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Welcome to History's Heroes, the BBC's breathtaking, high-stakes, story-led podcast shining a light on extraordinary people and ordinary people who became extraordinary across history.

I'm Alex von Tunselmann.

I'm a historian and you may have heard me presenting the Radio 4 series The Lucan Obsession.

I'm also the writer behind all the History's Heroes series and I'm here to tell you about some astonishing news stories we have coming up.

If you're joining us for the first time, there's already so much to discover, including 30 episodes of History's Secret Heroes, narrated by Helena Bonham Carter.

It's World War II and the stakes couldn't be higher.

There was just this piece of her she could never talk about, which was being a spy.

None of them knew that she'd lived this double life.

They had no idea that she was Britain's top female codebreaker.

She was about to drop this lighting bomb and took out the fuse, but the bomb got caught in the mittens that she strapped around her neck.

She had about 10 seconds.

And there's also history's youngest heroes with Nicola Cochran.

When you're young, it feels like anything is possible.

Maybe you're a little hot-headed, but your optimism lifts you up.

And your righteous fury can be rocket fuel, propelling you to fight for what's right.

You might make choices that put you in danger.

You might even make history.

Stories of rebellion, risk, and the radical power of youth.

She believed very much that there is a struggle between good and evil, and you have to take sides.

In our new episodes, I'll be taking the reins to bring you inspiring and unusual stories of courage, pioneering, and people who've used their voices to spark change.

What makes a hero?

There are so many different kinds, including a groundbreaking surgeon who rebuilt the shattered faces of soldiers in the First World War.

You know, he would look at these men and he would say, don't worry, sonny, you'll have as good a face as any of us when I'm done with you.

And the woman who created the international charity, Save the Children.

This woman who dedicated her life to children but seemingly didn't like them individually.

She once said, I'm not fond of the little wretches.

Then there's the musical duo Rogers and Hammerstein, who wrote The Sound of Music and Oklahoma and fought for justice behind the scenes.

A lot of people felt the song was too strong and too in your face.

Rogers and Hammerstein stood firm and said, sorry, sorry, it's part of our show.

There are also stories of incredible endurance against the odds, such as Gertrude Ederley, the first woman to swim the English Channel.

Like my grandfather went to the other side of the boat and started crying because he was watching Trudy struggle, you know, through the waves.

Not all of our heroes are perfect people.

I'm always more interested in a hero if they're a complex person with a few flaws.

But all of them did something amazing when it would have been much easier to do nothing at all.

And in some episodes, I'll be having conversations with fans, scholars, and family members of our heroes, digging deeper into their lives and what they mean to us today.

Keep an eye on this feed over the coming months for the return of History's Secret Heroes with Helena Bonham Carter and much, much more.

But first, join me, Alex von Tunselmann, for History's Heroes.

subscribe to History's Heroes on BBC Sounds.

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