Podcasts by Hidden Histories

Sarah Goldsmith on the Grand Tour from 2021-05-07T09:00:49

Sarah Goldsmith talks about the Grand Tour as a rite of passage for young men. These young men went abroad to learn things about art and architecture. She also discusses the way the Grand Tour i...

Joanne Paul on Anne Dowriche and the French Revolution from 2021-05-06T09:00:54

Joanne Paul talks to Helen about Anne Dowriche. Dowriche was a 16th century writer, usually classified as a pious writer. Joanne casts her instead as a deeply political writer, and explains how ...

Rachel Hewitt on the History of Women, the Outdoors and the Safety of the Streets from 2021-05-05T09:00

Rachel Hewitt talks to Helen about women in sports and mountaineering, and how that plays into perceptions of women generally, as well as informing current gendered perceptions of who gets to us...

Emily Cock on Disability in the Early Modern Period from 2021-05-04T09:00:09

Emily Cock talks to Helen about Thomas Fairfax, the Civil War general who used a wheelchair, as well as the history of disability more generally. What did it mean to have facial scars in the 17t...

Louisa Egbunike on the Nigeria-Biafra War Through the Arts from 2021-05-03T09:00:50

Louisa Egbunike discusses the history of the Nigeria-Biafra war, and particularly how Nigerians responded to the war through the visual and written arts. To follow more of Louisa's work, follow ...

Sophie Oliver on Jean Rhys from 2021-04-30T09:00:30

Sophie Oliver talks to Helen about Jean Rhys, the author of Wide Sargasso Sea, intended as a prequel to Jane Eyre. Sophie talks about how she practices history, and the role of objects in litera...

Jon Healey on the Tumultuous 17th Century from 2021-04-29T09:00:42

Jon Healey discusses the 17th century in all its twists and folds and manifest complexity. He talks about the Royalists, the Parliamentarians, the Levellers, the Diggers, and the Quakers and wha...

Nandini Das on the Early Age of Travel from 2021-04-28T09:00:05

Nandini Das talks to Helen about the early age of travel in the Elizabethan era. This era saw the beginnings of travel, with the likes of Thomas Coryate creating 'travel wagers' - where he dared...

David Petts on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne from 2021-04-27T09:00:14

David Petts talks about Lindisfarne, the Holy Island. He talks about how St Cuthbert ended up as patron saint of the island, and how the practice of early Christians there. Since Lindisfarne is ...

Emma Butcher on Children And Warfare In The 18th To The 21st Century from 2021-04-26T09:00:34

Emma Butcher talks to Helen about her work on children in warfare. They talk about why children enlisted, and what they did on the battlefield. They discuss the likes of Joseph Bara and Marjorie...

Witches with Professor Suzannah Lipscomb from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Witches were around a long time before they were tried for heresy and crop failures. Why did governments start to hunt and prosecute witches and why did people begin to fear them? Helen talks to Pr...

The Boleyn Men with Lauren Mackay from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

In this episode of Hidden Histories, Helen speaks to Tudor historian, Lauren Mackay, about how the history of the Boleyn men has been overlooked in favour of the more famous Boleyn- Anne. They disc...

Elizabeth I with Dr Estelle Paranque from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Dr Estelle Paranque, a lecturer in early modern history talks about the relationship between Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots and James I. Producer: Natt Tapley Audio: Peter Curry ...

Prostitution with Hallie Ruben-Hold from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Hallie Rube-Hold runs Helen Carr through Harris's List of Covent Garden Ladies, as covered in the BBC 4 documentary, the Harlot's Handbook. For ad free versions of our entire podcast archive and ...

Seb Falk on The Light Ages from 2020-12-04T10:00:02

Were the Dark Ages really that dark? Seb Falk argues that science and religion weren't at odds with each other in the medieval era, but two sides of the same coin. His main story focuses on the ...

Victoria Donovan on Preservation and Patriotism in Russia from 2020-12-03T10:00:59

Victoria Donovan chats to Helen about how present-day Russia and the USSR have grappled with the legacy of Russia's buildings. The atheist USSR frequently deployed images of ruined Orthodox chur...

