner Is Served 21 March 2022 
Get Out of My Pub 22 March 2022 
Talking Technology 23 March 2022 
The Teen Age 24 March 2022 
Louie Hooper sings Lord Rendall 25 March 2022 
Listen with Mother 28 March 2022 
Rebuilding Britain 29 March 2022 
The Corncrake and the Croft 30 March 2022 
Life on the Canals 31 March 2022 
Save our Steelworks 01 April 2022 
 
 
Production credits 
Produced by Dan Potts, Amelia Parker, Martin Williams, Megan Jones, and Eliane Glaser, for BBC Wales 
 
Cover credits 
Photographer: James Gifford-Mead (jamesgiffordmead-photography.co.uk) 
Image adapted by Rabia Ali 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Past Forward: A Century of Sound

Michael Scott

Michael Scott presents this bite-sized history series, exploring key years of change across the world 
 
'Captivating... takes mundane conventional history and turns it on its head' Radio Times 
 
Some dates are indelibly etched into our minds, forever associated with particular historical events. But what else was going on in the world during those climactic years? In this surprising, thought-provoking series, historian Michael Scott looks at seven pivotal historical dates, spinning the globe to discover what was happening away from the geographical centre that makes them so famous. 
 
Beginning with 1605, he discovers that the year of the Gunpowder Plot also saw the printing of the first newspaper and the publication of Don Quixote; while 1066 marked not only the Battle of Hastings, but a brutal massacre in Spain. As World War I broke out in 1914, a new dance craze - the foxtrot - was invented; and in 0BC, as Jesus is born in Judea, another king is born in the Far East: Yuri of Goguryeo. 
 
He also reveals how in 1485, the year that Richard III died in battle, the forces of Ivan the Great seized the city of Tver; finds out how the rest of the world fared in 1929, the year of the Wall Street Crash; and explores the shattering impact of Alexander the Great's sudden death in 323 BC on the ancient Greek world - as well as probing events beyond his influence, such as the circumnavigation of the British Isles by the pioneering explorer and geographer Pytheas of Massalia. 
 
Joining the dots to connect previously diverse cultural, political and economic events, he shows us a new way of thinking about history; demonstrating how different civilisations have developed at different rates and through different phases, only occasionally brushing against each other. 
 
Production credits 
Presented by Michael Scott 
Produced by Tom Alban, Sarah Taylor and Mohini Patel 
Production Coordinator: Sue Fleming 
Editor: John Goudie 
Readings by Sean Murray, Joel McCormack, Jude Akuwudike and David Ashton 
 
With contributors including: Justin Champion, Professor Jean-Pierre Kintz, Professor Robert Frost, Professor Krzysztof Lazarski, Dr Sussan Babaie, Jim Adams, Louise McFarlane, Dr Faisal Devji, Roger Croston, Professor Juan Carlos Boue, Len Goodman, Diarmaid MacCulloch, Carol Wright, Peter Layton, Dr Jean Hyun, Dr Mark Byington, Catherine Edwards, Simon Martin, Dr Elizabeth Graham, Philippa Langley, Dr Elizabeth Baquedano, Michael Alpert, Dr Sergei Bogatyrev, Martin Kemp, Professor Forrest Capie, Dr Zoe Laidlaw, Professor Rana Mitter, Dr Eugene Rogan, Professor David Cesarani, Bryony Dixon, Sir Barry Cunliffe, Dr Swati Ray, Dr Marjorie Dryburgh, Professor David Phillipson, Dr Elizabeth Baynham 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the following dates: 
 
1605 12 November 2013 
1066 19 November 2013 
1914 26 November 2013 
0BC 3 December 2013 
1485 11 November 2014 
1929 18 November 2014 
323BC - The Death of Alexander the Great 25 November 2014 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

Spin the Globe

Susan Morrison

The history of Scotland's witch hunts revealed, with Susan Morrison 
 
About 450 years ago, from 16th to the early 18th centuries, witch hunts took place in Scotland. The country was convulsed by waves of savage panics and purges, leading to the judicial murder of thousands of their own citizens, mainly women. Women who were convicted and executed for crimes they not only didn't commit, but which were impossible for anyone to commit. 
 
Over six episodes, Witch Hunt investigates one of Scotland's biggest miscarriages of justice. Susan Morrison, along with Dr Louise Yeoman and a team of expert historians, explores how events aligned to allow this to happen. How did it get to the stage where many innocent people were executed for imaginary crimes? 
 
