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
801
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
802
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
803
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
804
Alexander the Great’s extraordinary childhood
Alex Rowson tells the story of the supreme empire-builder’s formative years
30 min
805
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
806
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&amp;xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&amp;xs=1&amp;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&amp;xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&amp;xs=1&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fbritish-dandies%2Fdominic-janes%2F9781851245598" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&amp;xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&amp;xs=1&amp;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
807
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
808
Mongols vs Mamluks
Nicholas Morton explores the legendary clash between two major empires in the 12th and 13th centuries
41 min
809
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
810
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
811
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
812
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
813
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
814
Pilgrimage, past and present
Peter Stanford considers the different meanings of pilgrimage across world history
27 min
815
British spies in WW2: everything you wanted to ...
From ingenious gadgets to audacious plots, historian Helen Fry answers listener questions on British espionage in the Second World War
50 min
816
Black Victorians: radicals, muses, inmates & ar...
From political agitators and artist’s muses to composers, sailors and the goddaughter of the queen herself, John Woolf shares the stories of black people in Victorian Britain
32 min
817
The Cuban Missile Crisis: broken ties & a secre...
In the second episode of our series on the Cuban Missile Crisis, we explore the fallout from the 1961 Bay of Pigs disaster, and examine why Khrushchev decided to place nuclear missiles in Cuba
34 min
818
Football in the First World War
Alexander Jackson explores how four years of conflict shaped England’s national sport
31 min
819
The Irish across the globe
Sean Connolly explores the stories of Irish emigrants who left their home nation to begin new lives and build new communities across the globe
33 min
820
Warrior queens & quiet revolutionaries: forgott...
<p>Author Kate Mosse shares inspirational stories of women from across global history – including the forgotten life of her great grandmother Lily Watson</p><p>During lockdown, author Kate Mosse set out on her own detective story, investigating her family tree to unearth the forgotten life of a fellow novelist – her great grandmother Lily Watson. Drawing on her social media campaign, #womeninhistory, Kate soon uncovered many more lives that she felt were worth sharing, and has brought these unheard and little-known stories from women’s history together in her book Warrior Queens and Quiet Revolutionaries. She speaks to Emily Briffett about some of the many characters she encountered.</p><p> </p><p>(Ad) Kate Mosse is the author of Warrior Queens &amp; Quiet Revolutionaries: How Women (Also) Built the World (Pan Macmillan, 2022). Buy it now from Waterstones:</p><p><a href="https://go.skimresources.com/?id=71026X1535947&amp;xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&amp;xs=1&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fwarrior-queens-and-quiet-revolutionaries%2Fkate-mosse%2F9781529092196" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&amp;xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&amp;xs=1&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fwarrior-queens-and-quiet-revolutionaries%2Fkate-mosse%2F9781529092196</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>
37 min
821
Sixties counterculture: everything you wanted t...
From hippies and protests to mind-altering music, Alwyn Turner tackles listener questions on the anti-establishment movement that swept the west in the 1960s
39 min
822
Conspiracy Trailer
From the ancient civilisation of Atlantis to doubts about the moon landing of 1969, we explore the origins of these forms of pseudo-history and explain why they are so difficult to defeat.
1 min
823
Books of the year 2022
Some incredible history books have hit the shelves this year – historians Michael Wood, Rana Mitter and Catherine Nixey share their favourite reads
39 min
824
The Cuban Missile Crisis: tensions mount
In the first episode of our series on the Cuban Missile Crisis, we explore the roots of the Cold War standoff and meet the key players in the looming confrontation
44 min
825
Debtors’ prisons: Dickensian horrors or economi...
How did locking up debtors force them to pay their creditors? Alexander Wakelam reveals how the debtors’ prisons of Georgian society operated
41 min