Tony is back and he's kicking off his new series with one of his favourite subjects, Stonehenge, where new discoveries show that once again this ancient site is throwing up new evidence. Tony has invited his old friend, leading archaeologist Mike Parker Pearson, to discuss the Altar Stone's Scottish origins and its implications for understanding the monument's significance.

Also joining the chat is top geologist Jane Evans, whose new research has revealed the fascinating story of an ancient cow's journey from Wales to Stonehenge. Through isotope analysis, Jane has uncovered insights about the Stonehenge cow's diet and origins, leading to broader implications about our ancient communities and their interactions.

Hosted by Sir Tony Robinson | Instagram @sirtonyrobinson

Producer: Melissa FitzGerald

With

Mike Parker Pearson

Professor of British Later Prehistory, University College London. He specialises in British and European prehistory from the Neolithic to the Iron Age; Stonehenge and the British Neolithic; the Beaker people of Bronze Age Europe; the archaeology of the Western Isles (Outer Hebrides); the archaeology of Madagascar and the Indian Ocean; the archaeology of death and burial; public archaeology and heritage.

Parker Pearson, M. 2023. Stonehenge: a brief history. London: Bloomsbury Publishing | https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/monograph?docid=b-9781350192263

Parker Pearson, M., Bevins, R.I., Bradley, R., Ixer, R.E., Pearce, N.J.G. and Richards, C. 2024. ‘Stonehenge and its Altar Stone: the significance of distant stone sources’. Archaeology International 27: 113–37 | https://journals.uclpress.co.uk/ai/article/id/3293/

Professor Jane Evans

Geologist whose early career focused on using isotope methods for dating rocks. She later turned her expertise toward archaeology, pioneering the use of isotopes to study past human migration. Now retired, she holds honorary professorships in archaeology at the Universities of Nottingham and Leicester and is an Honorary Research Associate at the British Geological Survey. Throughout her career, Jane has used the chemical signatures preserved in human remains to reveal where people came from and how they moved across landscapes. Her work has been central to major discoveries — from uncovering stories at Stonehenge and identifying Viking remains near Weymouth, to contributing to the investigation of King Richard III.

Evans, J., Pashley, V., Wagner, D., Savickaite, K., Buckley, M., Madgwick, R. and Parker Pearson, M. In press. Sequential multi-isotope sampling through a Bos taurus tooth to assess comparative sources in strontium and lead. Journal of Archaeological Science | https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440325001189

Follow us:

Instagram @cunningcastpod | X @cunningcastpod | YouTube @cunningcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Announcing the launch of Season 3 of Tony Robinson’s Cunningcast on Thursday 11th September. Follow us on social media and wherever you get your podcasts to make sure you don't miss it!

Series 3 will treat listeners to brand-new episodes covering:

· New discoveries at STONEHENGE

· Who is Vladimir PUTIN and what makes him tick?

· Uncovering the mysteries of SUTTON HOO

· In search of SHIPWRECKS and SUNKEN CITIES

· Who wrote the BIBLE?

· Tony’s book tie-in special on ALFRED THE GREAT

….And many more fantastic subjects, changing the way we see history.

X: @cunningcastpod

Instagram: @cunningcastpod

Youtube @Cunningcast

Hosted by Sir Tony Robinson

X | Instagram

Series Producer: Melissa FitzGerald X @melissafitzg

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In advance of the new series of his cunningly curated history podcast, coming soon, Tony looks back at the best bits of Cunningcast Series 2 with series producer Melissa FitzGerald.

Series 2 features fabulous episodes about Tattoos, Bones, Jelly, Magic, Cars, Beards, Bletchley Park, Hadrians Wall, Turnips, Dr Who and more with some incredible guests including: Alice Roberts, David Mitchell, Grace Neutral, Ben Elton, Annie Gray, Richard Curtis and Sophie Aldred.

If you like these best bits but haven’t heard the full episodes, have a wander back on our #Cunningcast feed to check them out.

Follow us on our socials and hit follow on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts to make sure you don't miss any new episodes of Cunningcast Series 3 coming soon...

