You're Dead to Me BBC Podcasts

In her new series for BBC Radio 4, Mary Beard reveals some of the real people from the Roman Empire - from a slave to an emperor.
Beneath the starched togas and the pungent fug of gladiator sweat there are real Romans waiting to be discovered. Mary Beard uncovers six fascinating stories from the Empire.

In this episode, recorded live at the Shakespeare North Playhouse in Prescot, Greg Jenner is joined by Professor Farah Karim-Cooper and comedian Richard Herring to learn all about the life, legend and legacy of William Shakespeare himself. 2023 marks the 400th anniversary of the publication of the First Folio of Shakespeare’s plays, which preserved his work for future generations. But how did a boy from the Midlands become the most famous playwright in the English-speaking world, and how did the publication of the folio contribute to his legacy? This episode explores Shakespeare’s life, career and dramatic works, as well as the reception of his plays in the centuries after his death, and the creation of his legend in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Research by: Jon Mason
Written by: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Emma Nagouse and Greg Jenner
Produced by: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow and Greg Jenner
Audio Producer: Steve Hankey
Production Coordinator: Caitlin Hobbs
Senior Producer: Emma Nagouse
Executive Editor: Chris Ledgard

In this episode, recorded live at the Shakespeare North Playhouse in Prescot, Greg Jenner is joined by Professor Farah Karim-Cooper and comedian Richard Herring to learn all about the life, legend and legacy of William Shakespeare himself. 2023 marks the 400th anniversary of the publication of the First Folio of Shakespeare’s plays, which preserved his work for future generations. But how did a boy from the Midlands become the most famous playwright in the English-speaking world, and how did the publication of the folio contribute to his legacy? This episode explores Shakespeare’s life, career and dramatic works, as well as the reception of his plays in the centuries after his death, and the creation of his legend in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Research by: Jon Mason
Written by: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Emma Nagouse and Greg Jenner
Produced by: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow and Greg Jenner
Audio Producer: Steve Hankey
Production Coordinator: Caitlin Hobbs
Senior Producer: Emma Nagouse
Executive Editor: Chris Ledgard

In this special Halloween episode, Greg Jenner is joined by Dr Michael Carter and actor Mathew Baynton to learn all about ghost stories in the European Middle Ages. From the 12th century onwards, medieval Europe produced a huge number of ghost stories, often written in monasteries. But why were monks so interested in ghosts? How were ghost stories related to wider Christian beliefs about death and the afterlife? And what happened to these beliefs with the arrival of the Protestant Reformation?
From creepy child ghosts to friendly apparitions via the fires of purgatory, this is a glimpse into the strange, spooky and sometimes sinister side of medieval beliefs.
Research by: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow and Jon Mason
Written by: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Emma Nagouse and Greg Jenner
Produced by: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow and Greg Jenner
Audio Producer: Steve Hankey
Production Coordinator: Caitlin Hobbs
Senior Producer: Emma Nagouse
Executive Editor: Chris Ledgard

Greg Jenner is joined by Dr Vanessa Heggie and comedian Darren Harriott to learn about the bodybuilding boom of the 19th and 20th centuries.
The latter part of the 19th century saw the beginning of a fitness craze where the seeds of the modern-day gym and fitness culture were sown. But physical fitness also tapped into other parts of the psyche of British society at the time. From concerns over the fighting fitness of the British army to the racist pseudoscience of eugenics, this novel leisure activity tells us a surprising amount about the societal and intellectual currents that existed in this period.
For the full-length version of this episode, please look further back in the feed.
Research by Caitlín Rankin-McCabe
Written by Emma Nagouse, Caitlín Rankin-McCabe and Greg Jenner
Produced by Emma Nagouse and Greg Jenner
Assistant Producer: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow
Project Management: Isla Matthews
Audio Producer: Steve Hankey
You’re Dead To Me is a production by The Athletic for BBC Radio 4.

Greg Jenner and his guests discuss the life, times and crimes of Russia's first tsar, the infamous Ivan the Terrible.
Joining Greg are Prof Peter Frankopan from the University of Oxford and Russian-born comedian Olga Koch, whose BBC appearances include OK Computer, Human Error, Fight, QI and The Now Show.
For the full-length version of this episode, please look further back in the feed.
A production by The Athletic for BBC Radio 4.