Sarah Goldsmith talks about the Grand Tour as a rite of passage for young men. These young men went abroad to learn things about art and architecture. She also discusses the way the Grand Tour intersected with military rites of passage and how

Joanne Paul on Anne Dowriche and the French Revolution

May 6th, 2021 23m 2s

Joanne Paul talks to Helen about Anne Dowriche. Dowriche was a 16th century writer, usually classified as a pious writer. Joanne casts her instead as a deeply political writer, and explains how her commentaries on the wars of religion were a ra

Rachel Hewitt on the History of Women, the Outdoors and the Safety of the Streets

May 5th, 2021 36m 42s

Rachel Hewitt talks to Helen about women in sports and mountaineering, and how that plays into perceptions of women generally, as well as informing current gendered perceptions of who gets to use public spaces. Women are subject to a myriad net

Emily Cock on Disability in the Early Modern Period

May 4th, 2021 25m 43s

Emily Cock talks to Helen about Thomas Fairfax, the Civil War general who used a wheelchair, as well as the history of disability more generally. What did it mean to have facial scars in the 17th century, and how did the Earl of Arlington use a

Louisa Egbunike on the Nigeria-Biafra War Through the Arts

May 3rd, 2021 23m 20s

Louisa Egbunike discusses the history of the Nigeria-Biafra war, and particularly how Nigerians responded to the war through the visual and written arts. To follow more of Louisa's work, follow her on twitter at @LouisaEgbunike. Unfortunately,

Sophie Oliver on Jean Rhys

Apr 30th, 2021 22m 2s

Sophie Oliver talks to Helen about Jean Rhys, the author of Wide Sargasso Sea, intended as a prequel to Jane Eyre. Sophie talks about how she practices history, and the role of objects in literary history.To follow Sophie's work: @sophieolive @

Jon Healey on the Tumultuous 17th Century

Apr 29th, 2021 34m 59s

Jon Healey discusses the 17th century in all its twists and folds and manifest complexity. He talks about the Royalists, the Parliamentarians, the Levellers, the Diggers, and the Quakers and what each group stood for and fought for, as well as

Nandini Das on the Early Age of Travel

Apr 28th, 2021 31m 23s

Nandini Das talks to Helen about the early age of travel in the Elizabethan era. This era saw the beginnings of travel, with the likes of Thomas Coryate creating 'travel wagers' - where he dared others to bet against him circumnavigating Europe

David Petts on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne

Apr 27th, 2021 27m 6s

David Petts talks about Lindisfarne, the Holy Island. He talks about how St Cuthbert ended up as patron saint of the island, and how the practice of early Christians there. Since Lindisfarne is a tidal island, the coming and going of the tides

Emma Butcher on Children And Warfare In The 18th To The 21st Century

Apr 26th, 2021 34m 58s

Emma Butcher talks to Helen about her work on children in warfare. They talk about why children enlisted, and what they did on the battlefield. They discuss the likes of Joseph Bara and Marjorie Fleming, as well as the many magical worlds creat

Seb Falk on The Light Ages

Dec 4th, 2020 27m 18s

Were the Dark Ages really that dark? Seb Falk argues that science and religion weren't at odds with each other in the medieval era, but two sides of the same coin. His main story focuses on the life of John Westwyk, a medieval monk, and through

Victoria Donovan on Preservation and Patriotism in Russia

Dec 3rd, 2020 23m 30s

Victoria Donovan chats to Helen about how present-day Russia and the USSR have grappled with the legacy of Russia's buildings. The atheist USSR frequently deployed images of ruined Orthodox churches in the aftermath of the Second World War - it

Sam Goodman on Imperialism, Britishness and Ales

Dec 2nd, 2020 31m 20s

Sam Goodman talks to Helen about the end of the British empire and how Britains choose to remember and interact with their former colonies, particularly India. Sam also talks about where alcohol fit into the British Empire - from guides that ad

Michael Talbot on the Ottoman Empire and Piracy

Dec 1st, 2020 24m 34s

Michael Talbot starts with a broad overview of the Ottoman Empire's interests and what power it held, before moving on to a problem that would haunt the Ottomans consistently - pirates. These weren't necessarily pirates in a Disney sense - war

Christienna Fryar on the Emancipation of Jamaica

Nov 30th, 2020 32m 38s

Christienna Fryer talks to Helen about the emancipation of slaves in Jamaica in 1838. While the colonial government thought that a similar plantation system might exist with the addition of wages, their formerly enslaved subjects disagreed. Chr

Edmund Richardson on Charles Masson and Discovering the Lost Cities of Alexander the Great

Nov 27th, 2020 31m 3s

Charles Masson set out one day to hunt down the lost cities of Alexander the Great. He was an private in the East India Company's army until he deserted, and was as such trying to both locate and excavate a mysterious lost city, whilst also bei

Brendan McGeever on Anti-Semitism and the Russian Revolution

Nov 26th, 2020 19m 4s

Brendan McGeever talks to Helen about the relationship between anti-semitism and the Russian Revolution. The Russian Revolution in 1917 was a complex event, with myriad factions vying for power. In the chaos, a wave of anti-semitic attacks occu

Catherine Fletcher on the Dark Side of the Italian Renaissance

Nov 25th, 2020 31m 33s

Catherine Fletcher talks about the Italian Renaissance, giving a run-down of her new book, The Beauty and the Terror. She talks about Florence, and the beginnings of the renaissance, discussing Lorenzo de' Medici as well as the Borgias, as well

Tom Scott-Smith on the History of Famine Relief

Nov 24th, 2020 37m 5s

Tom Scott-Smith and Helen talk about the history of famine relief and humanitarian aid, and how it has changed over time. Humitarian aid is intensely political, and the form that humanitarian aid takes today is heavily influenced by its past. T

Joanna Cohen on the US and Early Patriotism

Nov 23rd, 2020 29m 54s

Helen talks to Joanna Cohen about the relationship between patriotism and consumption and how American attitudes towards consumption changed over the 19th century, particularly in response to the American Civil War. The ways people thought abou

Geoffrey Chaucer with Marion Turner

Aug 10th, 2020 57m 16s

Helen and Marion talk about the man that shaped the English literary canon, Geoffrey Chaucer. They discuss his life and his legacy, and how the son of a vintner came to write such an influential text.This will be the last episode for a while as

Cannibalism and Corpse Medicine with Dr Richard Sugg

Jul 10th, 2020 33m 42s

Helen takes a deep dive into some gory medical history with Dr Richard Sugg, professor of renaissance literature in Durham. They talk about all manner of wacky medical cures, such as blood consumption and powdered skull, and how these were used

The Uncrowned Queen of England with Dr Nicola Tallis

Jun 27th, 2020 31m 47s

Helen talks to Dr Nicola Tallis about Margaret Beauford, who was instrumental in establishing the reign of her son, Henry Tudor, and thus the Tudor dynasty. Margaret had to balance her ambitions of power with her womanly status, which wasn't an

Burn the Witch

Jun 13th, 2020 33m 35s

Burn the Witch is a new collaborative podcast series between historians and podcasters Helen Carr and Rebecca Rideal, where they discuss new history in the media and in the world generally. They talk TV shows, movies, music, museums, archaeolog

Race, Racism and Racist Pseudoscience with Adam Rutherford

Jun 6th, 2020 47m 11s

Adam Rutherford chats to Helen about racism. Should we call race a construct? Why does Africa have the greatest genetic diversity of any continent? Where do common misconceptions about racist tropes come from?Producer: Peter Curry Hosted on Aca