Sam Goodman on Imperialism, Britishness and Ales from 2020-12-02T10:00:08

Sam Goodman talks to Helen about the end of the British empire and how Britains choose to remember and interact with their former colonies, particularly India. Sam also talks about where alcohol...

Michael Talbot on the Ottoman Empire and Piracy from 2020-12-01T10:00:31

Michael Talbot starts with a broad overview of the Ottoman Empire's interests and what power it held, before moving on to a problem that would haunt the Ottomans consistently - pirates. These we...

Christienna Fryar on the Emancipation of Jamaica from 2020-11-30T10:00:24

Christienna Fryer talks to Helen about the emancipation of slaves in Jamaica in 1838. While the colonial government thought that a similar plantation system might exist with the addition of wage...

Edmund Richardson on Charles Masson and Discovering the Lost Cities of Alexander the Great from 2020-11-27T10:00:01

Charles Masson set out one day to hunt down the lost cities of Alexander the Great. He was an private in the East India Company's army until he deserted, and was as such trying to both locate an...

Brendan McGeever on Anti-Semitism and the Russian Revolution from 2020-11-26T10:00:53

Brendan McGeever talks to Helen about the relationship between anti-semitism and the Russian Revolution. The Russian Revolution in 1917 was a complex event, with myriad factions vying for power....

Catherine Fletcher on the Dark Side of the Italian Renaissance from 2020-11-25T10:00:34

Catherine Fletcher talks about the Italian Renaissance, giving a run-down of her new book, The Beauty and the Terror. She talks about Florence, and the beginnings of the renaissance, discussing ...

Tom Scott-Smith on the History of Famine Relief from 2020-11-24T10:00:51

Tom Scott-Smith and Helen talk about the history of famine relief and humanitarian aid, and how it has changed over time. Humitarian aid is intensely political, and the form that humanitarian ai...

Joanna Cohen on the US and Early Patriotism from 2020-11-23T10:00:19

Helen talks to Joanna Cohen about the relationship between patriotism and consumption and how American attitudes towards consumption changed over the 19th century, particularly in response to th...

Geoffrey Chaucer with Marion Turner from 2020-08-10T16:30:04

Helen and Marion talk about the man that shaped the English literary canon, Geoffrey Chaucer. They discuss his life and his legacy, and how the son of a vintner came to write such an influential...

Cannibalism and Corpse Medicine with Dr Richard Sugg from 2020-07-10T11:00:37

Helen takes a deep dive into some gory medical history with Dr Richard Sugg, professor of renaissance literature in Durham. They talk about all manner of wacky medical cures, such as blood consu...

The Uncrowned Queen of England with Dr Nicola Tallis from 2020-06-27T02:00:34

Helen talks to Dr Nicola Tallis about Margaret Beauford, who was instrumental in establishing the reign of her son, Henry Tudor, and thus the Tudor dynasty.

Margaret had to balance he...

Burn the Witch from 2020-06-13T12:30:12

Burn the Witch is a new collaborative podcast series between historians and podcasters Helen Carr and Rebecca Rideal, where they discuss new history in the media and in the world generally. They ta...

Race, Racism and Racist Pseudoscience with Adam Rutherford from 2020-06-06T02:00:45

Adam Rutherford chats to Helen about racism. Should we call race a construct? Why does Africa have the greatest genetic diversity of any continent? Where do common misconceptions about racist tr...

Lord Byron and his Origins with Emily Brand from 2020-05-21T16:00:33

Emily Brand talks about the scandalous family of Lord Byron. They talk about Foulweather Jack, who couldn't find the right port in any storm, the Devil Byron, who squandered the family fortune a...

The History of Motherhood with Helen McCarthy from 2020-05-16T07:00:27

Helen speaks to Helen McCarthy about the history of motherhood through the 19th and 20th centuries. They discuss feminism and the struggle for women's rights more generally, but Helen McCarthy i...

The Five and Jack the Ripper with Hallie Rubenhold from 2020-05-13T17:30:58

Hallie Rubenhold talks about the five women who Jack the Ripper murdered. Their stories, like those of many women in history, have been corrupted and mistold over time, and Hallie talks to Helen...

The Great Fire of London with Rebecca Rideal from 2020-05-02T02:00

Rebecca Rideal talks to Helen about the Great Fire of London. How did it impact London? What was the aftermath? Was King Charles II really involved in fighting the fire?

