Paganism hung on in eastern and northern Europe for a lot longer than you might expect. According to historian and folklorist Francis Young, that’s partly because people there took a very flexible and personal approach to spirituality, which often included a deep respect for trees and nature. This episode of Life Lessons from History explores how we might benefit from that today.

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Good neighbours become good friends. If you ever watched the long-running Australian drama series Neighbours, you’ll recognise that ditty. According to Roman historian Dr Jess Venner, we could take a lesson on neighbourliness from ancient Rome – more specifically, ancient Pompeii.

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The Anglo-Saxons had a deep sense of wonder – they saw magic in the mundane, and expressed it through riddles. Eleanor Parker’s Life Lesson from History is that we, too, should seek out wonder in the world around us, and that a little bit of riddle-writing might help us find it.

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Be yourself and don’t be afraid to make mistakes. That’s one of the lessons that archaeologist Dr Lucy Shipley says we can take from the approach to life of the ancient Etruscans. These historical inhabitants of the Italian peninsula seem to have had a very self-confident attitude – one which we could learn from today.

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We know we should all be living sustainably if we can. Bestselling historian Ian Mortimer suggests that we should look back to the medieval period – an era in which people took a very local attitude to life – to seek inspiration for sustainable living.

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Do you wake up in the middle of the night worrying? If so, you’re definitely not alone. But if you want to manage the anxieties of modern life, Selena Wisnom argues that you could take a leaf out of the book of the ancient Assyrians and Babylonians.

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Are we too quick to flush? In Edo Japan, people were much more mindful of how they dealt with sewage and rubbish than we are today. Chris Harding’s Life Lesson from History is that we should think more carefully about how we deal with our waste products, in the spirit of the samurai.

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In the early modern period, people considered a good night’s sleep to be fundamental to a good life – they thought about it a lot, and deployed plenty of techniques to ensure they slept well. Sasha Handley explains what we can learn from the Tudors about sleep, including why we might want to pop a chilled apple on our heads at night, in this Life Lesson from History.

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We live in a modern disenchanted world. That’s why, in this episode of Life Lessons from History, Ronald Hutton suggests that we might benefit from seeking out a spot of magic. Could we all do with a bit more of the thrill of the supernatural? Listen to this conversation to find out.

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What can we learn about decision-making, and the art of proactive procrastination, from the Virgin Queen? Elizabeth I famously managed to keep all her courtiers wondering about what she really meant for decades, and in this episode of Life Lessons from History, Tracy Borman explains what we can take from the life of the Tudor monarch.

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