History's Heroes

History's Heroes

BBC
History Society & Culture Documentary
en

History's Heroes: the BBC's breathtaking, high stakes, story-led history podcast feed that shines a light on extraordinary people from across history.

Series include 'History's Heroes' with narration from Historian Alex von Tunzelmann, 'History's Youngest Heroes' with narration from Nicola Coughlan and 'History's Secret Heroes' with narration from Helena Bonham Carter.

In History's Heroes, Historian Alex von Tunzelmann (Radio 4's The History Podcast: The Lucan Obsession/writer of all the History's Heroes series) shines a light on the inspiring and unusual stories of courage, pioneering and people who used their voice to spark change. Heroes covered include groundbreaking surgeon Harold Gillies, composers Rodgers and Hammerstein and swimming champion Gertrude Ederle. Join Alex for stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone.

In History's Youngest Heroes, actress Nicola Coughlan (Bridgerton, Derry Girls) tells twelve true stories of rebellion, risk and the radical power of youth. Before she became a Hollywood star, how did the young Audrey Hepburn take on the Nazis during World War Two? As a young activist, how did Nelson Mandela attempt to overthrow the South African government to end apartheid? Did Queen of England, Lady Jane Grey give up her faith or face the executioner's axe? Why did Terry Fox, a young man with a prosthetic leg, set out to run the length of Canada? Join Nicola to hear inspiring tales of young heroes both famous and forgotten, whose bravery demonstrates how young people can change history.

In History's Secret Heroes, Helena Bonham Carter recounts untold stories of heroes from World War Two whose acts of resistance, deception and courage helped defeat fascism. In each episode, Helena shines a light on the spies, Royal Air Force pilots, army officers, prisoners of war and double agents who risked their lives to save others. Learn all about forgotten stories of survival, bravery and espionage - from the opera singers who helped dozens of Jewish people escape Nazi Germany, to the woman that Winston Churchill would go on to call his favourite spy.

Previous episodes have looked at the story of the American actor George Takei (Star Trek), who was imprisoned without trial along with 12,000 other Japanese Americans, and Bela Hazan, a young Jewish woman who went undercover at the Gestapo headquarters to fight against the Nazis. From secret missions behind enemy lines in occupied Europe, to underground resistance movements across Germany, France, Poland, Great Britain and beyond, History's Secret Heroes reveals how ordinary people can make an extraordinary impact.

Join Alex, Nicola and Helena for tales of deception, rebellion, risk and courage.

Episodes (50)

William Dodd Fights the Factories

William Dodd Fights the Factories

September 02, 2025 28m
In the industrial revolution, a worker takes on the factory system and demands an end to brutal conditions.Stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone. Historian Alex von...
Jessica Mitford Finds Her Voice

Jessica Mitford Finds Her Voice

August 26, 2025 28m
An aristocrat rebels against her family to become a civil rights activist.Stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann shines a light on...
Xuanzang Levels Up

Xuanzang Levels Up

August 19, 2025 28m
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...
The Fairytale Life of Hans Christian Andersen

The Fairytale Life of Hans Christian Andersen

August 12, 2025 28m
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...
BONUS: Gertrude Ederle Ruling The Waves Part 2

BONUS: Gertrude Ederle Ruling The Waves Part 2

August 05, 2025 23m
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...
Gertrude Ederle: Ruling The Waves

Gertrude Ederle: Ruling The Waves

July 29, 2025 28m
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...
Eglantyne Jebb Saves The Children

Eglantyne Jebb Saves The Children

July 22, 2025 28m
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...
Cardinal Sin and the Bandit Radio

Cardinal Sin and the Bandit Radio

July 15, 2025 28m
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...
BONUS: Saving Face With Harold Gillies Part 2

BONUS: Saving Face With Harold Gillies Part 2

July 08, 2025 26m
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...
History's Heroes

Rodgers & Hammerstein in the South Pacific

July 01, 2025 28m
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....
Katharine Hepburn: Queen of the Screen

