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BBC Radio 4 / Greg Jenner
History for people who don't like history: a comedian and an expert make the past genuinely fun.
Emperor Constantine the Great: Christianity and the Roman Empire
Greg Jenner is joined in ancient Rome by Professor Lucy Grig and comedian Ivo Graham to learn all about Emperor Constantine the Great and the Christianisation of the Roman empire. Born not in Rome but in the Balkans, Constantine’s life was shaped by the turbulent politics of the
History of Underwear: from shirts and stays to bras and briefs
Greg Jenner is joined in western Europe by historian Dr Serena Dyer and comedian and actor Vic Michaelis to learn all about the hidden history of underwear. For as long as people have been wearing clothes, they have been wearing garments under them – Romans at Hadrian’s Wall were
Akhenaten and Nefertiti: religious revolution in ancient Egypt
Greg Jenner is joined in ancient Egypt by historian and curator Dr Campbell Price and comedian Sikisa to learn all about Tutankhamun’s parents, Nefertiti and Akhenaten. As well as their famous son, this ancient Egyptian power couple are best known in the modern age for two reason
Anne Bonny and Mary Read: real-life pirates of the Caribbean
Greg Jenner is joined in the eighteenth-century Caribbean by historian and curator Hannah Cusworth and comedian Kemah Bob to learn about the swashbuckling lives of pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read. These women and their adventures on the high seas have become the stuff of legend,
Medieval Saints: miracles, relics and pilgrimage
Greg Jenner is joined in medieval Europe by historian Dr Simon Yarrow and comedian Rachel Parris to learn all about the cult of saints and their relics. The veneration of saints still plays an important role in the lives of Catholics all over the world, but what did the cult of s
Francis Galton: Victorian scientist and pioneer of eugenics
Greg Jenner is joined in Victorian England by historian and curator Subhadra Das and comedian Desiree Burch to learn all about the life of scientist and eugenics pioneer Francis Galton. He was many things: a Victorian gentleman scientist, an inventor of whacky devices, a pioneer
The Iliad and Odyssey: heroic epics from ancient Greece
Greg Jenner is joined in ancient Greece by historian Dr Emily Hauser and comedian and actor Kiell Smith-Bynoe to learn about the epic poems the Iliad and Odyssey. Traditionally attributed to the poet Homer, these works tell parts of a legend that has fascinated us for centuries:
El Cid (Radio Edit)
Greg Jenner is joined in medieval Spain by historian Professor Nora Berend and comedian Toussaint Douglass to learn about the colourful life and afterlife of the warrior known as El Cid.El Cid – real name Rodrigo Díaz – was a mercenary in eleventh-century Spain who fought for bot
Empress Dowager Cixi (Radio Edit)
Greg Jenner is joined in 19th-century China by historian Professor Yangwen Zheng and comedian Sophie Duker to learn about the Qing dynasty ruler Empress Dowager Cixi.A contemporary of Queen Victoria, Cixi rose from low-ranked concubine to de facto ruler of China for nearly half a
History of the Telephone (Radio Edit)
For our 150th episode, Greg Jenner is joined by historian Professor Iwan Morus and comedian Catherine Bohart to learn about the history of the telephone on its 150th anniversary.The inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell, was granted the American patent for his new comm
History of Spices (Radio Edit)
Greg Jenner is joined by historian Dr David Veevers and comedian and quizzer Paul Sinha to learn all about the global history of spices and the spice trade.Nowadays, we take spices for granted, and our kitchen cabinets are full of ginger and cinnamon, cumin and coriander, pepper
Epic of Gilgamesh (Radio Edit)
Greg Jenner is joined in the ancient world by Dr Moudhy Al-Rashid and comedian Marjolein Robertson to learn all about the famous Mesopotamian poem, the Epic of Gilgamesh.Sumerian poems about a legendary king called Gilgamesh began to be composed sometime in the third millennium,