The National Archives Podcast Series

Jeff James discusses the records that reveal the dreadful reality of life on board prison hulks for the men, women and children detained on them.

A discussion on British invention and innovation during the Second World War

Professor Christopher Andrew, official historian of MI5, introduces highlights from the 28th Security Service records release to The National Archives.

In the mid-19th century, the Zanzibar slave market was notorious as the last place on earth where human beings could still be bought and sold.

Specialist knowledge of merchant seafaring is a boon when identifying men and women and interpreting their lives in one of the most sophisticated 19th and early 20th century sources increasingly used by family history researchers.

The examination of documents reveals how the 1864 murder of Thomas Briggs caused a sensation in Victorian society

The National Archives held a one day conference at Kew on Saturday 1 October 2011. The conference brought together an audience wanting to know more about the census, from genealogists to local and social historians.

A thought-provoking journey through thousands of years of development of family history record keeping and record preservation.

Professor David Carpenter explores what light these records can shed on the reign of Henry III, and how people can use the fine rolls resource in their own research.

Sarah Hutton examines the effect of disease on settled and transient port communities in 19th century Britain.

At the age of five years, Duleep Singh found himself on the golden throne of the Punjab, one of the most powerful independent kingdoms in India and a thorn in the advancement of the British Empire. After the Sikh Wars against the British Empire, the infant ruler was separated from his mother, surrendered the famed Koh-i-Noor diamond and was removed from power by the East India Company.

An overview of newly-released government files from 1981 including discussion of the major stories of the year. From urban riots and IRA hunger strikes to splits in Cabinet over economic policy, 1981 was an extremely challenging year for Mrs Thatcher's Conservative government. Contemporary records specialists Mark Dunton and Simon Demissie delve into the files for new revelations. Introduced by Tommy Norton.

A look at all aspects of the census and at what this rich source of information can tell us about our ancestors and society through the ages.

Dr Louise Chambers investigates why, in the 1950s, the Ministry of Pensions was inundated with requests by individuals to change their gender identity on their employment and pension records.

Dr Chater's talk challenges commonly held assumptions that have been made about the lives of black Britons during the period of the British slave trade.

A look at all aspects of the census and at what this rich source of information can tell us about our ancestors and society through the ages.

A look at how the government of the 1790s attempted to address both food shortages and the riots that broke out as real want and scarcity took hold in many districts.

Andrew Janes explains how you can research details of Second World War bombing incidents using the Ministry of Home Security"s Bomb Census.

Mark Dunton gives a historical overview of HM Treasury, before moving to an outline of the main sources, supported by some interesting document examples.

This talk gives an overview of online sources for English burial and cemetery records, including which of the major London cemeteries have online records.