The Medieval Light Ages
Guest: Seb Falk, Instructor of Medieval History and the History of Science at Cambridge University, and author of "The Light Ages: The Surprising Story of Medieval Science"
The Middle Ages are often remembered as the Dark Ages for the sweeping bubonic plague. However, it was also the Middle Ages that saw science emerge as a field of inquiry. Spurred by religious motives, this era saw developments in astronomy, mechanical clocks, modern calendars, mathematical theory, and universities. Perhaps the Dark Ages weren’t so dark after all.

The Middle Ages: Cleaner Than We Thought
Guest: Katherine Harvey, Medieval Historian at Birkbeck, University of London
Even without indoor plumbing, people in the Middle Ages were aware of—and attentive to—cleanliness much more than we've given them credit for.