In this episode: 360 years after flames swept through the heart of London, we examine The Great Fire of 1666, how it began, why it became unstoppable and how London rose from the ashes.

Featuring Prof Adrian Tinniswood, Professor of British Cultural History at the University of Buckingham and Adjunct Professor of History at Maynooth University, Prof Vanessa Harding, Emeritus Professor of London History at Birkbeck, University of London, who is currently developing a project to map London on the eve of the Great Fire, and Prof Mark Jenner, Emeritus Professor of Early Modern History at the University of York.

In this episode: Princess Margaret and Ireland, with Emily Hourican; ‘Ireland’s first sanitorium: The St Ann’s Hill Hydro, Co. Cork, 1843–1953’ with Ronan Foley; and what you might not know about novelist Joseph Conrad, with Juliette Bretan.

In this episode, a history books roundup: ‘Desk Revolutionaries: The Men of the French Directory, 1795–9’, with Prof Biancamaria Fontana, emeritus professor of the history of political ideas at the University of Lausanne, ‘The Fifth Crusade - A History of the Epic Campaign to Conquer Egypt’, with Thomas Smith, Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and holder of honorary research positions at Royal Holloway and the University of Kent, and ‘1453: The Conquest and Tragedy of Constantinople', with Prof Anthony Kaldellis, Professor of Classics, University of Chicago.

In this episode: we look back at Ireland's relationship with the EU. Featuring Dr Mary C. Murphy of Boston College, then a senior lecturer in politics with the Department of Government and Politics, University College Cork; Professor John O'Brennan, Jean Monnet Professor of European Integration at Maynooth University; and Maria Walsh MEP.

In this episode: Neolithic tombs uncovered in Galway, with Dr Michelle Comber & Dr Noel McCarthy, University of Galway; ‘James Joyce: A Political Life’, with Bridget Hourican; and Aspasia: the woman who allegedly taught Socrates, with Professor Armand D’Angour of Oxford University.

In this episode: we'll begin beneath the waters of Dublin Bay where hundreds of shipwrecks tell the story of trade, war and survival. We'll explore a largely forgotten Ireland of red-coated soldiers, barracks and military patrols, and find out what the stories of the Irish who served in the British Army tell us about our complicated relationship with the British Empire. And we'll hear about a remarkable 17th century manuscript and a telescope that may have ben made by Galileo himself.

In this episode, our books round-up: The Judges of Ireland, 1866-1921, by Daire Hogan; Masquerade: A History of Extravagance and Intrigue, by Meghan Kobza; and Tojo: The Rise and Fall of Japan's Most Controversial World War II General, by Peter Mauch.

The Odyssey: we find out why a story of monsters, magic, gods and vengeance continues to inspire and enthrall people nearly 3,000 years after it was first composed.

Featuring: Dr Catherine Ware, lecturer in the Department of Classics, University College Cork; Dr Matthew Ward, Teaching Associate in Classics at the University of Cambridge; Dr George A. Gazis, Associate Professor in Greek Literature and Philosophy at Durham University; and Dr Alexandra Madeła, Irish Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Classics at Trinity College Dublin.

'We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal'. In this episode we find out how these iconic words in the US Declaration of Independence changed the history of America forever and how it impacted the world. Featuring: Prof Stephanie McCurry, Professor of U.S. History at Columbia University; Prof Eliga H. Gould, Professor of American History at the Rothermere American Institute, Fellow of Queen’s College, University of Oxford, and Professor of History at the University of New Hampshire; and Prof Kathleen (Kathy) Burk, Emeritus Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at University College London.

Featuring: Dr Sonja Tiernan, National Coordinator of the Irish Humanities Alliance, Royal Irish Academy, and the author of ‘Eva Gore-Booth: An Image of Such Politics’ and ‘Eva Gore-Booth: Irish Radical Poet, Rebel and Reformer’; Dr Mary McAuliffe, historian, lecturer, and Director of Gender Studies at UCD; and Dr Catherine Healy, historian-in-residence at EPIC, The Irish Emigration Museum.