Episodes categorised as 'Factual: History' available now on BBC iPlayer

5/5. Jonathan looks at how bread works as a lingua franca of human relations.

2/3. Are humans causing the sixth great mass extinction event in Earth's history?

4/5. A journey from Paris to Krakow reveals what bread says about three great European peoples.

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the celebrated Venetian explorer Marco Polo.

3/5. Bringing together a bishop, an imam and a rabbi for an interfaith bake-in.

Tom Holland presents the popular history magazine.

2/5. Considering the impact food has on health by looking at two deadly loaves from history.

1/5. Jonathan Kent looks at a staple we take for granted and explores what it reveals about us.

3/3. Going soft? The Bishop of Liverpool considers whether community sentencing works.

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Clausewitz's influential treatise On War.

Helen Castor on the forgotten war of 1812, West Indian cricket and the history of Tamworth

1/3. Adam Rutherford asks why almost all of life became extinct 250 million years ago.

20/20. How Shakespeare has inspired and influenced people across the globe and through the ages.

19/20. A human eyeball in a silver setting gives a striking insight into the theatre of cruelty.

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss game theory, the mathematical study of decision-making

18/20. A set of coronation designs reveals the depth of classical knowledge in Shakespeare's time

Tom Holland presents the popular history magazine programme.

17/20. Early 17th-century proclamations reveal the impact of the 1603 plague outbreak.

Dr Kevin Fong looks at the birth of modern plastic surgery during World War II.

16/20. A domestic clock reveals the changing relationship Shakespeare's audiences had to time.

15/20. The problems in creating a Great Britain are encapsulated in designs for a common flag.

14/20. A pedlar's trunk reveals deception and religion, cross-dressing and travelling salesmen.

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Voltaire's satirical novel Candide, published in 1759.

13/20. Sunken gold from West Africa sheds light on England's complex relationship with the Moors.

Helen Castor presents the popular history magazine. In this edition, the origin of May Day

12/20. A delicate glass goblet reveals the twin seductions of Venice: luxuries and women.

11/20. A tabloid history of Shakespeare's England, told via contemporary accounts of murder plots

10/20. The differences between Scottish and English witches are revealed by a model ship.

9/20. Dr Dee's mirror reflects the Elizabethan fascination with cosmology and astrology.