History's Heroes

Episódios

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  History's Secret Heroes - Series 4: Airey Neave: Escape from Colditz Castle 15.09.2026 28min

  Captured by the Nazis, Lieutenant Airey Neave is sent to Colditz Castle, a high-security prisoner of war camp in Germany. No British prisoner has ever escaped from here before. After months of preparation, and armed with a careful disguise, can he evade the notorious guard patrols and their dogs?With biographer Patrick Bishop and Marigold Webb, Airey Neave’s daughter. Helena Bonham Carter shines a light on extraordinary stories from World War Two. Join her for incredible tales of deception, acts of resistance and courage.A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Producer: Suniti Somaiya Executive Producer: Paul Smith Written by Alex von Tunzelmann Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts
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  History's Secret Heroes - Series 4: The Cockleshell Heroes 08.09.2026 28min

  In December 1942, a small team of commandos are set to paddle their canoes through freezing enemy-infested waters to sabotage German ships in the port of Bordeaux. Operation Frankton is described as a “suicide mission”. Will Royal Marines Bill Sparks and Herbert ‘Blondie’ Hasler destroy the enemy supply lines and make it back to England alive? With military historian Robert Lyman, and Terry Sparks, son of Bill Sparks.Helena Bonham Carter shines a light on extraordinary stories from World War Two. Join her for incredible tales of deception, acts of resistance and courage.A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Producer: Georgina Leslie Executive Producer: Paul Smith Written by Alex von Tunzelmann Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts
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  History's Secret Heroes - Series 4: Elvira Chaudoir: D-Day’s Double Crossing Agent 01.09.2026 28min

  Elvira Chaudoir is a Peruvian playgirl with all the right connections… and a gambling debt. She’s also a double agent, locked in a dangerous game of deception. With D-Day on the horizon, can she convince the Germans that the Allied invasion is happening in the southwest of France, and not in Normandy? With author and historian Ben Macintyre and Sophie Stewart from the National Archives. Helena Bonham Carter shines a light on extraordinary stories from World War II. Join her for incredible tales of deception, acts of resistance and courage.A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Producer: Lorna Reader Executive Producer: Paul Smith Written by Alex von Tunzelmann Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts
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  History's Secret Heroes - Series 4: Trailer 18.08.2026 2min

  Helena Bonham Carter shines a light on extraordinary stories from World War Two. Join her for tales of deception, resistance and courage in History's Secret Heroes Series 4.
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  Rose Heilbron QC and The Cameo Murder 07.04.2026 28min

  In 1950, a trial began for a gruesome murder, marking the first time a woman would lead a murder case in an English court. Can Rose Heilbron QC prove herself?Stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann shines a light on remarkable people from across history.A BBC Studios production.Producer: Georgina Leslie Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann Executive Producer: Paul Smith Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts
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  Washington and Emily Roebling: Superstars of Suspension 31.03.2026 28min

  Disaster strikes when Washington Roebling is building a landmark suspension bridge connecting Manhattan to Brooklyn. Can his wife Emily help him deliver an impossible engineering feat?Stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann shines a light on remarkable people from across history.A BBC Studios Audio production.Producer: Lorna Reader Written and presented by: Alex von Tunzelmann Executive Producer: Paul Smith Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts
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  Maharani Jindan Kaur – The Last Queen of the Punjab 24.03.2026 28min

  1849. The youngest queen of Sikh Emperor Ranjit Sing, Maharani Jindan was locked up in at Chunar fort, hundreds of miles from home. She was small, beautiful and powerful, and crucially she was the mother of 10-year-old Maharaja Duleep Singh. She had to be kept away from her kingdom in Punjab, and her young son, by order of the British East India company. But nothing would keep her from her son. Stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann shines a light on remarkable people from across history.A BBC Studios production.Producer: Suniti Somaiya Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann Executive Producer: Paul Smith Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts
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  BONUS Margaret Cavendish Blazes Through the World Part 2 17.03.2026 25min

  Alex von Tunzelmann meets Professor Keith Allen to discuss Margaret Cavendish’s remarkable legacy. Keith, who is professor of philosophy at the University of York, has been researching Margaret Cavendish and neurodiversity. He argues that Cavendish may have had one or more forms of neurodivergence, based on the descriptions she herself gave of her life and experience.Cavendish clung to the hope of future fame. She knew that her work was misunderstood within her own time. Lady Dorothy Osborne remarked that there are "soberer people in Bedlam” - the psychiatric hospital. Centuries later, she was still being misunderstood. Virginia Woolf claimed that Cavendish was like “a giant cucumber,” choking the roses and carnations in an otherwise orderly garden of 17th century literature. Are these accusations fair?Stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann shines a light on remarkable people from across history.A BBC Studios Audio production.Producer: Lorna Reader Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann Executive Producer: Paul Smith Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts 7Status:
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  Margaret Cavendish Blazes Through the World 10.03.2026 26min

  In 17th Century Europe, a young woman escapes civil war and discovers a love of scientific learning and a remarkable literary talent.Stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann shines a light on remarkable people from across history.A BBC Studios production.Producer: Lorna Reader Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann Executive Producer: Paul Smith Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts
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  Vuyisile Mini: The Voice That Defied Apartheid 03.03.2026 28min

