'Doc' Susan Anderson set out to prove that 'a woman could be a good doctor'. She did so in the most difficult surroundings: America's Wild West. An audio long read of the article published in the December issue of History Today. You can read the article online here, or buy a copy of the issue from our website. Written by Susan Jonusas. Read by Grei…

This year marks the 900th anniversary of the worst maritime disaster suffered by the English Crown and, arguably, by England. The sinking of the White Ship – a vessel carrying the English king Henry I’s sole heir – on 25 November 1120, was a disaster from which anarchy would follow. Join Charles Spencer, author of The White Ship: Conquest, Anarchy …

In the Wars of the Roses, Margaret is remembered as a warrior queen, the ‘she-wolf of France’. But the means by which she operated in the period of Lancastrian exile from 1461-71 – her unceasing diplomatic efforts in Europe and campaign of resistance in northern England – have tended to be sidelined in histories of this apparently national conflict…

Over the past hundred years, foreign correspondents have been central to the West’s understanding of Russia’s political and cultural turning points, the revolutions, wars and changes in political power. In this episode, History Today Editor Paul Lay is joined by James Rodgers, whose latest book, Assignment Moscow, focuses on the stories of those jo…

During the last week of September an Azerbaijani offensive re-ignited a decades-old conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh (‘Mountainous Karabakh’) region. The Nagorno-Karabakh dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan is sometimes explained as a result of ‘ancient hatreds’. In reality, it is nothing of the sort, despite bot…

The Sikh queen Jind Kaur inherited an empire shaken by unexpected deaths and embroiled in civil war, but her biggest problem was the British. Who was Jind Kaur and how did she become such a formidable woman? This article is from the October issue of History Today: buy a copy of the issue from our website, from newsstands across the UK, or read it v…

A terrorist attack on Wall Street on 16 September 1920 aroused suspicion of anarchists, socialists and foreigners, as America saw danger around every corner. This article is from the September issue of History Today: buy a copy of the issue from our website, from newsstands across the UK, or read it via the History Today app, available on Google Pl…

In 1660, the Royalist exiles were returning with European languages, manners and culture in tow. Yet, of all the European imports that Charles and his Royalist entourage ferried back to their homeland, it was the courtly position of the maîtresse-en-titre that would prove most significant. Despite the scandalous overtones of adultery inherent in th…

Life and death in a Viking battle depended not on military prowess, but on the favour of the valkyries. Why were these mythical figures, who decided a warrior’s fate, female? This article was part of our Miscellanies series. Sign up to receive this free weekly long read in your inbox, at https://www.historytoday.com/miscellanies. Written by Jóhanna…

Shortly after 5pm on 7 June 1520, Henry VIII of England and Francis I of France met for the first time. That first meeting, and their time together over the following fortnight, became known to history as the Field of Cloth of Gold. In a spirit of rivalry and cooperation, the two young Renaissance monarchs asserted their power and authority at one …

In this podcast, History Today Editor Paul Lay is joined by David Abulafia, winner of the 2020 Wolfson History Prize, for his book The Boundless Sea. The Boundless Sea traces the history of human movement and interaction around and across the world's greatest bodies of water, charting our relationship with the oceans from the time of the first voya…

The hero of the Haitian Revolution’s lonely death in a French prison cell was not an unfortunate tragedy but a cruel story of deliberate destruction. This article is from the June issue of History Today: buy a copy of the issue from our website, or read it via the History Today app, available on Google Play and the App Store. Introduced by History …

Join Marlene Daut in conversation with History Today Editor, Paul Lay, as they discuss the background of the Haitian Revolution, Toussaint Louverture, and the revolution's legacies. Marlene has written an article for the June issue of History Today on 'The Wrongful Death of Toussaint Louverture', which is also available to listen to as an audio lon…

The city of Thebes was central to the ancient Greeks’ achievements in politics and culture. For many centuries it has been largely – and often deliberately – forgotten. Join Paul Cartledge in conversation with History Today Editor, Paul Lay, as they discuss Paul Cartledge's article on 'Thebes: The Forgotten City', which is in the June issue of Hist…

In the 17th century, fanciful solutions to the mystery of the swallow’s whereabouts were the result of an intense battle over the nature of scientific reasoning, which had been raging for centuries – and which is still raging today. This article is from the May issue of History Today. Buy a copy of this issue from our website, or read it via the Hi…

Myanmar’s colonial legacy includes racial hierarchies and authoritarian government. In the new nation state, not everyone is welcome. To understand why Rakhine State is in such turmoil we need to follow the threads of ethnic nationalism back to before Myanmar existed. This article is from the May issue of History Today. Buy a copy of this issue fro…

Four historians discuss what we learn from history about how diseases spread, and how we respond to them. Buy a copy of the April issue of History Today from our website: www.historytoday.com John Henderson: ‘Strategies to cope with plague have formed the basis for later policies’. Read by Paul Lay. Patricia Fara: ‘Fear and suspicion multiply more …

France’s attraction to right-wing populism has been a constant, if shape-shifting, presence in its politics since the end of the 19th century. This article appeared in the April 2020 edition of History Today. Read the article online or buy a copy of this issue from our website. Written by Martin Evans Read by Greig Johnson Produced by History Today…

