Dr Matthew Stevens has launched a new podcast. It investigates episodes in history that highlight the worst and best of the human condition. He says:
History can tell us about past ideas and events, and in doing so it tells us something about the universal. When we hear voices from the past, that say what they experienced and how they understood what was happening, we also often get a sense of their character and personality. In the last three thousand years or so human beings haven’t evolved one bit. This means that while the old refrain of Leslie Hartley, that ‘the past is a foreign country: they do things differently there’ may be true, the people you meet there usually have the same recognizable personalities and foibles we see in our friends, family, neighbours and acquaintances. Listen, learn and enjoy telling episodes, both evil and good, drawn from the richness of human history.
The first episode explores the story of a medieval mole catcher and what it tell us about black magic, conspiracy and justice in medieval England.
You can listen to the podcast on Apple, Spotify and Google. Access it here.