  In 1950s South Africa, under the system of apartheid, a powerful song catches fire among Black communities. But to sing it could result in imprisonment. Its author - the musician, poet and union organiser Vuyisile Mini - prepares to put his life on the line.Stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann shines a light on remarkable people from across history.A BBC Studios production.Producer: Michael LaPointe Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann Executive Producer: Paul Smith Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts
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  Sophie Blanchard Takes to the Skies 24.02.2026 28min

  In 19th Century France, a young woman escapes a life of drudgery, faces her fears and finds worldwide fame as an aeronaut. Sophie Blanchard performs for Napoleon and eventually becomes the official aeronaut of the Restoration. But as her hot air balloon shows become more and more ambitious, can she keep cheating death? Stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann shines a light on remarkable people from across history.A BBC Studios production. Producer: Lorna Reader Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann Executive Producer: Paul Smith Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts
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  BONUS: Eleanor of Aquitaine: Medieval Queen Supreme Part 2 17.02.2026 28min

  Alex von Tunzelmann meets Dr Eleanor Janega to discuss Eleanor of Aquitaine, the extraordinary medieval woman who became Queen of France, then Queen of England. Dr Janega is a broadcaster and historian who was named after the great queen. Looking at key moments in her life, Alex wants to better understand the queen’s real impact on history and, crucially, whether this medieval icon actually had agency. Stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann shines a light on remarkable people from across history.A BBC Studios Audio production. Producer: Suniti Somaiya Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann Executive Producer: Paul Smith Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts
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  Eleanor of Aquitaine: Medieval Queen Supreme 10.02.2026 28min

  Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine was in her 70s when disaster struck in the 1190s. Her sons were often at loggerheads and causing trouble. This time, her crusading son Richard the Lionheart had got into a spot of trouble and got himself kidnapped on his way back from the Holy Land. It was down to Eleanor to save her son, her dynasty and the realm. Stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann shines a light on remarkable people from across history.A BBC Studios Audio production. Producer: Suniti Somaiya Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann Executive Producer: Paul Smith Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts
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  Eileen Kampakuta Brown and the Anti‑Nuclear Campaign 03.02.2026 28min

  When a nuclear programme threatens Eileen Kampakuta Brown's traditional land in Australia, she brings together a group of Aboriginal women to resist. Their campaign across the country in a two-door wagon will take them all the way to the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann shines a light on remarkable people from across history.A BBC Studios production. Producer: Michael LaPointe Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann Executive Producer: Paul Smith Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts
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  Wat Tyler and the Peasants’ Revolt 27.01.2026 27min

  For six days in thirteen eighty-one, Wat Tyler a mysterious, charismatic figure appears to hold the balance of power in England. Fired by a vision of social equality, he leads a peasants' revolt that threatens to overturn the ruling order.Stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann shines a light on remarkable people from across history.A BBC Studios production.Producer: Michael LaPointe Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann Executive Producer: Paul Smith Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts
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  BONUS: The Sisters Who Took On A Dictator, Part 2 20.01.2026 25min

  Alex von Tunzelmann talks to Dominican American writer Julia Alvarez. Her 1994 novel In The Time of the Butterflies, tells the fictionalised account of the Mirabal Sisters, who lost their lives in standing up to the dictator Rafael Trujillo.Alvarez, who was awarded The National Medal of the Arts, spent her childhood years in the Dominican Republic and describes the Mirabals as her “shadow sisters.” In 2001, the novel was adapted into a feature film of the same name, starring Salma Hayek as Minerva Mirabal and Edward James Olmos as Rafael Trujillo.Stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann shines a light on remarkable people from across history.A BBC Studios production.Presented by Alex von Tunzelmann Executive Producer: Paul Smith Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts
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  The Sisters Who Took On A Dictator 13.01.2026 29min

  At the height of a vicious regime in the Dominican Republic, Minerva Mirabal and her sisters risk everything to liberate their nation. How would their actions help topple the dictator Rafael Trujillo?Stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann shines a light on remarkable people from across history.A BBC Studios production.Producer: Michael LaPointe Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann Executive Producer: Paul Smith Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts
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  Charles Dickens and the Train Crash 06.01.2026 28min

  In June 1865, the writer Charles Dickens was sitting in the first-class carriage of a train when it crashed outside of Kent. The horrific accident would require all his courage and threaten to reveal his most closely guarded secret.Stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann shines a light on remarkable people from across history.A BBC Studios production. Producer: Michael LaPointe Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann Executive Producer: Paul Smith Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts
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  History's Heroes Trailer 23.12.2025 2min

  Stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann shines a light on remarkable people from across history.
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  History's Toughest Heroes: William Marshal: The Greatest Medieval Knight 16.12.2025 29min

  At the age of 70, does England’s greatest knight still have what it takes to save the realm from invasion?In History's Toughest Heroes, Ray Winstone tells ten true stories of adventurers, rebels and survivors who lived life on the edge.The young Sir William Marshal was handsome, charming, captain of the England Tourney team a sporting hero and right-hand man to many a king of England including Henry the Young King, Henry II, Richard the Lionheart and Bad King John. He was a brilliant rider and very good at jousting. He was even famed for having a ‘large crotch’. But towards the end of his life, in his 70s, when he might have wanted to wind down, the realm was in trouble facing the threat of a French invasion. William Marshal was called upon to fight the ultimate battle and save the day in the Battle of Lincoln. A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Producer: Suniti Somaiya Development Producer: Georgina Leslie Executive Producer: Paul Smith Written by Imogen Robertson Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts