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How and Why HistoryEpisodes
Episodes of How and Why History
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Join celebrity farmer, ecologist and conservationist, Jimmy Doherty, on his farm as he talks to eco-experts and well-known faces about trying to live a greener life.From bug burgers and sustainable football clubs, to viagra honey and foraging f
One of the Old Testament’s most compelling figures, David was anointed as king of a united Israel, conquering Jerusalem and bringing the Ark of the Covenant into the city. First renowned for his musicianship and killing Goliath, David was feted
Ever since his reign in the 9th century, Alfred the Great has been celebrated as one of the most accomplished of our kings. A learned and religious man who encouraged education, Alfred defended his lands against Viking invaders. But how did Alf
From 1899 to 1902, a bloody war was fought between the British Empire and two independent Boer states – the Republic of Transvaal and the Orange Free State – over the Empire's influence in South Africa. But how and why did the war come about?
In September 1666, the Great Fire of London destroyed more than 13,000 houses, 87 Parish churches as well as St Pauls Cathedral, and uprooted hundreds of thousands of Londoners. But how did the fire start and spread so rapidly? Why did King Cha
In the aftermath of the Second World War, 850 delegates from 50 nations gathered in San Fransisco, determined to establish an organization which would preserve peace and help build a better world. Over the last 75 years, the UN has committed i
In a moment of great danger to national survival, the Royal Air Force defended the United Kingdom against large scale attacks by the Luftwaffe. So how did the Battle of Britain play out? What was Germany’s objective? And how important was it to
Between 75 million and 200 million people died in the Black Death, or Plague, which caused social, economic and religious upheavals that had a profound effect on the course of European history. How did the Black Death come about? How did if aff
In the early 15th century, a French village girl became a heroine for her role in the French victory during the Lancastrian phase of the 100 Years War. But it took 600 years before Joan of Arc was canonised as a Roman Catholic Saint. How did sh
On 5 November 1605, a planned assassination attempt on King James I was thwarted. While a group of English Catholics planned to blow up the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament, the name of the man caught guarding the gunpowder
From the 6th century BCE, philosophy was used to make sense of the world – including astronomy, mathematics, politics, ethics, metaphysics and aesthetics. But why did philosophy flourish in Greek culture? How were the great philosophers recei
Genghis Khan was one of the most feared and most famous warrior kings in history. But how did he rise to power to become the Emperor of the Mongol Empire? How did he unite many of the nomadic tributes of North-East Asia, and then conquer most o
Having led the parliament of England’s armies against King Charles I, and seen to it that the king was executed, Oliver Cromwell went on to rule the British Isles as Lord Protector from 1653 to 1658. But how did Cromwell rise to play his part i
With the end of the Second World War 75 years ago, the task of rebuilding shattered nations had to begin. But the years that followed saw the coming of the Nuclear Age, the Cold War, decolonialism and the rise of American supremacy. How exactly
In the Middle Ages, the Holy Land, as well as sites in Europe and around Britain became popular sites for pilgrimage. It was believed that praying at shrines or in front of holy relics could absolve you of your sins, cure your illnesses, or hel
In the aftermath of the Second World War, Germany was divided and, as the Cold War escalated, a concrete barrier physically and ideologically divided Berlin. But how did Berlin come to be split by a wall? How did East Germans try to get across
In 1597, King James VI of Scotland published a compendium on witchcraft called Daemonologie that laid down the kind of trial and punishment these practices merited. But why was there a witch craze in Europe? How were witch hunts triggered? Who
On 6 August 1945, an American B29 bomber dropped the world's first deployed atomic bomb over Hiroshima. Three days later, Nagasaki was at the receiving end of a second American A-bomb. Why did America decide to hit Japan with two atomic bombs?
In the 1950s, Senator Joseph McCarthy was the public face of a period in which Cold War tensions fuelled fears in the United States of widespread Communist subversion. McCarthy believed Soviet spies and sympathizers had infiltrated the US feder
Charlemagne was one of history’s most ruthless and ambitious warriors – King of the Franks, then King of the Lombards, conqueror of the Saxons, leading to the Pope crowning him Roman Emperor. But plenty of blood was spilled along the way. So ho
In the Middle Ages, Christian monasteries played an integral role in the generation and spread of knowledge. Scholarship flourished behind monastery walls and monks became experts in a wide range of fields, including astronomy, medicine, even b
On 10 April 1998 – Good Friday – the UK’s Prime Minister Tony Blair and the Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, signed an agreement that signalled the end of 30 years of violence and bitter sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland. But how did the Trou
Arguably the world’s greatest ever dramatist, after five and a half centuries William Shakespeare remains as popular as ever. But how did he became so famous? How did later authors boost his reputation? And why has Shakespeare stayed supreme ab
When World War I broke out in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the United States would remain neutral. The U.S.A. only officially entered the conflict three years later. It took the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbour in 1941 to bring Am
In the first century after his crucifixion, the teachings of Jesus quickly spread throughout the Greco-Roman world and his early followers often faced severe persecution. But how did people around the Mediterranean learn of Christ’s message? Wh
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