Ranked #1
The Mexican-American War
The Mexican-American War
Melvyn and guests discuss the 1846-48 conflict after which the United States of Mexico lost half its territory to the Un... Read more
28 Jun 2018
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49mins
Ranked #2
Bismarck
Bismarck
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the original Iron Chancellor, Otto Von Bismarck. One of Europe's leading statesmen in th... Read more
22 Mar 2007
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28mins
Ranked #3
Nero
Nero
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life of Nero (37-68 AD) who became Emperor at the age of 16. At first he was largely... Read more
25 Apr 2019
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51mins
Ranked #4
Picasso's Guernica
Picasso's Guernica
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the context and impact of Pablo Picasso's iconic work, created soon after the bombing on... Read more
2 Nov 2017
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54mins
Ranked #5
The Black Death
The Black Death
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss how the Black Death influenced the structure and ideas of Medieval Europe. In October 13... Read more
22 May 2008
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42mins
Ranked #6
The Inca
The Inca
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss how the people of Cusco, in modern Peru, established an empire along the Andes down to t... Read more
13 Jun 2019
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52mins
Ranked #7
The Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Spanish Civil War which was a defining war of the twentieth century. It was a brutal... Read more
3 Apr 2003
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41mins
Ranked #8
The Aztecs
The Aztecs
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Aztec Empire. According to legend, the origins of it lie on a mythical island called... Read more
27 Feb 2003
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42mins
Ranked #9
Napoleon's Retreat from Moscow
Napoleon's Retreat from Moscow
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss how, in September 1812, Napoleon captured Moscow and waited a month for the Russians to ... Read more
19 Sep 2019
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54mins
Ranked #10
Catherine the Great
Catherine the Great
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Catherine the Great. In Moscow's Tretyakov Gallery hangs perhaps the most well-known pic... Read more
23 Feb 2006
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28mins
Ranked #11
The War of 1812
The War of 1812
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the War of 1812, the conflict between America and the British Empire sometimes refer... Read more
31 Jan 2013
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42mins
Ranked #12
The Almoravid Empire
The Almoravid Empire
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Berber people who grew to dominate the western Maghreb, founded Marrakesh and took c... Read more
3 May 2018
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49mins
Ranked #13
The Celts
The Celts
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Celts. Around 400 BC a great swathe of Western Europe from Ireland to Southern Russi... Read more
21 Feb 2002
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42mins
Ranked #14
Roman Britain
Roman Britain
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Romans in Britain. About 2000 years ago, Tacitus noted that “the climate is wretched... Read more
1 May 2003
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28mins
Ranked #15
The Valladolid Debate
The Valladolid Debate
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the debate in Valladolid, Spain in 1550, over Spanish rights to enslave the native peopl... Read more
20 Feb 2020
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53mins