Civilisation
How pandemic and climate change brought down the Roman Empire
Pandemics brought down the greatest human empire of all time - who knew? Kyle Harper is the author of The Fate of Rome: Climate, Disease and the End of an Empire, which examines the collapse of the… Audio
Robert Harris: The Second Sleep
English novelist Robert Harris's new book The Second Sleep has all the trappings of a historical novel, but actually it's set far in the future. Audio
Modelling the collapse of great empires
It's easy to look at the news and feel like civilization is collapsing. Peter Turchin's job is to subject that feeling to the rigors of science. Turchin, a professor of ecology and mathematics at the… Audio
How d’ye do, Mr King George?
Opening with the encounter between Hongi Hika and King George IV in London in 1820, Dame Anne Salmond traces the themes of rangatiratanga and sovereignty from then through the Declaration of… Audio