© 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
(P) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Witch Hunt

A BBC Radio Scotland history

Christopher Andrew

Christopher Andrew and guests ask what would have happened if major historical moments had taken a different course 
 
In these 34 intriguing episodes, leading historian Christopher Andrew rewrites history, considering what might have transpired if pivotal events had turned out differently. By altering a single, plausible fact, he explores alternative futures where the Spanish Armada landed on English soil, Pontius Pilate freed Jesus, the Nazis occupied Britain, and many more. 
 
What if George Washington had lost the War of Independence? What if Columbus had never reached the New World? And what if Elizabeth I had married? In the company of an array of guest experts, Andrew tackles these and other questions, imagining a world where cars are banned from our cities, JFK survived the shooting in Dallas, or the Great Fire of London never took place. 
 
Full of thought-provoking hypotheses and lively speculation, this counterfactual history series not only suggests what could have happened, but refreshes our memories of what actually occurred during some of history's key turning points. In contemplating an alternate story, we are reminded how extraordinary it is that things did indeed result in the way that they did. 
 
Episode list 
1. What if Hitler had won the war against Russia in 1941? 
2. What if John F Kennedy had survived the shooting in Dallas? 
3. What if the 1979 referendum had led to Scottish independence? 
4. What if Columbus hadn't reached the New World? 
5. What if we'd kept the trains and banned cars from our main towns and cities? 
6. What if King Edward VIII had married Mrs Simpson and remained on the throne? 
7. What if Pontius Pilate had freed Jesus? 
8. What if the Spanish Armada had landed in Kent in 1588? 
9. What if Labour leader John Smith had lived? 
10. What if either the royalist or parliamentary armies had achieved outright victory at the battle of Edgehill? 
11. What if the NHS had never been introduced in 1948? 
12. What if Britain had not discovered the North Sea Oil? 
13. What if there was no fire of London in 1666? 
14. What if Alfred the Great was defeated in 878? 
15. What if German Emperor Wilhelm I had died ten years earlier? 
16. What if germ warfare were to be used against the US? 
17. What if there was no 1947 Agriculture Act? 
18. What if Martin Luther King had survived the assassination on 4 April 1968? 
19. What if Napoleon had won the Battle of Waterloo? 
20. What if the Diggers had spread in 1649, and there were no slaves, lawyers or accountants? 
21. What if Yasser Arafat had been assassinated in 1968? 
22. What if Mary Tudor had completed the Counter-Reformation as planned? 
23. What if the First Crusade had failed in 1095? 
24. What if Germany had defeated France at the beginning of World War I in 1914? 
25. What if Britain had voted against EU membership in the 1975 EEC Referendum? 
26. What if the Russians had won the Space Race? 
27. What if Alexander the Great had gone West, not East? 
28. What if George Washington had lost the American War of Independence? 
29. What if the Germans had discovered that the Allies had cracked the Enigma code during World War II? 
30. What if the Nazis had occupied Britain in 1940? 
31. What if Elizabeth I had married? 
32. What if the Chinese authorities had not sent tanks into Tiananmen Square in June 1989? 
33. What if the Zulus had defeated the British in 1879? 
34. What if D-Day had failed? 
 
Production credits 
Presented by Professor Christopher Andrew 
 Produced by Ian Bell, Mark Smalley and Isobel Eaton 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 2 January 1991-5 June 2004. 
 
© 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
(P) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

What If?

A BBC Radio 4 alternative history

Melvyn Bragg explores the pivotal role of England's north in defining modern Britain, and its enduring effect on every part of the globe 
 
'It's impossible not to admire the thrust and sweep of this series' The Telegraph 
 
In this captivating 10-part series, Melvyn Bragg brings all his enthusiasm, experience and expertise to a subject that has enthralled him his entire life: the importance of the North in shaping the United Kingdom. Joined by special guests including Dame Judi Dench, Sir Michael Parkinson, Joan Bakewell, David Hockney, Maxine Peake, Simon Armitage and Sir Geoffrey Boycott, he charts the ebb and flow of Northern power and influence, examining how one smallish geographical region came to have such an enormous effect on our culture worldwide: from science and philosophy to music and sport. 
 
Beginning his story from the top of Hadrian's Wall, Bragg looks at the fall of Rome and the rise of Northumbria, and considers the glorious Northumbrian Renaissance - and the mark left on the North by invading Vikings and Normans. He looks at the turbulent years of rebellion that swept the area and the idea of 'northern speech', and tells of his love for the Northern landscape that inspired Wordsworth, Coleridge, the Brontës and Turner. 
 
