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.
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801
Tools, temples & tower blocks: how wood has sha...
Max Adams reveals why the versatile material has been pivotal to the progress of civilisations across the globe: from the Somerset Levels to Japan
38 min
802
Weaponising food in the Third Reich
Lisa Pine discusses how food became intertwined with politics and ideology in the Third Reich, and reveals how the Nazis weaponised hunger as a tool of war
31 min
803
“A serial killer of civilisations”: a history o...
<p>From the Justinian plague to the fall of the Maya, climate change has been connected to many of history’s great catastrophes. Environmental journalist Eugene Linden speaks to Rhiannon Davies about the longer history of our relationship with the environment, and how the situation has snowballed since 1979. </p><br><p>(Ad) Eugene Linden is the author of Fire and Flood: A People's History of Climate Change, from 1979 to the Present (Penguin, 2022). Buy it now from Waterstones<a href="https://go.skimresources.com/?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Ffire-and-flood%2Feugene-linden%2F9780241565551" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">:</a></p><p><a href="https://go.skimresources.com/?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Ffire-and-flood%2Feugene-linden%2F9780241565551" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Ffire-and-flood%2Feugene-linden%2F97802415655</a>51</p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
29 min
804
Life under Cromwell: everything you wanted to know
Ronald Hutton answers listener questions on one of the most turbulent periods in British history – Cromwell’s Protectorate
43 min
805
Oddball art: cannibals, hellscapes & flying monks
From kaleidoscopic hellscapes to portraits of cannibals, Edward Brooke-Hitching introduces some of the strangest creations in art history
33 min
806
The floating hell of prison hulks
Anna McKay delves into the development, use and abolition of floating prisons – and the horrible experiences of those incarcerated on board
34 min
807
Refusing to fight in WW2
<p>During the Second World War, around 60,000 people in Britain registered as conscientious objectors, seeking an exemption from military service on the grounds of their religious conviction, political stance or moral conscience. Speaking with Ellie Cawthorne, Professor Tobias Kelly shares the stories of five such people and discusses the challenges they faced.</p><br><p>(Ad) Tobias Kelly is the author of Battles of Conscience: British Pacifists and the Second World War (Chatto & Windus, 2022). Buy it now from Amazon<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Battles-Conscience-British-Pacifists-Second/dp/1784743941/ref=sr_1_1?crid=21E6JEFFK6ZJV&keywords=tobias+kelly&qid=1657276881&s=books&sprefix=tobias+kelly%2Cstripbooks%2C64&sr=1-1&tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">:</a></p><p><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Battles-Conscience-British-Pacifists-Second/dp/1784743941/ref=sr_1_1?crid=21E6JEFFK6ZJV&keywords=tobias+kelly&qid=1657276881&s=books&sprefix=tobias+kelly%2Cstripbooks%2C64&sr=1-1&tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.co.uk/Battles-Conscience-British-Pacifists-Second/dp/1784743941/ref=sr_1_1?crid=21E6JEFFK6ZJV&keywords=tobias+kelly&qid=1657276881&s=books&sprefix=tobias+kelly%2Cstripbooks%2C64&sr=1-1&tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histbo</a>ty</p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
29 min
808
Power dressing: the hidden value of clothes in ...
<p>Legal historian Laura F Edwards discusses her new book on clothing and textiles in 19th-century America, Only the Clothes on Her Back. Speaking to Elinor Evans, she reveals the meaning and care that went into garments, and how clothes and textiles could lend subversive power to marginalised people.</p><br><p>(Ad) Laura F Edwards is the author of Only the Clothes on Her Back: Clothing and the Hidden History of Power in the Nineteenth-Century United States (Oxford University Press, 2022). Buy it now from Amazon<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Only-Clothes-Her-Back-Nineteenth-Century/dp/0197568572/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">:</a></p><p><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Only-Clothes-Her-Back-Nineteenth-Century/dp/0197568572/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.co.uk/Only-Clothes-Her-Back-Nineteenth-Century/dp/0197568572/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histbo</a>ty</p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
39 min
809
Sabotage, cyberwar & assassination: a history o...
