Broadcasting

We know the Vikings best as brutal, seafaring, pagan raiders – and that’s an important part of their lives and histories. But it’s only one aspect: what about their love lives, experiences of travels, and attitudes to religion? Speaking with James Osborne, Eleanor Barraclough unpicks the day-to-day lives and culture of the Vikings across their vast – and complicated – geographic domain and timeline.

“Embers of the hands” is a poetic kenning from the Viking Age that referred to gold. But no less precious are the embers that Barraclough blows back to life in this book—those of ordinary lives long past. John Batchelor is the host of CBS Eye on the World, a hard news-analysis radio program featuring interviews with authors and reporters on a range of topics, from current events and world history to the natural sciences.

“Embers of the hands” is a poetic kenning from the Viking Age that referred to gold. But no less precious are the embers that Barraclough blows back to life in this book—those of ordinary lives long past. John Batchelor is the host of CBS Eye on the World, a hard news-analysis radio program featuring interviews with authors and reporters on a range of topics, from current events and world history to the natural sciences.

In this episode, Charlie and Rosie are joined by our friend and very special guest, Eleanor Barraclough, as we explore the roles that media work can play in academic and academic-adjacent career paths. Eleanor shares and reflects on her (extensive) experiences in working with radio, TV, and print media, and we explore topics such as: the challenges of getting into media work; the benefits and sometimes also the drawbacks of working with media outlets while also following an academic career; and we ask what role media work has in an academic career in general.

A narrative history podcast where we’ll go time traveling through women’s history, era by era, immersing ourselves in the lived experiences of historical women. We’ll explore a day in the life of your average woman from a variety of different time periods, countries, and cultures, uncovering both the mundane and the bizarre. In this series we’re exploring what life was like for women in the Viking Age.

Vikings and Valkyries have captivated our imaginations for centuries, with greater and lesser degrees of historical accuracy. But as so often happens, the very people reading Snorri Sturluson or the Sagas of Icelanders today are the ones who were left out of history to begin with—the ordinary people doing the quietly heroic work of farming, midwifing, blacksmithing, and any number of difficult daily tasks. In her new book, Embers of the Hands: Hidden Histories of the Viking Age, the historian Eleanor Barraclough puts ordinary people at the center of the story. 

In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara is joined by historian, BBC broadcaster and writer, Eleanor Barraclough. They discuss Eleanor’s new book, Embers of the Hands: Hidden Histories of the Viking Age. 

Best of November Books with Patrick Geoghegan

In today’s episode, Tom and Dominic are joined by Dr Eleanor Barraclough as they sail across the Atlantic in a dragon-ship, bound for the epic world of the Norse sagas. What society did the Vikings set up in Iceland? How did they get to America? Why were they always so violent?

In this series exploring the sights and stories of Europe’s most historic cities, Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough leads an expedition through the Norwegian capital’s lengthy history.  In episode seven of this new series exploring the sights and stories of Europe’s most beautiful, intriguing and historic cities, travel journalist Paul Bloomfield is joined by historian, author and broadcaster Dr Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough for a journey around Oslo. Together, they explore the city’s Viking origins, medieval fortifications, modern museums and its scenic hinterland, and meet some of the characters who influenced its evolution. Plus, Eleanor offers up some top advice for history-loving globetrotters.

What myths did the Norse believe, and what influence did they exert on daily life? Was the trickster god Loki really that bad, and was Odin really that wise? And why is Christianity a crucial part of the story? Speaking to Kev Lochun, historian and broadcaster Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough answers listener questions about the pantheon of Norse myths, from the yawning void of Ginnungagap to the end of days, Ragnarok.

Few people in European history have had as many stories told about them as the Vikings. We know about them from novels, films, TV series and games. But telling stories about the Vikings is nothing new. In fact the richest stories come from the Middle Ages in the form of sagas that were mainly written down in Iceland. As part of her special month of episodes exploring the Vikings on Gone Medieval, Dr. Cat Jarman meets Medievalist Dr. Eleanor Barraclough to explore the sagas and sort out the facts from the fiction about the Vikings.