Bragg also celebrates the North as the heartland of the Industrial Revolution, and sings the praises of Manchester, the first city of that revolution. He explains how many radical movements had their genesis in the North: from Chartism and the suffragettes to the birth of the Labour Party. Bringing us right up to date, he looks at some great 20th Century cultural icons, such as the Beatles and Coronation Street. Finally, he reflects on 'Northern power', asking what being and sounding Northern means and questioning what the future holds for the North in the wake of the EU referendum. 
 
Also included In Our Time: Hadrian's Wall, in which Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss this famous archaeological monument, and the two-part series North and South: Across the Great Divide, which finds Ian Marchant travelling along England's North/South divide to ask what it really means - and see if it is shifting. 
 
Production credits 
Presented by Melvyn Bragg. Produced by Faith Lawrence 
 
With guests including: Simon Armitage, Syima Aslam, Prof Simon Bainbridge, Dame Joan Bakewell, Maria Balshaw, Prof Hannah Barker, Dr Sarah Bastow, Chris Bonington, Frank Cottrell Boyce, Sir Geoffrey Boycott, Claire Breay, Prof Michelle Brown, Revd Canon Rosalind Brown, Prof Sally Bushell, Prof Robert Colls, Julian Cooper, Ed Cox, Prof Katy Cubitt, Judith Cummins MP, Dame Judi Dench, Prof Richard Gameson, Toby Gordon, Lee Hall, Prof Ian Haynes, Susan Harrison, Prof Nick Higham, David Hockney, Prof Richard Horrocks, Howard Hull, Prof Judith Jesch, Dr Chris Jones, Dr Katy Layton-Jones, Dr Jill Liddington, Bill Lloyd, Natalie McCaul, Jimmy McGovern, Ian McMillan, Dr Katrina Navickas, Sir Michael Parkinson, Maxine Peake, Dr Robert Poole, Irna Qureshi, Canon Apiarist Adrian Rhodes, Lee Rigg, Jonnie Robinson, Prof Dave Russell, Jonathan Schofield, Rommi Smith, Prof Keith Stringer, Dr James Sumner, Dr Matthew Townend, Jenny Uglow, Matthew Watson, Prof Andy Wood 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 29 August-9 September 2016 
 
In Our Time: Hadrian's Wall 
Presented by Melvyn Bragg 
Produced by Victoria Brignell 
With Greg Woolf, David Breeze and Lindsay Allason-Jones. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 12 July 2012 
 
North and South: Across the Great Divide 
Presented by Ian Marchant 
Produced by Mary Ward-Lowery 
With Sir Michael Darrington, Prof Danny Dorling, Rachel North, Dominic Watt, Prof David Morley, John Langton. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 21-28 March 2012 
 
©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Matter of the North

How the north of England shaped modern Britain

Mike Thompson

The BBC Radio 4 historical series that uses documentary evidence to shed new light on the past 
 
In this Sony Award-winning investigative history series, BBC international correspondent Mike Thomson and guest presenters pore over private papers, public records and primary sources, uncovering the hidden truth about historical events. 
 
As they follow the documentary trail, they talk to key participants, contemporary commentators and academic experts, and explore shocking stories of cover-ups, covert operations and collusion. Here are the extraordinary tales of the 1956 French offer to merge the UK and France; the Wall Street plot to overthrow Franklin D Roosevelt; and the journalist's notebook that came perilously close to revealing one of Britain's greatest Cold War secrets. 
 
Plus, Gordon Corera travels to Stockholm to investigate the assassination of Swedish prime minister Olof Palme, David Loyn investigates how a lost document is helping Afghanistan come to terms with its painful past, Heather Jones asks why an intelligence warning given seven weeks before Germany's 1939 invasion of Poland was ignored, and Sanchia Berg traces the career of an MI5 agent left out in the cold... 
 
From the clandestine Nazi radio station in Scotland to an MI6 chief's secret slush fund, the diaries of a Chinese ambassador to the Soviet Union and the CIA's attempts to subvert Albania, Documents That Changed The World will challenge your assumptions and make you question everything you thought you knew about history. 
 
Copyright © 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. ? 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
Presented by Mike Thomson, Jeremy Duns, Nick Rankin, Sarah Richardson, Gordon Corera, David Loyn, Heather Jones, Sanchia Berg, Dominic Streatfeild, Anne McElvoy, Dr Yee Wah Foo, Robert Bickers, Arne Westad, Jonny Foo, Andy Cheung, Jo Fox 
Produced by Tom Alban, Kate Borde, Mark Burman, Marya Burgess, James Cook, Isobel Eaton, Neil George, Patrick Gregory, Laurence Grissell, Roger Hermiston, Julia Johnson, Robert Ketteridge, Hannah Loy, Neil McCarthy, Paula McGinley, John Murphy, Sarah Shebbeare, Phil Tinline 
Executive producer: Philip Sellars 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 5 September 2005-4 December 2017

Documents That Changed The World

A BBC Radio 4 History

From Neil MacGregor, the author of A History of the World in 100 Objects, this is a view of Germany like no other 
 
For the past 140 years, Germany has been the central power in continental Europe. Thirty years ago a new German state came into being. How much do we really understand this new Germany, and how do its people now understand themselves? 
 
