The botanists of besieged Leningrad
HistoryExtra podcast
04/15/25
•36m
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Cut off from the outside world and with food and other essentials dwindling, it's estimated that upwards of one million people died. Yet throughout this ordeal, a group of indomitable scientists risked their lives to protect the world's first seed bank. Danny Bird speaks to writer Simon Parkin about the Plant Institute's pioneering work and the astonishing fortitude of the men and women who laboured to preserve a unique botanical collection amid unimaginable conditions.
(Ad) Simon Parkin is the author of The Forbidden Garden of Leningrad: A True Story of Science and Sacrifice in a City under Siege (Sceptre, 2024). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Forbidden-Garden-Leningrad-Science-Sacrifice/dp/1399714554/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty.
The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
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(Ad) Ann Schmiesing is the author of The Brothers Grimm: A Biography (Yale University Press, 2025). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Brothers-Grimm-Biography-Ann-Schmiesing/dp/0300221754/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty.
The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
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The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
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