Head to Head

Was German Unification Inevitable?

In January 1871 Bismarck declared the German nation united. Following a tragic 20th century, Germany reunified once more in 1990. Four historians offer their perspectives on both events.

Was Thomas Becket a Saint or an Arrogant Troublemaker?

We ask four historians to consider the reputation of Henry II’s Archbishop of Canterbury, who was murdered 850 years ago this month.

The Chess Game (Portrait of the artist's sisters playing chess)

Was there a Women’s Renaissance?

We ask four historians whether the great advances of the Renaissance were extended to women.

Young Red Army soldiers in Moscow, 1990. Dupont66 (CC BY 4.0).

Could the Soviet Union Have Survived?

We ask four historians of the Cold War whether the demise of the USSR was as inevitable as it now seems.

Lobby card for the film ‘Spitfire’, released in 1943 in the US; re-edited from the 1942 British film, ‘The First of the Few’.

Is the Story of ‘The Few’ More Myth Than Reality?

Eighty years on from the height of the Battle of Britain, four historians confront the nature of this key episode in the Second World War.

The Owl of Athena: Terracotta lekythos (oil flask) c. 490–480 BC. Metropolitan Museum of Art.

What is History?

Four historians consider the most fundamental question of all, one famously posed by E.H. Carr almost 60 years ago.

Who is History’s Worst Political Adviser?

Four historians consider the harm caused by those who should have helped their political masters.

Does Boom Always Follow Bust?

Four historians consider whether the sudden collapse of the world economy caused by the Covid-19 pandemic will be followed by an equally dramatic resurgence.