Neil MacGregor argues that uniquely for any European country, no coherent, over-arching narrative of Germany's history can be constructed, for in Germany both geography and history have always been unstable. Its frontiers have constantly floated. Königsberg, home to the greatest German philosopher, Immanuel Kant, is now Kaliningrad, Russia; Strasbourg, in whose cathedral Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Germany's greatest writer, discovered the distinctiveness of his country's art and history, now lies within the borders of France. For most of the last five hundred years Germany has been composed of many separate political units, each with a distinct history. And any comfortable national story Germans might have told themselves before 1914 was destroyed by the events of the following thirty years. 
 
German history may be inherently fragmented, but it contains a large number of widely shared memories, awarenesses and experiences; examining some of these is the purpose of this book. Beginning with the fifteenth-century invention of modern printing by Gutenberg, MacGregor chooses objects and ideas, people and places which still resonate in the new Germany - porcelain from Dresden and rubble from its ruins, Bauhaus design and the German sausage, the crown of Charlemagne and the gates of Buchenwald - to show us something of its collective imagination. There has never been a book about Germany quite like it. 
 
© 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Germany: Memories of a Nation

Frances Fyfield

Clemency Burton Hill

Frances Fyfield and Clemency Burton-Hill explore the tales and tribulations behind the scores of well-known pieces of music 
 
'Endlessly fascinating' New Statesman 
 
Crime writer Frances Fyfield and classical music broadcaster Clemency Burton-Hill pore over the hand-written scores of great composers to decipher the hidden tales of creativity locked within. Behind the hieroglyphics, scribbles and corrections on these priceless pages are clues that, when forensically examined by an expert eye, reveal the extraordinary craft, skill and inventiveness of geniuses such as Beethoven, Handel, Elgar, Stravinsky, Schubert, Puccini, Rachmaninov and Chopin. 
 
Accompanied by a team of musical sleuths, including world-leading performers, conductors, writers and graphologists, Frances and Clemency travel the UK, Europe and America to track down these rare and treasured documents. Among their discoveries are the manuscripts for famous songs like 'On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring', and some of the best-loved operas, operettas and musicals of all time including Madame Butterfly, Porgy and Bess, and The Pirates of Penzance. 
 
They scour the fragile pages of Bach's B-Minor Mass, so thick with music that the ink has burned through the paper; the ballet score for Aaron Copland's 'Appalachian Spring', revealing the changes made to please guest dancer Rudolf Nureyev; and a long-lost flute concerto by Vivaldi, rediscovered after being buried in an Edinburgh archive for 250 years. Through detailed study of these, and many other, manuscripts, they reveal the answers to questions such as, how did Debussy attempt to capture the sea? What famous lines were adapted for their first singers? Why was one of Mozart's boldest lines crossed out? And did the shooting of a German diplomat inspire Tippett's A Child of Our Time? 
 
Inspired, insightful and often surprising, this is an unparalleled look at the astonishing secret history of musical invention - ink blots, doodles, coffee stains and all. 
 
Copyright © 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, May 2004 - August 2020 
 
Presented by Frances Fyfield, Clemency Burton-Hill 
Christine Andreas and Ted Sperling (Series 19, Episode 3) 
Loras Schissel (Series 19, Episode 4) 
Produced by Tom Alban, Simon Elmes, Mohini Patel

Tales from the Stave

The extraordinary stories behind classical musical manuscripts

Christopher Lee

Christopher Lee's highly-acclaimed and award-winning BBC Radio 4 history of the British Empire. 
 
Britain had the biggest empire the world has ever known. At one time a quarter of the global land mass was British. Over a third of the world was insured at Lloyds. At his coronation, more than 400 million people saluted George V. Truly, the sun never set on this historical phenomenon. Whatever the day, whatever the hour, somewhere on the globe, the empire worked and played the British game, often absurdly so. 
 
BBC Radio 4's monumental history of Britain tells the story of the British Empire from its earliest beginnings through the years when British influence grew steadily around the globe, years when Britain took full advantage of the technical advances of its industrial revolution. 
 
