BBC Radio Podcasts from History's Heroes
The Marvels of Madam C.J. Walker
How did Sarah Breedlove become one of the wealthiest African American Women of her time?
William Dodd Fights the Factories
A worker takes on the factory system and demands an end to brutal conditions.
Jessica Mitford Finds Her Voice
A rebel aristocrat becomes a civil rights activist.
Xuanzang Levels Up
A ten thousand mile journey from China to India and back in search of lost knowledge.
The Fairytale Life of Hans Christian Andersen
A Danish man writes a story about human suffering with an unusual hero at its heart.
BONUS: Gertrude Ederle Ruling The Waves Part 2
How has Gertrude Ederle’s Channel Swim inspired a new wave of swimmers?
Gertrude Ederle: Ruling The Waves
Will a young swimmer make it across the Channel and into the history books?
Eglantyne Jebb Saves The Children
How a woman’s arrest in Trafalgar Square changed the lives of children around the world.
Cardinal Sin and the Bandit Radio
How did an archbishop help topple a dictatorship?
BONUS: Saving Face With Harold Gillies Part 2
The complicated legacy of plastic surgeon Harold Gillies.
Rodgers & Hammerstein in the South Pacific
A new musical production challenges the prejudices of American society.
Katharine Hepburn: Queen of the Screen
A Hollywood star takes on the double standards of the studio system.
Saving Face with Harold Gillies
Can a doctor rebuild the shattered faces of World War One soldiers?
Trailer
Historian Alex von Tunzelmann shines a light on remarkable people from across history.
History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: Ita Ekpenyon and the Blitz
Can a Nigerian warden stop a riot from breaking out in a London air raid shelter?
History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: Agent Zo's Leap of Faith
Can Agent Zo save the lives of thousands of women in Nazi-occupied Poland?
History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: Dudley Clarke: The Great Deceiver
How did a British army officer use magic tricks to fool the Nazis?
History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: Leif Larsen and the Shetland Bus
Will the Nazis uncover the secret of the Shetland Bus?
History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: The Night Witches
A group of Soviet women take to the skies to become night bombers.
History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: Operation Anthropoid
Two men set out to assassinate one of Hitler’s most high-ranking officers.
History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: The Salon Albahari
A fashion boutique in Sarajevo houses an enormous secret.
History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: Witold Pilecki: The Infiltrator
Why did Witold Pilecki volunteer to be sent to Auschwitz?
History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: Curt Bloch and the Underwater Cabaret
A German refugee risks his life to ridicule Hitler.
History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: Noor Khan: The Operator
In occupied France, can Agent Madeleine escape from the Nazis?
History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: Trailer
Helena Bonham Carter shines a light on extraordinary stories from World War Two
History's Youngest Heroes: Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope
Terry Fox sets out to run the length of Canada on a prosthetic leg.
History's Youngest Heroes: Hans and Sophie Scholl and the White Rose
A brother and sister mount a daring campaign against the Nazis.
History's Youngest Heroes: Vasily Arkhipov and the End of Days
A young naval officer must choose whether to save the world or trigger its destruction.
History's Youngest Heroes: The Grisly World of Andreas Vesalius
A young man becomes a sensation when he starts dissecting corpses in front of crowds.
History's Youngest Heroes: Rani Lakshmi Bai: The Warrior Queen
A 22-year-old Indian woman takes on the British Empire.
History's Youngest Heroes: The Visionary Julian of Norwich
A young woman locks herself in a cell for years and becomes a literary trailblazer.
History's Youngest Heroes: Louis Braille: Code Maker
A young Frenchman invents a tool that will change the lives of blind people.
History's Youngest Heroes: St Francis of Assisi: Teen Rebel
A wealthy young man severs ties with his family and embarks on a drastic new life.
History's Youngest Heroes: Audrey Hepburn’s Teenage Resistance
How did the young Audrey Hepburn take on the Nazis?
History's Youngest Heroes: Grace Darling: Maiden of the Sea
A reclusive young woman embarks on a perilous rescue mission
History's Youngest Heroes: The Brief Reign of Lady Jane
Trapped in the Tower of London, Lady Jane Grey must choose between life or death.
History's Youngest Heroes: Nelson Mandela and the Defiance Campaign
A young activist attempts to overthrow apartheid in South Africa.
History's Youngest Heroes: Trailer
Nicola Coughlan shines a light on extraordinary young people from across history.
History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: Manfred Gans and X Troop
An elite secret unit of Jewish commandos take on the Nazis.
History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: The Enigmatic Emily Anderson
How Britain’s top female codebreaker played a crucial role in Allied victory.
History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: Andrée De Jongh and the Comet Line
Can a daring young Belgian woman save the lives of hundreds of stranded airmen?
History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: Charles Drew and the Blood Bank
How did an African-American doctor come to lead the blood bank effort during the war?
History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: Raymond Gurême: Escape Artist
A young circus performer dedicates himself to bringing the Nazis down.
History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: Josefina Guerrero: The Maid of Manila
How did Josefina Guerrero’s leprosy lead her to become a brilliant spy?
History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: The Unbreakable Navajo Code
A group of Native American soldiers devise a secret code for the Allies.
History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: Christine Granville: The Spy Who Skied In From The Cold
Thrill-seeker Christine Granville becomes Britain’s first female spy during the war.
History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: Flying High with Johnny Smythe
Johnny Smythe, one of the first West African RAF airmen, navigates a terrifying flight.
History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: The Extraordinary Cook Sisters
How did two English opera-loving sisters help dozens of Jews escape Nazi Germany?
History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: Trailer
Helena Bonham Carter shines a light on extraordinary stories from World War Two.
History's Secret Heroes: Series 1: Arslan Rezniqi and the Besa Code
How did Arslan Rezniqi, an Albanian merchant, save hundreds of Jewish refugees?
History's Secret Heroes: Series 1: Jack King and the Fifth Column
A bank worker from Surrey joins MI5. His job is to infiltrate British Fascists.
History's Secret Heroes: Series 1: Skiing Commandos
Can a team of Norwegian men on skis destroy a water plant in time to stop a nuclear war?
History's Secret Heroes: Series 1: Bela Hazan and the Jewish Resistance
A young Polish woman named Bela Hazan goes undercover to fight against the Nazis.
History's Secret Heroes: Series 1: The Mystery of Garbo
One of World War Two’s most successful double agents is finally revealed.
History's Secret Heroes: Series 1: George Takei and the American Internment Camps
Why was George Takei and his family imprisoned without trial in 1942?
History's Secret Heroes: Series 1: Claude, Marcel and the Soldier with No Name
Two eccentric French artists perform an extraordinary act of resistance.
History's Secret Heroes: Series 1: Ghost Army
A secret army unit with one job: to put on a show, for an audience who wants to kill them.
History's Secret Heroes: Series 1: Charity Adams and the 6888
Major Charity Adams arrives in Birmingham, England, to sort out an enormous problem.
History's Secret Heroes: Series 1: Virginia Hall’s Great Escape
How did Virginia Hall mastermind one of World War Two’s most astonishing prison breaks?
History's Secret Heroes: Series 1: Trailer
Helena Bonham Carter shines a light on extraordinary stories from World War Two.