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 tropes come from? Producer: Peter Curry   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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 Professor Suzannah Lipscomb to find out. Producer: Peter Curry   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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 and then outlived them all anyway, and finally Lord Byron himself, discussing his incestuous relationships and love for scandal. Producer: Peter Curry   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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 is absolutely fascinating on the struggles that mothers in particular faced, and how they fit into the broader women's movement. Producer: Peter Curry   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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 to set the record straight. Producer: Peter Curry   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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: Peter Curry   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Jh̤anna Katrn Friŗiksdt̤tir 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. Did women take part in raids? What did those who stayed behind get up to? Producer: Peter Curry   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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 of the war. Saul espouses several theories, suggesting that it was the bloodiest battle of the war, and that it probably was the main reason that the Americans dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Producer: Peter Curry   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Dan Snow, international renowned public historian and broadcaster, comes in for a Christmassy chat with Helen about all things history. Producer: Peter Curry For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

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 University of York. Producer: Peter Curry For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

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 and Henry VIII, but also to get an understanding of how they thought. Producer: Peter Curry For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

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 left behind. Producer: Peter Curry For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

Helen meets classicist, Daisy Dunn at the Mithraeum in London to discuss the hidden history of the Romans in England. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

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 research. Mel will also give a few hints and tips what to look for in your own home to catch a glimpse of its hidden history. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

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, demonstrates the inner workings of castle life from the Middle Ages, to the Elizabethan period. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

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 discuss Thomas and George Boleyn and how they played an important part in not only Anne's queenship and downfall, but the Tudor court itself. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

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 Weir, about Leicester Castle. They uncover its layers of history, from the Normans, to French Revolution and not forgetting Richard III, the king in the car park and why Leicester was so important for him. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

Clare Mulley talks to Helen about the hidden history behind the charity, Save the Children. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

At Somerset House, Helen and Sophie discuss the 'Song of Simon de Montfort, England's first Revolutionary and the Death of Chivalry'- Sophie's recent biography of the colourful medieval crusader, courtier and rebel, Simon de Montfort.

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

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. For ad free versions of our entire podcast archive and hundreds of hours of history documentaries, interviews and films, signup to History Hit TV. Use code 'pod4' at checkout to get a 30 day free trial and your first 4 months for £4/$4.  Producer: Natt Tapley Audio: Peter Curry

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 Longplayer, a continuous 1,000 year long piece of music, made of Tibetan Bells. For ad free versions of our entire podcast archive and hundreds of hours of history documentaries, interviews and films, signup to History Hit TV. Use code 'pod4' at checkout to get a 30 day free trial and your first 4 months...

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 monarchy has changed today all the way back in the postwar period. For ad free versions of our entire podcast archive and hundreds of hours of history documentaries, interviews and films, signup to History Hit TV. Use code 'pod4' at checkout to get a 30 day free trial and your first 4 months for...

Helen chats to Anna Beer, professor of English at Oxford University, about the life of Sir Walter Raleigh, his relationship with Elizabeth I and his execution at the hands of James I. For ad free versions of our entire podcast archive and hundreds of hours of history documentaries, interviews and films, signup to History Hit TV. Use code 'pod4' at checkout to get a 30 day free trial and your first 4 months for £4/$4.  Producer: Natt Tapley Audio: Peter Curry

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 London, a refuge for fleeing Huguenots over the centuries. For ad free versions of our entire podcast archive and hundreds of hours of history documentaries, interviews and films, signup to History Hit TV. Use code 'pod4' at checkout to get a 30 day free trial and your first 4 months for...