Here are the origins of the modern nations of America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and of the ways in which British influence has affected, for better or for worse, nations such as India, Sri Lanka, and China. Here are the stories, not always happy and glorious, of Captain James Cook, Mungo Park, Warren Hastings, Sir Stamford Raffles, and David Livingstone. 
 
The story of the British Empire is one of enormous personalities, adventure, scientific and maritime development, and the building of one of the most complex international administrations the world has ever seen. 
 
©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

This Sceptred Isle: Empire

The Classic BBC Radio History

Sean Bean

The Second World War ended over 75 years ago, and the number of men and women who lived through it is rapidly dwindling. But its legacy casts a long shadow, and the memories of those who experienced the conflict left both powerful stories and often a complex inheritance behind for their children and grandchildren. 
 
In this series, Sean Bean investigates how the trauma of profound wartime experiences - whether spoken or unspoken - can be transferred down through subsequent generations. For although physical wounds may heal, emotional wounds can remain to inform family dynamics for good or ill. 
 
From prisoners of war and hero soldiers to infamous traitors and long-lost relatives, Sean meets 10 families who have been forever changed by World War II. He talks to Gethin Jones, whose father was a conscientious objector; Anne Godden and Barbara Sherman, daughters of returning soldiers whose marriages broke down; Tom Boden, who lived through the bombing of Liverpool and was evacuated twice; Ingrid Von Oelhafen, who discovered she was the victim of the Nazi's 'Lebensborn' programme in which children were stolen from their parents; and Stella Collis, daughter of a German POW who was interred at Wormwood Scrubs. 
 
We also hear the moving story of Barclay Patoir, who came to Britain from Guyana and survived war and prejudice to marry and raise a family; the extraordinary experiences of Kurt Marx, a Kindertransport refugee, and his wife Ingrid, who lived through Auschwitz; and the children of Nazi sympathiser John Beckett talk about their complicated, conflicted legacy. Shafquat Towheed reflects on the ways that his father's experience of the Bengal Famine stayed with him throughout his life - and the ways in which it is remembered. And in a fascinating voyage of discovery, Niki MacCarthy journeys to Nagasaki to find out about her father Aidan's life-saving medical work, and uncover the truth behind a very special family heirloom. 
 
©2021 BBC Worldwide Ltd (P)2014 BBC Worldwide Ltd 
Presented by Sean Bean 
Produced by Martin Williams, Kate Bissell and Mark Rickards 
 
Featuring: Gethin and Adam Russell-Jones; Betty and Max Paschal; Kurt, Michael and Johanna Marx; Anne Godden and Barbara Sherman; Clare Beckett-Wrighton and Francis Beckett; Juliet Weller; Shafquat Towheed, Niki and Adrienne MacCarthy; Tom Boden, Dawn Hann, Evie Thame and Michael Thame; Ingrid Von Oelhafen 
 
With thanks to: Michael Newman of the Association of Jewish Refugees, Diya Gupta and Brian Hann 
 
For more information about Kurt Marx's wartime experiences, please see Refugee Voices, a project of the AJR: https://www.ajrrefugeevoices.org.uk/ 
 
And for more information about the legacy of such experiences please visit the Second Generation Network and the Holocaust Memorial Trust: https://secondgeneration.org.uk/ and https://www.het.org.uk/ 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 13 May-10 August 2020

Legacy of War

A BBC World War 2 History

Misha Glenny

'Glenny does the sort of history I wish I had been taught at school' 
 Jemima Lewis, The Telegraph 
 
Former BBC Central European correspondent Misha Glenny investigates the borders, stories and people of nine countries worldwide, and asks how they acquired the shape and character they have today. Aided by a wealth of expert contributors, he discovers the geographical quirks, Game Of Thrones-style battles and history-changing personalities that have defined each nation - busting some persistent myths and stereotypes along the way. 
 
In Germany, Glenny blows away the fog of Nazism to reveal the country's high culture and often feeble past, taking us from the Thirty Years' War to the rise of Prussia and the emergence of a unified nation. Spain chronicles the rise and fall of an empire - from 1492 to 1898, from Columbus to El Desastre - and explores the fractured state of the nation, both in history and now. In Italy, Glenny tells a tale of fragmentation, occupation, unification (and the birth of the Mafia), and expansionist dreams that led to mass Italian bloodshed in the First World War. Brazil sees him stripping away the happy imagery of carnival and beach volleyball to expose a dark colonial history, as he charts the country's transformation from giant factory farm for Europeans to modern BRIC economy. 
 
