History Extra podcast

The History Extra podcast brings you gripping stories from the past and fascinating historical conversations with the world's leading historical experts.


Produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine, History Extra is a free history podcast, with episodes released six times a week. Subscribe now for the real stories behind your favourite films, TV shows and period dramas, as well as compelling insights into lesser-known aspects of the past. 

 

We delve into global history stories spanning the ancient world right up to the modern day. You’ll hear deep dives into the lives of famous historical figures like Cleopatra, Anne Boleyn and Winston Churchill, and explorations of intriguing events from the past, such as the Salem witch trials, the battle of Waterloo and D-Day. 

 

Expect fresh takes on history, helping you get to grips with the latest research, as we explore everything from ancient Roman archaeology and Viking mythology to Renaissance royals and Tudor kings and queens. 

 

Our episodes touch on a wide range of historical eras – from the Normans and Saxons to the Stuarts, Victorians and the Regency period. We cover the most popular historical subjects, from the medieval world to the Second World War, but you’ll also hear conversations on lesser-known parts of our past, including black history and women’s history. 

 

Looking at the history behind today’s headlines, we consider the forces that have shaped today’s world, from the imposing empires that dominated continents, to the revolutions that brought them crashing down. We also examine the impact of conflict across the centuries, from the crusades of the Middle Ages and the battles of the ancient Egyptians to World War One, World War Two and the Cold War.  

 

Plus, we uncover the real history behind myths, legends and conspiracy theories, from the medieval murder mystery of the Princes in the Tower, to the assassination of JFK.  

 

Featuring interviews with notable historians including Mary Beard, Tracy Borman, James Holland and Dan Jones, we cover a range of social, political and military history, with the aim to start conversations about some of the most fascinating areas of the past. 

Unlock full access to HistoryExtra.com for 6 months for just 99p https://www.historyextra.com/join/

History
1
The botanists of besieged Leningrad
Simon Parkin reveals the remarkable story of the world's first seed bank and its extraordinary survival against the odds during the siege of Leningrad Between 1941 and 1944, the city of Leningrad was subjected to a brutal siege by Nazi Germany.
32 min
2
The Brothers Grimm: life of the week
The Brothers Grimm are best known for their collections of fairy tales but, as Ann Schmiesing reveals, that was only one of their ambitious projects
31 min
3
Could the US have won the Vietnam war?
Geoffrey Wawro considers the question of whether US firepower in Vietnam could ever have won out against their elusive enemy
51 min
4
The Teutonic Order: everything you wanted to know
Aleks Pluskowski charts the rise and fall of the mighty medieval crusading corporation
49 min
5
The women's orchestra of Auschwitz
Anne Sebba uncovers the extraordinary story of the women's orchestra in Auschwitz
32 min
6
JFK: the man behind the myths
Historian Mark White unpacks JFK’s life and presidency, from his bold leadership in foreign policy to his reckless private behaviour
38 min
7
Fulvia: life of the week
Jane Draycott introduces an extraordinary woman who played a starring role in one of the most explosive periods in ancient history
29 min
8
Simon Schama on the Holocaust
Sir Simon Schama tells the story of the Holocaust – and argues that it was a crime of complicity across Europe
38 min
9
The 'Scramble for Africa': everything you wante...
Professor Richard Reid explains what happened when European imperial powers made land grabs across the African continent between the 1870s and the First World War
37 min
10
A Nazi in Chile: did an SS commander work for P...
Philippe Sands explores the connections between the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet and an architect of the Holocaust who escaped to South America
43 min
11
Tariffs and trade wars: a history of economic w...
Frank Trentmann explores the long history of economic warfare and considers whether today's tariffs are as historically unprecedented as we might think
26 min
12
Funding cuts and culture wars: history behind t...
42 min
13
Why we shouldn't see museum artefacts as 'stolen'
Justin M Jacobs explains why he thinks calls for museum artefacts to be 'returned' to their places of origin are hyperbolic – and ignore the voices of those cultures
41 min
14
The Belle Époque: everything you wanted to know
Mike Rapport discusses life in Paris at the turn of the 20th century – and reveals why it wasn't such a 'beautiful era' for everyone
46 min
15
Body in the basement: Dr Crippen and the 'crime...
Hallie Rubenhold revisits the murder of Belle Elmore in 1910 – and explores why the case became an international cause célèbre
43 min
16
The Philadelphia gun-runners who supplied the IRA
Ali Watkins discusses how US gun-smuggling operations helped change the course of the Troubles
25 min
17
Thomas Becket: life of week
Michael Staunton charts the life of the so-called 'troublesome priest' who was brutally murdered in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170
47 min
18
Why Africa's history is more than just the slav...
Luke Pepera explains why he set out to write a book spanning 500,000 years of Africa's history – and why our focus on slavery has warped our view of the continent's past
34 min
19
The Great Stink: everything you wanted to know
Rosemary Ashton answers listener questions on the sewerage-induced stench that afflicted Victorian London in 1858
35 min
20
Handel's Messiah: the scandalous birth of a cla...
Handel's Messiah is one of the most beloved masterpieces in classical music – Charles King explains how its birth was shaped by revolution, redemption, and unexpected alliances
34 min
21
Women killers of the early modern era
Blessin Adams explores how female murderers were portrayed in early modern Britain – and what their stories reveal about attitudes to gender and crime
30 min
22
Rosa Luxemburg: life of the week
Mark Jones discusses the revolutionary life of Rosa Luxemburg – the socialist firebrand whose convictions put her on a collision course with the jingoism of her age
44 min
23
Women's hidden role in religious reformation
Merry Wiesner-Hanks considers how early modern women transformed religious lives around the world
39 min
24
The history of British homes: everything you wa...
From the window tax and deadly gas irons to history's worst furnishing trends, Deborah Sugg Ryan delves into the history of British homes
43 min
25
Wolfmen and amazons: why did the Greeks and Rom...
Dr Owen Rees reveals why classical Greeks and Romans were so fascinated by the 'barbarians' beyond their borders
30 min