History's Heroes
History's Heroes is a BBC Radio 4 podcast series that explores extraordinary individuals from history. Hosted by historian Alex von Tunzelmann, it covers stories of courage, pioneering, and people who sparked change. Other series include 'History's Toughest Heroes' narrated by Ray Winstone, 'History's Youngest Heroes' with Nicola Coughlan, and 'History's Secret Heroes' with Helena Bonham Carter. Each episode highlights bold voices and brave ideas.
Episodes
History's Secret Heroes - Series 4: Airey Neave: Escape from Colditz Castle
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
History's Secret Heroes - Series 4: The Cockleshell Heroes
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
History's Secret Heroes - Series 4: Elvira Chaudoir: D-Day’s Double Crossing Agent
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 Bon
History's Secret Heroes - Series 4: Trailer
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.
Rose Heilbron QC and The Cameo Murder
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 vo
Washington and Emily Roebling: Superstars of Suspension
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
Wri
Maharani Jindan Kaur – The Last Queen of the Punjab
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. S
BONUS Margaret Cavendish Blazes Through the World Part 2
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
Margaret Cavendish Blazes Through the World
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 Produ
Vuyisile Mini: The Voice That Defied Apartheid
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 fro
Sophie Blanchard Takes to the Skies
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. Histor
BONUS: Eleanor of Aquitaine: Medieval Queen Supreme Part 2
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 ag
Eleanor of Aquitaine: Medieval Queen Supreme
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 courag
Eileen Kampakuta Brown and the Anti‑Nuclear Campaign
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 f
Wat Tyler and the Peasants’ Revolt
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
BONUS: The Sisters Who Took On A Dictator, Part 2
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.
The Sisters Who Took On A Dictator
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: Michae
Charles Dickens and the Train Crash
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 Stu
History's Heroes Trailer
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.
History's Toughest Heroes: William Marshal: The Greatest Medieval Knight
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 Hen
History's Toughest Heroes: Ida B. Wells and the Red Recorder
With lynchings of Black Americans on the rise, a reporter begins documenting the crimes, sending her on a dangerous journey through the violence of the Jim Crow South.In History's Toughest Heroes, Ray Winstone tells ten true stories of adventurers, rebels and survivors who lived life on the edge.After a humiliating standoff with a train conductor in the American South, the young Ida B Wells decide
History's Toughest Heroes: The Ballad of Crazy Horse
When European American settlers begin displacing the indigenous Lakota from their ancestral lands, one enigmatic warrior refuses to surrender. He gathers his people for an epic standoff with the military.In History's Toughest Heroes, Ray Winstone tells ten true stories of adventurers, rebels and survivors who lived life on the edge.In the depths of the Wild West Crazy, when tensions between Native
History's Toughest Heroes: Margery Kempe: Ministry of Tears
Margery Kempe always tells it like it is. But in Medieval England, such straight-talking can get a woman killed...In History's Toughest Heroes, Ray Winstone tells ten true stories of adventurers, rebels and survivors who lived life on the edge.Born in Kings Lynne in around 1373, Margery Kempe was destined for a typical medieval life. But after the birth of her first child, and a terrifying nine mo
History's Toughest Heroes: Henry Johnson: Hellfighter
A Black soldier from the American South makes headlines when he fights off an entire German party in World War One. But his fame comes at a price.In History's Toughest Heroes, Ray Winstone tells ten true stories of adventurers, rebels and survivors who lived life on the edge.
Growing up in as a Black man in North Carolina, where racism was enshrined in law and lynchings were horrifyingly common,
History's Toughest Heroes: Hugh Glass: The Real Story of The Revenant
The real-life Revenant who survived a savage bear mauling and crawled hundreds of miles across the American plains to confront the scoundrels who abandoned him.In History's Toughest Heroes, Ray Winstone tells ten true stories of adventurers, rebels and survivors who lived life on the edge.
