The National Archives Podcast Series
The National Archives Podcast Series will remain live, but will not be updated with new content. For new podcasts from us head over to On the Record at The National Archives.
- Update frequency
- every 11 days
- Average duration
- 41 minutes
- Episodes
- 544
- Years Active
- 2006 - 2022
Introduction to wills
Matt Norman talks to Nigel Taylor about wills – the document used for centuries to control what happens to property when somebody dies. Who would have left a will? What information can you find in th…
Introduction to birth, marriages and death registers in England and Wales
Matt Norman talks to Keith Mitchell about civil registration – the system for recording births, marriages and deaths in the UK. How and when did the system start? Where can you find the records? What…
Introduction to the census
The census documents information about the population taken every ten years. How and when did the system start? Where can you find the records? What can you see online? Find out the answers from Audr…
Introduction to Discovery – The National Archives catalogue
Matt Norman talks to Chrissy Peters about Discovery – the online catalogue for The National Archives and 2500 other archives. What is in Discovery? How can you find what you want in it? Are the recor…
The three curses of Tutankhamun
Tutankhamun lay in his tomb undisturbed until 1922, when British archaeologist Howard Carter and his wealthy patron, Lord Carnarvon, revealed him to the world. But the discovery of the century came w…
Dependence, intolerance and expulsion: The story of England’s medieval Jewish communities
Despite having clear liberties and the protection of the Crown in the mid-12th century, the thriving Jewish communities of medieval England were soon targeted for their perceived wealth and religious…
George Orwell, the CIA and Cold War film
The National Archives’ Cold War season drew to a close in November with a series of events intended to whisk you back to the night of the fall of the Berlin Wall. There was dancing, videogames, exhib…
Voices of the Windrush Generation
Voices of the Windrush Generation: The real story told by the people themselves by David Matthews is a powerful collection of stories from the men, women and children of the Windrush generation – Wes…
Documentary enlightenment: The death of Edward II and the principles of historical methodology
How do we know what we think we know about the past, and why do even the best historians occasionally get it wrong? In this talk Dr Ian Mortimer explores the use of historical methodology and the imp…
The Fall of Wolsey
490 years ago Thomas Wolsey – King Henry VIII’s former favourite – fell from grace following his failure to secure the king a divorce.
This talk by Daniel Gosling examines the records…
How James Bond won the Cold War for Britain
Charlie Higson, author of the best-selling Young Bond books, discusses the genesis of 007 – James Bond, Ian Fleming’s life in the secret service, and how the Bond books and films relate to real world…
On the trail of Klaus Fuchs, atomic spy
Arguably the most important ‘atomic’ spy of the 20th century, Klaus Fuchs was a German physicist who worked on the British and US-led atomic projects of the Cold War era. In 1950, Fuchs was caught pa…
The legacy of secrecy: Experiences from the Stasi Records Archive
The East German Stasi had the reputation of being one of the most effective and repressive intelligence and secret police agencies ever to have existed, as they forced their methods for collecting in…
Security Service file release September 2019
Professor Christopher Andrew, formerly official historian of MI5 and author of 'The Defence of the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5', introduces key files from the release of Security Service fil…
Lawrence, of Arabia and beyond
T E Lawrence’s role in the First World War is best remembered as that of a young, dashing officer leading the Arab Revolt in white billowing robes. This talk by The National Archives’ Overseas Record…
Culture Clash? Pop in a royal park
Fifty years ago, the Rolling Stones gave a concert in Hyde Park that turned into a memorial to founding member Brian Jones. It was an event that passed into legend. But back in 1968, when Peter Jenne…
Summer Lecture Series 2019: Information at War – the Ministry of Information, 1936-1946
The Ministry of Information was established by a government which recognised that the understanding and morale of the civilian population in the UK – and elsewhere – was critical to a successful outc…
The Cold War and UFOs
There is more to the Ministry of Defence UFO files than reports on strange sightings in the sky. They provide insight into the public’s perception of the Cold War and technological advances, as well …
The scandalous case of John Vassall
In 1962, while working as a clerk in the British Embassy in Moscow, homosexual civil servant John Vassall was caught in a ‘honey trap’ sprung by the Soviet Secret Service. He was blackmailed into pas…
The personal story of Holocaust survivor John Dobai
John Dobai was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1934. To mark Holocaust Memorial Day, John delivered a talk at The National Archives on 25 January 2019 about his personal story and the plight of Hungari…