Three families. One revolution. A lifetime of consequences. 

A story of skill and sacrifice in the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. Historian Alice Loxton joins host and genealogist Jen Baldwin to trace three families whose lives were shaped by one of history’s greatest transformations. At Ironbridge Gorge, industry creates opportunity, security and prosperity. But what happens when change begins to leave communities behind? 

Listen to episode 1 from 1 September.

Host: Jen Baldwin 

Researchers: Jen Baldwin  

Guest: Alice Loxton 

Editor: Caroline Harrower 

Script editors: Niall Cullen, Daisy Goddard, and Madeleine Gilbert 

Producers: Madeleine Gilbert, Ellie Ayton, and James Plumb 

Designer: Michael McCosh 

Social media: Sarah Cornes, Thomas Davis, and Ellie Ayton 

Executive Producers: Helen Kaye and Steve James 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Memories carved in wood and painted on china. Objects tell us a story of violence remembered and contested.

Beyond the written record, Peterloo survives in the objects left behind.  

For this bonus episode, host Jen Baldwin is joined by Jenny Mabbott from Manchester’s People’s History Museum to explore how fascinating items in the museum’s Peterloo collection reveal the violence, memory, and meaning of the massacre. 

Through these physical traces, a different perspective emerges: one that captures not just what happened, but how people remembered it, and why. 

Host and researcher: Jen Baldwin

Researcher: Dan Edmonds

Guest: Jenny Mabbott

Editor: Caroline Harrower

Script editors: Niall Cullen, Daisy Goddard, Madeleine Gilbert, Jenny Mabbott and Laura Sullivan

Producers: Madeleine Gilbert, Ellie Ayton, and James Plumb

Designer: Michael McCosh

Social media: Sarah Cornes

Executive Producers: Helen Kaye and Steve James

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The violence has stopped – but the fight is only just beginning.  

In the aftermath of Peterloo, William Cheatham’s story moves from the field into courts, petitions, and public debate. As he seeks recognition for what happened, his experience becomes part of a much larger struggle over how Peterloo will be understood. 

Joined by historian David Olusoga, host Jen Baldwin explores what justice looked like in 1819, and what happened when ordinary voices tried to be heard within systems determined to shut them out.  

Host and researcher: Jen Baldwin

Guest: David Olusoga

Editor: Caroline Harrower

Script editors: Niall Cullen, Daisy Goddard, and Madeleine Gilbert

Producers: Madeleine Gilbert, Ellie Ayton, and James Plumb

Designer: Michael McCosh

Social media: Sarah Cornes

Executive Producers: Helen Kaye and Steve James

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The crowd shifts. Panic spreads. Escape is no longer guaranteed. 

As events at St Peter’s Field spiral, William Cheatham is caught in a moment of sudden and overwhelming violence at the hands of the Yeomanry. What began as a peaceful gathering fractures into chaos as the crowd tries to break free. 

In the second episode of this series, host Jen Baldwin and historian David Olusoga trace how this violence unfolds - not just on the field, but beyond it - through witness accounts and surviving records.  

Host and researcher: Jen Baldwin

Guest: David Olusoga

Editor: Caroline Harrower

Script editors: Niall Cullen, Daisy Goddard, and Madeleine Gilbert

Producers: Madeleine Gilbert, Ellie Ayton, and James Plumb

Designer: Michael McCosh

Social media: Sarah Cornes

Executive Producers: Helen Kaye and Steve James

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Men, women and children gather at St Peter’s Field, fuelled by hope, unaware of the chaos that’s to come.

In August 1819, tens of thousands gather in Manchester for one of Britain’s largest ever peaceful protests. Among them is weaver William Cheatham, who has travelled miles to stand with the crowd. 

As anticipation builds at St Peter’s Field, host Jen Baldwin and historian David Olusoga explore the ideas, tensions, and fears surrounding this unprecedented meeting. Because before the violence begins, the conditions for it are already falling into place. 