France considers Joan of Arc's part in resisting the English invasion, analyses the French Revolution through Robespierre, and looks at the other Napoleon: Napoleon III, whose defeat ultimately led to two world wars. In The USA, Glenny examines the creation of the most powerful nation in the world, from the Founding Fathers to frontier wars and the melting pot of immigration. In The Netherlands, Glenny explains how the country is much more than just Holland, probes how a few boggy Netherlandish provinces became one of the military and trading heavyweights of the world, and wonders why Belgium exists. And in Britain, he presents the story of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, from Offa's Dyke to Hadrian's Wall via London, Derry and Edinburgh. He delves into England's dominance of the United Kingdom, discusses the significance of our island status, and ponders British identity, asking what binds us - and what divides us. And in Ireland, Glenny learns about Catholics, Protestants and the early seeds of war. 
 
This collection also includes three extra series on things that have shaped Europe as much as any nation: The Alps, which divide Europe and swallow up armies, Giuseppe Garibaldi, the legendary Italian general, and The Habsburgs, a family who ruled in Europe for 1,000 years. 
 
 
 
Written and presented by Misha Glenny 
Produced by Miles Warde 
 
This collection contains: 
The Invention of Germany 
The Invention of Italy 
The Invention of Brazil 
The Invention of Spain 
The Invention of France 
The Invention of the Netherlands 
The Invention of the USA 
The Invention of Britain 
The Invention of Ireland 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, October 2011 - March 2019

How To Invent A Country

Nine nations that shaped the world

The half millennium between the creation of the English nation in around 550 and the Norman Conquest in 1066 was a formative one. This groundbreaking series rediscovers the Anglo-Saxons through vivid portraits of thirty incredible men and women, as told by their contemporary admirers. 
 
Nobel prize-winner Seamus Heaney discusses the Beowulf bard; former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams focuses on St Augustine, the first Archbishop of Canterbury; Michael Wood celebrates Penda, the much-maligned last pagan king of England; Barbara Yorke tells the story of Hild of Whitby, the powerful abbess and largely forgotten pre-feminism model; and writer David Almond investigates the oldest surviving English poet, Caedmon. 
 
From royalty to peasants, the women behind the Bayeux Tapestry to rebellious nuns, Anglo-Saxon Portraits unravels the mysteries of a too often forgotten period in British history.

Anglo-Saxon Portraits

Thirty ground-breaking men and women of the early English nation

Thomas Dixon

Friendships, for many of us, are at the very centre of our daily existence and identity. Yet it hasn't always been this way. Our modern view of what makes a friend is shaped by centuries of political and social upheaval. In this landmark study, Dr Thomas Dixon considers both the differences and similarities between friendships in history and those we experience today. 
 
Now we tend to view friendships among children as a good thing, but did you know that in the 18th and 19th century they were seen as fraught with danger? Or that the Bible heavily influenced early companionship? Beginning with the social networks of the 16th century, Dr Dixon moves through history to examine the invention of the best friend, working class Friendly Societies, dogs as 'man's best friend', and the tragic impact of the First World War on male friendships. Finally, we look at how the old and the young are navigating friendships today, and how friendship might look in the technologically-enhanced future. This fascinating and surprising history provides a unique look at how human companionship has changed through the ages - and what comes next.

Five Hundred Years of Friendship

Nigel Baldwin

Four thrilling detective dramas set in Amiens during the French Revolution 
 
'Stylish detective series' The Independent 
 
September 1791. Newly promoted Lieutenant General Jacques Lacroix is transferred from Paris to Amiens, tasked to solve crimes and arrest criminals. But in these days of revolution, it's increasingly tricky for him to identify the criminals amongst all the agitators, rabble-rousers and counter-revolutionaries. And his job is about to get even harder, as he finds himself investigating a slew of grisly murders... 
 
In Friends in High Places, the body of a murdered girl is dragged out of the Somme. She was last seen at a salon the previous night, in the company of Maximilien Robespierre: could the great man be implicated in her death? 
 
To Be A Pilgrim finds Lacroix probing an alleged conspiracy that sets him off on the wrong track, and calling on the local sorceress, Madeleine Bonniface, to help him solve what appears to be a ritual killing. 
 
In Health of a Nation, a doctor is found dead as the Reign of Terror begins. His son confesses to the murder - but he has an alibi, so why would he lie? 
 
Finally, in Moon Conjunct Uranus, Madeleine Bonniface's astrological chart predicts trouble ahead for Lacroix - and when the death of a young woman is linked to a secret magical sect, the evidence all seems to point to him... 
 
These atmospheric historical crime dramas star David Calder stars as Lacroix, with Brian Hibbard, Kathryn Pogson, Simon Ludders and Frances Tomelty. 
 