In 1942, Lieutenant Lyudmila Pavlichenko, a Soviet frontline sniper, was sent on a mission to convince US and British allies to open up a Second Front against Hitler’s forces. Her arrival in Washington DC coincided with a historic moment of American-Soviet friendship, even while the press found the female sniper, with her claimed tally of 309 Germa…

In March 1876, the young Sigmund Freud arrived in Trieste, looking for the testicles of an eel. For centuries past, these troublesome organs had proved elusive. Despite the most intensive – not to say intimate – research, no one had managed to track them down. This article appeared in the March 2020 edition of History Today. Read the article online…

This year, the US looks back four centuries to an intrepid band of refugees making a perilous home in New England. The Mayflower pilgrims had been outlaws in England, members of an underground church known as the Brownists or Separatists. They believed church should be a voluntary community rather than a compulsory state religion. For their refusal…

In 1867, a notorious divorce case revealed the horrific methods with which one London surgeon was treating his patients. This article appeared in the February 2020 edition of History Today. Read the article online or buy a copy of this issue from our website. Written by Sarah Wise Read by Greig Johnson Produced by History Today Hosted on Acast. See…

In this new podcast series, we speak with historians who are leading in their field. Each episode will be on a different subject and era; and a chance to hear the stories, to ask questions and to indulge our curiosity, with the experts in the area. These conversations will be interspersed with audio articles from the magazine. We’ve specially selec…

Historian Michael Burleigh discusses his new book The Best of Times, the Worst of Times: A History of Now. Is the United States in permanent decline? Will China replace it as the global superpower? Are we entering a post-democratic world? And how do we prepare for the Fourth Industrial Revolution? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more inf…

Maiken Umbach and Neil Gregor join History Today editor Paul Lay to discuss the new critical edition of Hitler's notorious book. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We discuss Tantric Buddhism with Ruth Garde, curator of a new show at the Wellcome Collection. Also: Marc Morris on King John and the siege of Rochester. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Amy Fuller discusses the myths surrounding Mexico's Day of the Dead, and Andrew Lownie talks about the obstacles facing historians trying to use the Freedom of Information Act to access government files. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Peter Frankopan joins us to discuss the importance of viewing history not from a western or eastern perspective, but one that links the two together. Plus, Mathew Lyons and Catherine Fletcher on the plight of young academics. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We speak to Katie Donington about the legacies of Britain's involvement in the slave trade. Also: Cambodia's lost rock and roll scene, and a report from the International Medieval Congress. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This month we discuss Proto-Indo-European, the ancestor of almost every language now spoken from the Hebrides to the Himalayas. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is a Magna Carta special. We talk to Alexander Lock about the Charter's importance in America, and Lauren Johnson about the role of women in Magna Carta. Plus, a look at the British Museum's new display the medals of the Sun King. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Kate Wiles talks to Lawrence Warner about the origins of the Middle English narrative poem Piers Plowman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fern Riddell talks to the historian Greg Jenner about his new book, 'A Million Years In A Day'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Paul Lay and Richard Dale discuss the mysterious death of a liveryman at St Paul's Cathedral in 1514. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gerard Russell and Tom Holland discuss the plight of religious minorities in Iraq and Syria. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matt Carr discusses Sherman's March to the Sea, a key turning point in the American Civil War. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Charles Freeman discusses his research into one of history's greatest mysteries. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Roger Moorhouse discusses the pact between Hitler and Stalin, which lasted from 1939 to 1941. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The American filmmaker Ken Burns talks about his latest documentary, The Roosevelts: An Intimate History. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Onyeka joins us to introduce a number of aspiring Africans who made an impact on Georgian society during the 18th century. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Raoul McLoughlin talks about Rome’s desire for an African empire, a fierce struggle for trade, land and the search for the source of the Nile. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Paul Lay talks to Ian Bradley about how the Scots were the most vocal advocates of a vibrant, imperial, Protestant Great Britain. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We speak to Gyanesh Kudaisya about the final years of Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister, who died in May 1964. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Charlotte Crow talks to Jessie Childs about her article in the April issue of History Today, Beware the Foul Fiends, which concerns a graphic account of an exorcism in 16th-century London and the plight of Catholics in Elizabethan England. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

We speak to Calder Walton, the author of Empire of Secrets: British Intelligence, the Cold War and the Twilight of Empire, which won the Longman-History Today Book of the Year prize. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Richard Weight joins us to discuss Britain's reluctant regicides, and why the country is embarrassed by its revolutionary past. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark Horton tells the story of an archaeological dig that may have fuelled the fantasies of J.R.R. Tolkien. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Jacob Norris discusses the real history of Bethlehem. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Allan Mallinson joins us to discuss a 'lost' memo penned by Winston Churchill in 1911 concerning the prospect of a European war, a missive that, had its recommendations been implemented, may have brought the conflict to an early end. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jerry White discusses the housing crisis that afflicted London during the First World War, one that had a profound affect on living conditions in the capital. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.