History Today

What’s the most important lesson history has taught me? To try to see things from multiple angles.

The year 529 had great consequences for Justinian I, the Neoplatonic school in Athens and St Benedict.

Which presidents are depicted on Mount Rushmore? Who apologised for dying? 

In an age when nationalism is on the rise, the role of the historian becomes ever more valuable – and controversial.

In this podcast, Simon Heffer reflects on the year 1916, as conscription was introduced and the Battle of the Somme claimed huge casualties.

A scene of ancient Arcadian bliss which hints at the coming of modernity.

My favourite archive? The India Office archives at the British Library.

Folklore continued to be an active and potent force in 19th century Britain.

What’s the most important lesson history has taught me? That we learn nothing from it.

Our latest podcast looks at the rise and fall of the House of York in 1483.