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
1476
Aztecs in their own words
Camilla Townsend charts the rise and fall of the ancient civilisation from the perspective of the Aztecs themselves
37 min
1477
A new take on India’s history
Richard M Eaton explores the nation’s rich cultural history across eight centuries.
44 min
1478
The French Revolution: Everything you need to know
Marisa Linton responds to listener queries and popular search enquiries about the dramatic events that engulfed France in the late 18th century. Historyextra.com/podcast
48 min
1479
A Triple Bond Broken: The Destruction of the Ho...
In a lecture from our 2019 History Weekend in Winchester, Thomas Penn explores the turbulent relationship between Edward IV, George, Duke of Clarence and Richard III. Historyextra.com/podcast
42 min
1480
An Atlantic slave war
Vincent Brown discusses an uprising in Jamaica that was the largest slave revolt in the 18th-century British Atlantic world. Historyextra.com/podcast
33 min
1481
An Anglo-Saxon warlord
Gabor Thomas, who directed the excavation, discusses the discovery of the ‘Marlow Warlord’.
49 min
1482
Ancient wisdom with Neil Oliver
Neil Oliver discusses some of the most striking finds in the history of archaeology and shares a few life lessons from our ancient ancestors
31 min
1483
Black radical: William Monroe Trotter
Kerri K Greenidge explores the life and career of the pioneering black newspaperman William Monroe Trotter. Historyextra.com/podcast
42 min
1484
The dispossession of Native Americans
Claudio Saunt tells the story of the forced expulsion of tens of thousands of Native Americans from their lands by the US government in the mid-19th century. Historyextra.com/podcast
43 min
1485
Everything you ever wanted to know about mediev...
Chris Dyer responds to listener queries and popular search enquiries about life in the Middle Ages. Historyextra.com/podcast
65 min
1486
Should I stay or I should go? The problem with ...
In a BBC History Magazine virtual lecture he delivered earlier this year, historian and author Keith Lowe discusses why statues relating to empire and the Second World War have become contested ground in recent years. Historyextra.com/podcast
41 min
1487
Sparta
Andrew Bayliss discusses the Ancient Greek city-state of Sparta, exploring the Spartans’ military prowess and the darker aspects of Spartan history. Historyextra.com/podcast
41 min
1488
Medieval turning points
Charles West offers his thoughts on some important moments in early medieval Europe. Historyextra.com/podcast
58 min
1489
The rise and fall of the Sikh empire
Priya Atwal discusses how the 19th-century Sikh empire rose to prominence but was ultimately brought down by British imperialists. Historyextra.com/podcast
34 min
1490
Everything you ever wanted to know about the hi...
Christopher Harding responds to listener queries and popular search enquiries about the history of Japan, ranging from the ancient past to the Second World War and beyond. Historyextra.com/podcast
55 min
1491
Arnhem: The Battle for the Bridges, 1944
In a talk from our 2019 History Weekend in Winchester, Antony Beevor tells the story of Operation Market Garden. Historyextra.com/podcast
41 min
1492
A 1930s ghost hunt
Kate Summerscale delves into a tale of the supernatural in London just before the outbreak of the Second World War. Historyextra.com/podcast
30 min
1493
Medieval eels and Englishness
Eels were a mainstay of the economy in the Middle Ages, and also a part of the developing English identity, as John Wyatt Greenlee explains. Historyextra.com/podcast
43 min
1494
Ken Follett’s Anglo-Saxon adventure
Bestselling historical novelist Ken Follett chats about how he recreated late Anglo-Saxon England for his new book, The Evening and the Morning, which is a prequel to The Pillars of the Earth. Historyextra.com/podcast
48 min
1495
Everything you ever wanted to know about the Ne...
In an episode produced in collaboration with our colleagues at BBC Science Focus Magazine, archaeologist Rebecca Wragg Sykes tackles some of the big questions about Neanderthals and their relations with modern humans. Historyextra.com/podcastEnter t...
69 min
1496
Simon de Montfort and England’s First Revolution
In a talk from our 2019 History Weekend in Winchester, Sophie Ambler tells the story of Simon de Montfort’s doomed rebellion against Henry III. Historyextra.com/podcast
57 min
1497
Toussaint Louverture’s revolutionary life
Sudhir Hazareesingh discusses the Haitian revolutionary Toussaint Louverture who battled against slavery and European colonial rule at the turn of the 19th century. Historyextra.com/podcast
54 min
1498
The Mayflower
On the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower’s momentous voyage, James Evans reflects on the Pilgrim Fathers and the colony they established. Historyextra.com/podcast
26 min
1499
JFK: the path to power
Fredrik Logevall discusses the first volume of his major new biography of John F Kennedy. Historyextra.com/podcast
39 min
1500
Viking genes unravelled
A new study of Viking DNA provides many new insights about the lives of Vikings. Dr Cat Jarman explains what it tells us. Historyextra.com/podcast
42 min