Ploy Radford

In one of three special episodes, I talk to royal studies specialist Dr Ellie Woodacre about a collection of books that belonged to Joan of Navarre, wife of Henry IV and stepmother to Henry V, of Battle of Agincourt fame. The books provide a fantastic starting part for a wider discussion about this little known English queen who left her children from her first marriage to move to England, had French royal blood, and was imprisoned by her stepson for witchcraft. 

Spring Special 2026: Echoes of Ash – Life in Herculaneum – Past Matters

In the first of these Spring Specials 2026, historian Adrian Murdoch talks about what makes Herculaneum such a unique historic site, and focuses in on the stories of two citizens whose lives are preserved in the ashes there: Marcus Nonius Balbus and Petronia Iusta.

1. Spring Special 2026: Echoes of Ash – Life in Herculaneum 39:44
2. Fulvia – interview with Dr Jane Draycott 56:57
3. Three military tombstones – Roman Britain 43:17
4. A carved limewood cravat – Chatsworth House 22:13
5. Chatsworth House – William Kent Pier Table 26:57