German armed forces signed an unconditional surrender, bringing the Second World War in Europe to an end. To celebrate the 80th anniversary of VE Day, prime minister Keir Starmer hosted a tea party in ...

Historian Mark White explores whether John F Kennedy would have defeated Barry Goldwater in 1964 – and how his second term might have changed history ...

Although British soldiers in the Second World War sang about the Führer only having “one ball”, that did not necessarily make it anatomical fact. The discovery of medical records from his time in ...

In the early 19th century, a gifted and divisive figure from France became a political giant in Europe – and it wasn’t Napoleon. Jonny Wilkes explores the extraordinary career of Talleyrand, who ...

In medieval England, violence was a reality of everyday life — but theft? That was deliberate, unforgivable, and more likely to get you hanged. Criminology professor Manuel Eisner explains why ...

In the cradle of civilisation, illness wasn’t just a medical problem — it was a supernatural one. That’s why Mesopotamians turned to exorcists not only to treat people, but animals too.

Rising from the fires of the French Revolution, one young man reached the top of European politics – not through seizing power, but through his cooking. Jonny Wilkes explores the life and lasting ...

Hocktide was a medieval festival that used to involve tying people up to raise money for the church; today, its modern equivalent involves exchanging kisses for oranges, and hammering nails into peopl ...

The violent death of James III of Scotland in 1488 shocked a kingdom. More than five centuries later, the killer remains unknown ...

The tragic case of Margaret Fernseed reveals how early modern Britain treated women who killed not as criminals, but as monsters, even when the evidence was shaky, and the motives far from straightfor ...

To mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, Bletchley Park’s research historian, Dr David Kenyon, reveals how staff reacted to the momentous occasion all those years ago ...