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
1076
How the Greeks changed the world
Roderick Beaton explores 4,000 years of Greek history, from the glories of Mycenae to the life of a modern European nation.
50 min
1077
What can churches tell us?
Peter Stanford charts the story of Christianity in Britain and Ireland through historic religious buildings.
49 min
1078
Sex work: a brief history
From the courtesans of Edo Japan to the mollyhouses of Regency London, Kate Lister discusses the long and varied history of sex work.
31 min
1079
The Ottoman “Age of Discovery”
Professor Marc David Baer discusses the Ottoman empire and its overlooked place in the “Age of Discovery”
29 min
1080
Anglo-Scottish border wars: everything you want...
Michael Brown responds to listener questions on the cross-border clashes that marred relations between England and Scotland in the late Middle Ages.
43 min
1081
A secret trial that transformed transgender rights
Zoe Playdon discusses a secret 1965 trial revolving around Ewan Forbes, a transgender man, and reveals how it affected trans rights.
33 min
1082
How to tell the story of WW2 in museums
Keith Lowe speaks to Imperial War Museum curators about creating their new galleries on the Holocaust and the Second World War.
26 min
1083
How slavery & empire shaped epidemiology
Jim Downs reveals how the conditions created by colonialism, war and slavery affected the study of disease and its spread.
36 min
1084
George V: not so dull after all
Jane Ridley discusses the life and reign of George V, who steered the monarchy through a tumultuous era of British history.
32 min
1085
The man who made King Alfred great
Robert Gallagher brings to light newly discovered evidence about Asser, the biographer of King Alfred.
41 min
1086
Espionage history: everything you wanted to know
Michael Goodman tackles listener questions and popular search queries on the history of spying and intelligence.
55 min
1087
The St Brice’s Day Massacre of 1002
Benjamin Savill discusses the St Brice’s Day Massacre of 1002, in which Danes living in England were killed, apparently on royal orders.
52 min
1088
Medieval manuscript makers
Mary Wellesley uncovers the hidden stories of the artisans and authors behind medieval manuscripts.
47 min
1089
Surviving hell on earth: Polar explorer Ranulph...
Ranulph Fiennes uses his unique perspective as a polar explorer to reflect on the life and adventures of Ernest Shackleton.
46 min
1090
The CIA’s secret African missions
Susan Williams discusses the United States’ covert programme to undermine the leaders of newly independent African nations in the 1950s and 1960s.
33 min
1091
The rebel who defied William the Conqueror
Matt Lewis tells Spencer Mizen about the extraordinary escapades of Hereward the Wake, who led a rebellion in the 1070s that drove William the Conqueror and the Normans to distraction.
41 min
1092
SALEM EPISODE 9: Conclusion
After the witch trials were over, Salemites had to resume life as normal and come to terms with what had happened. Suspected witches had to go back to living alongside those who had accused them.
22 min
1093
SALEM EPISODE 8: Willful, weak-minded women?
Fourteen of the 19 people hanged for witchcraft at Salem were women. So could their gender – or perhaps their transgression of gender norms – be part of the reason they were targeted?
29 min
1094
SALEM EPISODE 7: Quarrelsome neighbours & famil...
Salem was made up of a dense web of social connections – not all of which were harmonious. In fact, it was a community riven with fault lines that threatened to open up into great chasms of conflict.
22 min
1095
SALEM EPISODE 6: Chaos in the courtroom
The list of failings that could be levelled against the Salem justice system is substantial – from the acceptance of so-called ‘spectral evidence’ to the chaotic scenes that unfolded in the courtroom.
30 min
1096
SALEM EPISODE 5: Satanic sabbaths and supernatu...
From flying witches to demonic familiars and translucent cats, the Salem villagers believed themselves plagued by a spectrum of supernatural terrors.
24 min
1097
From chariots to e-scooters: transformations in...
Tom Standage traces technological advances in transport, from the invention of the wheel to the rise of the car
54 min
1098
Giving birth in the 17th century
Dr Sara Read explores women’s experience of pregnancy and childbirth in early modern England
41 min
1099
Cricket as a colonial weapon
Dr Souvik Naha reveals how the Victorians used cricket to export “British virtues” across the empire
36 min
1100
Living through the fall of communism
Professor Lea Ypi reflects on her childhood years, which witnessed the final years of communism in Albania and the fraught transition to capitalist democracy.
45 min