Life Lessons from History

Life Lessons from History

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Life Lessons from History
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A helping hand from history
Dr David Musgrove asks leading historians for life hacks from the past, to help us live better, healthier, happier, or more productive lives today
 • Dr David Musgrove
Make family mealtimes great again with the Bayeux Tapestry
New research on the purpose of the famous embroidery alerts me to the answer to one of modern life's biggest problems: phones on the dinner table
 • Dr David Musgrove
Why we shouldn't rush to flush, on World Toilet Day: a life lesson from Edo Japan
We can take lessons from Edo Japan about how we deal with our waste, Dr Christopher Harding tells Dr David Musgrove
 • Dr David Musgrove and Christopher Harding
What if there was one more than one Bayeux Tapestry?
Where's Wadard and what has he got to with an exciting new theory about the 11th-century embroidery?
 • Dr David Musgrove
Let’s get things done together, like the builders of Stonehenge did
To counter our modern individualist outlook, let's turn to the example of the community-minded Neolithic builders of stone circles, says Dr Susan…
 • Dr David Musgrove
Leading historians share life lessons from the past to help you live a better, happier and healthier life today. Subscribe for exclusive podcasts and long-reads:

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15:15
Be local, be sustainable, medieval style
Best-selling author and historian Ian Mortimer talks me through what we can learn from our forebears in the Middle Ages about living a sustainable life
 • Dr David Musgrove
16:38
Everyday advice from the Etruscans
Dr Lucy Shipley chats to me about being yourself and not being afraid to make mistakes, in the spirit of the ancient Etruscans. Watch our conversation…
 • Dr David Musgrove
13:18
Find wonder in the world, with the help of Old English riddles
Have a watch of my chat with Dr Eleanor Parker where we talk about how we can use Anglo-Saxon riddles to live more in the moment.
 • Dr David Musgrove
16:47
Beware of labour-saving devices
What does a historian of the Industrial Revolution think of the current technological revolution that we're going through, and how does her knowledge of…
 • Dr David Musgrove
12:21
Filter out the noise, and let the animals in
Professor Mark Stoyle's Life Lesson from History is to seek out some moments of quiet, and particularly see if you can find natural noises to counter…
 • Dr David Musgrove
26:25
Procrastinate to accumulate
What can we learn from Queen Elizabeth I about making decisions by not making decisions? Tracy Borman explains how the Tudor queen had procrastination…
 • Dr David Musgrove
12:50
Worry wisely, like an ancient Babylonian
Dr Selena Wisnom chats to Dave Musgrove about the Mesopotamian way of worrying, and what we can learn from it today
 • Dr David Musgrove
27:09
Is it time to let a little magic into your life?
Listen to my Life Lessons conversation with Professor Ronald Hutton
 • Dr David Musgrove
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