Fierce City: A London History Podcast

In which we meet London's most famous royal mistress, and follow her as she conquers the theatre, the public and the heart of King Charles II.

In which a gang of elderly criminals pull off the caper of the century. Featuring: impenetrable vaults, diamonds and gold, shady accomplices and a mysterious cassette tape. 

In which we roam the halls of London’s museums, mainly the British Museum, and figure out where all those precious objects, stones, marbles and bronze heads originally came from. Featuring shady English earls, amazing African empires, and spooky ghost stations.

In which Vivienne Westwood meets Malcolm McLaren, makes the Kings Road cool again and invents the punk look. Featuring the Sex Pistols, 1970s London and the world's least consumer-friendly shop.

In which Londoners in the early 1700s enjoy their gin, the toffs try and take it away from them, and the street hawkers come up with some ingenious ways to keep everyone sozzled. Featuring the gin vending machine, a shocked queen and a slice of life from Hogarthian London.

In which the Suffragettes battle the police to reach the doors of Parliament. Featuring: Churchill, Mrs Pankhurst, a gang of roughs, and a band of tough ladies.

In which we find out how people entertained and fed themselves in London at Christmas from the 14th to 20th centuries. Featuring: mince pies, holly-sellers, the workhouse, Boxing Day and the gerdurken, the pie of many animals. 

In which three young rebels use art to defy the establishment and form a secret society. Can their friendship survive public scandal and romantic passion? Featuring: Victorian supermodels, the Royal Academy, hat shop culture and some of the most famous paintings of all time.

In which we flee in horror from the infamous London Monster, and learn there's never a dull moment when you're caught up in the crowds of 18th-century London. Featuring a mob, the Old Bailey, pickpockets and the Bow Street Runners.

In which we visit Number 10 Downing Street for the second time. Pick a card, any card to play... Downing Street Cats and Catastrophes. Featuring Larry the Chief Mouser, Winston Churchill, Margot Asquith, and a host of political animals. 

In which we learn how Notting Hill Carnival came to be, the two very different women who founded it, and - along the way - the five elements that make up carnival: calypso, steel drums, soca, reggae and masquerade. 

In which we invite you, the dear listener, to guess which of our Sherlock Holmes "facts" are true and which are false. A special episode on the greatest consulting detective in London's long and chequered history of crime.

In which Wilde fights for love and becomes a reluctant martyr for gay rights.    Oscar Wilde is a man who needs no introduction and in this episode we chronicle Wilde's downfall across three trials which put gay people under a microscope and saw Wilde pitted against the moralistic sensibilities of Victorian era London.

In which we visit the boggy ground of Downing Street for the first time. Over the centuries, a rogue's gallery of residents has occupied 10 Downing Street, from debauched aristocrats to maverick adventuresses. We find out how Downing Street came to be, and tell a few stories from its very colourful past. Fierce City is hosted by PJ and Satu. For more visit fiercecity.co.uk

In which skirts get shorter and Vogue gets an avant-garde lesbian editor. Who was the first editor British Vogue and what was it like to have that job? In the 1920s, Vogue's editors had great artistic vision and sometimes unconventional personal lives. We find out how avant-garde art and fashion collided to forge Britain's Fashion Bible. Fierce City is hosted by PJ and Satu. For more visit fiercecity.co.uk

In which an elephant gets drunk and Christopher Wren appears. The Tower of London Menagerie was open for 600 years: take a tour around the zoo of kings and across the centuries, fromslightly singed lions to a crooked giraffe. Find out about their weird diets and how the animals fought back.  Fierce City is hosted by PJ and Satu. For more visit fiercecity.co.uk