Instagram: @cunningcastpod

X: @cunningcastpod

YouTube @Cunningcastpod

Hosted by Sir Tony Robinson

X | Instagram

@SirTonyRobinson

Series Producer: Melissa FitzGerald

X | Instagram

@melissafitzg

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Another chance to hear a Cunningcast Christmas treat: Tony reading his favourite poem ‘Goblin Market’ by Christina Rossetti. He's discussing the context and history of Rossetti’s iconic work with Madeleine Callaghan, Senior Lecturer in Romantic Literature at the University of Sheffield.

In his electrifying reading, Tony captures all the magic and strangeness of ‘Goblin Market’, set in a fairy-tale world where a fraught encounter takes place between the two sisters Laura and Lizzie and a band of sinister goblin merchants who tempt Laura with their ‘forbidden fruits’. Can Lizzie save her sister from the evil Goblin’s temptations?

Hosted by Sir Tony Robinson

X | Instagram

With

Madeleine Callaghan, Senior Lecturer in Romantic Literature at the University of Sheffield. Author of ‘Shelley’s Living Artistry: Letters, Poems, Plays’ (2017) and ‘The Poet-Hero in the Work of Byron and Shelley’ (2019) published by Anthem Press. ‘Eternity in British Romantic Poetry’ (Liverpool University Press), June 2022.

www.sheffield.ac.uk/english/people/academic-staff/madeleine-callaghan

Credits:

Series Producer: Melissa FitzGerald X @melissafitzg

Executive Producer: Dominic de Terville

Cover Art: The Brightside

A Zinc Media Group production

Follow:

X @cunningcastpod

Instagram @cunningcastpod

If you enjoyed my podcast, please leave us a rating or review.

Thank you, Love Tony x

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To mark Dementia Acton Week, Tony is bringing you a special episode dedicated to the past, present and future of this difficult disease with his expert guest Fiona Carragher, Director of Research and Influencing at the Alzheimer’s Society. Dementia the UK’s number one killer, 1 in 3 people will develop dementia in their lifetime and yet most of us don’t know a great deal about it. But this is a defining year in the history of Alzheimer’s with two new drugs: Lecanemab and Donanemab which have been found, for the first time ever, to slow the progression of the disease.

Hosted by Sir Tony Robinson

With

Fiona Carragher, Director of Research and Influencing at the Alzheimer’s Society.

X @alzheimersoc | FB @alzheimers society | IG @alzheimerssoc

If you’re worried about yourself, or someone close to you, then check your symptoms today using Alzheimer’s Society’s symptom checklist. Visit alzheimers.org.uk/checklist or call the Dementia Support Line on 0333 150 3456

Follow:

X @cunningcastpod

Instagram @cunningcastpod

YouTube @Cunningcast

Credits:

Series Producer: Melissa FitzGerald X @melissafitzg

Executive Producer: Dominic de Terville

Cover Art: The Brightside

A Zinc Media Group production

If you enjoyed my podcast, please leave us a rating or review.

Thank you, Love Tony x

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ben Elton is on Cunningcast today. Ben was the co-writer on Blackadder Series 2, 3 and 4: they talk about Ben's comedy roots, working on The Young Ones with Rik and Ade and how Ben got the Blackadder gig via a near miss TV sitcom about Madness. They also chew over the highs and lows of working on Blackadder and how Ben and Richard Curtis created 'Adder speak'.

Alongside Blackadder, Ben Elton cut his comedy chops on The Young Ones. He’s a stand-up legend on stage and TV and one of Britain's biggest live comedy acts. His stellar CV includes writing an incredible 17 novels, as well as the hit musicals ‘The Beautiful Game’; ‘We Will Rock You’ and the sequel to ‘The Phantom of the Opera’.

Last year Blackadder turned 40, to mark the occasion, Tony made a TV show in which he tracked down the lost Blackadder pilot to discover the truth of Blackadder's beginnings. For the show, Tony interviewed many old friends and people who are central to making Blackadder the success it was. You are hearing Tony’s unedited, behind the scenes chat with Ben Elton, recorded for the programme. The show is called Blackadder: The Lost Pilot and you can watch it on catch up on Sky, Virgin & Now.