Producer: Pete...

The Valkyries with Jh?anna Katrn Fri?iksdt?tir from 2020-04-28T20:00:21

Jh?anna Katrn Fri?iksdt?tir talks to Helen about Valkyries, the mystical supernatural beings that choose who live and die on the battlefield, as well as women in the viking world more generally. Di...

The Battle of Okinawa with Saul David from 2020-04-18T18:00:41

Professor Saul David talks to Helen about the Battle of Okinawa, one of the most significant battles of the Second World War, and yet one that does not occupy much space in Western discussions o...

Christmas Special with Dan Snow from 2019-12-17T17:00:13

Dan Snow, international renowned public historian and broadcaster, comes in for a Christmassy chat with Helen about all things history.

Producer: Listen

Going on Pilgrimage in the Middle Ages with Dr Emma Wells from 2019-12-01T03:00:11

Helen and Emma talk about the rite of pilgrimage, and how pilgrimages shape the paths of the United Kingdom. Dr Emma Wells is a Lecturer in Ecclesiastical & Architectural History at the Univ...

Medieval Rulers At The National Archives with Sean Cunningham from 2019-11-24T03:00

Sean Cunningham talks Helen through the National Archives, and they look at the incredible source material that not only allows us to look inside the lives of monarchs from Henry V to Edward IV ...

The History of Crusading with Dan Jones from 2019-09-08T02:00:24

Dan Jones discusses the complete history of crusading, from Saladin and the Horns of Hattin, to figures who might not make the usual histories, as well as the tainted legacy that crusading has l...

Roman London and the Temple of Mithras with Daisy Dunn from 2019-08-29T16:00

Helen meets classicist, Daisy Dunn at the Mithraeum in London to discuss the hidden history of the Romans in England.

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The Hidden History behind the House, with Mel Backe-Hansen from 2019-08-06T09:07:53

Helen talks to house historian, Mel Back-Hansen about the social history behind the home, the secrets that a house can hold, as well as some remarkable stories that Mel has unearthed in her researc...

Castle Series: Kenilworth Castle from 2019-07-29T13:36:24

For the second episode of the Castle Series, Helen heads to Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire. 900 years old, Kenilworth is one of the best preserved castles in the country and demonstrate how the ...

Castle Series: Episode One, Leicester Castle with Tom Weir from 2019-07-07T16:00

As part of a brand new feature of Hidden Histories, Helen looks at the hidden history behind some of our best loved castles. For this episode, she travels to Leicester to talk to historian, Tom Wei...

The Woman who Saved the Children with Clare Mulley from 2019-06-30T17:00:29

Clare Mulley talks to Helen about the hidden history behind the charity, Save the Children.

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Women of the Tower of London with Lauren Johnson from 2019-04-07T02:00:06

Lauren Johnson talks us through the other side of the Tower of London's history, looking at women who worked, lived and were imprisoned in the tower, from Eleanor of Provence to Lady Jane Grey.<...

Lighthouses with Tom Nancollas from 2019-04-01T16:00:56

Tom Nancollas talks about offshore lighthouses, the men who worked within them and the hardships they endured. Recorded in a lighthouse on the Thames, the Trinity Buoy Wharf, which contains Long...

Marie of Romania with Tessa Dunlop from 2019-03-17T03:00:48

Helen chats to Tessa Dunlop, a historian and presenter, about Marie of Romania, her active work on the frontlines of the First World War, and how she pre-empted many of the ways that the mo...

Sir Walter Raleigh with Anna Beer from 2019-03-10T03:00:30

Helen chats to Anna Beer, professor of English at Oxford University, about the life of Sir Walter Raleigh, his relationship with El...

Writing Historical Fiction and the Huguenots with Kate Mosse from 2019-03-04T18:00:49

Helen Carr chats to novelist Kate Mosse about the challenges of writing historical fiction, as well as the history of the persecutions of the Huguenots, all from the French Protestant Church of ...

Joseph Lister with Lindsey Fitzharris from 2019-02-27T12:45:16

Helen Carr explores the hidden history of surgeons, operations and washing your hands with Lindsey Fitzharris.

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