Single Malt History with Gareth Russell

Ranking history

About the show

Latest episodes

• The House of Cromwell

  September 29, 2026 · 58 min

  In a must for "Wolf Hall" fans, Dr. Miranda Malins stops by to discuss how the Cromwells rose from obscurity to serve Henry VIII, mould a church, challenge Anne Boleyn, and overthrow a king.

• Weimar: Life on the Edge of Catastrophe

  September 22, 2026 · 52 min

  From shopkeepers with secrets hidden in their diaries to actresses dating Nazis and a socialite taking tea with the Kaiser's wife, life in a German town in the years between the two world wars is the topic of a fascinati…

• A City of Secrets: Nine Tales from Victorian Belfast

  September 8, 2026 · 2 hr 36 min

  Behind the grand houses, crowded streets, political speeches and public celebrations of nineteenth-century Belfast were lives marked by love, loss, ambition, violence, faith and politics. In nine remarkable stories, this…

• Have you read Mein Kampf?

  September 1, 2026 · 60 min

  The royal visit to North America in 1939 by Elizabeth II's parents shone a brutal light on Britain's policy of Appeasement towards Nazi Germany and, a chance encounter on a Canadian luxury liner, helped change the future…

• The Red Rose Kings

  August 18, 2026 · 1 hr 21 min

  They ruled for less than a century through a war that allegedly inspired "Game of Thrones." The House of Lancaster consisted of three kings, who reigned through a tumultuous time in England's history.

• The Crusades Were Nothing Like You Think

  August 4, 2026 · 44 min

  What really were the Crusades? Far more than a simple conflict between Christianity and Islam, they reshaped the medieval Middle East through war, diplomacy, trade and cultural exchange. In this episode, Gareth Russell i…

• Francis Dereham: A Tudor Narcissist?

  July 28, 2026 · 1 hr 48 min

  In 1541, a former pirate started stalking the Queen of England. At least, that's one way of interpreting the devastating and very odd behaviour of Francis Dereham, who receives the first ever deep-dive into his life in this episode of…

• Queen Jane Seymour: The Untold Story

  July 21, 2026 · 1 hr 18 min

  Was Jane Seymour once friends with Anne Boleyn? What did she really think of Mary Tudor? Was there a hidden reason she pleaded with Henry VIII to spare the monasteries? Join me for a conversation with Dr Elizabeth Norto…