Katharine Hepburn: Queen of the Screen

June 24, 2025 28m
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...
Saving Face with Harold Gillies

Saving Face with Harold Gillies

June 17, 2025 28m
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...
Trailer

Trailer

June 10, 2025 3m
Historian Alex von Tunzelmann shines a light on remarkable people from across history. Join her for stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone.
History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: Ita Ekpenyon and the Blitz

History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: Ita Ekpenyon and the Blitz

May 06, 2025 29m
After twelve weeks of nightly bombings, tensions are running high in London’s air raid shelters. Can warden Ita Ekpenyon stop a riot from breaking out?Helena Bonham Carter shines a light on...
History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: Agent Zo's Leap of Faith

History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: Agent Zo's Leap of Faith

April 29, 2025 28m
A resistance fighter prepares to parachute into Nazi-occupied Poland. If her mission is successful, she could save the lives of thousands of women. Helena Bonham Carter shines a light on extraordinary...
History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: Dudley Clarke: The Great Deceiver

History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: Dudley Clarke: The Great Deceiver

April 22, 2025 28m
In Cairo, an eccentric British army officer draws on magic tricks learned from his grandfather in order to fool the Nazis. Will the enemy fall for his illusions?

Helena Bonham Carter shines a light...
History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: Leif Larsen and the Shetland Bus

History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: Leif Larsen and the Shetland Bus

April 15, 2025 28m
A Norwegian sailor carries out more than fifty missions via a secret shipping route between Scotland and occupied Norway. Will the Nazis uncover it?Helena Bonham Carter shines a light on extraordinary...
History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: The Night Witches

History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: The Night Witches

April 08, 2025 28m
After the outbreak of World War Two, best friends Polina Gelman and Galya Dokutovich are recruited to fly bombers for the Soviet Union. Can they outsmart the Nazis? Helena Bonham Carter shines a light...
History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: Operation Anthropoid

History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: Operation Anthropoid

April 01, 2025 28m
In Prague, two men set out to assassinate one of Hitler’s most high-ranking officers. Helena Bonham Carter shines a light on extraordinary stories from World War Two. Join her for incredible tales of...
History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: The Salon Albahari

History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: The Salon Albahari

March 25, 2025 28m
Two apprentice seamstresses find an ingenious hiding place for their Jewish colleagues in wartime Sarajevo.

Helena Bonham Carter shines a light on extraordinary stories from World War Two. Join...
History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: Witold Pilecki: The Infiltrator

History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: Witold Pilecki: The Infiltrator

March 18, 2025 29m
An undercover Polish operative deliberately sets out to be arrested and sent to Auschwitz. His mission is to tell the world what’s happening inside the walls of the camp. Will he make it out...
History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: Curt Bloch and the Underwater Cabaret

History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: Curt Bloch and the Underwater Cabaret

March 11, 2025 28m
Hiding in an attic in the Netherlands, a German Jewish refugee risks his life to create The Underwater Cabaret, a secret, satirical magazine that seeks to ridicule the Nazis. Helena Bonham Carter...
History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: Noor Khan: The Operator

History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: Noor Khan: The Operator

March 04, 2025 29m
A female agent, codename Madeleine, is sent to the heart of occupied France to transmit messages back to the Allies. Will the Nazis detect her?Helena Bonham Carter shines a light on extraordinary...
History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: Trailer

History's Secret Heroes: Series 3: Trailer

February 25, 2025 2m
Helena Bonham Carter shines a light on extraordinary stories from World War Two. Join her for tales of deception, resistance and courage in History's Secret Heroes Series 3.
History's Youngest Heroes: Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope

History's Youngest Heroes: Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope

February 24, 2025 30m
Can 21 year-old Terry Fox, a cancer survivor with a prosthetic leg, run the length of Canada?Nicola Coughlan shines a light on extraordinary young people from across history. Join her for 12 stories...
History's Youngest Heroes: Hans and Sophie Scholl and the White Rose

