From frozen festivals to royal polar bears, from wartime recovery to medieval merchants.The River Thames has been the stage for some of Britain's most extraordinary moments.

In this episode, Sarah Castagnetti explores this rich history—from the 13th-century king who kept a polar bear in the river, to a Dutch naval attack that brought war to London's doorstep, and the legendary Thames frost fairs.Three very different Thames stories, all revealing how central this river has been to London's history.

Download the full episode transcript here.

In this episode, we bring you four stories that span two hundred years of British history. Two women leave their families to make a new life together in Wales in 1780, a Manchester drag ball in 1880, a secret gathering space for gay men in 1920s London, and a community archive collected by Black LGBTQ+ Londoners.

For a transcript and information about the documents used in this episode visit our show notes: https://bit.ly/TNALGBTQ1

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The American Revolution didn't just transform North America. It was part of a global struggle involving competing empires, international alliances and conflict at sea.

In the second of our two-part series of On the Record, we explore the global history of the American Revolution through original records held at The National Archives in Kew, London. From intelligence seized at sea and treaties drawn up between nations to proclamations aimed at those with the most to lose, the records reveal a conflict that stretched far beyond Britain's thirteen American colonies.

How did the global dimension of the American Revolution shape the outcome of the war? And how did the conflict transform the roles Britain and America would go on to play in the world?

Séverine Ange and Graham Moore, historians and records specialists at The National Archives, guide us through the second part of our series on the American Revolution.

Records featured in this episode

Explore original records featured in this episode and discover the events that led to the American Revolution in The causes of the American Revolution.

Further listening and resources

• Listen to Part One: The American Revolution: The Other Side of the Story.
• Visit our exhibition, Revolution 250: America's Independence Story, 1763-1783, at The National Archives in Kew, London until 29 November 2026.
• Listen to our three-part series on The Prize Papers.
• Find out more about the Prize Papers project and collections.

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