Roundup

Judas Just the Latest to Get Historical Makeover [4min]

Commentator S. Pearl Sharp anticipates that Judas Iscariot may become the latest figure from antiquity to undergo a "whitening" racial makeover.

Schama's 'Rough Crossings': Slaves and the Revolution [7min]

Historian Simon Schama talks about his most recent book, Rough Crossings. In it, Schama tells the story of slaves during the American Revolution. Thousands of slaves fled plantations to join forces with the British.

History of Dentistry • Defendants' Rights • British Museum's Near East Collection • Music of Babylon [28min]

Sue Cook and the team answer listeners' historical queries and celebrate the way in which we all 'make' history. 1) Making History listener Marian Brown was enjoying a memoir about life in London's East End during the inter-war years when she came across quite gruesome references to the practice of 'dental clearances' -- the removal of a complete set of teeth (without anaesthetic) to save on dental bills later on in life. Could such drastic mea

Village Greens • 19c Bank Deposits • History in Schools • Tyburn Convent • Sword-bearers at Agincourt [28min]

Sue Cook and the team answer listeners' historical queries and celebrate the way in which we all 'make' history. 1) Highbury Residents Association in Leeds contacted "Making History" as part of its campaign to prove continuous use of an area of land known as the Mission Field that the church wants to develop. Judy Merry went to Leeds to find out how historical research techniques are shaping a 21st-century campaign. 2) Cathy Dathan co

Dreams of Sigmund Freud [30min]

Craig Brown reveals great dreams on "Great Lives" as he proposes Sigmund Freud. Almost seventy years after his death, the father of psychoanalysis remains a powerful and compelling character, though critics have denounced his work as "the greatest intellectual confidence trick of the last century". Matthew Parris chairs the programme, and Adam Phillips offers expert advice.

Reconstructing 16th Century Dress [9min @2:25]

Dr Jane Malcolm-Davies is director of JMD and Co, a live interpretation consultancy. She advises historic properties on live interpretation and runs Front of House training for Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle. She is co-author of The Tudor Tailor: Reconstructing 16th Century Dress, published by Anova Books, at £19.99. She will be running workshops and giving Tudor tailor talks through November around the UK. Host

The Politics of Archaeology: The Stones Cry Out [30min]

Politics and archaeology are rarely more entwined than in Israel and Palestinian territories. Malcolm reports from archaeological sites in Jerusalem and Jericho, and on the impact of the new Israeli security wall that is being built across the occupied territories. He also examines archaeological evidence that conflicts with the need of various religious and political groups to prove the literal truth of the Bible. Read a BBC News article,

The Rosslyn Code, 1st of 3 [26min]

On the bestseller lists and in the courts, Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code has already made Midlothian's Rosslyn Chapel world famous and the film isn't even out yet. Richard Holloway begins a three-part investigation into Rosslyn's secrets.

From Vietnam to Iraq [42min]

Charles Jones, staff writer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, recounts the stories of three generals who served in the U.S. Marine Corps in his recent book, Boys of '67: From Vietnam to Iraq, the Extraordinary Story of a Few Good Men. The author chronicles the life and careers of Gen. James Jones, Maj. Gen. Ray Smith and Gen. Martin Steele, members of the Marine Officer Basic School graduating class of April 5,1967. This event was hosted by Quantico Marine Corps Base in Virginia.

Beautiful Noise -- The Neil Diamond Story, 2nd of 3 [60min]

Neil Diamond is one of the most successful singer songwriters in the history of popular music. His extended 2005 world tour is testament to his undying popularity and his latest album has been an international and critical success. In a specially recorded interview Neil Diamond's own personal recollections and thoughts run throughout this three part documentary series presented by Paul Gambaccini.

The Everly Brothers, 2nd of 4 [30min]

As the Everly Brothers celebrate fifty years in the business, Bob Harris tells the story of the greatest brother duet of all time in this four-part series. As well as some of the greatest pop songs ever recorded, we hear from Don and Phil's parents who fostered their early career, Wesley Rose; their first manager, songwriters Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, producer Chet Atkins, Albert Lee, John D. Loudermilk -- and of course the brothers themselves.

