Here for the History

Do you ever feel like work is taking over your life? Well, society didn’t always place so much value on work ethic.
Ben Henderson and Alice Loxton uncover the surprising history behind our modern obsession with hard work.
First, medieval marriage reforms transformed people’s relationship with work. Then, monastic orders and the Protestant Reformation framed hard work as sacred. Finally, the industrial revolution kickstarted our modern fixation on productivity.
Key Sources:
The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous - Prof Joseph Henrich.
Time, Work-Discipline, and Industrial Capitalism - E. P. Thompson.
Blood, Sweat and Tears: The Evolution of Work - Richard Donkin.
The Corrosion of Character: The Personal Consequences of Work in the New Capitalism - Prof Richard Sennett.
Slavery, Capitalism and the Industrial Revolution - Prof Maxine Berg & Prof Pat Hudson.

For centuries leaving the house without a hat would be like leaving the house without your phone or keys - you simply wouldn’t do it. But these days, headwear is an optional add on - a fashion choice, a weather protector, or found on the head of a wedding guest.
Alice and Ben look under the brim of history to find out what on earth happened to the ubiquity of the hat?
We’ll cover a parent’s desperate tactic to keep a son out of trouble, there are highwaymen, practical jokes, and a British supermodel.
Key Sources:
The Cultural, Social, and Ideological Role of the Hat in Early Modern England - Professor Bernard Capp
Dress for Deference and Dissent: Hats and the decline of Hat Honour - Professor Penelope J. Corfield
Hats - Fiona Clark

Dogs are man’s best friend - but has it always been that way?
Ben Henderson and Alice Loxton look into how humans and dogs first got acquainted, we’ll hear about the tough lives of medieval dogs, and we’ll reveal how the Victorians forged our modern relationship with our canine friends.
This episode contains a brief description of cruelty to animals. Listener discretion is advised.
Key sources:
Collared: How We Made the Modern Dog - Professor Chris Pearson.
Man and the natural world: Changing attitudes in England 1500-1800 - Sir Keith Thomas.
The Hardworking Dogs of Medieval Europe - Livia Gershon.
Dog, Natural Histories - BBC Radio 4.

It was the vicar that did it! In the billiards room! With a candlestick!
To many fans of a murder mystery, this is perhaps a familiar sounding phrase from a classic “whodunit”. But just how did this endlessly popular genre come to be?
Alice and Ben leaf back through the pages of history to uncover just where “whodunits” came from, who invented them, and how they’ve endured centuries of changing tastes.
They will discuss multiple lines of inquiry; from our historical appetite for the gruesome and thrilling; to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; Agatha Christie; and even the impact of the World Wars.
Key Sources:
Agatha Christie: A Very Short Introduction - Professor Gill Plain
The TV Crime Drama - Professor Sue Turnbull
Forever England: Femininity, Literature, and Conservatism Between the Wars - Alison Light
Agatha Christie: Lucy Worsley on the Mystery Queen - BBC / Lucy Worsley
Caught in the Web of Words: Whodunit - Ken Liss

Ben Henderson and Alice Loxton explore how Renaissance books on courtly conduct inspired an era of civility.
They untangle the 18th century age of politeness, and we’ll find out how the Victorians shaped the way we behave today.
But are manners getting worse?
Key Sources:
Sorry! The English and Their Manners - Henry Hitchings.
In Pursuit of Civility: Manners and Civilization in Early Modern England - Keith Thomas.
Thomas Hoby’s translation of Castiglione’s Book of the Courtier - Mary Partridge, The Historical Journal.
The Duel in Early Modern England - Markku Peltonen.
In Our Time, Politeness - BBC Radio 4.