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
1101
SALEM EPISODE 4: The pervasive power of Puritanism
Religion was a powerful force at play in the Salem settlement. It not only determined the villagers’ daily routine but their whole outlook on life, influencing how they saw their neighbours and giving shape to their fears
22 min
1102
SALEM EPISODE 3: A ‘new Jerusalem’ on the edge ...
In 1692, Salem was a colonial outpost teetering on the edge of a precipice. In this episode we’ll explore what life was like in the New England settlement, and consider whether environmental pressures
26 min
1103
SALEM EPISODE 2: How events spiralled out of co...
In order to understand why the Salem witch trials happened, we need to get to grips with how exactly things unfolded over the course of 1692.
31 min
1104
SALEM EPISODE 1: Introduction
In 1692, 19 members of a small New England community were hanged for witchcraft.
14 min
1105
Ghosts, necromancy & the underworld in ancient ...
From necromancy and the underworld to getting rid of troublesome spirits, Irving Finkel discusses ghost beliefs in ancient Mesopotamia.
38 min
1106
What would you ask a historian?
Greg Jenner talks about his latest book, Ask A Historian, which tackles 50 burning questions that people have about the past.
39 min
1107
COMING SOON Salem: investigating the witch trials
Listen to our new podcast series delving into one of the most fascinating and mysterious events in American history. Find the first four episodes in your podcast feed from 31 October.
0 min
1108
Windows: an illuminating history
Cultural sociologist Rachel Hurdley peers into the curious history of windows.
32 min
1109
How a ballerina survived the Gulag
Christina Ezrahi shares the story of Nina Anisimova, a premier Soviet ballerina arrested for supposed counter-revolutionary activity.
52 min
1110
Afghanistan: a history of instability
A panel of expert historians discuss how history can help make sense of current events in Afghanistan.
50 min
1111
Egyptian pharaohs: everything you wanted to know
Joyce Tyldesley answers listener questions on ancient Egypt’s royal rulers.
54 min
1112
Medieval ghost stories
Dan Jones shares a ghost story from the Middle Ages and explains what it might tell us about medieval attitudes to the afterlife.
31 min
1113
How dogs shaped city life
Chris Pearson discusses his latest book, Dogopolis, which explores how human-canine relationships shaped New York, Paris and London.
29 min
1114
African-American women’s battle for the vote
Martha S Jones charts African-American women’s long and determined pursuit of the vote, and of broader political power.
32 min
1115
Asia’s anti-imperial revolutionaries
Tim Harper reveals how clandestine networks of anti-colonialist rebels operated across Asia in the early 20th century.
34 min
1116
A family history of France
Emma Rothschild follows one family’s fate to explore how the French nation changed across the 18th and 19th centuries.
37 min
1117
Apartheid: everything you wanted to know
Wayne Dooling answers listener questions on South Africa’s Apartheid regime.
51 min
1118
Berbice: a slave rebellion that nearly succeeded
Marjoleine Kars discusses a little-known 1763 rebellion by enslaved people in Berbice, in present-day Guyana.
48 min
1119
Trial by combat: the real history behind The La...
Hannah Skoda delves into the bloody and brutal spectacle of trial by combat in the Middle Ages
38 min
1120
Liberty and racism: an interconnected history
Tyler Stovall discusses his book White Freedom, which explores how ideas about ‘liberty’ have long been underpinned by racism.
43 min
1121
George III: the tyrant who lost America?
Andrew Roberts discusses his landmark new biography of King George III and takes on some of the myths that have surrounded the monarch
45 min
1122
At home with the Mongols
Marie Favereau discusses life in the Mongol empire – from how it was ruled to the daily experiences of those within it.
57 min
1123
Pompeii: everything you wanted to know
Sophie Hay answers listener questions on the Roman city that was destroyed by a volcanic eruption in AD 79 
55 min
1124
Unexpected Edwardians
Nick Baker and John Woolf, writers of Stephen Fry’s Edwardian Secrets, discuss some lesser-known aspects of the Edwardian age
37 min
1125
Plagues of our past
Humans throughout history have faced a scourge of infectious illnesses. Kyle Harper discusses how diseases have shaped our past.
53 min