Hosted by Sir Tony Robinson

X | Instagram

With

Ben Elton | https://benelton.live/

Credits:

Series Producer: Melissa FitzGerald X @melissafitzg

Executive Producer: Dominic de Terville

Blackadder: The Lost Pilot is produced by Red Sauce

A Zinc Media Group production

Follow:

X @cunningcastpod

Instagram @cunningcastpod

YouTube @cunningcast

If you enjoyed my podcast, please leave us a rating or review.

Thank you, Love Tony x

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fresh off the back of celebrating 60 years of Dr Who last year and looking ahead to welcoming the 15th Doctor to the blockbuster show, Tony is joined by Sophie Aldred who played Dr Who’s assistant Ace and the writer, broadcaster and Dr Who superfan, Matthew Sweet. Together they look back over an incredible history of this abidingly successful show, sharing all the Whoniverse gossip from the very first episode starring William Hartnell as the Doctor; the cutting-edge soundtrack created by Delia Derbyshire; hearing how Sophie got the role as Ace aged just 24; though to the show getting cancelled in 1989 and the creative ‘wilderness years’ of Dr Who when it was off air but not out of mind; Russell T Davis’s reboot and the new Doctors for a new generation. We also get answers to the popular questions: was Tony ever in Dr Who? What kind of Doctor would he have made and is Baldrick the ultimate time traveller?

Hosted by Sir Tony Robinson | @Tony_Robinson

With

Sophie Aldred | @sophie_aldred

Sophie played The Doctor’s companion Ace in the original television series (to Sylvester McCoy’s Doctor). She later reprised her role in ‘Ascend From Darkness’. She was in the last episode of Dr Who ‘Survival’, before it was cancelled in 1989.

Matthew Sweet | @DrMatthewSweet

Journalist, broadcaster, author, and cultural historian. Matthew presented 'Dr Who: The Wilderness Years' on Radio 4 to mark its 60th anniversary

Follow the Show:

X @cunningcastpod

IG @cunningcastpod

Youtube @Cunningcast

Series Producer: Melissa FitzGerald | @melissafitzg

Episode Producer: Simon Hollis

Executive Producer: Dominic de Terville

Cover Art: The Brightside

A Zinc Media Group production

If you enjoyed my podcast, please leave us a rating or review.

Thank you, Love Tony x

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

20 years after playing Baldrick, Tony is still stopped in the street and asked where my turnip is! Turnips made him famous, so today Tony is talking turnips in history: have they always been so unloved, a food fit only for animals and peasants like Baldrick, or is this a recent British bugbear? And when did the potato steal their veggie crown? Tony’s guests today are food historians Rebecca Earle and Serin Quinn alongside a chef for all seasons who loves to cook with turnips, Oliver Rowe.

Hosted by Sir Tony Robinson

X | Instagram

With

Professor Rebecca Earle | www.rebeccaearle.co.uk

An historian of food at the University of Warwick, Rebecca is interested in how ordinary, every-day activities such as eating or dressing shape how we think about the world and how others view us.

https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/history/people/staff_index/earle

Oliver Rowe | www.oliver-rowe.co.uk/ | IG: @oliver_rowe_london

Chef and author whose work focuses on local and seasonal food. Oliver’s book, Food for All Seasons, a personal wander through the food year is published by Faber and available online and from all good bookshops.

Serin Quinn

PhD student in the Department of History at the University of Warwick, interested in all things vegetable!

https://theconversation.com/turnips-how-britain-fell-out-of-love-with-the-much-maligned-vegetable-201007

Follow the Show:

X @cunningcastpod

Instagram @cunningcastpod

YouTube @cunningcast

Credits:

Series Producer: Melissa FitzGerald X @melissafitzg

Executive Producer: Dominic de Terville

Cover Art: The Brightside

A Zinc Media Group production

If you enjoyed my podcast, please leave us a rating or review.

Thank you, Love Tony x

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.