The podcast about all things 17th century

1666 and All That

From the Gunpowder Plot to the killing of a king, from Cromwell and the Civil Wars to the Restoration and the Glorious Revolution, the 17th century shaped the world we live in today. Hosts Miranda Malins and Paul Lay combine historical rigour, entertaining storytelling and revealing guest interviews to draw this vibrant period out of the shadows.

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Episode 15: A Golden Age of Espionage
July 3, 2024

Episode 15: A Golden Age of Espionage

Plots and conspiracies abounded in the the late 16th and early-mid 17th centuries. And with them came the evolution of a newly-professionalised culture of subterfuge and spying. Paul and Miranda explore the murky world of ea…
Episode 14: The Man Who Inspired 'Shōgun'
June 19, 2024

Episode 14: The Man Who Inspired 'Shōgun'

Historian Giles Milton joins Miranda and Paul to talk about the life and times of William Adams, an English navigator who was part of a Dutch expedition to the Spice Islands. Adrift in the Pacific, they ran aground in Japan,…
Episode 13: The Enigmatic Monarch
May 29, 2024

Episode 13: The Enigmatic Monarch

Who was King Charles II? As a controversial new drama-doc portrays him as a brutal avenger of his father's killers, Paul and Miranda go in search of the real Charles. With guest historians Linda Porter and Charlotte White as…
Episode 12: What Did the Stuarts Do For Us?
May 15, 2024

Episode 12: What Did the Stuarts Do For Us?

For better or for worse, the Stuart dynasty dominated the 17th-century English political landscape - with inevitable consequences for Scotland, Ireland and wider parts of a nascent empire. History's verdict on the Stuart mon…
Episode 11: The Luck of the Habsburgs
April 24, 2024

Episode 11: The Luck of the Habsburgs

From humble roots in Switzerland and Swabia, the Habsburg dynasty endured for 900 years, its survival due in part to genetic good fortune. As historian Martyn Rady tells Paul and Miranda, the Habsburgs gambled big on marital…
Episode 10: Shooting the Century
March 27, 2024

Episode 10: Shooting the Century

The 17th century has rarely been as popular with film and TV dramatists as 'sexier' periods such as the Tudors, the Romans and the Second World War. But recently, 17th-century stories and characters have emerged from the sha…
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