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Rituals: Our anchors in a changing world

Why rituals and ceremonies enthral us and endure through the ages

• 48 mins

Alexander the Great or not so great?

One of the world’s most astonishing military leaders, but was he brilliant or brutal?

• 39 mins

The dam builders

The politics, power and engineering behind monumental dams

• 39 mins

How the mobile phone changed everything

Charting the seismic transformation of our lives caused by mobile communications

• 48 mins

A deep dive into deepfakes

Misinformation spread by faked images is almost as old as film itself

• 49 mins

Global mass tourism

Has tourism lost its way?

• 49 mins

The evolution of teenagers

Why do humans have such a prolonged adolescence?

• 49 mins

Pets and us

A scamper through the social history of our best friends

• 48 mins

The joy and sorrow of roads

Dirt tracks to expressways: how roadbuilding changed the world

• 48 mins

What makes a good boss?

An exploration of how we can get the best out of people in the workplace.

• 48 mins

Political parties and us

How well do political parties serve their voters?

• 48 mins

The story of throwaway living

How disposable and single-use items conquered the world

• 48 mins

Diplomacy

The reality of international diplomacy

• 48 mins

Supermarkets

How supermarkets came to dominate food retail

• 48 mins

Etiquette

Manners in the modern world and in the past

• 48 mins

Feeding the world and the Green Revolution

Turning points in arable farming

• 49 mins

The fight for women’s education

Empowering women through schooling

• 49 mins

Music on the move

A short history of portable audio devices

• 49 mins

The only way is up: A history of mountaineering

Tracing our fascination with the high peaks

• 48 mins

The diary: A life page by page

The centuries-old practice of keeping a personal journal

• 48 mins

The high-speed train race

Celebrating six decades of very fast railways

• 49 mins

Why sleep sometimes eludes us

Insomnia in science and the arts

• 49 mins

The enduring allure of jewellery

How precious ornaments have held us spellbound for centuries

• 49 mins

The rise of fans and fandom

Iszi Lawrence and guests discuss the history and inexorable rise of fandom

• 48 mins

The seductive dance of charisma

How magnetic personalities cast their spell

• 49 mins

How the US dollar came to dominate the world

The story of the world’s pre-eminent currency

• 49 mins

Libraries in the digital age

What is the role of libraries in the 21st century?

• 49 mins

How airports took off

The history and evolution of airports, from military airstrips to luxury shopping outlets

• 49 mins

What makes us nostalgic?

Recalling a past that wasn’t

• 49 mins

Customer service: The rise of the doom loop

The evolution of customer service from call centres to chatbots

• 49 mins