ComedyStand-UpHistory

Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics

BBC Radio 4

Natalie Haynes takes a fresh look at the ancient world, creating stand-up routines about figures from ancient Greece and Rome.

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26 episodes
Avg 27 min
English

Episodes 26

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September 10 · 27 min
Medea
Natalie tells the tragic story of Euripides' Medea to a rapt audience at the Hay Festival.
September 4 · 27 min
Roman True Crime
Natalie takes on a truly cold case, the unsolved murder of a woman in 2nd-century Rome.
August 27 · 27 min
The Argonautica
Natalie narrates Jason and the Argonauts' epic quest to find the Golden Fleece.
August 20 · 27 min
Hypatia
The Greek mathematician and philosopher who vanished from history because she was a woman.
August 13 · 27 min
The Oracle at Delphi
Natalie offers a helpful guide to using the Oracle to get answers to your big questions.
August 6 · 27 min
Nero
Did the Boy Emperor in fact fiddle while Rome burned?
July 30 · 27 min
Alexandria: The Science
Natalie's joined by Islam Issa and Adam Rutherford to reveal stellar scientific inventions
Sep 2, 2025 · 27 min
The Aeneid
In a tour de force solo performance, Natalie takes on Virgil's great poem in 28 minutes.
Aug 26, 2025 · 27 min
Hestia
The overlooked Olympian who was the resolutely unmarried goddess of the hearth and home
Aug 19, 2025 · 27 min
Catullus
The brilliant Roman love poet is the poster boy for teen angst.
Aug 12, 2025 · 27 min
Hera
The queen of the Olympian gods is swallowed by her father then marries her brother Zeus.
Aug 5, 2025 · 28 min
The Women Poets of Ancient Greece
Natalie tells the stories of the Nine Earthly Muses. With Edith Hall and Nikita Gill.
Jul 29, 2025 · 27 min
Alexandria: The Library
Natalie explores the great library of Alexandria. With Edith Hall and Islam Issa.
Jul 22, 2025 · 27 min
Alexandria: The City
Natalie tells the story of the ancient city of Alexandria. With Islam Issa and Edith Hall.
Dec 27, 2024 · 27 min
Saturnalia
Natalie Haynes celebrates Saturnalia with guests André Vincent and Llewelyn Morgan.
Aug 12, 2024 · 27 min
Tacitus
The great historian of imperial Rome, Tacitus can persuade you of just about anything.
Aug 5, 2024 · 27 min
Aesop
The best-known author from antiquity, famed for his fables. But did he really exist?
Jul 29, 2024 · 27 min
Artemis
Predator, hunter, archer, daughter of Zeus, queen of wild creatures: the goddess Artemis.
Jul 22, 2024 · 27 min
Aphrodite
The Greek goddess of love, desire and beauty, Aphrodite is mostly depicted naked, or wet.
Jul 15, 2024 · 27 min
Hesiod
Prize-winning poet, cataloguer of gods and author of a flatpack wagon manual: Hesiod.

Showing 1–20 of 26 episodes