Immortalised by Leonardo DiCaprio in the 2015 blockbuster movie, the real-life Hugh Glass is still a bit of
History's Toughest Heroes: Constance Bulwer-Lytton: Suffragette Rebel
Constance Lytton was raised an aristocrat. But when she wakes up to women's suffrage, she goes undercover in solidarity, joining her working-class comrades in prison and staging a series of dangerous hunger strikes.In History's Toughest Heroes, Ray Winstone tells ten true stories of adventurers, rebels and survivors who lived life on the edge.As a lady, and part of the English upper-crust, when Co
History's Toughest Heroes: Robert Smalls: Last Chance for Freedom
For an enslaved man like Robert Smalls during the American Civil War, there was only way out of Charleston: through the harbour and past hostile Confederate forts. He just needed a ship...In History's Toughest Heroes, Ray Winstone tells ten true stories of adventurers, rebels and survivors who lived life on the edge.Robert Smalls was born a slave in the American South. His one chance at escape and
History's Toughest Heroes: Kitty O’Neil: Hollywood's Real Wonder Woman
In the macho stunt world, a deaf woman is determined to push the limits. But as her stunts break records, can she keep cheating death?In History's Toughest Heroes, Ray Winstone tells ten true stories of adventurers, rebels and survivors who lived life on the edge.Kitty O’Neil was the stunt-woman behind wonder-woman - in tiny hotpants and a bustier. But she was also a speed demon, a land speed worl
History's Toughest Heroes: Peter Freuchen: Surviving the Arctic Wilderness
An arctic explorer is trapped in a snow drift the size of a coffin. How will he survive frostbite and make it out alive?In History's Toughest Heroes, Ray Winstone tells ten true stories of adventurers, rebels and survivors who lived life on the edge.Danish born Peter Freuchen looked like a Viking, 6ft 7, huge beard, massive furs. His life was one non-stop adventure. He started out as well-to-do yo
History's Toughest Heroes: Trailer
Ray Winstone tells stories of adventurers, rebels and survivors who lived life on the edge. Ten tales of fearsome heroes from across history including arctic explorers, medieval knights and Hollywood stuntwomen.
Miss La La and Kaira Fly Through the Air
A nineteenth century circus performer and her acrobatic partner defy convention to become icons of the ring, as well as artistic muses.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
BONUS: The Marvels of Madam C.J. Walker Part 2
How did Madam C.J. Walker transform the beauty industry with her haircare empire? And how have the politics of beauty changed since her time? Alex talks to Alka Menon, assistant professor of sociology at Yale University.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 product
Nellie Bly Goes Undercover
A young reporter sets out to be admitted to a notorious New York asylum. Her aim is to expose its horrors.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: Elaina Boateng
Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann
Executive Producer: Paul Smith
Commis
The Marvels of Madam C.J. Walker
When Sarah Breedlove begins to lose her hair, she starts a business that will make her one of the wealthiest African American Women of her time.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: Elaina Boateng
Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann
William Dodd Fights the Factories
In the industrial revolution, a worker takes on the factory system and demands an end to brutal conditions.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
C
Jessica Mitford Finds Her Voice
An aristocrat rebels against her family to become a civil rights activist. 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
Xuanzang Levels Up
A seventh century monk sets out on a perilous journey from China to India and back to find lost knowledge. In the process, he becomes a folk hero. This story would also later inspire the popular game Black Myth: Wukong. 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 p
The Fairytale Life of Hans Christian Andersen
A young man sets out to find his place in the world by writing a story with an unusual hero at its heart. 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
Commiss
BONUS: Gertrude Ederle Ruling The Waves Part 2
A conversation with the author Jenny Landreth, on how Gertrude Ederle transformed swimming for women.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
Series producer: Suniti Somaiya
Presented: Alex von Tunzelmann
Executive Producer: Pau
Gertrude Ederle: Ruling The Waves
A nineteen-year-old American woman sets out on an extraordinary feat of endurance. Will Gertrude Ederle become the first woman to swim the English Channel? 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
Series producer: Suniti Somaiy
Eglantyne Jebb Saves The Children
When Eglantyne Jebb is arrested for distributing leaflets in Trafalgar Square in 1919, she finds herself at the centre of a storm that will change the lives of children around the world. 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. Series producer: Suni
Cardinal Sin and the Bandit Radio
In the Philippines, an archbishop takes to the airwaves and calls for his people to rise up against a dictatorship.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
Series producer: Suniti Somaiya
Written and presented by Alex von Tunze
BONUS: Saving Face With Harold Gillies Part 2
How did Harold Gillies transform plastic surgery? An interview with the actor Daniel Gillies and his father Doctor John Gillies, on their ancestor’s complicated legacy.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
Presenter: Alex v
Rodgers & Hammerstein in the South Pacific
In 1949, a new musical production debuts on Broadway, holding up a mirror to the racial prejudices of American society. 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
Series producer: Suniti Somaiya
Written and presented by Alex von
Katharine Hepburn: Queen of the Screen
How did the actor Katharine Hepburn challenge the conventions of Hollywood’s studio system?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.Archive courtesy of The G.Robert Vincent Voice Library in Michigan State University.A BBC Studios Audio production. Producer: Lorna Reader
Series prod
Saving Face with Harold Gillies
A young doctor, with a seemingly impossible task: rebuild the shattered faces of World War One soldiers.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
Co
Trailer
Historian Alex von Tunzelmann shines a light on remarkable people from across history. Join her for stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone.