Production credits 
Written by Nigel Baldwin, with additional research by Constantia Michael 
Directed by Alison Hindell 
Original music by Paula Gardiner, performed by Mark Edwards, Jeanette Masocchi, Ron Parry and Paula Gardiner 
 
Cast 
Lt Gen Lacroix - David Calder 
Monet - Brian Hibbard 
Charlotte - Kathryn Pogson 
Dupont - Ian Rowlands 
Roland - Christian Rodska 
Robespierre - Brendan Charleson 
Didier/Panchaud/Chalier - Steve Hodson 
Mme Rives/Josephine - Bethan Jones 
Surgeon - Matthew Morgan 
Mme Giradoux - Lesley Rooney 
Duval - Simon Ludders 
Madeleine - Frances Tomelty 
Mme des Chats/Mme Dupre - Sue Roderick 
Ferrier/Michel - Andrew Wincott 
Georges/Jean - Robert Harper 
Simone - Sara Harris-Davies 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 13 March-3 April 1995

The Tree of Liberty

A BBC Radio 4 crime drama

All five volumes from the landmark BBC radio series This Sceptred Isle: The Twentieth Century 
 
Christopher Lee's vivid, compelling history tells the story of Britain from the death of Queen Victoria to the dawning of a new millennium. This collection includes the original volumes 1-5: 
 
1901-1919: The Victorian era comes to an end, Suffragettes demand 'Votes for Women', the Titanic sinks and the Great War casts a long shadow. 
 
1919-1939: Ramsay MacDonald becomes the first Labour PM, millions of workers take industrial action during the General Strike, Wall Street crashes and Hitler rises to power. 
 
1939-1959: The horrors of the Second World War and the onset of the Cold War, Indian independence, the founding of the NHS, the beginning of a new Elizabethan age and the Space Race. 
 
1959-1979: War in Vietnam, Profumo causes a scandal, the Beatles generate worldwide hysteria, Britain joins Europe and Thatcherism is born. 
 
1979-1999: The nation celebrates a fairytale royal wedding, Argentine troops invade the Falklands, disaster strikes at Chernobyl, the Berlin Wall falls - and as the year 2000 approaches, construction begins on London's Millennium Dome. 
 
Narrated by Anna Massey, with additional readings by Robert Powell, this is the definitive radio account of one of the most exciting and fast-moving periods in the history of the United Kingdom. 
 
 
NB: Due to the age of these recordings, sound quality may vary 
 
 
Production credits 
Written by Christopher Lee 
Narrated by Anna Massey, with additional readings by Robert Powell 
Produced by Pete Atkin 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 30 August-31 December 1999

This Sceptred Isle: Collection 3: The 20th Century

Lucy Worsley

Lucy Worsley presents a ten-part BBC radio exploration of Queen Victoria’s reign via notable encounters 
 
In this revealing series, acclaimed historian and Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces, Lucy Worsley, explores the reign of Queen Victoria through pivotal figures in her life. We meet ten key individuals – some well known, others less so – and find out how they influenced the Queen, what she thought of them: and what they thought of her. 
 
Beginning with Victoria’s Prime Minister and closest advisor, Lord Melbourne, Worsley goes on to introduce us to the Queen’s lady-in-waiting, Lady Flora Hastings; the Mayor of Newport, Thomas Phillips, governess Louise Lehzen and two popular American entertainers, Tom Thumb and Buffalo Bill – as well as dresser Frieda Arnold; celebrity nurse Florence Nightingale; royal ‘favourite’ Abdul Karim and Bishop Randall Davidson. 
 
There are also encounters of a different kind, as Lucy Worsley chronicles Victoria’s grief at the death of her husband, Prince Albert, and records Victoria’s own final days and the crowd of people who gathered as Britain’s longest-reigning monarch breathed her last. 
 
Travelling from Kensington Palace to a luxury hotel on the Côte d’Azur, Worsley talks to eminent writers and historians and draws on letters and diaries including the Queen’s own journal to provide fascinating insight into Victoria’s world and those who helped shape it. 
1 Accession Day and Kinky Lord M – 1837 
With historian Philip Ziegler 
 
2 Poor Lady Flora – 1839 
With historian Kathryn Hughes 
 
3 A Wounded Welshman – 9 December 1839 
With historians Les James, Rhian E. Jones and curator Oliver Blackmore 
 
4 The Governess – 3 September 1842 
With Historic Royal Palaces curator Claudia Williams 
 
5 American Idols – 1844 and 1887 
With historian Helen Davies and V&amp;A curator and writer Nicholas Rankin 
 
6 The Dresser – Frieda Arnold, 1854 
With Beatrice Behlen, Senior Curator at the Museum of London and Joanna Marschner, Senior Curator at Historic Royal Palaces, Kensington Palace 
 
