Mike Thomson investigates secret Anglo-Irish co-operation against the IRA in the 1930s.
AA Gill nominates Arthur Neville Chamberlain as his great life.
Alfred Brendel recalls hearing the voice of Hitler and Goebbels as a small boy
The power couple who reunited China and nearly lost it to Japan.
Helen Mark explores Sir Winston Churchill's family home of Chartwell in Kent.
William Crawley travels to Winston Churchill's grave in the Oxfordshire village of Bladon.
A humble wooden cabinet reveals secrets about how Churchill developed his oratorical style
Clement Attlee's lack of charisma did not prevent him transforming post war Britain.
Bookseller Tim Waterstone and biographer Ben Pimlott discuss the former prime minister.
For Stalin, privacy was key. So how would he feel about his secrets being revealed?
A report from California on water in LA, and domestic partnerships in San Francisco.
Gary Oldman on his career and award winning performance as Churchill
The Oscar-tipped actor on how he captured the war-time PM's distinctive delivery
Misha Glenny explores the life of Getulio Vargas, the man who changed Brazil.
Republicans have a majority in both houses of the Senate for the first time in 40 years.
Melvyn Bragg examines Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany though historiographical theories.
Bridget Kendall hears from witnesses to Khrushchev's thaw following the death of Stalin.
Mervyn King champions the life of the former Prime Minister of Finland Risto Ryti.
Julian Jackson on the inscrutable General de Gaulle and his fraught relations with Britain
Benito Mussolini, founder of fascism and ruler of Italy 1922-1943
President George H W Bush's handling of foreign affairs helps his re-election.
An obituary of President Harry S Truman (1884–1972).
The 50th anniversary of the death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
White House marks Roosevelt's centenary.
Douglas Hurd uses the BBC Archives to explore the life of his predecessor Anthony Eden.
Alistair Cooke recalls some intriguing myths about Winston Churchill.
Michael Maloney reads an extract from Florian Illies's 1913.
Sunil Khilnani explores the life of freedom fighter Subhas Chandra Bose.
The history and traditions of Thanksgiving and the opposition to the celebration in 1998.
Alistair Cooke considers how people become desensitised to the horrifying images of war.
