General Modern

Illustration depicting the migration of people across the world

How has migration changed the world?

Benin Bronzes at the British Museum In London

What are the Benin Bronzes and why are they important? Explore the significance of the controversial treasures

A panel of eyewitnesses recall their memories of the divided city and the dramatic events of November 1989. (Image by Getty Images)

Witnesses to the Berlin Wall

Portrait of Saladin (1560) by Cristofano Dell Altissimo.

Why does Saladin have such an enduring reputation?

John Zubryzcki shares the story of the party-loving royals of the House of Jaipur, who turned to politics following Indian independence. (Image from Getty Images)

The transformation of India’s glamorous golden couple

Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, and Marguerite Kaye join us to discuss their new historical romance novel, Her Heart for a Compass. (Image from Getty Images)

Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, on historical fiction

Nick Hayes discusses the contested history of land ownership in England, from William the Conqueror to the Kinder trespass. (Image from Getty Images)

A hard-fought history of trespass

With the Olympics underway in Tokyo, Chris Harding looks back at 1964 – the last time Japan hosted the competition. (Image by Getty Images)

How the 1964 Tokyo Olympics redefined Japan

Meg Foster discusses the bandits that lived outside the law in Australia’s bush – from Ned Kelly to surprising lesser-known figures. (Image by Getty Images)

Australian bushrangers: folk heroes or common criminals?

As the world’s best athletes congregate in Tokyo for the 29th Summer Games, David Goldblatt answers your questions on the history of the Olympics. (Image from Getty Images)

Olympic history: everything you wanted to know

Michael Burleigh discusses some of history’s key political killings, from Julius Caesar to Abraham Lincoln. (Image from Getty Images)

How assassinations have changed history

Jesse Owens sprinting on a track at the Berlin Olympics.

A history of unsporting conduct at the Olympics

Mao Zedong applauds a parade of Red Guards in Tiananmen Square, Beijing. These young militants followed Mao’s call in early August 1966 to defend the party from a ‘white terror’. (Photo by Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

Reign of the red terror: Mao Zedong and the Cultural Revolution

Robespierre is guillotined on 28 July 1794. Had he died two years earlier, his name would now be associated with liberty and equality, argues Marisa Linton. (Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

Robespierre: man of terror

Kissing the Blarney Stone: a women hangs over the precipice with the aid of a friend as she attempts the feat at Blarney Castle in 1935

What is the Blarney Stone, where did it come from and why do people kiss it?