Life Lessons from History

According to Prof Peter Romm’s reading of the wisdom of the ancient Greek philosopher Sophocles, if you prepare well for gloom, you can enjoy the sunshine more readily. This episode of Life Lessons from History is all...

The Seven Deadly Sins are often dismissed as a list of religious prohibitions, but medieval historian Peter Jones reveals they were originally something much more profound: a practical guide to self-knowledge. Drawing...

<p>We should be better at talking about death, and maybe we could also do with being comfortable with the personal rituals that would allow that to happen. That’s what Helen Gittos suggests in this new Life Lessons from...

<p>Do you ever actively seek out silence? Maybe you should, suggests historian of the early modern era Professor Mark Stoyle, in this latest Life Lessons from History episode, which explores the ways in which people...

<p>The people who constructed Stonehenge seem to have had a very communal society, in which they came together to work as one on these great megalithic building projects. Susan Greaney’s Life Lesson from History is that...

<p>The Anglo-Saxon king Æthelstan, who did much to establish the idea of England, was also a keen learner. He impressed on his people the importance of deep study, and that’s something we could do with embracing today...

<p>Don’t let your life be ruled by your vacuum cleaner, says celebrated historian of the Industrial Revolution Emma Griffin in this episode of our Life Lessons from History series. She also shares some helpful...

<p>Paganism hung on in eastern and northern Europe for a lot longer than you might expect. According to historian and folklorist Francis Young, that’s partly because people there took a very flexible and personal...

<p>Good neighbours become good friends. If you ever watched the long-running Australian drama series Neighbours, you’ll recognise that ditty. According to Roman historian Dr Jess Venner, we could take a lesson on...

<p>The Anglo-Saxons had a deep sense of wonder – they saw magic in the mundane, and expressed it through riddles. Eleanor Parker’s Life Lesson from History is that we, too, should seek out wonder in the world around us...

<p>Be yourself and don’t be afraid to make mistakes. That’s one of the lessons that archaeologist Dr Lucy Shipley says we can take from the approach to life of the ancient Etruscans. These historical inhabitants of the...

<p>We know we should all be living sustainably if we can. Bestselling historian Ian Mortimer suggests that we should look back to the medieval period – an era in which people took a very local attitude to life – to seek...

<p>Do you wake up in the middle of the night worrying? If so, you’re definitely not alone. But if you want to manage the anxieties of modern life, Selena Wisnom argues that you could take a leaf out of the book of the...

<p>Are we too quick to flush? In Edo Japan, people were much more mindful of how they dealt with sewage and rubbish than we are today. Chris Harding’s Life Lesson from History is that we should think more carefully...

<p>In the early modern period, people considered a good night’s sleep to be fundamental to a good life – they thought about it a lot, and deployed plenty of techniques to ensure they slept well. Sasha Handley explains...