We should be better at talking about death, and maybe we could also do with being comfortable with the personal rituals that would allow that to happen. That’s what Helen Gittos suggests in this new Life Lessons from History podcast, as she explains how medieval people let rituals run throughout their lives, and how we might benefit from doing the same.

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Do you ever actively seek out silence? Maybe you should, suggests historian of the early modern era Professor Mark Stoyle, in this latest Life Lessons from History episode, which explores the ways in which people reacted to noise, or the lack of it, in early modern England.

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The people who constructed Stonehenge seem to have had a very communal society, in which they came together to work as one on these great megalithic building projects. Susan Greaney’s Life Lesson from History is that we should try to adopt more communal, less individualistic lives, and harness the spirit of Stonehenge.

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The Anglo-Saxon king Æthelstan, who did much to establish the idea of England, was also a keen learner. He impressed on his people the importance of deep study, and that’s something we could do with embracing today in our world of distractions, says David Woodman in this Life Lesson from History.

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Don’t let your life be ruled by your vacuum cleaner, says celebrated historian of the Industrial Revolution Emma Griffin in this episode of our Life Lessons from History series. She also shares some helpful observations about how we might deal with the challenges of the AI revolution.

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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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