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
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Was Shakespeare a snob?
Stephen Unwin unpicks Shakespeare’s complex portrayals of working people, asking how much these characters reflect the reality of living and working in Elizabethan England
25 min
877
Tudors in revolt: the Western Rising of 1549
Mark Stoyle follows the progress of the so-called “Prayer Book Rebellion”, and explores how this dramatic revolt almost changed the course of Tudor history
47 min
878
Female spies who forged the CIA
Nathalia Holt discusses four women who undertook life-threatening missions and harnessed crucial intelligence in the early days of the Central Intelligence Agency
30 min
879
Prehistoric cave art: everything you want to know
Paul Pettitt answers listener questions on what cave art can reveal about the palaeolithic era
47 min
880
A secret Nazi plot to kill the ‘Big Three’
Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch discuss the complex tale of a little-known Nazi plot to kill Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt during the 1943 summit in Tehran
34 min
881
Wild places & wild people: a short history of c...
Britain’s common land has often been considered a wild place for wild people – Professor Angus Winchester explains how it played a key role in local economies and communities
35 min
882
The forgotten years that forged Wales
Lloyd Bowen describes the ambiguities in Welsh identity and nationhood that arose in the decades following the Acts of Union in the early 16th century
49 min
883
How six women programmed the world’s first mode...
Kathy Kleiman reveals how six women helped create the world’s first modern computer
26 min
884
Tattoos: a 5,000 year history
Dr Matt Lodder explores 5,000 years of tattooing history – from Otzi the Iceman, to King Edward VII
35 min
885
Railway history: everything you wanted to know
Christian Wolmar answers listener questions on the history of the railways, from industrial innovation and early rail journeys to the transformative nature of train travel
43 min
886
Forgotten histories of the Holocaust
Dan Stone considers forgotten and misunderstood aspects of the Holocaust, from its international nature to the ways its horrors reverberated for decades afterward
51 min
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An audacious kidnapping in 1970s Paris
Tom Sancton tracks the infamous kidnapping case of Baron Édouard-Jean Empain – from chopped-off fingers and police shootouts to the collapse of an industrial empire
38 min
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Blood, sweat & marble: examining ancient bodies
Caroline Vout takes us under the dust covers and presents the flesh and blood realities of life in ancient bodies
32 min
889
A journey along the Iron Curtain
Timothy Phillips talks us through his travels along the Iron Curtain, exploring what the border between east and west was like during the Cold War – and what’s happening there today
38 min
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Fleeing revolution: Russians exiles in Paris
Helen Rappaport tells the stories of Russian intellectuals, aristocrats and artists who fled to Paris to begin new lives and escape the 1917 Russian Revolution
38 min
891
The history of atheism: everything you wanted t...
Alec Ryrie responds to your questions on the history of unbelief – from ancient atheist accusations to Reformation sceptics
46 min
892
How FDR transformed the US presidency
Iwan Morgan discusses how Franklin Delano Roosevelt redefined the role of American president between the Great Depression and the Second World War
48 min
893
Indigenous American travellers in Europe
Caroline Dodds Pennock reveals the stories of indigenous Americans who travelled to Europe following Columbus’s 1492 voyage
39 min
894
The PoWs who survived Nagasaki
John Willis shares the incredible story of the Allied prisoners of war who witnessed the nuclear attack that brought the Second World War to an end
30 min
895
Parachuting monkeys & volcanic eruptions: an ex...
Joanne Cormac revisits the eye-opening attractions of Surrey Zoo, and reveals what this spectacular pleasure park can tell us about the Victorian age
21 min
896
Curious cures for medieval maladies
James Freeman discusses a new project that’s investigating medieval medicinal recipes to uncover how people coped with illness and ailments
42 min
897
Jane Austen’s England: everything you wanted to...
From her relationship with royals to Regency attitudes towards female writers, Lizzie Rogers answers listener questions on the world in which Jane Austen wrote
34 min
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Veggie Victorians
From meat-free banquets to political agitation, James Gregory delves into the colourful world of the Victorian vegetarian movement
39 min
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An environmental history of big business
Dr Bart Elmore discusses his research into the environmental impacts of global capitalism through history, from plastic use to pesticides
29 min
900
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