From Gutenberg to Mcluhan to What's Next [26min]

"This is an age of electronic incunabula... It's a capital 'R' revolution. This is an age of electronic incunabula... It's a capital 'R' revolution." Paul Saffo is a forecaster and strategist with over two decades experience exploring long-term technological change and its practical impact on business and society. A Director and Roy Amara Fellow at Institute for the Future, Mr Saffo is Chairman of the Samsung Science Board, and serves on a variety of other boards including the Long Now Foundatio

Studs Terkel & John Fortune [30min]

John Fortune first met the broadcaster Studs Terkel in 1962. Fortune was on tour with the Establishment, and the meeting had a profound effect on his life. Studs Terkel is known as the man who interviews America, his ability to make people talk is a legend. But what struck John was that nearly all of his interviewees were ordinary folk. 'It was history written not by the generals, but from the ground up.' Here he meets Terkel again, and finds out how the last four decades have affected them both

The Lloyd George Papers [15min]

Though he died some time ago, David Lloyd George has been in the news a lot recently -- because he was the Prime Minister who most brazenly sold honours for donations. That stained a stellar career. Having made his name leading the left-wing of the Liberal party against the Boer War, Britain's Prime Minister from 1916 until 1923 laid the foundations of the welfare state and led Britain to victory in World War One. In a new two part series, the author Trevor Fishlock explores the private papers o

TS Eliot and The Blitz [30min]

British Shakespeare scholar and literary biographer Jonathan Bate presents a series which examines historical events through the poetry they inspired. Jonathan visits the sleepy village of Shamley Green and the roof of St Paul's Cathedral, in the company of the historian Jose Harris and Eliot expert Ian Smith. They find that the poems were written in the early years of the Second World War, and that Eliot's famous text is filled with the d

The Space Race -- Things We Forgot to Remember [30min]

Former British Conservative politician Michael Portillo presents a series which revisits the great moments of history to discover that they often conceal other events of equal, but forgotten, importance. As the Space Race of the 1950s and 60s is reduced to neat paragraphs in 20th-century text books, is there a danger that the image of Neil Armstrong stepping onto the Moon has become too dominant? Michael Portillo argues the case for the

Italian Partisans in WWII [10min]

Last weekend in a quiet suburb of Milan the streets were filled with men, women and children on bicycles, riding to remember one woman, Gina Bianshi Galleotti, codenamed Lia, who lost her life on the day before Italy was finally liberated from German occupation. The cyclists were also remembering the many other women from all over Italy who risked their lives in the vicious civil war that raged through the country after the fall of Mussolini in 1943. The women partisans were also remembered in a

Chernobyl 20th Anniversary [30min]

It was a warm spring morning, April 26, 1986, when the world's worst nuclear disaster occurred at Chernobyl in the former USSR (now Ukraine). After the disaster, the workers' town of Pripyat was emptied -- its inhabitants never to return to their homes. Millions of people were subjected to radioactive fallout. But was it quite the overwhelming tragedy that most reports have suggested? Bridget Kendall travels to Chernobyl to find out, with contributions from former residents and experts -- includ

Robinson to Address British Irish Interparliamentary Body [6min]

Paul Murphy, former Northern Secretary & British chairman of the Interparliamentary Body, explains what the British Irish Interparliamentary Body does. Mary Robinson was the first female President of Ireland (1990-97) and the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (1997-2002). Since 1990 the British Irish Interparliamentary Body has been a forum for representatives of the U.K.'s Westminster Parliament, the Irish Houses of the Oireachtas, the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wa

London's 'History Boys,' Bound for Broadway [9min]

The History Boys has been a smash hit since its 2004 debut at London's National Theater. Playwright Alan Bennett is a national treasure in Britain. But will his story about English schoolboys translate to Broadway?