Cultural

Martin Kemp explores the complex and ambiguous relationships between humans and animals in their depictions by artists, and investigates the ways in which animal characteristics have been used to mirror human foibles.

Richard Cavendish remembers the life of Louis B. Mayer, who died on October 29th, 1957.

Laurence Rees, whose work as a TV historian has brought him face to face with many people involved in mass killings, discusses the opportunities and dangers of oral history.

Mark Bryant takes a look at a pioneering magazine that acted as a school for a whole generation of cartoonists. 

As Britain gets used to the ban on smoking in public spaces, Virginia Berridge looks at the way attitudes to public health have changed in the last fifty years, particularly among the medical profession.

Will the new super-casinos bring about the demise of the commercial bingo hall? Carolyn Downs traces the history of the game back to the eighteenth century and finds that then – as now – it had a strong attraction for women gamblers.

Colin Jacobson looks at the history of a pioneering photojournalism magazine.

Daniel Snowman gives his verdict on this history of the Promenade concerts.

How did Washington Post cartoonist Clifford Kennedy Berryman – with a little help from Theodore Roosevelt – spark the creation of the world’s favourite soft toy?

Kevin Shillington looks at the impact on Africa of the slave trade, and its abolition 200 years ago this month.