History Today

‘We can’t see our own blindspots, so, as we anatomise those of our predecessors, we perpetuate our own.’

Travel to one of the bloodiest years of the crusading era. Saladin recaptures Jerusalem, winning fame and admiration in both the West and the Islamic world.

Leading historians discuss one of the burning questions of the day.

In this episode we travel back 50 years to 1969 and the Apollo 11 moon landing. Kassia St Clair discusses the intriguing story behind the space suits, quiet wonders of technology made using traditional techniques.

‘What’s the most important lesson history has taught me? That the same arguments come around again and again.’

This episode takes us back to the tense and dramatic days of 8-10 May 1940. Chamberlain suffers humiliation in the House of Commons and Churchill becomes prime minister. 

In this episode we travel to the summer of 1947 to witness the chaotic, catastrophic sequence of events surrounding Indian independence and the subsequent Partition.

A mythical turning point in the history of Europe.

Four historians consider the desirability of profound political change and the methods used to attain it.