The Ancients

538 million years ago, life on Earth changed forever. In an evolutionary burst known as the Cambrian Explosion, complex animals rapidly appeared in the oceans, laying the foundations for almost every major animal group alive today.

Tristan Hughes is joined by the mighty Henry Gee to explore biology’s 'Big Bang'. What triggered this extraordinary leap in evolutionary complexity? Why did creatures with eyes, shells and limbs emerge so suddenly in the fossil record? And what can the Cambrian Explosion reveal about the origins of animal life and the history of our planet?

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Rise of Humans
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The Age of Dinosaurs
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We're going on *TOUR* to Australia and New Zealand! - grab your tickets here.

The Ancients is now on YouTube! Watch here: @TheAncientsPodcast

Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds
The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week, PLUS early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Pharisees are one of the most familiar names in the ancient world, but are they also one of the most misunderstood?

Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr Helen Bond to step back into first-century Judea, where the Pharisees were debating law, purity and resurrection under foreign rule. They look at how much power the Pharisees really had, their debates with Jesus in the Gospels, and how focussed they were on the idea of a 'messiah'.

We're going on *TOUR* to Australia and New Zealand! - grab your tickets here.

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John the Baptist
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Pontius Pilate
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Presented by Tristan Hughes. Edited and produced by Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds
The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week, PLUS early access ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In July 1799, French soldiers unearthed a stone that would transform our understanding of the ancient world. Discovered in a fort at Rashid, the Rosetta Stone became the key to deciphering Egypt’s long-lost hieroglyphs. Within two decades, scholars began unlocking its secrets. But what does it actually say? Tristan speaks with Dr Ilona Regulski to explore the stone, the script, and the race to decode it.

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How Ancient Egypt Stayed Egyptian
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The Lost Tomb of Alexander the Great
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We're going on *TOUR* to Australia and New Zealand! - grab your tickets here.

Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds
The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week, plus early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fifty thousand years ago, Neanderthal artists in Ice Age Europe painted symbols and handprints deep inside caves, leaving behind some of the oldest known art on the continent. These discoveries are transforming how we understand our closest human relatives.

Today, Tristan Hughes is joined by Genevieve von Petzinger to explore the fascinating story of Neanderthal art. What kinds of images did Neanderthals create? What did these markings mean? And how might their artistic traditions have influenced the first groups of Homo sapiens who later arrived in Europe?

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Homo Sapiens v Neanderthals
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Lascaux Cave: Ice Age Art
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We're going on *TOUR* to Australia and New Zealand! - grab your tickets here.

Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds
The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week plus early access ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 73 BC, a gladiator escaped slavery and launched a rebellion that shook the Roman Republic to its core. His name was Spartacus, and his uprising became one of the greatest threats Rome had ever faced from within.

Tristan Hughes is joined by Ben Kane to explore the dramatic story of Spartacus and his slave revolt that swept across Italy. Together, they cover the breakout at Capua to the battles against Roman armies and discover how Spartacus transformed a small band of fugitives into a force capable of humiliating Rome. Was he fighting for freedom, revenge, or something more?

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The Roman Centurion
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How to Survive in Ancient Rome
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The Ancients is now on YouTube! Watch here: @TheAncientsPodcast

We're going on *TOUR* to Australia and New Zealand! - grab your tickets here.

Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds
The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.