Dockers unloading wine barrels

Social history

Episode 2High society | Alice Loxton on the world of the Georgians. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Episode 1The royal family | Alice Loxton on the world of the Georgians. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An outline of a woman sitting at a typewriter is placed over three newspaper clippings

From maniacal horses to bat-men on the moon: 14 strange newspaper headlines from history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Medieval vampire slayers: why did our ancestors dig up and dismember the dead?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A black and white illustration shows a building on fire, with a woman throwing a young child out of the top window

Humble Victorian heroes: the ordinary Britons who sacrificed their lives for others. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A photograph showing two Asian women, one dressed in white robes sitting in a chair, leaning over with her arm around the other, crouched on the floor wearing blue jeans and a purple top

The Bengal Famine was one of the 20th century's greatest tragedies – so why is there no memorial to it?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

How to dress like a ROMAN woman in ancient Britain. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An illustration showing two bearded men in a wooden boat with oars, on a blue river, surrounded by jungle, with animals poking out the trees. The man at the back of the boat is holding an umbrella in one hand and a wooden crucifix in the other

Uncontacted peoples: why do nearly 200 groups choose to live outside 'civilisation'?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An illustration of a stage with red curtains, with a crowd holding up signs in the middle

From Churchill to Vietnam: protests that changed the world. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A black and white photograph of a man and a woman close together. The man has his arms around the woman and they are both in stage dress: her in a long dress and him with a ruff and feathered hat

Keep calm and carry on singing: why Britons fell in love with opera during World War Two. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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From krakens to serpents: 5 fearsome sea monsters from history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A sketch showing a woman surrounded by men. One man is putting a hood over her head and another is reading from a book next to her

These are four of the most brutal Victorian murders. Were women really the perpetrators?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Live locally, live sustainably. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An illustration shows two old bearded men, one in red shorts and a red Santa hat and the other in green shorts and a wreath headband in a boxing ring

Father Christmas v Santa Claus: the centuries-long battle for Britain's chimneys. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An engraving showing a young woman in a pale blue dress, wearing a frilly bonnet on her head

Sex, slavery and royal scandal: how Jane Austen's novels exposed a darker side of Georgian Britain. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A black and white photograph of a plane with Japanese characters written on its side

He shot down 3 planes in 4 minutes: meet the WW2 pilot you won't have heard about. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Who was the REAL Santa?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

We often refer to countries as 'female' – so why has history excluded women from nation-building?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A painting of a man with a snake like body, all piled on top of each other, with a sad face and long black hair, plus red wings

The US 'voodoo' scare: why 19th-century racists spread fake news about Haiti. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A large illustration of Henry VIII with several images imprinted on him

Porpoise for breakfast and late night sex visits: Henry VIII's life in a day. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A poster showing a black and white photo of Hitler with a young blond boy in the foreground

Hitler's war on words: how the Nazis used art to bolster their murderous regime. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Christmas history myths DEBUNKED | The origins you never knew. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Julius Caesar's hellraising youth: did he really defy tyrants and crucify pirates?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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From goat eyelids to bread: history's 12 strangest sex toys. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Painting of the first Thanksgiving

Think you know everything about the history of Thanksgiving? Here’s 21 facts that will prove you wrong

A depiction of Roman communal toilets

Tales of the toilet: a historical A–Z. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A painting of a ship with several white sails and flags on it. In front of the ship, there are large crowds of people in small boats

Not 1066 again! Should we ditch our obsession with dates?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An illustration showing a samurai soldier dressed in a black and blue robe. Behind him is a person holding up a bar with two buckets of poo hanging from it.

Let’s think before we flush, with Dr Christopher Harding. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A red and black illustration showing a large wolf jumping up, above a man laying on the floor. Around the central wolf, there are several others

Spectral beasts and hounds of hell: a spooky history of Britain's ghost dogs. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A black and white photograph showing a young boy playing with two girls in the sand

"Imagine starting a life with so little": the stories of South Asians in Britain. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.