20th Century

Student nurse Dorothy Norris

A brief guide to the history of the NHS

Susan Cohen discusses the highs and lows of the NHS, from its creation in 1948 to the challenges it faces today. (Image by Getty Images)

The NHS: a brief history

Paul Betts explores how postwar regeneration after 1945 was inspired by the contested concept of civilisation. (Image by Getty Images)

Rebuilding Europe after WW2

Helen Czerski explores the impact of oceans on human history, from providing food to connecting trade routes. (Images by Getty Images)

How oceans shaped human civilisation

Rosie Whitehouse tells the story of a group of Holocaust survivors who sailed to Palestine in 1946, in defiance of the Royal Navy. (Image by Getty Images)

Searching for freedom after the Holocaust

RuPaul – who produces and presents the reality TV show bearing his name – performs during a Gay Rights March in Washington, DC, April 1993. Over 500,000 LGBTQ+ activists and allies participated in a gathering organised to end discrimination. (Photo by Porter Gifford/Liaison)

From Fanny and Stella to Ru Paul’s Drag Race: a short history of drag

Gareth Williams explores previous efforts to combat lethal diseases, from smallpox to polio. (Image by Getty Images)

The race for vaccines: lessons from history

Edward Jenner performs a vaccination, in an 1802 cartoon that lampoons the notion that being vaccinated will turn you into a cow

The race for a cure: how we found vaccines for 4 of history’s most dangerous diseases

American civil rights leader Martin Luther King in Washington DC, where he delivered his famous 'I Have A Dream' speech to a quarter of a million civil rights supporters in Washington DC in August 1963. (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)

Mourning Martin Luther King Jr: the life and legacy of the civil rights leader

An engraving depicting London's Piccadilly Circus heaving with crowds on their way to The Great Exhibition of 1851. A banner reading 'God save the Queen and Prince Albert' has been strung across the street. Within the Crystal Palace some 100,000 objects were displayed – taking up ten miles of space – the work of 15,000 contributors. (Photo by Rischgitz/Getty Images)

From the Great Exhibition to the Festival of Britain: the decline and fall of the British empire

Dominic Sandbrook answers popular search queries and listener questions about Britain in the 1960s. (Image by Getty Images)

Britain’s Swinging Sixties: everything you wanted to know

Hitler and Stalin: Laurence Rees compares the actions of the two dictators over the course of the Second World War. (Image by Getty Images)

Second World War

Hitler and Stalin: tyrants at war

Priya Satia explores how historians helped advance the British empire, only to later become critics of imperialism. (Image by Getty Images)

How historians helped build the British empire

A composite image of Joseph Stalin (left) and Adolf Hitler

Second World War

Hitler and Stalin’s utopian dreams

David Hepworth tells the story of the British rock bands. (Image by Getty Images)

When British pop invaded America