Veggie Victorians
From meat-free banquets to political agitation, James Gregory delves into the colourful world of the Victorian vegetarian movement
History Extra podcast
An environmental history of big business
Dr Bart Elmore discusses his research into the environmental impacts of global capitalism through history, from plastic use to pesticides
Tools, temples & tower blocks: how wood has shaped human history
Max Adams reveals why the versatile material has been pivotal to the progress of civilisations across the globe: from the Somerset Levels to Japan
Weaponising food in the Third Reich
Lisa Pine discusses how food became intertwined with politics and ideology in the Third Reich, and reveals how the Nazis weaponised hunger as a tool of war
“A serial killer of civilisations”: a history of climate change
From the Justinian plague to the fall of the Maya, climate change has been connected to many of history’s great catastrophes. Environmental journalist Eugene Linden speaks to Rhiannon Davies about the longer history of our relationship with the environment, and how the situation has snowballed since 1979.
(Ad) Eugene Linden is the author of Fire and Flood: A People’s History of Climate Change, from 1979 to the Present (Penguin, 2022). Buy it now from Waterstones:
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Life under Cromwell: everything you wanted to know
Ronald Hutton answers listener questions on one of the most turbulent periods in British history – Cromwell’s Protectorate
Oddball art: cannibals, hellscapes & flying monks
From kaleidoscopic hellscapes to portraits of cannibals, Edward Brooke-Hitching introduces some of the strangest creations in art history
The floating hell of prison hulks
Anna McKay delves into the development, use and abolition of floating prisons – and the horrible experiences of those incarcerated on board
Refusing to fight in WW2
During the Second World War, around 60,000 people in Britain registered as conscientious objectors, seeking an exemption from military service on the grounds of their religious conviction, political stance or moral conscience. Speaking with Ellie Cawthorne, Professor Tobias Kelly shares the stories of five such people and discusses the challenges they faced.
(Ad) Tobias Kelly is the author of Battles of Conscience: British Pacifists and the Second World War (Chatto & Windus, 2022). Buy it now from Amazon:
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Power dressing: the hidden value of clothes in 19th-century America
Legal historian Laura F Edwards discusses her new book on clothing and textiles in 19th-century America, Only the Clothes on Her Back. Speaking to Elinor Evans, she reveals the meaning and care that went into garments, and how clothes and textiles could lend subversive power to marginalised people.
(Ad) Laura F Edwards is the author of Only the Clothes on Her Back: Clothing and the Hidden History of Power in the Nineteenth-Century United States (Oxford University Press, 2022). Buy it now from Amazon:
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.