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
A short history of ghost hunting
37 min
2
Becoming Jane Austen
25 min
3
Ghosts, gods & sea monsters: a supernatural his...
Karl Bell dives into the eerie and enchanting folklore of the Atlantic Ocean, revealing how supernatural stories helped sailors navigate a perilous world
30 min
4
The summer that changed everything for the Kenn...
Leigh Straw takes listeners into the pivotal summer of 1944 at the Kennedys' Cape Cod summer home, where scandal and personal loss collided to reshape the destiny of America’s most famous political family
34 min
5
Margaret Beaufort: life of the week
Lauren Johnson charts how Margaret Beaufort skilfully navigated the chaos of the 15th century – and ultimately gave us the Tudor dynasty
43 min
6
Idi Amin's willing helpers
37 min
7
“You can’t kill and maim with impunity”: the po...
33 min
8
Assassins vs Templars
46 min
9
WW2's Tunisian campaign: the Stalingrad of Africa
Saul David explains why the 1942-3 Tunisian campaign should be viewed as one of the decisive moments of the Second World War
42 min
10
Empress Matilda: life of the week
Catherine Hanley reassesses the legacy of Empress Matilda, revealing a story that shines a spotlight on how gender and power collided in the 12th century
38 min
11
How warhorses transformed medieval England
From Hastings to Bosworth, Robert Liddiard and Oliver H Creighton reveal how cavalry shaped a nation's history
32 min
12
Did the Nazis get a fair trial?
34 min
13
Forgotten female secret agents of WW2
Kate Vigurs reveals the stories of little-known women who parachuted into occupied European territory as secret agents during WW2
31 min
14
What causes cultures to decline and fall?
Islam Issa, Caroline Dodds Pennock and Luke Kemp explore what causes a culture to collapse – and whether history has any lessons for us in the 21st century
40 min
15
Christopher Marlowe: life of the week
Stephen Greenblatt sheds light on the brief life of playwright Christopher Marlowe, one of the great rivals of William Shakespeare, whose death in a Deptford tavern in 1593 still leaves a great many unanswered questions
39 min
16
Uprising: the Civil Wars untangled
Rebecca Rideal and Jonathan Healey uncover the dramatic events that led to the execution of Charles I
33 min
17
The Nazis’ crimes laid bare
42 min
18
What does Hitler’s DNA really tell us?
44 min
19
Mutilated corpses and undead mothers-in-law: va...
John Blair charts how fears of the undead rising from their graves have recurred in societies around the globe throughout history
35 min
20
The problem with poo: a millennium of manure
Manure was a valuable product that underpinned the medieval economy, but why do we now see excrement as something to get rid of, rather than to make use of? Richard Jones explains...
31 min
21
James Garfield: life of the week
CW Goodyear introduces US president James Garfield, the 20th man to hold the office, who died after being shot in 1881
52 min
22
A new history of multicultural Britain
Kieran Connell offers a fresh look at Britain's multicultural history in the years after the Second World War – from Cardiff docks to Birmingham cafes
38 min
23
What should we do with the Nazis? The road to t...
37 min
24
Who stole the Tudor crown?
Tracy Borman shares explosive new research that challenges what we thought we knew about the end of Elizabeth I's reign
30 min
25
The librarian who stole KGB secrets
Gordon Corera introduces Vasili Mitrokhin, a Soviet archivist whose quiet rebellion exposed the deepest secrets of the KGB
28 min