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Charlie Chaplin
The life and work of early Hollywood's most successful comedian
Diaghilev and the ballet revolution
The Russian impresario whose Ballet Russes company transformed 20th century dance
The Iranian Coup of 1953: Overthrow of a Prime Minister
How British and US intelligence agencies helped oust Iran鈥檚 leader Mohammad Mossadeq
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: Revealing the Gulag
The Russian writer who exposed the grim, nightmarish world of Soviet forced labour camps
The Emergence of Modern Turkey
The birth of the secular republic of Turkey from the ashes of the Ottoman Empire
Fermentation: Ancient Food Alchemy
What's your brew? Friendly microbes making our fare tastier
The Master and Margarita: Devilish satire
One of Russia鈥檚 favourite novels that combines magical fantasy with dark political satire
Antigone: A drama of defiance
The classic play from Ancient Greece about civil disobedience
Goya: Seeking truth through art
The Spanish artist Francisco Goya, whose work explored the darker side of human nature
The Heel and the Sneaker
A history of footwear
The Top of the World
The history of the North Pole as both a place on the map and in our imaginations.
The talking drums of West Africa
A source of music, spiritual power and oral literature
Lu Xun: Writing the story of New China
Life and works of the man who transformed Chinese literature.
Robinson Crusoe: The man and his island
Daniel Defoe鈥檚 classic adventure story
Calouste Gulbenkian: The architect of Middle East oil
The secretive Armenian financier who shaped petroleum production for decades
Anaesthesia: Unwrapping oblivion
Getting under the skin of the discovery which made pain-free operations possible
Moomin Creator Tove Jansson
Tove Jansson was the Finnish-Swedish author and illustrator best known for the Moomins.
The spice trade: Selling the scents of luxury
The unique allure of spices that preyed on emotion and taste, and powered whole Empires
Napoleon: From empire to exile
Exploring the life and legacy of France鈥檚 revolutionary emperor
Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Seas
Jules Verne's classic adventure novel
Chess: a chequered history
A war on the board - one of the oldest strategy games in the world
Inside the mind of Leonardo da Vinci
The Italian artist鈥檚 unique understanding of science and the natural world
Queen Njinga of Angola: Fearless fighter
The remarkable 17th Century leader who defied European oppression
Fado: Portuguese soul music
Nostalgic song from Portugal, a small country with a big heart
Thoreau: the writer who went to the woods
The author of the American classic 鈥榃alden鈥
Pearls: Treasures of the sea
The social history of pearls as a fashion and status symbol over the centuries
The Moon from Earth
The science, culture and mythology of the Moon
Rasputin: The Siberian mystic who charmed the Tsar
Untangling the web of contradictions of the spiritual guide to the Romanov dynasty
How Afghanistan won its freedom from Britain
1919 and the creation of independent Afghanistan
Cnut: England's Viking king
King Cnut the Great ruled much of northern Europe a millennium ago
The Bhagavad Gita: A guide to spiritual wisdom
The metaphysical and philosophical manual for Hindus and non-Hindus alike