Announcing Series 12

History of the Telephone (Radio Edit)

For our 150th episode, Greg Jenner is joined by historian Professor Iwan Morus and comedian Catherine Bohart to learn about the history of the telephone on its 150th anniversary. The inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell, was granted the American patent for his new communication system 150 years ago, on the 7th March 1876, beating out fellow inventor Elisha Gray who had submitted his patent on the very same day. But Bell still had to convince people that this novel form of communication would change their lives, and so he set out on a promotional tour across America and England, showcasing the wonder of his new invention, and even gifting a pair of phones to Queen Victoria. In this episode, we look at the first few decades of the telephone’s existence: the dramatic race between Bell, Gray and an Italian immigrant named Meucci to be the first to patent it, how quickly it was rolled out across America, how the technology actually worked, and its problems, including the ease with which people could eavesdrop on their neighbour’s conversations. We also look at the rise in jobs for women it provided, and the social anxieties it provoked, which mirror many of the worries voiced today about smartphones and social media. And we examine some early telephone etiquette: should you answer the phone with ‘hello’ or ‘ahoy-hoy’, and did a man need to be wearing trousers when speaking on the phone to a woman? This is a radio edit of the original podcast episode. For the full-length version, please look further back in the feed. Hosted by: Greg Jenner Research by: Rosalyn Sklar and Katharine Russell Written by: Rosalyn Sklar, Dr Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Dr Emma Nagouse, and Greg Jenner Produced by: Dr Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow and Greg Jenner Audio Producer: Steve Hankey Production Coordinator: Gill Huggett Senior Producer: Dr Emma Nagouse Executive Editor: Philip Sellars

Announcing Series 12

Greg Jenner looks ahead to the new series of You're Dead to Me. If you’re in the UK, listen first on BBC Sounds, or watch on iPlayer from Friday 26 June. If you’re outside the UK, you can find us on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts, with the new series beginning on Friday 24 July.

Why do British people love tea? (from Here For The History)

Where exactly does the British love affair with tea begin? It all starts with a Portuguese princess… In this first episode of Here For The History, Alice Loxton and Ben Henderson explore the origin story of the British love of tea. Starting with the first appearance of tea in England in the 1600s and its popularisation in the English royal court, the story takes a dark turn as the British East India Company seeks to break China’s monopoly on tea production leading to the Opium Wars and corporate espionage. Here For The History is a new BBC Sounds podcast where every week historians Alice Loxton and Ben Henderson will shed light on the stereotypes, social norms, traditions and beliefs that fill our everyday life. From Britain’s stiff upper-lip, to Scottish tartan, the podcast will reveal the surprising roots of the customs and everyday objects that surround us. If you enjoy this episode, you can listen and subscribe to Here For The History on BBC Sounds. If you’re outside the UK, you can listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts. Key sources for this episode: A Social History of Tea - Jane Pettigrew A journey to the tea countries of China - Robert Fortune Dinner with Dickens - Penn Vogler

History of Spices (Radio Edit)

Greg Jenner is joined by historian Dr David Veevers and comedian and quizzer Paul Sinha to learn all about the global history of spices and the spice trade. Nowadays, we take spices for granted, and our kitchen cabinets are full of ginger and cinnamon, cumin and coriander, pepper and nutmeg. But despite their contemporary status as a staple of diets around the world, the majority of spices are native only to Asia (barring notable exceptions like chilli peppers). In this episode, we tell the story of how spices went global, from the very earliest days of the spice trade within Asia, through the empires of Alexander the Great and Rome as spices made their way into Europe, and into the colonial period, as the Dutch and British East India Companies vied to monopolise this lucrative trade. Along the way, we focus on five of the most commonly traded spices – pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and chilli – asking how their use changed across time, and as they were traded from place to place. From pharaohs possibly being embalmed with cinnamon, to medieval kings demanding rent in peppercorns, and nutmeg as a cure for plague, we look at the varied uses to which people all over the world have put these precious and expensive commodities. This is a radio edit of the original podcast episode. For the full-length version, please look further back in the feed. Hosted by: Greg Jenner Research by: Emma Mitchell and Adam Simcox Written by: Dr Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Dr Emma Nagouse, and Greg Jenner Produced by: Dr Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow and Greg Jenner Audio Producer: Steve Hankey Production Coordinator: Gill Huggett Senior Producer: Dr Emma Nagouse Executive Editor: Philip Sellars

Epic of Gilgamesh (Radio Edit)

Greg Jenner is joined in the ancient world by Dr Moudhy Al-Rashid and comedian Marjolein Robertson to learn all about the famous Mesopotamian poem, the Epic of Gilgamesh. Sumerian poems about a legendary king called Gilgamesh began to be composed sometime in the third millennium, and were told and retold throughout Mesopotamia until a Babylonian scholar named Sîn-leqi-unninni wrote down what has become the standard version. The tale he recorded tells of a tyrannical king of Uruk, Gilgamesh, and the transformative journey he takes with his enemy-turned-friend (and possibly more), Enkidu. In the 3100 lines of the poem, they fight forest guardians and celestial bulls, anger the gods, and even challenge death itself. In this episode, we retell the story of Gilgamesh, exploring the history of the epic’s composition, what it tells us about ancient Mesopotamian storytelling and beliefs, and how it was rediscovered in the nineteenth century, written in cuneiform on clay tablets housed in the Library of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh. We also look at the themes of companionship, community and environmental protection that are still relevant today, and ask the question: is Gilgamesh just a legend, or was he based on a real king? This is a radio edit of the original podcast episode. For the full-length version, please look further back in the feed. Hosted by: Greg Jenner Research by: Katharine Russell Written by: Katharine Russell, Dr Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Dr Emma Nagouse, and Greg Jenner Produced by: Dr Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow and Greg Jenner Audio Producer: Steve Hankey Production Coordinator: Gill Huggett Senior Producer: Dr Emma Nagouse Executive Editor: Philip Sellars