History's Youngest Heroes: Hans and Sophie Scholl and the White Rose

February 17, 2025 28m
With the power of the written word as their weapon, a brother and sister mount a daring campaign against the Nazis.Nicola Coughlan shines a light on extraordinary young people from across history....
History's Youngest Heroes: Vasily Arkhipov and the End of Days

History's Youngest Heroes: Vasily Arkhipov and the End of Days

February 10, 2025 28m
Deep in the waters of the Caribbean Sea, a young Soviet Naval must make a decision that could either save the world or trigger its destruction.Nicola Coughlan shines a light on extraordinary young...
History's Youngest Heroes: The Grisly World of Andreas Vesalius

History's Youngest Heroes: The Grisly World of Andreas Vesalius

February 03, 2025 28m
An arrogant young man with a passion for dissecting corpses challenges his teachers and changes the course of modern medicine. Nicola Coughlan shines a light on extraordinary young people from across...
History's Youngest Heroes: Rani Lakshmi Bai: The Warrior Queen

History's Youngest Heroes: Rani Lakshmi Bai: The Warrior Queen

January 27, 2025 28m
When her kingdom is threatened, a 22-year-old Indian woman takes on the British Empire on horseback, with a sword in each hand.Nicola Coughlan shines a light on extraordinary young people from across...
History's Youngest Heroes: The Visionary Julian of Norwich

History's Youngest Heroes: The Visionary Julian of Norwich

January 20, 2025 28m
In Norwich, a woman locks herself in a tiny cell for years. Despite limited contact with the outside world, she becomes one of the first women to write in the English language. Nicola Coughlan shines...
History's Youngest Heroes: Louis Braille: Code Maker

History's Youngest Heroes: Louis Braille: Code Maker

January 13, 2025 28m
After losing his sight in a childhood accident, a young Frenchman invents a tool that will change the lives of blind people around the world.Nicola Coughlan shines a light on extraordinary young...
History's Youngest Heroes: St Francis of Assisi: Teen Rebel

History's Youngest Heroes: St Francis of Assisi: Teen Rebel

January 06, 2025 28m
A charismatic young man attracts a band of followers after denouncing his family fortune and devoting his life to the poor. Nicola Coughlan shines a light on extraordinary young people from across...
History's Youngest Heroes: Audrey Hepburn’s Teenage Resistance

History's Youngest Heroes: Audrey Hepburn’s Teenage Resistance

December 30, 2024 28m
Before she became a Hollywood star, how did the young Audrey Hepburn take on the Nazis in the Netherlands? Nicola Coughlan shines a light on extraordinary young people from across history. Join her...
History's Youngest Heroes: Grace Darling: Maiden of the Sea

History's Youngest Heroes: Grace Darling: Maiden of the Sea

December 23, 2024 28m
When a reclusive young woman spots a shipwreck off the coast of Northumberland, she embarks on a perilous rescue mission. Little does she know, it will make her world-famous.Nicola Coughlan shines a...
History's Youngest Heroes: The Brief Reign of Lady Jane

History's Youngest Heroes: The Brief Reign of Lady Jane

December 16, 2024 28m
Stripped of her crown and trapped In the Tower of London will Lady Jane Grey give up her faith or face the executioner’s axe? Nicola Coughlan shines a light on extraordinary young people from across...
History's Youngest Heroes: Nelson Mandela and the Defiance Campaign

History's Youngest Heroes: Nelson Mandela and the Defiance Campaign

December 09, 2024 29m
Before he became a world leader, how did Mandela as a young activist first attempt to overthrow the South African government to end apartheid?Nicola Coughlan shines a light on extraordinary young...
History's Youngest Heroes: Trailer

History's Youngest Heroes: Trailer

December 02, 2024 3m
Nicola Coughlan shines a light on extraordinary young people from across history. Join her for 12 stories of rebellion, risk and the radical power of youth.
History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: Manfred Gans and X Troop

History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: Manfred Gans and X Troop

