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
526
Rocket women: America’s first female astronauts
Loren Grush shares the story of the first six women selected for NASA’s space programme
37 min
527
Great Reputations: Napoleon
In the latest in our series charting the contested reputations of key historical figures, Laura O’Brien and David Andress discuss French military and political leader Napoleon Bonaparte, and explore why his story still proves divisive two centuries later
58 min
528
Chaos & violence in country houses
We think of English houses as idyllic locations for an afternoon out, but as Stephanie Barczewski reveals, many have a more turbulent and violent history than we might expect
37 min
529
The shoemaker who helped slaves escape the South
Scott Shane shares the tale of Thomas Smallwood, a formerly enslaved man and shoemaker who helped hundreds of people to flee from southern slavery in the 1840s
49 min
530
Scandals that shocked Georgian Britain
From torrid affairs and messy duels to corrupt law-enforcers and vengeful ghosts, Emily Brand shares stories that scandalised Georgian society
29 min
531
British parliament: everything you wanted to know
Stephen Roberts answers listener questions on an institution that has stood at the centre of power in Britain for centuries
32 min
532
When poison pen letters caused chaos
Emily Cockayne chronicles the surge in anonymous letter writing in 19th and 20th-century Britain
30 min
533
Great Reputations: Cleopatra
In the latest in our series charting the contested reputations of key historical figures, Joyce Tyldesley and Catharine Edwards discuss the life and legacy of Egyptian queen Cleopatra
37 min
534
Secrets of the Anglo-Saxon bone chests
Cat Jarman tells the amazing story of the bone chests said to contain venerated remains of the early kings of Wessex and England
34 min
535
Jane Austen’s passion for fashion
Hilary Davidson takes a tour through Jane Austen’s wardrobe – from the clothes she wore behind closed doors to her most treasured jewellery
22 min
536
The brain behind the Dambusters raid
Richard Morris discusses the enduring legend of the Second World War scientist Barnes Wallis
22 min
537
Spanish flu: everything you wanted to know
Agnes Arnold-Forster answers listener questions about the Spanish flu pandemic – from the symptoms and spread to the shocking death toll
29 min
538
Women who shaped the Roman empire
Emma Southon discusses the women of ancient Rome whose stories illuminate experiences of war, empire and political machinations
38 min
539
Great Reputations: Oliver Cromwell
In the latest in our series charting the contested reputations of key historical figures, Ronald Hutton and Mark Stoyle debate the life and legacy of statesman, politician and military leader Oliver Cromwell
54 min
540
The secret club for radical New York women
Joanna Scutts discusses an underground club in the bohemian Greenwich Village that became a radical space for women to discuss issues ranging from suffrage to birth control
40 min
541
Margaret Cavendish: scandalous 17th-century writer
Francesca Peacock explores the life of Margaret Cavendish, a remarkable – and often scandalous – 17th-century writer
33 min
542
The triumph of Joan of Arc
Jonathan Sumption joins us to discuss the dramatic final stages and momentous legacy of the Hundred Years’ War
34 min
543
Rome v Carthage: everything you wanted to know
Philip Freeman answers listener questions on the dramatic battles between Rome and Carthage – two of the ancient world’s great powers
24 min
544
Tokyo’s devastating 1923 earthquake
Christopher Harding revisits the catastrophic earthquake that levelled much of Tokyo 100 years ago
26 min
545
US Civil Rights: legacy
How were 2020’s Black Lives Matter protests linked to the mid-century struggle for racial equality? Dr Adriane Lentz-Smith and Dr Kennetta Hammond Perry consider the tangled legacy of Civil Rights
30 min
546
On the trail of a Nazi war criminal
Gerald Posner shares his experiences of tracking down fugitive Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele in the decades after the Second World War
42 min
547
How did empire shape modern Britain?
Charlotte Lydia Riley argues that 20th-century Britain was shaped by an imperial mindset, even as its empire began to disintegrate
38 min
548
Why did medieval Europe become Christian?
Mark Pegg explores why Christianity came to dominate in Europe as the Roman empire disintegrated
37 min
549
The Mongols: everything you wanted to know
Nicholas Morton answers listener questions on the nomadic conquerors who changed the course of world history
51 min
550
The lost world of Dickens’ London
From grimy back alleys to debtors’ prisons, Lee Jackson guides listeners through some of the atmospheric London locations associated with Charles Dickens
28 min