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
626
‘Black Douglas’: a not so dastardly bushranger?
Meg Foster unpicks the shadowy legend of the 19th-century Australian bushranger known as ‘Black Douglas’
45 min
627
The KGB’s secret war on the west
Mark Hollingsworth charts the Soviet’s Union’s tireless efforts to win the Cold War via the dark arts of espionage and subterfuge
38 min
628
Century of chaos: people & power in the 1600s
Jonathan Healey delves into the turbulent 17th century, which saw not only regicide and civil war, but also the political awakening of society as a whole
41 min
629
What Norse poetry reveals about the Viking age
Judith Jesch and Carolyne Larrington share their favourite Viking poetry and discuss what it tells us about the age in which it was written
47 min
630
WW2 the big questions: the early years of the c...
From Dunkirk to Pearl Harbor, Laurence Rees charts the major moments of the opening stages of the Second World War
37 min
631
Life in the trenches: everything you wanted to ...
From daily routine and diet to warfare and survival, Peter Hart answers listener questions about life on the frontline during the First World War
55 min
632
Nuclear apocalypse in Britain
From fallout shelters to regeneration plans, Julie McDowall reveals how Cold War Britain planned to respond to nuclear attack
47 min
633
Wild urban spaces: a history
Ben Wilson examines the long relationship between cities and nature, and the ways in which past generations of urban planners have attempted to bring wildlife closer to home
29 min
634
Boudica’s rebellion: a blood-soaked blow to the...
Duncan Mackay delves into Rome’s brutal conquest of Britain and the ferocious rebellion against it, led by an infamous warrior queen
50 min
635
What did the Tudors wear?
Jane Malcolm-Davies unpicks the historical sources to uncover what people wore in the 16th century
36 min
636
WW2 the big questions: the build up
Historian and broadcaster Laurence Rees explains some of the short and long term causes of the Second World War
25 min
637
British castles: everything you wanted to know
Marc Morris answers listener questions on the history of British castles – from the motte and bailey structures of William the Conqueror to the great stone fortresses of Edward I
32 min
638
The mindset behind the Holocaust
Martin Davidson explores the psychological factors that motivated perpetrators of the Holocaust and the devastating power of Hitler’s antisemitic worldview
35 min
639
Grisly killings & mysterious motives: murder in...
Blessin Adams delves into several sensational murder cases from early modern Britain, exploring what they can reveal about society at the time
28 min
640
The man who almost discovered the double helix
Kersten Hall charts the life and successes of scientist William Astbury – the man who almost discovered DNA’s structure
42 min
641
Marriage, Middlemarch & male pseudonyms: George...
Clare Carlisle explores how the author George Eliot’s unconventional approach to marriage shaped her life and work
31 min
642
George VI’s Nazi dilemma
Alexander Larman reveals how figures within the royal orbit were either linked with, or sympathetic to, Nazi Germany in the Second World War era
32 min
643
The Seven Years’ War: everything you wanted to ...
Jeremy Black responds to listener questions on the 18th-century conflict that convulsed the globe and helped turn Britain into a world superpower
37 min
644
Six Wives Trailer
1 min
645
Patriarchy’s long roots
June Purvis and Angela Saini discuss the roots of male domination and how it has shaped societies throughout history
29 min
646
Disciplining the “scum of the Earth”
Zack White details the crimes and punishments in the Duke of Wellington’s army during the Napoleonic wars
45 min
647
Women & the crusades: patronage, propaganda & p...
Helen Nicholson traces women’s involvement in the crusades, from noble patrons and pious pilgrims to those willing to risk their lives on the battlefield
38 min
648
Science & religion: a story of war or harmony?
Nicholas Spencer chronicles the complex relationship between science and Christianity – and explores moments when tensions between the two have bubbled over
35 min
649
The North: from Bede to Lowry
Brian Groom shares some notable moments in the history of northern England, from the “Harrying of the North” to the Industrial Revolution
26 min
650
Paganism: everything you wanted to know
Ronald Hutton answers listener questions on the long history of paganism
38 min