Lancaster Bomber PilotRusty Waughman DFC is a former Lancaster pilot flying with RAF Bomber Command in the Second World War. He has incredible recall, and talks of those times with great frankness, detail and consideration for all he and his crew went through.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Les Parisiennes 1939-49How did the women of Paris live, love and die in the 1940s? Why did some Parisians collaborate while others resisted? From saving other people’s children, to embracing Nazi philosophy to retreating to the Ritz with a lover, acclaimed writer, Anne Sebba, examines the many different choices made by the Parisiennes in order to survive the war. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lotharingia: A Personal History of Europe's Lost CountryIn 843 AD the territory of Emperor Charlemagne was divided between his three surviving grandsons. One inherited the area now known as France, another Germany and the third received the piece in between: Lotharingia, a huge swath of land that stretched from the mouth of the Rhine to the Alps. Simon Winder explains how the dynamic between these three great zones has dictated much of our subsequent fate. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Masters of the Seas: Naval Power and the First World WarSo much of our understanding of the First World War focuses on the conflict on land and yet the nation who controlled the seas also controlled the flow of resources, so critical in such a long and attritional war. In this lecture, one of our most eminent historians Professor Sir Hew Strachan shows why naval power was so critical to the outcome. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

No Cunning PlanTony Robinson has spent much of his professional life immersed in the past, whether as Blackadder’s servant through the centuries or with Maid Marion and her Merry Men, or as the presenter of the pioneering archaeology show, Time Team. In this event, he discusses with Tom Holland his history highs, from Baldrick’s cunning plans to some of the most important finds unearthed in over twenty years of archaeological digs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Salisbury Cathedral: A Medieval MasterpieceOver 800 years ago, work started on the new Salisbury Cathedral. Tim Tatton-Brown describes how one of Britain’s greatest cathedrals was built, from digging the foundations in 1219 to the completion of Britain’s tallest spire. Drawing on history, geology and his expertise in architecture, he will show the wider context of the building, situating its development against the background of English politics of successive ages. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Anglo-Saxon Conquest of England, Wessex and the Chalke ValleyWe speak English today; not Celtic, Latin, nor Norman French. England is England because of the Anglo-Saxon conquest. Yet we know very little about how it happened. This talk describes astonishing new evidence, hidden in plain sight, spread across the whole length and breadth of England. Some of it in the Chalke Valley near Salisbury. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Collector Earls of Pembroke: Wilton's History Told Through its Art CollectionEvery picture tells a story and nowhere more so than in a private collection, still hanging in the house for which it was bought. The collection at Wilton is one of the oldest in Britain, dating back to the seventeenth century, when the Earl of Pembroke was among Van Dyck’s earliest English patrons. Art historian and broadcaster Helen Rosslyn looks at works by artists as diverse as Raphael, Rembrandt and Reynolds and explores how they came to be at Wilton. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Final Taboo: A History of GriefDeath is the last taboo in our society, and grief is still profoundly misunderstood. In conversation with Dan Snow, Julia Samuel, a grief psychologist and Founder of Child Bereavement UK, explores past attitudes to grief and the historical context of death and dying in this country, from the Victorians to the present day, with particular emphasis on the consequences of the two World Wars. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Imperial Tea Party: Family, Politics and BetrayalBefore King George infamously denied his Romanov cousins asylum when the Bolsheviks were closing in, there were three extraordinary encounters between the British and Russian royal families. Although well intentioned and generally hailed as successes, Frances Welch shows that these meetings, beset by misunderstandings and misfortunes, were to have far-reaching consequences for twentieth century Europe and beyond. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Poetry Pharmacy: Tried-and-True Prescriptions for the Mind, Heart and SoulIn the years since he first had the idea of prescribing short, powerful poems for all manner of spiritual ailments, William Sieghart, founder of National Poetry Day, has taken his Poetry Pharmacy around the length and breadth of Britain. Here he speaks about the most essential poems in his dispensary: those which have repeatedly shown themselves to work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The QueenRenowned biographer A. N. Wilson celebrates the life of the Queen in this vibrant examination of Britain’s most iconic figure. He paints a vivid portrait of “Lilibet” the woman, and of her unfaltering reign during the tumultuous twentieth century, while asking candidly whether Britain can remain a constitutional monarchy after her reign ends. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Write Fantastic: Terry PratchettSir Terry Pratchett is one of the most popular authors to have ever lived. His Discworld novels have sold tens of millions all over the world. In this talk his right-hand man and collaborator, Rob Wilkins, discusses his life, his work, his inspiration and his profound love of the Chalke Valley. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Victoria: Queen, Matriarch, EmpressQueen Victoria inherited the throne aged 18 and, in an unprecedented reign of 63 years, she oversaw intense industrial, cultural, political, scientific and military change within the United Kingdom, and great imperial expansion outside it. In the bicentenary of her birth, Professor Jane Ridley overturns the established picture of the dour old lady to create a fresh and engaging portrait of this redoubtable monarch. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Viking Britain: An ExplorationTo many, the word ‘Viking’ brings to mind scenes of violence and pillage, of marauders from beyond the sea rampaging around the British coastline in the last gloomy centuries before the Norman Conquest. Thomas Williams, however, offers a vital evocation of a forgotten world, its echoes in later history and its implications for the present, revealing how much Britain today owes to its Viking past. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why the Anglo-Saxons MatterAcclaimed historian and broadcaster Michael Wood tells fascinating tales from our early history: Augustine of Canterbury and the coming of Christianity, Theodore of Tarsus, the golden age of Northumbria, the Lady of the Mercians, Alfred, Athelstan, and the Norman Conquest; stories of men and women, kings and peasants, of the beginning of English literature and art, and the origins of England. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lawrence of ArabiaT.E. Lawrence is famous for Seven Pillars of Wisdom, his personal account of the Arab revolt during World War I. What is less known is that he burnt the first, more intimate, version of his memoire. Highly acclaimed author Anthony Sattin uncovers the story of Lawrence’s pre-war adventures and the personal reasons that led to his prominent role in the Middle East. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Victorians: Twelve Titans Who Forged BritainMany associate the Victorian era with austere social attitudes and filthy factories. Jacob Rees-Mogg discusses a very different picture of the age, one of bright ambition, bold self- belief and determined industriousness. Whether through Peel’s commitment to building free trade, Palmerston’s deft diplomacy in international affairs, or Brunel’s incredible engineering feats, the Victorians transformed the nation and established Britain as a preeminent global force. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

THE SHEPHERD’S LIFEJames Rebanks’s personal memoir and history of life as a Lakeland shepherd was a surprise best-seller, inspired by reading W.H. Hudson’s iconic account of a Wiltshire shepherd as a young man. In this talk he explains the timeless nature of this special form of farming which, in the Lakeland fells, remains largely unchanged over the centuries and where he still farms. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

THE PATIENT ASSASSIN: A TRUE TALE OF MASSACRE, REVENGE AND THE RAJ On April 13th 1919, the British Indian Army opened fire on a crowd attending an unauthorised public meeting in Amritsar. Over 1,000 unarmed Indians were killed. Among the survivors was a young man who made a vow of vengeance that would ultimately prove successful. Prompted by her own family connections to the Amritsar massacre, Anita Anand tells the remarkable story of one Indian’s twenty-year quest for revenge. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.