Episodes

  • 49. The Paris Commune: France Wages War On Its Own Capital (Ep 4)

    49. The Paris Commune: France Wages War On Its Own Capital (Ep 4)
    Nov 20 2025
    How many people were slaughtered in the street-to-street battle for Paris known as the ‘bloody week’? Why did the German Chancellor help the French government start a civil war? Who were the ‘Petroleuses’, the mythical wild-eyed working class women accused of setting the city on fire? David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell relive the brutal final days of the Paris Commune. Social Producer: Emma Jackson, Harry Balden Producer: Alice Horrell Head of History: Dom Johnson Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    49 mins
  • 48. The Paris Commune: Can The City Of Lights Govern Itself? (Ep 3)

    48. The Paris Commune: Can The City Of Lights Govern Itself? (Ep 3)
    Nov 17 2025
    How many of the radical reforms that the Paris Commune implemented in their 72 day existence influence French laws to this day? Why did the communards tear down a statue of Napoleon III and outlaw morning croissants? How did an attempt to take the Archbishop of Paris hostage backfire badly on the radicals? Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga explore what this short-lived radical government of Paris managed to achieve. Social Producer: Emma Jackson, Harry Balden Producer: Alice Horrell Head of History: Dom Johnson Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    33 mins
  • 47. The Paris Commune: The City That Ate Its Zoo (Ep 2)

    47. The Paris Commune: The City That Ate Its Zoo (Ep 2)
    Nov 13 2025
    How did pet dogs, street rats, and the zoo’s elephants make their way onto the menu of Parisian fine dining restaurants? Why did Paris feel so slighted by the national government when they surrendered to the Germans? How did defiant Parisian children and housewives defy the national guard and spark a revolution that would lead to the Paris Commune? David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell relive the Siege of Paris and the fight for Parisian independence. Social Producer: Emma Jackson, Harry Balden Producer: Alice Horrell Head of History: Dom Johnson Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    33 mins
  • 46. The Paris Commune: France’s Bloodiest Revolution (Ep 1)

    46. The Paris Commune: France’s Bloodiest Revolution (Ep 1)
    Nov 10 2025
    What was the Paris Commune of 1871? How was the first German Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, trying to radically reshape the map of Europe? How did the resulting Franco-Prussian war set the scene in Paris for one of the most radical political experiments of the nineteenth century? Join Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga as they look at the days leading up to The Paris Commune, the working class revolution that shook the world. Social Producer: Emma Jackson, Harry Balden Producer: Alice Horrell Head of History: Dom Johnson Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    42 mins
  • 45. The Gunpowder Plot: Why Do We Remember The Fifth Of November? (Ep 4)

    45. The Gunpowder Plot: Why Do We Remember The Fifth Of November? (Ep 4)
    Nov 6 2025
    How did the remaining conspirators manage to blow themselves up? Why is the defeat of the Gunpowder Plot still celebrated 400 years later? What are the parallels between this plot and the 7/7 bombings? Join David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell as they relive how the gunpowder plotters met their grisly end. Visit https://www.LRB.me/Journey to get six months of the London Review of Books for just twelve pounds, plus a free LRB tote bag. Social Producer: Emma Jackson, Harry Balden Producer: Alice Horrell Head of History: Dom Johnson Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    46 mins
  • 44. The Gunpowder Plot: Conspirators Caught Red-Handed (Ep 3)

    44. The Gunpowder Plot: Conspirators Caught Red-Handed (Ep 3)
    Nov 5 2025
    Once Parliament was blown up, how were the plotters planning on seizing power? How did the King manage to stop the plan to blow up parliament just in time? What is the Monteagle Letter and why is this one of English history’s greatest unsolved mysteries? Join Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga telling the story of how Guy Fawkes was discovered minutes away from lighting the fuse to blow up Westminster. Social Producer: Emma Jackson, Harry Balden Producer: Alice Horrell Head of History: Dom Johnson Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    56 mins
  • 43. The Gunpowder Plot: The Recruitment of Guy Fawkes (Ep 2)

    43. The Gunpowder Plot: The Recruitment of Guy Fawkes (Ep 2)
    Nov 3 2025
    How did a series of plots to depose and kill King James I ultimately fail? Who was Robert Catesby, the mastermind behind the Gunpowder Plot? Why was Guy Fawkes recruited into the secret group meeting at a pub in central London? Join David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell looking at how Guy Fawkes and the other conspirators started to hatch the Gunpowder Plot. Social Producer: Emma Jackson, Harry Balden Producer: Alice Horrell Head of History: Dom Johnson Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    32 mins
  • 42. The Gunpowder Plot: Britain’s Most Famous Traitors (Ep 1)

    42. The Gunpowder Plot: Britain’s Most Famous Traitors (Ep 1)
    Oct 30 2025
    As Queen Elizabeth I lay dying, why were the nation’s high profile Catholics rounded up and imprisoned? Why has history overlooked James I, the first king of Scotland and England? Who were the small group of wealthy Catholic men so angry with the new king that they ultimately planned to blow up Parliament? Join Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga on their first of four episodes looking at the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Social Producer: Emma Jackson, Harry Balden Producer: Alice Horrell Head of History: Dom Johnson Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    35 mins