<p>Ever since the Greeks supposedly hid inside a wooden horse to sneak into Troy, states have meddled in other nations’ affairs, turning to the dark arts of sabotage, propaganda and state-sanctioned killing to carry out their secret plans. Speaking to Rhiannon Davies, Rory Cormac delves into the murky history of covert action. </p><br><p>(Ad) Rory Cormac is the author of How To Stage A Coup: And Ten Other Lessons from the World of Secret Statecraft (Atlantic, 2022). Buy it now from Amazon: </p><p><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Stage-Coup-Lessons-Statecraft/dp/1838955615/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Stage-Coup-Lessons-Statecraft/dp/1838955615/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty</a></p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
34 min
810
Conspiracy: the lost civilisation of Atlantis
In our new series delving into historical conspiracy theories, Flint Dibble questions the notion of a vanished civilisation that seeded its knowledge around the world
34 min
811
Conspiracy: was the moon landing faked?
In our new series delving into historical conspiracy theories, Francis French looks at why people continue to doubt NASA’s finest hour
23 min
812
Conspiracy: Who wrote Shakespeare?
In our new series delving into historical conspiracy theories, Paul Edmondson questions why many people can’t accept that Shakespeare wrote the plays bearing his name
30 min
813
Conspiracy: did Anastasia escape her family’s m...
In our new series delving into historical conspiracy theories, Helen Rappaport reveals recent evidence that could tell us more about the theory of the missing grand duchess
27 min
814
Conspiracy: did aliens build the pyramids?
In our new series delving into historical conspiracy theories, Joyce Tyldesley explores the origins of the theory that Ancient Egypt’s iconic monuments were built by creatures from out of this world
19 min
815
Conspiracy: Hitler’s escape to South America
In our new series delving into historical conspiracy theories, Richard J Evans considers the idea that the Nazi leader escaped and led a long life in South America
23 min
816
Alexander the Great’s extraordinary childhood
Alex Rowson tells the story of the supreme empire-builder’s formative years
30 min
817
The Cuban Missile Crisis: the road to resolution
In the fourth and final episode of our series on the Cuban Missile Crisis, we chart the final tense days of the Cold War standoff, investigating how it was eventually resolved
50 min
818
Dandies, fops & macaronis: fashionable men thro...
<p>Dominic Janes discusses his new history of British dandies, which explores how such ‘dressy men’ – from fops and macaronis, to aesthetes – provoked both fascination and horror in their societies. Speaking with Elinor Evans, Dominic also considers the changing perceptions of famed aesthete Oscar Wilde.</p><br><p>(Ad) Dominic Janes is the author of British Dandies: Engendering Scandal and Fashioning a Nation (Bodleian Library Publishing, 2022). Buy it now from Waterstones<a href="https://go.skimresources.com/?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fbritish-dandies%2Fdominic-janes%2F9781851245598" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">:</a></p><p><a href="https://go.skimresources.com/?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fbritish-dandies%2Fdominic-janes%2F9781851245598" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fbritish-dandies%2Fdominic-janes%2F97818512455</a>98</p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
35 min
819
Brits abroad: a history
Lucy Lethbridge discusses the emergence of British mass tourism, from the first package holidays and hedonistic health spas, to vomit-inducing stagecoach journeys
28 min
820
Mongols vs Mamluks
Nicholas Morton explores the legendary clash between two major empires in the 12th and 13th centuries
41 min
821
The history of alcohol: everything you wanted t...
From the world’s oldest beer to Britain’s deadly “gin craze”, Phil Withington answers listener questions on the long and impactful history of alcohol
38 min
822
How ballroom dancing gripped Britain
Hilary French follows the history of ballroom dancing – from its early popularity among the leisured elites to its demise in the face of disco, and recent Strictly revival
41 min
823
The Cuban Missile Crisis: Dangerous days
In the third episode of our series on the Cuban Missile Crisis, we chart the first phase of the Cold War standoff – from panicked secret meetings to risky naval manoeuvres
46 min
824
The hell of the Pacific War
Saul David describes the horrors of the long campaign to defeat Japan in the Second World War, through the eyes of a company of US Marines
31 min
825
Inside Germany’s postwar prisons
Sarah Colvin shares stories of prisoners who were incarcerated in West and East Germany in the turbulent years following the Second War
30 min