June 03, 2024 30m
Manfred Gans joins an elite, secret unit of Jewish commandos to take on the Nazis with advanced fighting and counterintelligence skills. But can he save his own family? Helena Bonham Carter shines a...
History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: The Enigmatic Emily Anderson

History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: The Enigmatic Emily Anderson

May 27, 2024 28m
Emily Anderson led a double life. This shy musicologist from Galway was also a top codebreaker for the British, whose work would play a crucial role in Allied victory. Helena Bonham Carter shines a...
History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: Andrée De Jongh and the Comet Line

History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: Andrée De Jongh and the Comet Line

May 20, 2024 29m
A 24-year-old Belgian woman masterminds an escape line, spanning eight hundred miles of Nazi-occupied territory, stretching from Belgium to Spain. Can Andrée de Jongh save the lives of hundreds of...
History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: Charles Drew and the Blood Bank

History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: Charles Drew and the Blood Bank

May 13, 2024 28m
Charles Drew, an American doctor, led the creation and use of blood banks, saving countless lives both in war and in peacetime. But while he worked around the clock to save lives, he would be dragged...
History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: Raymond Gurême: Escape Artist

History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: Raymond Gurême: Escape Artist

May 06, 2024 29m
A young circus performer from a traveling family in France breaks out of an internment camp and dedicates himself to bringing the Nazis down. Helena Bonham Carter shines a light on extraordinary...
History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: Josefina Guerrero: The Maid of Manila

History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: Josefina Guerrero: The Maid of Manila

April 29, 2024 28m
After contracting Hansen’s Disease, then known as leprosy, Josefina Guerrero makes a remarkable decision. She becomes a spy for the resistance in Manila. Helena Bonham Carter shines a light on...
History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: The Unbreakable Navajo Code

History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: The Unbreakable Navajo Code

April 22, 2024 29m
A group of Native American soldiers use their language to devise a secret code for the Allies. Can the Navajo code help win one of the fiercest battles of the war? Helena Bonham Carter shines a light...
History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: Christine Granville: The Spy Who Skied In From The Cold

History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: Christine Granville: The Spy Who Skied In From The Cold

April 15, 2024 28m
Thrill-seeker Christine Granville offers to ski across enemy lines and over the deadly Carpathian mountains, into Nazi-occupied Poland to gather intelligence for the British. Churchill would later...
History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: Flying High with Johnny Smythe

History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: Flying High with Johnny Smythe

April 08, 2024 29m
In Sierra Leone, navigator Johnny Smythe becomes one of the first West African airmen to join the Royal Air Force. His fellow crew consider him as a lucky charm, but as he faces a series of terrifying...
History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: The Extraordinary Cook Sisters

History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: The Extraordinary Cook Sisters

April 01, 2024 29m
How did Ida and Louise Cook, two opera-loving sisters from England, help dozens of Jewish people escape Nazi Germany?Helena Bonham Carter shines a light on extraordinary stories from World War Two....
History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: Trailer

History's Secret Heroes: Series 2: Trailer

March 25, 2024 2m
Helena Bonham Carter shines a light on extraordinary stories from World War Two. Join her for tales of deception, resistance and courage in History's Secret Heroes Series 2.
History's Secret Heroes: Series 1: Arslan Rezniqi and the Besa Code

History's Secret Heroes: Series 1: Arslan Rezniqi and the Besa Code

August 02, 2023 30m
Albania was one of the few European countries to have a larger Jewish population at the end of the war than it had at the beginning. What role did Arslan Rezniqi, a Kosovan Albanian merchant, play in...
History's Secret Heroes: Series 1: Jack King and the Fifth Column

History's Secret Heroes: Series 1: Jack King and the Fifth Column

July 26, 2023 28m
Eric Roberts, a bank worker from Surrey, joins MI5. He is given the alias Jack King and his job is to hunt for British Nazi-sympathisers. Helena Bonham Carter shines a light on extraordinary stories...

About this Podcast

Copyright
(C) BBC 2025
Language
en
Categories
History, Society & Culture, Documentary