History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: Ita Ekpenyon and the Blitz
After twelve weeks of nightly bombings, tensions are running high in London’s air raid shelters. Can warden Ita Ekpenyon stop a riot from breaking out?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.Contact: historys.heroes@bbc.comA BBC Studios Audio production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds
History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: Agent Zo's Leap of Faith
A resistance fighter prepares to parachute into Nazi-occupied Poland. If her mission is successful, she could save the lives of thousands of women. 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 Audio production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Producers: Emma Weatherill and Su
History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: Dudley Clarke: The Great Deceiver
In Cairo, an eccentric British army officer draws on magic tricks learned from his grandfather in order to fool the Nazis. Will the enemy fall for his illusions?
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 Audio production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Producers: Emma
History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: Leif Larsen and the Shetland Bus
A Norwegian sailor carries out more than fifty missions via a secret shipping route between Scotland and occupied Norway. Will the Nazis uncover it?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 Audio production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Producer: Lorna Reader
Executive
History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: The Night Witches
After the outbreak of World War Two, best friends Polina Gelman and Galya Dokutovich are recruited to fly bombers for the Soviet Union. Can they outsmart the Nazis? 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 Audio production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Producer: Lorna
History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: Operation Anthropoid
In Prague, two men set out to assassinate one of Hitler’s most high-ranking officers. 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 Audio production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Producer: James Shield
Assistant Producer: Rachel Oakes
Executive Producer: Paul Smith
Writte
History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: The Salon Albahari
Two apprentice seamstresses find an ingenious hiding place for their Jewish colleagues in wartime Sarajevo.
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 Audio production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Producer: Lorna Reader
Development Producer: Suniti Somaiya
Executive
History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: Witold Pilecki: The Infiltrator
An undercover Polish operative deliberately sets out to be arrested and sent to Auschwitz. His mission is to tell the world what’s happening inside the walls of the camp. Will he make it out alive?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 Audio production for BBC Radio 4
History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: Curt Bloch and the Underwater Cabaret
Hiding in an attic in the Netherlands, a German Jewish refugee risks his life to create The Underwater Cabaret, a secret, satirical magazine that seeks to ridicule the Nazis. 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 Audio production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Produc
History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: Noor Khan: The Operator
A female agent, codename Madeleine, is sent to the heart of occupied France to transmit messages back to the Allies. Will the Nazis detect her?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 Audio production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Producers: Emma Weatherill and Suniti
History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: Trailer
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 3.
History's Youngest Heroes: Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope
Can 21 year-old Terry Fox, a cancer survivor with a prosthetic leg, run the length of Canada?Nicola Coughlan shines a light on extraordinary young people from across history. Join her for 12 stories of rebellion, risk and the radical power of youth.A BBC Studios Audio production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Producer: Suniti Somaiya
Assistant Producer: Lorna Reader
Executive Producer: Paul Smith
History's Youngest Heroes: Hans and Sophie Scholl and the White Rose
With the power of the written word as their weapon, a brother and sister mount a daring campaign against the Nazis.Nicola Coughlan shines a light on extraordinary young people from across history. Join her for 12 stories of rebellion, risk and the radical power of youth.A BBC Studios Audio production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Producer: Suniti Somaiya
Edit Producer: Melvin Rickarby
Assistant
History's Youngest Heroes: Vasily Arkhipov and the End of Days
Deep in the waters of the Caribbean Sea, a young Soviet Naval must make a decision that could either save the world or trigger its destruction.Nicola Coughlan shines a light on extraordinary young people from across history. Join her for 12 stories of rebellion, risk and the radical power of youth.A BBC Studios Audio production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Producer: Suniti Somaiya
Assistant Pro
History's Youngest Heroes: The Grisly World of Andreas Vesalius
An arrogant young man with a passion for dissecting corpses challenges his teachers and changes the course of modern medicine. Nicola Coughlan shines a light on extraordinary young people from across history. Join her for 12 stories of rebellion, risk and the radical power of youth.A BBC Studios Audio production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Producer: Suniti Somaiya
Edit Producer: Melvin Rickar
History's Youngest Heroes: Rani Lakshmi Bai: The Warrior Queen
When her kingdom is threatened, a 22-year-old Indian woman takes on the British Empire on horseback, with a sword in each hand.Nicola Coughlan shines a light on extraordinary young people from across history. Join her for 12 stories of rebellion, risk and the radical power of youth.A BBC Studios Audio production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Producer: Suniti Somaiya
Edit Producer: Melvin Rickarb
History's Youngest Heroes: The Visionary Julian of Norwich
In Norwich, a woman locks herself in a tiny cell for years. Despite limited contact with the outside world, she becomes one of the first women to write in the English language. Nicola Coughlan shines a light on extraordinary young people from across history. Join her for 12 stories of rebellion, risk and the radical power of youth.A BBC Studios Audio production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Prod
