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
26
Aneurin Bevan: life of the week
Dr Nye Davies explores the life of Aneurin Bevan, the Welsh coal miner-turned-politician who was behind Britain's National Health Service
39 min
27
Bandits & blasphemers: crime in 17th century Sc...
Allan Kennedy unpacks what looking at crime and punishment can reveal about Scottish values in the 17th century
47 min
28
The Normans: everything you wanted to know
44 min
29
How Julius Caesar's funeral drama fuelled the mob
Jessica Clarke unearths the subtle counterplot that turned the political tides against Julius Caesar's assassins
25 min
30
The dark side of Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys is one of the most famous diarists in history, but as Guy de la Bédoyère suggests, he also had a disturbingly dark side
34 min
31
Margaret Tudor: life of the week
Helen Newsome-Chandler charts the life of the medieval queen and mother through her letters and correspondence
41 min
32
Britain's female slaveowners: the heiresses who...
Miranda Kaufmann reveals how 'Caribbean heiresses' who married into the British aristocracy brought the profits of slavery to Britain 
34 min
33
Roman homes: everything you wanted to know
Hannah Platts offers up a tour through the spaces that shaped daily life in the Roman world
47 min
34
Preview: Should historians be celebrities?
7 min
35
Queer life in Georgian Britain
Anthony Delaney explores the lives and loves of same-sex attracted and gender non-conforming people in the Georgian period
46 min
36
Breaking news! How stories spread in early mode...
Joad Raymond Wren looks at how news was shared across Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries, uncovering a complex network of communication 
34 min
37
Robert Peel: life of the week
Richard Gaunt revisits the eventful parliamentary career of 19th-century politician and prime minister Robert Peel
44 min
38
The German Peasants' War: a summer of fire and ...
Lyndal Roper explores the course of the popular uprising that shook Europe to its core in the early 16th century
43 min
39
Art Deco: everything you wanted to know
From its flourishing in post-WWI Paris to its expansion through ocean liners and international expositions – and the London Underground – Emma Bastin reveals how Art Deco was a visual language of aspiration and change across the world during the interwar period 
35 min
40
America in Korea: a failed occupation?
Professor Kornel Chang revisits the three-year US occupation of the southern half of Korea that followed the Second World War, to see if opportunities were missed to prevent the bloodshed and division that followed
42 min
41
The real Miss Moneypennys: the secret history o...
Author Claire Hubbard-Hall explores the untold stories of women in British intelligence, from early MI6 agents to the real-life Miss Moneypenny
43 min
42
Andrew Carnegie: life of the week
David Nasaw introduces Andrew Carnegie, who built a sprawling 19th-century empire from humble beginnings – and explains why his name still looms large in libraries, museums, and debates on wealth
43 min
43
Wages for housework: the daring 1970s campaign ...
Emily Callaci discusses a bold – and controversial – feminist movement that campaigned for women to be paid for household labour in the 1970s
24 min
44
Ancient Roman theatre: everything you wanted to...
From Plautus and Terence to the bawdy world of mime, Jessica Clarke introduces the theatrical world of the ancient superpower – and considers how its legacy continues to shape drama and performance today
37 min
45
Haiti's first and only king
Marlene L Daut charts the extraordinary life of the Haitian revolutionary leader – who went on to become a traitor, ruler, and then monarch
48 min
46
How the Cold War made the modern world
Vladislav Zubok debunks many of the popular beliefs about the Cold War, instead presenting an era of relentless change
44 min
47
Alva Vanderbilt: life of the week
Nancy Unger introduces Alva Vanderbilt, the woman most often regarded as the inspiration for the character of Bertha Russell in Julian Fellowes's drama The Gilded Age
37 min
48
How women were erased from economic history
Victoria Bateman explains how marginalising women's contributions to economic prosperity has always heralded the decline of history's greatest civilisations
42 min
49
The Phoenicians: everything you wanted to know
Josephine Quinn shines a light on the peoples of the ancient Mediterranean, who – despite leaving an extraordinary legacy – have been relatively overlooked in history
45 min
50
Black women and the fight for human rights
Keisha N Blain explores how black women in the United States overcame obstacles in their own lives to campaign for freedom across the globe
34 min