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
1351
Bretons, Britons, Celts & King Arthur
Barry Cunliffe considers the story of Brittany from prehistory to today, and explores the region’s connections with Britain
65 min
1352
Who was Britain’s greatest prime minister? Wins...
In the latest episode in our series on the prime ministers that experts believe accomplished most, Jeremy Black nominates Winston Churchill.
36 min
1353
What the Stasi did next
Ralph Hope reveals how officers of the notorious East German security service sought to reinvent themselves after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
29 min
1354
The Anarchy: everything you wanted to know
Medievalist Matt Lewis responds to your questions on the 12th-century struggle for the English crown, which pitted Empress Matilda against Stephen of Blois.
57 min
1355
Busting myths about the Anglo-Saxons
Historian Marc Morris tackles some of the most common misconceptions about the Anglo-Saxon era
58 min
1356
Napoleon the art thief
Cynthia Saltzman reveals how the French leader plundered Europe’s greatest works of art.
24 min
1357
Marcus Aurelius: thinker or fighter?
Shushma Malik explores the life and career of Rome’s renowned philosopher-emperor Marcus Aurelius
40 min
1358
Who was Britain’s greatest prime minister? Pitt...
In the latest episode in our series on the prime ministers that experts believe accomplished most, Dominic Sandbrook nominates William Pitt the Younger.
16 min
1359
The rise and fall of Britain’s motor city
Mark Evans charts the history of Coventry’s pioneering car industry, from the turn of the 20th century until the present day
41 min
1360
Samurai: everything you wanted to know
Professor Michael Wert responds to listener questions and online search queries about the samurai of feudal Japan.
67 min
1361
The quest to find Alexander’s lost city
Edmund Richardson tells the astonishing story of a 19th-century quest to find a lost city of Alexander the Great.
37 min
1362
Katharine Parr: secrets of a Tudor survivor
Alison Weir discusses the varied and dramatic life of Henry VIII’s final wife, Katharine Parr.
34 min
1363
Blackface: a brief history
Ayanna Thompson discusses the history of blackface – a story spanning William Shakespeare, US race relations and Dartmoor Prison
37 min
1364
Who was Britain’s greatest prime minister? Haro...
In the latest episode in our new series on the prime ministers that experts believe accomplished most, Charlotte Lydia Riley nominates Harold Wilson.
22 min
1365
Madness, property and power: the strange case o...
Leo Hollis untangles the bizarre 18th-century court case surrounding Mary Davies: a wealthy heiress married in mysterious circumstances
41 min
1366
The Vietnam War: everything you wanted to know
Mark Atwood Lawrence responds to readers’ questions about the United States’ failure to stem the advance of communism in Vietnam.
72 min
1367
Medieval Ethiopia’s diplomatic missions
Verena Krebs reveals what diplomatic missions sent by the Christian leaders of Ethiopia can tell us about the kingdom’s place in the medieval world.
61 min
1368
Uncovering the truth about WW2’s Katyn massacre
Jane Rogoyska explains how more than 20,000 Polish prisoners-of-war were murdered on Stalin’s orders in 1940, and explores the decades-long coverup that followed
47 min
1369
The changing shape of slimming clubs
Dr Katrina Moseley explores the surprising story of slimming clubs, touching on female friendship, entrepreneurialism and feminist fury.
44 min
1370
Who was Britain’s Greatest Prime Minister? Clem...
In the latest episode in our new series on the prime ministers that experts believe accomplished most during their tenure, Charlotte Lydia Riley profiles Clement Attlee.
22 min
1371
How close to nuclear war did the Cuban Missile ...
Serhii Plokhy discusses the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, and reveals just how close the world came to nuclear disaster.
41 min
1372
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
1373
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
1374
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
1375
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