History: The Interesting Bits

A look at the men and women who've run and, in some cases, won the Oval Office.

History is littered with criminals, con artists, frauds, and fakes. We look at the most interesting from Adam Worth, the 19th-century inspiration for Professor Moriarty, to a jewel thief named ‘Diamond’ Doris and a ‘Count’ who sold the Eiffel Tower to gullible buyers… twice.

Empires and lives have been won and lost over secrets kept and secrets revealed. We look at espionage; meeting spies from Delilah to Roald Dahl and along the way revealing the real model for James Bond. And we ask how many people can know a secret before it isn’t secret anymore?

We discover you can start a war over almost anything, from an unprovoked invasion to a lost ear, a pastry, or a stolen bucket. We look at wars that lasted for centuries and others that were over in minutes and we learn that though it’s easy to start a war it’s far more difficult to end one…

Throughout history, men and women have dedicated themselves to raking in as much wealth as possible; old money, new money, even blood money. But from Robber Barons to Mansa Musa of Mali; how did they get it, how did they spend it, and were they happier than the rest of us…

Love has always been one of the great drivers of history, a drunk driver, without a license. Yet it hurtles on, costing royalty their heads, generals their victories, and many of us our sanity. We explore why, from Liz Taylor to Attila the Hun; the pain is never enough to stop us looking for love.