{"podcast":{"title":"History's Heroes","slug":"history-s-heroes-6396729","podcast_index_feed_id":6396729,"rss_url":"https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/m001mcbp.rss","website_url":"http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001mcbp","image_url":"http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/3000x3000/p0mq65jd.jpg","author":"BBC","episode_count":90,"summary":"History's Heroes: the BBC's breathtaking, high stakes, story-led history podcast feed that shines a light on extraordinary people from across history. Series include 'History's Heroes' with narration from Historian Alex von Tunzelmann, 'History's Toughest Heroes' with narration from Ray Winstone, 'History's Youngest Heroes' with narration from Nicola Coughlan and 'History's Secret Heroes' with narration from Helena Bonham Carter. In History's Heroes, Historian Alex von Tunzelmann (Radio 4's The History Podcast: The Lucan Obsession/writer of all the History's Heroes series) shines a light on the inspiring and unusual stories of courage, pioneering and people who used their voice to spark change. Heroes covered include groundbreaking surgeon Harold Gillies, composers Rodgers and Hammerstein and swimming champion Gertrude Ederle. Join Alex for stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone. In History's Toughest Heroes, Ray Winstone reveals wild, true stories of adventurers, rebels and survivors. Heroes covered include arctic explorer Peter Freuchen, Hollywood stunt woman Kitty O'Neil and medieval knight William Marshal. Join Ray for tales of fearsome heroes…","last_synced_at":"2026-07-22T00:17:38.974873+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/history-s-heroes-6396729"},"episode":{"title":"BONUS: The Sisters Who Took On A Dictator, Part 2","slug":"bonus-the-sisters-who-took-on-a-dictator-part-2","published_at":"2026-01-20T05:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/history-s-heroes-6396729/bonus-the-sisters-who-took-on-a-dictator-part-2","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/history-s-heroes-6396729","url":"http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0mq45vd","audio_url":"http://open.live.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/6/redir/version/2.0/mediaset/audio-nondrm-download-rss/proto/http/vpid/p0mq46d9.mp3","summary":"Alex von Tunzelmann talks to Dominican American writer Julia Alvarez. Her 1994 novel In The Time of the Butterflies, tells the fictionalised account of the Mirabal Sisters, who lost their lives in standing up to the dictator Rafael Trujillo. Alvarez, who was awarded The National Medal of the Arts, spent her childhood years in the Dominican Republic and describes the Mirabals as her “shadow sisters.” In 2001, the novel was adapted into a feature film of the same name, starring Salma Hayek as Minerva Mirabal and Edward James Olmos as Rafael Trujillo. Stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann shines a light on remarkable people from across history. A BBC Studios production. Presented by Alex von Tunzelmann Executive Producer: Paul Smith Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts","meta_description":"Alex von Tunzelmann talks to Dominican American writer Julia Alvarez. Her 1994 novel In The Time of the Butterflies, tells the fictionalised account of th…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1502,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/history-s-heroes-6396729/episodes/bonus-the-sisters-who-took-on-a-dictator-part-2/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/history-s-heroes-6396729/bonus-the-sisters-who-took-on-a-dictator-part-2.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}