Journey Through Time

Paranoid predictions of crime fill the newspapers - so how will the well-to-do react to the incoming crowds of the working-class?From Harrods to the Eiffel Tower, what iconic attractions do we have The Great Exhibition to thank for? Did this 'Peace Festival' unite a nation or expose the deep-seated class divisions of Victorian society? Join Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga on Journey Through Time as they delve into the surprising reality of the Great Exhibition's success. To find out more

The Great Exhibition is to open in May 1851 and millions of people will descend on the capital to marvel at exhibitions of culture and industry. Victorian engineering and determination will transform one million square feet of glass into the Crystal Palace in London’s Hyde Park in just five months, ready to house the wares of the world. However, this celebration of progress also exposed the stark inequalities of Victorian society, as the wealthy of West London contemplated the arrival of vast

From the trading floor of Wall Street to the campaign trail, Victoria Woodhull was a force to be reckoned with. Sadly, her scandalous presidential campaign ends in disaster, and she spends election night in a cell. She’s been arrested for trying to expose the hypocrisy of one of America's most revered figures, the preacher Henry Ward Beecher, and his secret affair. Victoria Woodhull’s explosive confrontation with societal hypocrisy caused her downfall and eventual departure for England. Discover

The American public is outraged by the announcement of a woman running for president. The year is 1872 and the candidate is Victoria Woodhull. Victoria Woodhull’s fascinating life started in a rural frontier town in Ohio. By age twelve she had become her family’s main breadwinner, working as a travelling spiritual medium and faith healer. Her eccentric yet poor beginnings provided no clues that she would end up the first woman to run for president of the United States. After a marriage

New York harbour erupts with an explosion as Black Tom island is ripped apart. The shock waves ripple out around Manhattan and New Jersey, shattering windows miles away and even registering on the Richter scale. However, despite the widespread destruction, the attack was downplayed as an accident by the US authorities and it was only years later that the truth of the event came to light. Despite its absence from public knowledge, the explosion at Black Tom island has a seismic legacy. It played a

New York, 1916. America is supposedly neutral in the war but they are shipping huge quantities of supplies to the allies. However, it being a nation of immigrants means loyalties across the United States are divided and members of the German-American community are causing trouble. Led by Franz von Papen and funded from Berlin, a ring of spies and saboteurs are trying to disrupt these arms shipments any way they can. Soon their eyes will turn to Black Tom Island, America’s largest arms depot, which

Join historians Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga on Journey Through Time, as they expose forgotten history, and bring to light extraordinary events you should have heard of. Journey through Time, a new show from Goalhanger.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices