video icon
History & The Arts
Dame Stella Rimington on John le Carré
British author and former Director General of MI5, Dame Stella Rimington, tells us why she thinks John le Carré is the master of the spy novel in Cold War times and draws on her own experience.
video icon
History & The Arts
Bob Dylan as Nobel Laureate: Two reactions
In South Asia, delight. In Japan, dismay. Two writers explore how Asia reacted to Bob Dylan's Nobel prize.
article icon
History & The Arts
Free course: Health and Wellbeing in the Ancient World
OpenLearn is a great place to get an idea of what to expect from Open University study; trying one of our free courses, such as Health and Wellbeing in the Ancient World is an ideal starting point.
article icon
History & The Arts
Disraeli on Munich
Writing in 1840, Benjamin Disraeli shared his passion for the Bavarian capital.
article icon
History & The Arts
Swept away: Brighton's Chain Pier collapses during a storm
A winter storm in 1896 battered Brighton's first pier, finishing off the already condemned structure. But newer attractions also took a hammering.
article icon
History & The Arts
Death on the tracks: A 19th century train crash
An 1853 inquest takes evidence about a fatal train crash at New Cross.
article icon
History & The Arts
Building the London Underground
In 1853, Parliament gave permission for the world's first underground railway. It promised a short, cheap burst of luxury travel - and to run the buses out of business.
article icon
History & The Arts
The Origins of the Idea of the Industrial Revolution
Dr Will Hardy traces the origins of our traditional account of Britain’s “Industrial Revolution”
article icon
History & The Arts
The making of Industrial Britain: A gradual revolution?
Dr Will Hardy reflects on the long-term rise of economic modernity in Britain, and what contemporary perceptions may tell us.
article icon
Health, Sports & Psychology
Can comedy change your life?
After years spent in dark comedy clubs and cramped rooms above pubs, Mary O’Hara knows what makes her laugh. But what else can a good joke do? She meets the performers and researchers who say that comedy can change how we think and even how we act.
article icon
History & The Arts
Jorge Luis Borges: A short reading list
"My father's library has been the chief event in my life...the truth is that I have never emerged from it" wrote Borges. Perhaps; but works by and about the man have certainly expanded that library.
article icon
History & The Arts
Festival fever
Celebrate the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with our range of free courses, audio and video outlining areas to do with the arts.