Talking History with Patrick Geoghegan

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.