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
1401
Ethiopia 1935: The real history behind The Shad...
Maaza Mengiste discusses her Booker prize-nominated historical novel The Shadow King.
31 min
1402
The ‘lost’ city of Atlantis
Edith Hall explores Plato’s legend of Atlantis and considers why the tale continues to endure 2,500 years on
64 min
1403
Ancient Babylon: everything you wanted to know
Zainab Bahrani tackles internet search queries and questions submitted by listeners about the ancient Mesopotamian city.
43 min
1404
Looking for Egypt’s lost tombs
Are there any treasures left to be excavated in Egypt? Chris Naunton gives a lecture on some of the most fascinating ancient figures whose tombs are yet to be discovered.
58 min
1405
Robert Harris on V2, historical fiction and WW2
Robert Harris discusses V2, his new Second World War thriller inspired by the German missile campaign in 1944
26 min
1406
2020: The historians’ verdict
From debates about colonialism to lessons from previous pandemics, a panel of historians discuss how the past has shaped 2020 – and how the events of this momentous year should change our understanding of the past
55 min
1407
Women in Greek myths
Natalie Haynes discusses the varied portrayals of women in Greek mythology, uncovering the multi-layered figures who emerge from different retellings.
27 min
1408
Germans who resisted the Nazis
Catrine Clay explores German opposition to Nazism through the lives of people who stood up to the Third Reich.
39 min
1409
Shakespeare: everything you wanted to know
Paul Edmondson answers listener questions on the life and work of England’s most famous playwright.
39 min
1410
A secret WW2 wargame
Simon Parkin gives a lecture on the secret game developed to counter U-boat tactics during the battle of the Atlantic.
42 min
1411
Bernard Cornwell on The Last Kingdom’s finale a...
Bernard Cornwell talks about the final novel in his Last Kingdom series and his next project – a new Sharpe adventure
25 min
1412
Oswald, the many-headed medieval saint
Dr Johanna Dale explores how the seventh-century Northumbrian king Oswald became an important saint across medieval Europe.
46 min
1413
Has the EU been a success?
Kiran Klaus Patel tracks the development of the EU over the postwar decades, considering whether it really did bring peace to the continent.
32 min
1414
An extraordinary Everest adventure
In the 1930s, Maurice Wilson had a wild plan to fly from England to Everest in a Gypsy Moth plane, and then climb to the top of the mountain solo. Ed Caesar tells his story.
47 min
1415
The Wild West: everything you wanted to know
Was the American west really as wild as the movies suggest? Karen Jones responds to listener questions about frontier life.
49 min
1416
Viking warrior women & the ethics of excavating...
Howard Williams delivers a lecture on some of the most intriguing and contentious debates in archaeology today.
49 min
1417
War and society: a tangled relationship
Margaret Macmillan explores why conflict has been an essential component of human history
37 min
1418
Ingenious medieval science
Seb Falk highlights the surprising sophistication of scientific research in the Middle Ages.
47 min
1419
Women in black: the surprising history of widows
Maggie Andrews discusses the complex history of widows, often historically viewed as figures of pity and poverty but also a driving force for social change
34 min
1420
Personal stories of the Second World War
Victoria Panton Bacon shares remarkable first-hand testimonies from veterans of the Second World War
39 min
1421
The Russian revolution: everything you wanted t...
Robert Service responds to listener questions and popular search enquiries about the Russian revolutions of 1917, which saw the beginnings of the Communist era.
79 min
1422
The story of the Dambusters
In a lecture from our 2019 History Weekend in Winchester, Max Hastings tells the dramatic story of the 1943 Dambusters raid.
54 min
1423
Inside the Viking mind
Neil Price takes us inside the Viking mind to explain how the Norse raiders viewed the world and what drove them to expand across the seasProfessor Neil Price, author of The Children of Ash and Elm, takes us inside the Viking mind.
52 min
1424
Escaping Nazi-occupied Europe
Helen Fry discusses the top-secret work of MI9, which helped Allied prisoners of war escape during WW2Historian Helen Fry discusses her new book MI9, which reveals how the secret agency helped Allied prisoners of war make it back to Britain
29 min
1425
The White Ship: a medieval royal tragedy
Charles Spencer speaks to Dan Jones about the White Ship disaster, which plunged the English monarchy into chaos 900 years agoBestselling author Charles Spencer speaks to fellow historian Dan Jones about the White Ship disaster
60 min