BBC Sounds - Short History Of...

Female Spies of World War Two

During World War 2, dozens of British-trained women were deployed as spies and saboteurs.

13 Feb 2026,47 mins,

The Rwandan Genocide

In 1994, violence engulfed Rwanda. But what precipitated this senseless mass killing?

09 Feb 2026,49 mins,

The Renaissance

The Renaissance of the 15th and 16th centuries was a time of rediscovery.

06 Feb 2026,47 mins,

Rasputin

Why, even after his death, does Rasputin's shadow hang over the fall of Imperial Russia?

02 Feb 2026,51 mins,

Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison is one of history’s greatest inventors.

30 Jan 2026,56 mins,

The Māori

The Māori have had a presence in New Zealand for at least 800 years.

26 Jan 2026,50 mins,

Angkor

Built by kings, Angkor had a footprint bigger than present-day New York.

23 Jan 2026,48 mins

Nikola Tesla

Tesla arrived in America with just four cents in his pocket and a head full of inventions

19 Jan 2026,52 mins,

The Soviet Union, Part 2 of 2

In the 2nd half of the 20th century, the USSR became one of the world’s two superpowers.

16 Jan 2026,54 mins,

David Bowie

How did David Bowie transform himself into a superstar and change pop music forever?

12 Jan 2026,48 mins,

The Soviet Union, Part 1 of 2

How did one of the most ambitious political experiments in human history come about?

09 Jan 2026,53 mins,

The Louisiana Purchase

In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson purchased 820,000 square miles of land from Napoleon.

05 Jan 2026,48 mins

Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great is as famed for his hedonistic lifestyle as his military genius.

29 Dec 2025,45 mins,

The Blitz

From September 1940, Germany’s Luftwaffe subjected Britain to an intense bombing campaign

22 Dec 2025,45 mins,

The Wild West

Think of the Wild West, and you’ll imagine cowboys, shootouts, bank robberies and saloons

19 Dec 2025,47 mins,

Venice

Over the course of a thousand years, Venice helped to reshape European culture.

15 Dec 2025,53 mins,

British Castles

For over 600 years, castles played a leading role in the story of Britain.

12 Dec 2025,47 mins,

The Nuremberg Trial

The Nuremberg Trial dealt with the worst crimes of the Nazi regime.

08 Dec 2025,50 mins,

The Dinosaur Rush

Why did two palaeontologists enter a bitter professional feud in the 1870s?

05 Dec 2025,48 mins

The Ashes

The Ashes have produced some of cricket’s most iconic moments.

01 Dec 2025,47 mins

Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo is as much a modern icon for her personal flair as she is for her paintings.

28 Nov 2025,50 mins,

The Brontës

Charlotte, Anne and Emily Brontë were among the most famous authors of the 19th century.

24 Nov 2025,49 mins,

The Bayeux Tapestry

What do the tapestry's scenes of battle reveal about life and death in the Middle Ages?

21 Nov 2025,45 mins,

The Pinkerton Detective Agency

How did Allan Pinkerton, a Scottish immigrant, found America’s first detective agency?

17 Nov 2025,49 mins,

The Mona Lisa

Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is, arguably, the most famous painting in the world.

14 Nov 2025,50 mins

Oscar Wilde

Wilde is remembered as one of the great Victorian writers, and a martyr for LGBTQ+ rights.

10 Nov 2025,47 mins,

The Partition of India

In 1947, India was divided into two provinces, leading to confusion, chaos and violence.

07 Nov 2025,49 mins,

The Vatican

Enclosed within the city of Rome, Vatican City is the world’s smallest independent state.

03 Nov 2025,56 mins,

D.B. Cooper

In 1971, D.B. Cooper became the subject of one of the strangest cases in FBI history.

48 mins,

The Great Smog of London

In early December 1952, a smog descended upon London, bringing chaos to the city.

27 Oct 2025,46 mins,

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Short History Of...

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