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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History
1301
Prohibition: everything you wanted to know
Historian Timothy Hickman answers listener questions about the ban on booze in 1920s America, from speakeasies and moonshine to Al Capone’s shady dealings.
69 min
1302
The Danelaw: a Viking kingdom in England?
Dr Ben Raffield explains how in the ninth and tenth centuries, Scandinavian laws and customs prevailed across a swathe of what’s now northern and eastern England
47 min
1303
Britain’s great postwar party
Harriet Atkinson takes us back to 1951’s Festival of Britain, a celebration of a nation rising from the ashes of war
29 min
1304
The Peasants’ Revolt: who were the rebels of 1381?
The Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 was a key moment in the reign of King Richard II. New research is revealing just how well-organised an operation it was
49 min
1305
Who was Britain’s greatest prime minister? Stan...
In the second episode of our new series on the prime ministers that experts believe accomplished most, Dominic Sandbrook champions Stanley Baldwin
26 min
1306
Women fighters of the Jewish resistance
Judy Batalion describes how a group of young Jewish women fought back against their Nazi oppressors in occupied Poland.
30 min
1307
Life in the workhouse: everything you wanted to...
From daily routines to whether inmates really ate gruel, Peter Higginbotham responds to listener questions about the workhouse
47 min
1308
How constitutions changed the world
Linda Colley explores how written constitutions, together with warfare, forged the modern world.
41 min
1309
The pretenders who threatened Henry VII’s crown
Nathen Amin discusses the plots and conspiracies that threatened to unseat Henry VII from his throne.
45 min
1310
Why are we fascinated by ‘evil women’?
Joanna Bourke explores what ideas about ‘evil women’ can tell us about societal values through history.
30 min
1311
Who was Britain’s Greatest Prime Minister? Robe...
In the first episode of our new series on the prime ministers that experts believe accomplished most during their tenure, Jeremy Black profiles Robert Walpole.
23 min
1312
Barbarossa: Hitler’s greatest gamble
Jonathan Dimbleby revisits the dramatic, murderous struggle between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.
47 min
1313
The Suez Crisis: everything you wanted to know
Alex von Tunzelmann responds to your questions on the 1956 Suez Crisis: a diplomatic debacle that dealt a serious blow to Britain’s standing in the postwar world.
41 min
1314
Traitor or triple agent? The WW2 spy Mathilde C...
Roland Philipps tells the story of Mathilde Carré, the French secret agent whose life took an extraordinary turn after her betrayal to the Germans.
42 min
1315
Leonardo da Vinci’s private life
Catherine Fletcher discusses what is known about the private life and relationships of the Renaissance polymath, and considers the historical inspirations for the new TV drama Leonardo.
32 min
1316
The bigamy trial that scandalised Georgian England
Catherine Ostler shares the story of Elizabeth Chudleigh, a glamorous aristocrat whose high-profile bigamy trial fascinated 18th-century society.
38 min
1317
Unravelling the Bayeux Tapestry ep5: What now?
In the final episode of the series, our panel considers the afterlife of the Tapestry, debating its differing legacies in France and Britain, whether it might be exhibited in Britain, and why it continues to fascinate.
76 min
1318
Dan Jones on 1,000 years of British history
To mark HistoryExtra’s 1,000th episode, Dan Jones takes us on a whistlestop tour through the last millennium of British history.
82 min
1319
The Maya: everything you wanted to know
Professor Matthew Restall tackles listener questions and popular search queries about the central American civilisation
65 min
1320
Women prisoners in 19th-century Ireland
Elaine Farrell shares the stories of Irish women incarcerated in the 19th century, from daily prison routines to relationships with staff and contact with the outside world.
38 min
1321
Stalin: the real victor of WW2
Sean McMeekin discusses his revisionist new history of the Second World War, which places Josef Stalin at the centre of the conflict
54 min
1322
Sending the first man into space
In 1961 cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to journey into space. Stephen Walker delves into the supercharged battle between the Soviets and Americans to reach this milestone
53 min
1323
Unravelling the Bayeux Tapestry ep4: What’s mis...
Although the story it depicts may have gone down in history, the Tapestry’s coverage of the events of 1066 is far from the whole story. In fact, there’s plenty that is missing, from rival claimants to entire battles.
64 min
1324
The feminist who waged war on smallpox
Jo Willett tells the story of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, who pioneered smallpox inoculation almost a century before Edward Jenner
30 min
1325
The Great Fire of London: everything you wanted...
Rebecca Rideal responds to listener questions about the devastating blaze that swept through the capital in 1666.
44 min