History books rarely make much reference to the impact of climate and the natural environment on people, and vice versa.  Yet volcanic eruptions and storms, droughts and cyclical pressures have shaped human history, both in raising up civilisations and bringing them to their knees. 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to acclaimed historian Professor Peter Frankopan - who has adopted this revolutionary new way of looking at history - to examine the impact of nature on human life in the 15th to 18th centuries.

This episode was edited by Ella Blaxill and produced by Rob Weinberg.

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