History's Heroes

BONUS: Eleanor of Aquitaine: Medieval Queen Supreme Part 2

Alex von Tunzelmann meets Dr Eleanor Janega to discuss Eleanor of Aquitaine, the extraordinary medieval woman who became Queen of France, then Queen of England. Dr Janega is a broadcaster and historian who was named after the great queen. Looking at key moments in her life, Alex wants to better understand the queen’s real impact on history and, crucially, whether this medieval icon actually had agency. Stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann shines a light on remarkable people from across history.A BBC Studios Audio production. Producer: Suniti Somaiya Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann Executive Producer: Paul Smith Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts

Eleanor of Aquitaine: Medieval Queen Supreme

Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine was in her 70s when disaster struck in the 1190s. Her sons were often at loggerheads and causing trouble. This time, her crusading son Richard the Lionheart had got into a spot of trouble and got himself kidnapped on his way back from the Holy Land. It was down to Eleanor to save her son, her dynasty and the realm. Stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann shines a light on remarkable people from across history.A BBC Studios Audio production. Producer: Suniti Somaiya Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann Executive Producer: Paul Smith Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts

Eileen Kampakuta Brown and the Anti‑Nuclear Campaign

When a nuclear programme threatens Eileen Kampakuta Brown's traditional land in Australia, she brings together a group of Aboriginal women to resist. Their campaign across the country in a two-door wagon will take them all the way to the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann shines a light on remarkable people from across history.A BBC Studios production. Producer: Michael LaPointe Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann Executive Producer: Paul Smith Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts

Wat Tyler and the Peasants’ Revolt

For six days in thirteen eighty-one, Wat Tyler a mysterious, charismatic figure appears to hold the balance of power in England. Fired by a vision of social equality, he leads a peasants' revolt that threatens to overturn the ruling order.Stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann shines a light on remarkable people from across history.A BBC Studios production.Producer: Michael LaPointe Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann Executive Producer: Paul Smith Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts

Bonus: The Sisters Who Took On A Dictator, Part 2

Alex von Tunzelmann talks to Dominican American writer Julia Alvarez. Her 1994 novel In The Time of the Butterflies, tells the fictionalised account of the Mirabal Sisters, who lost their lives in standing up to the dictator Rafael Trujillo.Alvarez, who was awarded The National Medal of the Arts, spent her childhood years in the Dominican Republic and describes the Mirabals as her “shadow sisters.” In 2001, the novel was adapted into a feature film of the same name, starring Salma Hayek as Minerva Mirabal and Edward James Olmos as Rafael Trujillo.Stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann shines a light on remarkable people from across history.A BBC Studios production.Presented by Alex von Tunzelmann Executive Producer: Paul Smith Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts