History's Heroes

BBC Radio 4
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Aug 19, 2025 • 28min

Xuanzang Levels Up

A seventh century monk sets out on a perilous journey from China to India and back to find lost knowledge. In the process, he becomes a folk hero. This story would also later inspire the popular game Black Myth: Wukong.Stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann shines a light on remarkable people from across history.A BBC Studios Audio production.Producer: Lorna Reader Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann Executive Producer: Paul Smith Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts
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Aug 12, 2025 • 28min

The Fairytale Life of Hans Christian Andersen

A young man sets out to find his place in the world by writing a story with an unusual hero at its heart.Stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann shines a light on remarkable people from across history.A BBC Studios production.Producer: Lorna Reader Written and presented by: Alex von Tunzelmann Executive Producer: Paul Smith Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts
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Aug 5, 2025 • 23min

BONUS: Gertrude Ederle Ruling The Waves Part 2

A conversation with the author Jenny Landreth, on how Gertrude Ederle transformed swimming for women.Stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann shines a light on remarkable people from across history.A BBC Studios Audio production.Producer: Lorna Reader Series producer: Suniti Somaiya Presented: Alex von Tunzelmann Executive Producer: Paul Smith Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts
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Jul 29, 2025 • 29min

Gertrude Ederle: Ruling The Waves

A nineteen-year-old American woman sets out on an extraordinary feat of endurance. Will Gertrude Ederle become the first woman to swim the English Channel?Stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann shines a light on remarkable people from across history.A BBC Studios Audio production.Producer: Lorna Reader Series producer: Suniti Somaiya Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann Executive Producer: Paul Smith Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts
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Jul 22, 2025 • 29min

Eglantyne Jebb Saves The Children

When Eglantyne Jebb is arrested for distributing leaflets in Trafalgar Square in 1919, she finds herself at the centre of a storm that will change the lives of children around the world.Stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann shines a light on remarkable people from across history.A BBC Studios Audio production.Series producer: Suniti Somaiya Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann Executive Producer: Paul Smith Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts
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Jul 15, 2025 • 29min

Cardinal Sin and the Bandit Radio

In the Philippines, an archbishop takes to the airwaves and calls for his people to rise up against a dictatorship.Stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann shines a light on remarkable people from across history.A BBC Studios Audio production.Producer: Lorna Reader Series producer: Suniti Somaiya Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann Executive Producer: Paul Smith Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts
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Jul 8, 2025 • 26min

BONUS: Saving Face With Harold Gillies Part 2

How did Harold Gillies transform plastic surgery? An interview with the actor Daniel Gillies and his father Doctor John Gillies, on their ancestor’s complicated legacy.Stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann shines a light on remarkable people from across history.A BBC Studios Audio production.Producer: Suniti Somaiya Presenter: Alex von Tunzelmann Executive Producer: Paul Smith Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts
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Jul 1, 2025 • 29min

Rodgers & Hammerstein in the South Pacific

In 1949, a new musical production debuts on Broadway, holding up a mirror to the racial prejudices of American society. Stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann shines a light on remarkable people from across history.A BBC Studios Audio production. Producer: Lorna Reader Series producer: Suniti Somaiya Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann Executive Producer: Paul Smith Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts
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Jun 24, 2025 • 29min

Katharine Hepburn: Queen of the Screen

How did the actor Katharine Hepburn challenge the conventions of Hollywood’s studio system?Stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann shines a light on remarkable people from across history.Archive courtesy of The G.Robert Vincent Voice Library in Michigan State University.A BBC Studios Audio production.Producer: Lorna Reader Series producer: Suniti Somaiya Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann Executive Producer: Paul Smith Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts
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Jun 17, 2025 • 28min

Saving Face with Harold Gillies

A young doctor, with a seemingly impossible task: rebuild the shattered faces of World War One soldiers.Stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann shines a light on remarkable people from across history.A BBC Studios Audio production.Producer: Suniti Somaiya Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann Executive Producer: Paul Smith Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts

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