7 A Nightingale at Balmoral – Florence Nightingale – September 1856 
With historian Mark Bostridge 
 
8 An Encounter with Death – 13 December 1861 
With historian Helen Rappaport 
 
9 Mutiny Against an Indian – 1897 
With historians Priya Atwal and Shrabani Basu 
 
10 The Sinking of a Great Ship – Bishop Randall Davidson – 25th January 1901 
With writer and historian A.N. Wilson 
 
Extracts from Queen Victoria’s Journals by Gracious Permission of Her Majesty The Queen

Encounters with Victoria

Queen Victoria's Reign Through Significant Meetings

Nick Robinson

In the Complete Series 1 and 2 of this fascinating and absorbing Radio 4 series, the BBC's Nick Robinson explores how Prime Ministers have used their power and responded to the great challenges of their time. 
 
In the first series he explores the premiership of Sir Robert Walpole; the first and longest-serving prime minister; Lord North; remembered as the prime minister who lost America; Sir Robert Peel; who put national interest before party; Lord Palmerston; who cultivated a cavalier image and dominated mid-Victorian politics; Benjamin Disraeli turned his skills as a novelist to politics and became Britain’s first Jewish-born prime minister; David Lloyd George, Welsh radical who set up the early welfare state, became a presidential PM in the First World War and split the Liberal party; and Stanley Baldwin, the first prime minister to master radio broadcasting, his notion of Englishness shaped inter-war Britain.Clement Attlee, who lacked any charisma, but created the modern welfare state and managed the big political beasts in his Cabinet. 
 
In the second series he takes a look at William Pitt the Younger, who became Prime Minister aged only 24 and held the post for almost 19 years in total; Earl Grey, who passed the Great Reform Act and abolished slavery in the British Empire; William Gladstone was our oldest ever premier and finally left Downing Street for the last time aged 84.Herbert Asquith, who had the longest uninterrupted spell in office among twentieth century prime ministers until Margaret Thatcher; Ramsay MacDonald, who became the first Labour Prime Minister in 1924, but seven years later came to be seen as a traitor by his party; Harold Macmillan took over from Eden after Britain’s humiliation in the Suez crisis, and whose upbeat approach earned him the nickname of ‘Supermac’; Harold Wilson captured the mood for change in the 1960s, but his two terms at Number 10 were increasingly dominated by Britain’s economic problems; and Edward Heath, who took Britain into the EEC (now the European Union) in 1973, which still divides opinion. 
 
Extract from speech by Lloyd George: © British Library Board. All Rights Reserved.

The Prime Ministers with Nick Robinson

The Complete BBC Radio 4 Series 1-2

All ten episodes of BBC Radio 4’s ambitious global series, presented by Neil MacGregor 
 
‘Insightful, provocative, satisfying’ Telegraph 
 
With the United Kingdom on the brink of potentially momentous change, historian and broadcaster Neil MacGregor embarks on a worldwide voyage to discover how Britain is perceived from abroad. 
 
Visiting Germany, Egypt, Nigeria, Canada, India, Singapore, the United States, Spain, Australia and Poland – all countries with significant historical links to the UK – he talks to leading opinion formers to find out how they, as individuals and members of their wider communities, see Britain. 
 
His interviewees reveal what they learnt about Britain at school, and how key events and cultural influences, as well as their own personal experiences, have shaped their impressions of the country now. Each has a defining image that symbolises the UK to them: from Shakespeare to Monty Python, the 1966 World Cup, the Suez Crisis, the Financial Times, ‘99’ ice cream and The Crown. 
 
Throughout his travels, MacGregor uncovers tensions and frustrations, admiration and affection – along with an underlying sense of hope and a desire to retain close links with Britain as it prepares to reevaluate its relationship with Europe and the world.

As Others See Us

The BBC Radio 4 series

The year is 1Q84. This is the real world, there is no doubt about that. But in this world, there are two moons in the sky. Discover the 1Q84 Trilogy by Haruki Murakami.

1Q84

365 Days of Art

A BBC Christmas

A Black Book Thriller

A Box Full of Murders

A Cal Leandros Novel

A Christmas Mystery

The intelligent and capable police commissioner Guido Brunetti confronts crime in and around his home town of Venice.

A Commissario Brunetti Mystery

A DC Smith / Kings Lake Investigation Series

A Daisy Story

Chronicling the lives of over three hundred characters, unrivalled for its scope and humour, this is a unique evocation of life in twentieth-century England.

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