History

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Vanessa Thorpe
Lloyd’s acknowledges historic role in slave trade with new requiem mass

Sat 30 May 2026

Lloyd’s acknowledges historic role in slave trade with new requiem mass
Stephanie Merritt
Erica Wagner’s Wash is historical fiction at its most alive

Wed 27 May 2026

Erica Wagner’s Wash is historical fiction at its most alive
Gabriel Gatehouse
Did the CIA poison England’s chance of being 1970 World Cup champions?

Sun 24 May 2026

Did the CIA poison England’s chance of being 1970 World Cup champions?
Jon Ungoed-Thomas
Nuclear test veterans hope for justice as secret files are released

Sun 24 May 2026

Nuclear test veterans hope for justice as secret files are released
Vanessa Thorpe
How a love-starved childhood inspired David Lean, cinema’s great romantic

Sat 16 May 2026

How a love-starved childhood inspired David Lean, cinema’s great romantic
The women who brought the Nazis to justice

Wed 13 May 2026

The women who brought the Nazis to justice
William Keegan
Keir Starmer’s losses summon return of the ‘gnomes of Zurich’

Sun 10 May 2026

Keir Starmer’s losses summon return of the ‘gnomes of Zurich’
My gorilla encounter left me overwhelmed with a feeling of extraordinary privilege

Sun 3 May 2026

My gorilla encounter left me overwhelmed with a feeling of extraordinary privilege
Colin Kidd
How the General Strike changed Britain

Sat 2 May 2026

How the General Strike changed Britain
Rachel Sylvester
Mary Beard: ‘If you could be buried somewhere like this for eternity, that’d be lovely’

Sun 12 Apr 2026

Mary Beard: ‘If you could be buried somewhere like this for eternity, that’d be lovely’
Vanessa Thorpe
After 150 years, Mill’s wife gets credit for role in political opus

Sun 22 Mar 2026

After 150 years, Mill’s wife gets credit for role in political opus
Nicola Sturgeon
The avoidable tragedy of Dunblane

Thu 12 Mar 2026

The avoidable tragedy of Dunblane
Luke Turner
The hidden history of Britain’s fight for queer rights

Fri 6 Mar 2026

The hidden history of Britain’s fight for queer rights
Anthony Quinn
How the British let loose between the wars

Sat 28 Feb 2026

How the British let loose between the wars
Afua Hirsh

48 mins • S1, E3

Afua Hirsh
Tim Adams
Snap happy: a century of photo booths

Sun 8 Feb 2026

Snap happy: a century of photo booths
Barnaby Phillips
Return of 100 Benin bronzes puts British Museum on the spot

Sun 8 Feb 2026

Return of 100 Benin bronzes puts British Museum on the spot
William Lindesay
How I found my kindred spirit along the Great Wall of China

Fri 6 Feb 2026

How I found my kindred spirit along the Great Wall of China
Abhrajyoti Chakraborty
When India was the seat of Islam

Fri 23 Jan 2026

When India was the seat of Islam
Sir Richard Lambert
Trump’s attacks on the Smithsonian are straight from the autocrat’s playbook

Mon 12 Jan 2026

Trump’s attacks on the Smithsonian are straight from the autocrat’s playbook
Jessica Bateman
‘My grandfather was a Wehrmacht soldier. It left him a broken man’

Mon 29 Dec 2025

‘My grandfather was a Wehrmacht soldier. It left him a broken man’
Kenan Malik
We’re ‘bowling alone’ politically when we should be rallying for change

Sun 28 Dec 2025

We’re ‘bowling alone’ politically when we should be rallying for change
David Barnett
In search of the ghosts of Christmas past

Fri 19 Dec 2025

In search of the ghosts of Christmas past
Ian Thomson
The great Italian escape

Wed 17 Dec 2025

The great Italian escape
Richard Ovenden
In defence of pedantry

Sat 13 Dec 2025

In defence of pedantry
Luke Turner
Lament for a lost London

Sat 6 Dec 2025

Lament for a lost London
Tom Larkin
The Observer in brief: 234 years of history in 6 minutes

Thu 4 Dec 2025

The Observer in brief: 234 years of history in 6 minutes
Jonathan Bate
The infernal world of Christopher Marlowe

Thu 4 Dec 2025

The infernal world of Christopher Marlowe
Dan Hancox
The families of Franco’s victims still seeking justice 50 years after his death

Mon 17 Nov 2025

The families of Franco’s victims still seeking justice 50 years after his death
Richard Ovenden
How to survive an information crisis

Mon 10 Nov 2025

How to survive an information crisis
Hannah Rose Woods
Ferdinand Mount’s sentimental revolutions

Mon 10 Nov 2025

Ferdinand Mount’s sentimental revolutions
Philippe Sands
Inside the mind of Serbia’s ‘Madam War Criminal’

Wed 5 Nov 2025

Inside the mind of Serbia’s ‘Madam War Criminal’
Olivia Ovenden
Why women keep secrets

Wed 29 Oct 2025

Why women keep secrets
Vanessa Thorpe
The prizewinning author who almost lost his nerve

Sat 25 Oct 2025

The prizewinning author who almost lost his nerve
Andrew Glazzard
The hijackers who invented modern terrorism

Thu 23 Oct 2025

The hijackers who invented modern terrorism
Jade Cuttle
Phillis Wheatley, the first Black nature poet

Thu 23 Oct 2025

Phillis Wheatley, the first Black nature poet
K Biswas
Who should pay the debts of slavery?

Sun 19 Oct 2025

Who should pay the debts of slavery?
Laurie Bristow
The hotel that tells the story of Kabul

Thu 16 Oct 2025

The hotel that tells the story of Kabul
Giles Whittell
The new US ‘Department of War’ has a long history

Mon 6 Oct 2025

The new US ‘Department of War’ has a long history
Anthony Quinn
The pages of our lives

Sun 5 Oct 2025

The pages of our lives
The haunting of Pitcairn Island

Fri 5 Sept 2025

The haunting of Pitcairn Island
Vanessa Thorpe
Historians dismayed by ‘scandal’ of BBC cutting access to archives

Sun 24 Aug 2025

Historians dismayed by ‘scandal’ of BBC cutting access to archives
My book relied on archives. Keep them open

Sat 23 Aug 2025

My book relied on archives. Keep them open
Margaret Mac Millan
The friendly rivalry between Churchill and De Gaulle

Thu 21 Aug 2025

The friendly rivalry between Churchill and De Gaulle
Robin McKie
‘My God, what have we done?’ My father and the bomb

Fri 25 Jul 2025

‘My God, what have we done?’ My father and the bomb
Rana Mitter
Battle for the soul of Taiwan

Thu 3 Jul 2025

Battle for the soul of Taiwan
Kate Maltby
History’s women have more to tell us than their fashion choices

Mon 23 Jun 2025

History’s women have more to tell us than their fashion choices
Jude Rogers
A manifesto for British folk culture

Sun 15 Jun 2025

A manifesto for British folk culture
Mark Johanson
Ancient wines in Armenia

Sun 8 Jun 2025

Ancient wines in Armenia
Emily H Wilson
I knew the axe we’d found was old ... but that old?

Sat 31 May 2025

I knew the axe we’d found was old ... but that old?

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