History's Youngest Heroes: Louis Braille: Code Maker
After losing his sight in a childhood accident, a young Frenchman invents a tool that will change the lives of blind people around the world.Nicola Coughlan shines a light on extraordinary young people from across history. Join her for 12 stories of rebellion, risk and the radical power of youth.This programme has been edited since first publication to remove the inaccurate suggestion that Charles
History's Youngest Heroes: St Francis of Assisi: Teen Rebel
A charismatic young man attracts a band of followers after denouncing his family fortune and devoting his life to the poor. Nicola Coughlan shines a light on extraordinary young people from across history. Join her for 12 stories of rebellion, risk and the radical power of youth.A BBC Studios Audio production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Series Producer: Suniti Somaiya
Producer: Lorna Reader
History's Youngest Heroes: Audrey Hepburn’s Teenage Resistance
Before she became a Hollywood star, how did the young Audrey Hepburn take on the Nazis in the Netherlands? Nicola Coughlan shines a light on extraordinary young people from across history. Join her for 12 stories of rebellion, risk and the radical power of youth.A BBC Studios Audio production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Producer: Suniti Somaiya
Edit Producer: Melvin Rickarby
Assistant Producer
History's Youngest Heroes: Grace Darling: Maiden of the Sea
When a reclusive young woman spots a shipwreck off the coast of Northumberland, she embarks on a perilous rescue mission. Little does she know, it will make her world-famous.Nicola Coughlan shines a light on extraordinary young people from across history. Join her for 12 stories of rebellion, risk and the radical power of youth.A BBC Studios Audio production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Produce
History's Youngest Heroes: The Brief Reign of Lady Jane
Stripped of her crown and trapped In the Tower of London will Lady Jane Grey give up her faith or face the executioner’s axe? Nicola Coughlan shines a light on extraordinary young people from across history. Join her for 12 stories of rebellion, risk and the radical power of youth.A BBC Studios Audio production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Producer: Suniti Somaiya
Assistant Producer: Lorna Read
History's Youngest Heroes: Nelson Mandela and the Defiance Campaign
Before he became a world leader, how did Mandela as a young activist first attempt to overthrow the South African government to end apartheid?Nicola Coughlan shines a light on extraordinary young people from across history. Join her for 12 stories of rebellion, risk and the radical power of youth.A BBC Studios Audio production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Producer: Suniti Somaiya
Edit Producer:
History's Youngest Heroes: Trailer
Nicola Coughlan shines a light on extraordinary young people from across history. Join her for 12 stories of rebellion, risk and the radical power of youth.
History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: Manfred Gans and X Troop
Manfred Gans joins an elite, secret unit of Jewish commandos to take on the Nazis with advanced fighting and counterintelligence skills. But can he save his own family? 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 Audio production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Producer:
History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: The Enigmatic Emily Anderson
Emily Anderson led a double life. This shy musicologist from Galway was also a top codebreaker for the British, whose work would play a crucial role in Allied victory. 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 Audio production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Producer:
History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: Andrée De Jongh and the Comet Line
A 24-year-old Belgian woman masterminds an escape line, spanning eight hundred miles of Nazi-occupied territory, stretching from Belgium to Spain. Can Andrée de Jongh save the lives of hundreds of stranded airmen? 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 Audio productio
History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: Charles Drew and the Blood Bank
Charles Drew, an American doctor, led the creation and use of blood banks, saving countless lives both in war and in peacetime. But while he worked around the clock to save lives, he would be dragged into a battle on a different front: the battle for civil rights and racial equality in the United States. Helena Bonham Carter shines a light on extraordinary stories from World War Two. Join her for
History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: Raymond Gurême: Escape Artist
A young circus performer from a traveling family in France breaks out of an internment camp and dedicates himself to bringing the Nazis down. 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 Audio production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Producer: Suniti Somaiya
Edit Produ
History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: Josefina Guerrero: The Maid of Manila
After contracting Hansen’s Disease, then known as leprosy, Josefina Guerrero makes a remarkable decision. She becomes a spy for the resistance in Manila. 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 Audio production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Producer: Suniti Somaiya
History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: The Unbreakable Navajo Code
A group of Native American soldiers use their language to devise a secret code for the Allies. Can the Navajo code help win one of the fiercest battles of the war? 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 Audio production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Producer: Sunit
History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: Christine Granville: The Spy Who Skied In From The Cold
Thrill-seeker Christine Granville offers to ski across enemy lines and over the deadly Carpathian mountains, into Nazi-occupied Poland to gather intelligence for the British. Churchill would later call her his favourite spy.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 Audio
History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: Flying High with Johnny Smythe
In Sierra Leone, navigator Johnny Smythe becomes one of the first West African airmen to join the Royal Air Force. His fellow crew consider him as a lucky charm, but as he faces a series of terrifying flights, will his good fortune run out? 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
