When the first Christians began proclaiming Christ crucified and risen, they landed a missile in the foundations of ancient paganism. Something had occurred which rendered the belief systems of that world utterly obsolete.

A vast global market in stolen and forged art and artefacts has only grown in the context of the pandemic, but technology and international policing may be catching up

Empty shelves need not mean dreary eating

Mary Beard emerges with a portrait of the emperors’ afterlives as vivid as the busts themselves

The joy of letting unexpected, accidental music in

Woefully out of touch and with falling congregations, the Church of England faces a crisis of leadership and theology

Welcome back to The Critic Narrated, where we bring you a selection of articles from our print issues, read aloud by their authors.  In this episode, Sarah Ditum reveals the joy of letting unexpected, accidental music in as she narrates her column from the December/January issue of The Critic: “Strange Brew”, while David Scullion says the Church of England are woefully out of touch and with falling congregations, now faces a crisis of leadership and theology, as he reads his feature: “Remotely wishing you a Merry Christmas”.  Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and iTunes to ensure you never you never miss an episode. -- Music: “Modern Jazz Samba” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this episode of Black's History Week, Professor Jeremy Black talks to The Critic's deputy editor, Graham Stewart, about why Britain, France and the Ottoman Empire found themselves fighting together against Russia in the Crimea. Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and iTunes to ensure you never you never miss an episode. -- Image: Battle of Inkerman, 5 November 1854. Wars. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images) Music: Radetzky March by Human Symphony Orchestra (premiumbeat.com)

A narration of Boris Starling's column from the November issue of The Critic.

A narration of David Starkey's column, 'Welcome back to reality, feminists', from the November issue of The Critic.

A narration of the Hot House column from the November issue of The Critic.

In this episode, David Starkey says Feminists like Stock have made a belated rediscovery of biological reality in his column ‘Welcome back to reality, feminists’, while Boris Starling outlines the latest rivalry in F1 in ‘Top Guns of the Track’ and Claudia Savage-Gore drags woke Will back to therapy.  Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and iTunes to ensure you never you never miss an episode. -- Music: “Modern Jazz Samba” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this edition of Black's History Week, Professor Jeremy Black, whose books on the period include Waterloo and the forthcoming The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars - Strategies for a World War, talks to The Critic's deputy editor, Graham Stewart, about why and how Europe was engulfed in wars with France between 1792 and 1815. Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and iTunes to ensure you never you never miss an episode. -- Image: Waterloo by Charles Auguste Guillaume Steuben (circa 19th century). Vintage etching circa 19th century. Music: Radetzky March by Human Symphony Orchestra (premiumbeat.com)

Hello and welcome back to The Critic Narrated, where we bring you a selection of articles from our print issues, read aloud by their authors.  In this episode, Lisa Hilton reads her piece ‘How Britiain really eats’, where she relays how she enjoys a Thai feast that shows that fiery and exotic has now become mainstream. Henry Hill says a new breed of “muscular unionists” is seeking to reverse the damage done by devolution, as he narrates his feature: ‘Putting muscle behind the Union’ and our Secret Author says we need heavyweights to separate good from back, in this month’s column: 'Bring back the panjandrums'. Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and iTunes to ensure you never you never miss an episode. -- Music: “Modern Jazz Samba” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

A narration of the feature, 'Putting Muscle Behind the Union' by Henry Hill from the November issue of The Critic.

A narration of the Eating Out column from the November Issue of The Critic.

A narration of the Secret Author column from the November Issue of The Critic.

As President Macron climbs down on his deadline to punish Britain over fishing licences, David Scullion asks Patrick O'Flynn whether Britain is getting the better of the French, or if the post-Brexit deal has left UK fishermen high and dry.  Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and iTunes to ensure you never you never miss an episode. -- Image: The Scottish scallop trawler "Cornelis-Gert Jan" leaves the northern French port of Le Havre after being granted permission by French port authorities on November 3, 2021, after being held for days amid a post-Brexit dispute over fishing rights between France and Great Britain. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP) (Photo by SAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP via Getty Images) Music: “Modern Jazz Samba” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Welcome back to The Critic Narrated, where we bring you a selection of articles from our print issues, read aloud by their authors.  In this episode, Robert Hutton reads the secret diary of Boris and Carrie Johnson's dog, Dilyn, as he attends Glasgow COP26, Josephine Bartosch, author and campaigner for women’s rights narrates her feature, 'Turning victims into folk devils' and Robert Thicknesse reads his November Opera column, ‘Hot Valks Live!’. Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and iTunes to ensure you never you never miss an episode. -- Music: “Modern Jazz Samba” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Were warfare and the state's role in military affairs transformed between 1500 and 1800? In this edition of Black's History Week, Professor Jeremy Black, author of A Short History of War explores and debunks some generalisations about war in early modern Europe. Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and iTunes to ensure you never you never miss an episode. -- Image: Battle of Lepanto, October 1571. The fleets of Spain, Venice and the Pope, under the command of Don Juan of Austria, defeated the Turks in the last great sea battle involving galleys. From the National Maritime Museum, London. (Photo by Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images) Music: Radetzky March by Human Symphony Orchestra (premiumbeat.com)