BBC Studios has launched a new narrative podcast revisiting defining moments of recent history.
The History Bureau is a new podcast series that reunites journalists with the stories they originally reported. It asks what they got right at the time and what may have been missed amid the pressure and confusion of events as they unfolded.
The show draws on the BBC’s global reporting network and archive, using hindsight to reassess how those moments shaped the world that followed.
In the first season, Putin and the Apartment Bombs, focuses on one of modern Russia’s most disputed and consequential episodes.
In September 1999, four apartment buildings were bombed during the night, killing hundreds of people and spreading fear across the country just weeks after Vladimir Putin became prime minister.
At the time, the Russian government blamed Chechen militants, a conclusion widely reported by journalists covering the attacks.
However, alternative theories and suspicions of a darker conspiracy have persisted for more than two decades, with the bombings often cited as a key moment in Putin’s rise to power.
More than 25 later, the seven-part series brings together reporters who were on the ground in 1999 to re-examine what happened, what evidence was available, and how official narratives formed so quickly.
The aim is not simply to retell the story, but to explore how uncertainty, access and political pressure shaped coverage at the time.
Hosted by Helena Merriman, each episode runs for around 30 minutes and is designed to be listened to as a continuous narrative.
Helena says: “Revisiting the 1999 apartment bombings isn’t just about relitigating the past, it’s about understanding the forces that shaped modern Russia and the world we live in today.
“The events remain shrouded in questions and controversy, and I’m delighted to be working with the BBC and these incredible journalists to shine a light back on this story uncovering new insights for our listeners.”
Annie Brown, Executive Editor of BBC Studios Audio, said the new podcast takes advantage of two resources unique to the BBC: its century-old archive and its worldwide network of correspondents, allowing stories to be re-examined with clarity that was not possible at the time.
Episodes one to three of The History Bureau: Putin and the Apartment Bombs are available now on BBC Sounds and other podcast platforms, with new episodes released daily until Friday, 16 January.
The series will also air weekly on BBC Radio 4 from 21 January at 09.30, with international listeners able to access episodes via BBC.com.