Host and researcher: Jen Baldwin

Guest: David Olusoga

Editor: Caroline Harrower

Script editors: Niall Cullen, Daisy Goddard, and Madeleine Gilbert

Producers: Madeleine Gilbert, Ellie Ayton, and James Plumb

Designer: Michael McCosh

Social media: Sarah Cornes

Executive Producers: Helen Kaye and Steve James

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An assault on men, women and children; one ordinary man’s fight for justice. 

Join host and genealogist Jen Baldwin and acclaimed writer, broadcaster and historian David Olusoga as they uncover one man’s experience of the Peterloo Massacre and its lifelong consequences. 

In August 1819, tens of thousands of people gathered in Manchester for one of the largest peaceful protests Britain had ever seen. William Cheatham was one of them. This single day would shape the rest of his life. 

Could such brutal violence ever be rectified? 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A heartfelt look at your stories and questions sparked by our Somme series.  

What does the Somme mean to you? How do you go about researching a First World War ancestor? In this bonus episode, host and genealogist Jen Baldwin is joined by her producer and history-lover, Ellie Ayton, to explore your questions and stories from the most recent series. From fresh perspectives on the Attenborough brothers’ experiences to some very poignant personal remembrances, their conversation is led by you, the listeners.  

Host and researcher: Jen Baldwin 

Editor: CM87Edits 

Script editors: Niall Cullen, Daisy Goddard, and Madeleine Gilbert 

Producers: Madeleine Gilbert, Ellie Ayton, and James Plumb 

Designer: Michael McCosh 

Social media: Sarah Cornes 

Executive Producers: Helen Kaye and Steve James 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A deeply personal story of sacrifice, brought into focus by the fragments that remain.  

In this special episode, host and genealogist Jen Baldwin turns to a wartime story that’s closer to home - one discovered within the family tree of her guest, Harvey Henson, Somme specialist and volunteer with the Commonwealth Graves Commission. Harvey joins Jen to trace the story of his ancestor, Private Harold Ranson, who was killed during the Battle of the Somme. What did he experience during the First World War? What did his family endure after his tragic death? 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Three brothers. A legacy of love and loss.   

The war has transformed life on Druid Street. After the Armistice, how does the Attenborough family navigate the lasting impact of years of conflict? In this final chapter of their story, host and genealogist Jen Baldwin and her guest Harvey Henson, Somme expert and Commonwealth War Commission Communications Coordinator, explore some poignant moments of remembrance. The fighting had stopped, but not before leaving a painful mark on the Attenboroughs. While navigating unimaginable loss, how does an ordinary family carve out a new normality for themselves? 

Host and researcher: Jen Baldwin 

Guest: Harvey Henson (Commonwealth War Graves Commission) 

Editor: CM87Edits 

Script editors: Niall Cullen, Daisy Goddard, and Madeleine Gilbert 

Producers: Madeleine Gilbert, Ellie Ayton, and James Plumb 

Designer: Michael McCosh 

Social media: Sarah Cornes 

Executive Producers: Helen Kaye and Steve James 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Somme offensive unfolds, and life upends for the Attenborough family.  

September 1916 marks another devastating chapter for the Attenborough family. As the fighting on the Somme intensifies, the war’s reach into one Midlands household becomes impossible to escape. Host and genealogist Jen Baldwin is joined by Somme specialist and Commonwealth War Commission Communications Coordinator, Harvey Henson, to examine how this heartbreaking story unfolded, from the shattered landscape of Ginchy to the first tanks that appeared at Flers-Courcelette. 

Host and researcher: Jen Baldwin 

Guest: Harvey Henson (Commonwealth War Graves Commission) 

Editor: CM87Edits 

Script editors: Niall Cullen, Daisy Goddard, and Madeleine Gilbert 

Producers: Madeleine Gilbert, Ellie Ayton, and James Plumb 

Designer: Michael McCosh 

Social media: Sarah Cornes 

Executive Producers: Helen Kaye and Steve James 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.