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
1476
The decline and death of Henry VIII
Robert Hutchinson gives a lecture on the Tudor monarch's final years, plagued by illness, bankruptcy, and thwarted ambitions
40 min
1477
Was the 1990s a golden age for British South As...
Kavita Puri discusses the experiences of British South Asians during the 1990s and early 2000s.
32 min
1478
Editor’s pick: Ian Kershaw on postwar Europe
In this episode from our archive, Ian Kershaw offers his take on how the continent has developed since the Second World War
60 min
1479
Brexit’s long historical roots
Robert Tombs discusses the historical background to Brexit, exploring Britain’s long and fluctuating relationship with Europe
39 min
1480
Editor’s pick: Lenin’s revolutionary train journey
In this archive episode, Catherine Merridale recounts how the future Soviet leader travelled to Petrograd in 1917 – a key moment in the Russian Revolution
28 min
1481
The battle for Sicily, 1943
James Holland tells the story of the dramatic Allied assault on the island of Sicily in the Second World War
40 min
1482
The Industrial Revolution: everything you wante...
Emma Griffin tackles internet search queries and questions submitted by listeners about Britain’s Industrial Revolution
42 min
1483
German Jews in WW1
Tim Grady gives a lecture exploring the varied experiences of German Jews in the First World War
46 min
1484
Bizarre books and macabre manuscripts
Edward Brooke-Hitching discusses some of history’s strangest literary curiosities, from hoax manuscripts to tomes bound in human skin
41 min
1485
Bonnie Prince Charlie: hero or coward?
Jacqueline Riding considers whether the Jacobite prince was a valiant freedom fighter, or a haughty coward
44 min
1486
Editor’s pick: covert Catholicism in Elizabetha...
In this episode from our archive, Jessie Childs tells the story of Tudor gentleman Thomas Tresham, whose faith set him at odds with the Virgin Queen
29 min
1487
Thomas Becket: from murder to martyrdom
Eight hundred and fifty years ago today, the archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, was brutally murdered in his cathedral. Dr Emily Guerry explains what happened next
52 min
1488
Bridgerton: ripping up the rulebook on Regency ...
Hannah Greig, historian and etiquette advisor to new Netflix show Bridgerton, joins us to talk about the historical detail that can be found in the drama – and the inspirations behind it
26 min
1489
The Wars of the Roses: everything you wanted to...
Lauren Johnson responds to listener questions about the Wars of the Roses, the 15th-century clashes for the English throne between the houses of Lancaster and York
64 min
1490
Editor’s pick: the Windrush generation
In this episode from our archive, Colin Grant tells the stories of postwar immigrants who moved to Britain from the Caribbean
41 min
1491
Our 2020 Christmas quiz
Test your historical knowledge with our annual festive quiz, devised by QI writer Justin Pollard
19 min
1492
Editor’s pick: Ron Chernow on Alexander Hamilton
In this episode from our archive, biographer Ron Chernow discusses the extraordinary life of the American Founding Father who inspired a hit musical
45 min
1493
Christmas ghost stories
Telling spooky tales at Christmastime is a very old tradition. Francis Young explains the origins of this custom and what it tells us
32 min
1494
The history of Christmas: everything you wanted...
Did Cromwell ban mince pies? And why does Santa wear red? George Goodwin responds to listener questions and internet search queries on festive history
49 min
1495
A WW2 story of survival
The Cut Out Girl author Bart van Es gives a lecture on the Jewish children who survived the Holocaust by living in hiding in the Netherlands
46 min
1496
Editor’s pick: Were the suffragettes terrorists?
Fern Riddell explores some of the darker aspects of the campaign for votes for women, in this episode from our archive
27 min
1497
Ten things to do with a medieval donkey
Kathryn Smithies discusses the economic and cultural significance of donkeys in the Middle AgesKathryn Smithies, author of Introducing the Medieval Ass, discusses the economic and cultural significance of donkeys in the Middle Ages.
42 min
1498
Hunting down the Portland Spy Ring
Trevor Barnes details the 1960s operation to uncover the infamous Portland Spy Ring – one of the most dangerous KGB espionage networks ever to operate in the UK.
58 min
1499
The gay MPs who opposed appeasement
Chris Bryant tells the story of a group of young, queer British MPs who were some of the first to resist appeasement and warn Britain’s government about the dangers of Hitler.
36 min
1500
Magna Carta: everything you wanted to know
Professor David Carpenter responds to listener questions on the great medieval charter and its 800-year-long legacy
41 min