Opium’s journey from vital medicine to dangerously addictive drug Read more
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The history of opium
Opium’s journey from vital medicine to dangerously addictive drug
Electric telegraph: the first worldwide web
The Morse code messaging network that changed the world forever
Manuela Sáenz: South America’s revolutionary heroine
The Ecuadorian woman who fought for South American independence in the 19th Century
The Cat: In from the wild
Domesticated cats have been worshipped, vilified and revered throughout history
Indigo: the bluest blue
Blue Gold or Devil's Dye? The complex history of the precious blue dye
John Harvey Kellogg: The ‘wellness’ pioneer
How the co-inventor of cornflakes inspired a healthy living revolution
Rudolf Nureyev: Superstar Russian dancer
Exploring the life of a man who pushed the boundaries of ballet.
Fridtjof Nansen: Norway's great explorer
The polar adventures of a remarkable man whose humanitarian work saved thousands of lives
The Russian civil war: How the Soviets rose to power
How the events of the Russian civil war led to Lenin’s communist dictatorship
The Scythians: Masters of the steppe
The nomadic warriors who ruled vast swathes of Asia and Europe and who knew how to party
Cyrano de Bergerac: Big-nosed hero
The swashbuckling poet of a late 19th-century French play and his real-life inspiration
Ibn Khaldun: 14th Century sage
The life and work of a pioneering social scientist and historiographer
Eleanor Roosevelt: Redefining the First Lady
How the wife of US President Franklin Roosevelt became a powerful political operator
A history of the restaurant
From dining in Song-dynasty China to the modern open kitchen
Yiddish: A story of survival
Regenerating Yiddish – the language and culture of the European Jews
Highlife: The sound of Ghana
Exploring the background to the music which has absorbed so many cultural influences
A history of honey
Uncovering the rich cultural and medical history of the world's oldest sweet
The amazing Dr Darwin
The life of Erasmus Darwin, one of the most remarkable minds in 18th Century Britain
Nefertiti: The beguiling Egyptian Queen
The story behind the beautiful bust and the powerful woman it represents
Li Bai: The revered Chinese poet
The prodigious talent and restless life of Tang dynasty's literary rebel
The magic of bronze
The stories behind some of the world's greatest masterpieces in bronze
Man v mosquito
How humans have waged war against the mosquito for thousands of years
Emilie du Chatelet: a free-spirited physicist
The life and work of a remarkable 18th-century polymath
Haile Selassie: the last emperor of Ethiopia
The life and legacy of the man who became ‘the Father of Africa’
Oscar Niemeyer: Brazil's king of curves
Brazil's visionary architect and leading pioneer of modernism
Guide dogs for the blind: A history
How did the idea of systematically training dogs for the blind originate?
Artemisia Gentileschi: The painter who took on the men
The Italian Baroque artist who's become a hero for modern-day feminists
In search of the good life: Epicurus and his philosophy
Exploring how an Ancient Greek school of thought has resonated through the ages
Natsume Soseki: Japan’s great novelist
The Japanese literary giant of the early 20th Century
Gretta Cousins: champion of Irish and Indian women
A pianist and activist who fought for women’s votes and better lives
Gerard Mercator: The man who revolutionised mapmaking
The mapmaker who defined the modern world