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
1976
The Cold War and the history of philosophy
Dr Rory Cormac guides us around York Cold War Bunker, which was designed to monitor the fallout of a nuclear attack. Meanwhile, we speak to historian and broadcaster Bettany Hughes about some of the enduring ideas from Ancient Greece  See...
56 min
1977
Jacobites and the Ancient World
Jacqueline Riding describes the events of the 1745 rebellion, while Michael Scott explains how ancient cultures across the globe managed to interact with each other  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
59 min
1978
Two King Edwards
Richard Davenport-Hines and Piers Brendon, authors of new biographies of Edward VII and Edward VIII, discuss the two kings’ contrasting lives and reigns and their impact on the British monarchy  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-o...
65 min
1979
Paris’s women at war and the Housewives’ League
Anne Sebba talks to us about her new book, Les Parisiennes, which explores how women of Paris fared under Nazi occupation. Meanwhile, we catch up with Jo Fidgen, presenter of a BBC Radio 4 documentary about housewives in postwar Britain  ...
56 min
1980
Britain’s Second World War and the Country House
Dr Daniel Todman talks to us about his new book: Britain's War: Into Battle, 1937-1941. Meanwhile, we are joined by historian Adrian Tinniswood to discuss the changing nature of English country houses during the interwar years  See a...
52 min
1981
Battle of the Somme special
As we approach the centenary of the 1916 clash, we speak to Hugh Sebag-Montefiore, author of Somme: Into the Breach. Meanwhile, Jonathan Ruffle of gbfilms.com joins us to talk about his ongoing BBC Radio 4 series Tommies and how he plans to tackle the ...
51 min
1982
The Radium Girls and the cotton revolution
Kate Moore describes the tragic story of a group of women who were exposed to radium in 20th-century America, while Terry Wyke visits a key site from Britain’s textile heritage  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
52 min
1983
Wolfson History Prizes: Nazi camps and St Augus...
Robin Lane Fox and Nikolaus Wachsmann talk about their award-winning books: Augustine: Conversions and Confessions and KL: A History of the Nazi Concentration Camps  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
69 min
1984
Operation Barbarossa
As we near the 75th anniversary of Nazi Germany’s assault on the Soviet Union, Antony Beevor explores this pivotal moment in the Second World War  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
48 min
1985
Tudor monarchs and a Medieval civil war
Tracy Borman reveals the secret lives of Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, Mary Tudor et al, while Nicholas Vincent describes the events of Simon de Montfort’s rebellion  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
65 min
1986
Writing history in the 21st century
Four leading historians discuss the big developments in book publishing since the launch of BBC History Magazine back in May 2000  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
57 min
1987
The battle of Jutland and 1950s domestic dangers
Admiral Lord West describes a crucial First World War naval clash, while Suzannah Lipscomb tells us about her new BBC documentary: Hidden Killers of the Post-war Home  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
54 min
1988
A Victorian murder and a ship that made history
Kate Summerscale, author of The Suspicions of Mr Whicher, tells us about her new book, which investigates another shocking 19th-century crime. Meanwhile, Andrew Lambert guides us around the famous clipper Cutty Sark, a ship that raced around the world ...
56 min
1989
Sykes-Picot and a 17th-century polymath
On the centenary of the Sykes-Picot agreement, historian Catriona Pennell reflects on this secret 1916 Anglo-French agreement to divide up the Middle East. Meanwhile, we talk to Joe Moshenska, author of A Stain in the Blood, which describes the amazing...
55 min
1990
The history of consumerism and Chinese philosophy
Frank Trentmann explores how our patterns of consumption have changed over the centuries, while Christine Gross-Loh discusses the legacy of ancient Chinese thinkers  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
51 min
1991
Shakespeare’s world and cricket in South Africa
Edward Wilson-Lee looks at how the playwright’s work became celebrated on a global scale, while Dean Allen recounts the story of a pioneering British cricket enthusiast who popularised the sport in 19th-century South Africa  See acast.com...
52 min
1992
Student life and working class culture
Our own Ellie Cawthorne talks about her new BBC Radio 4 series that focuses on 900 years of higher education. Meanwhile, author and broadcaster Stuart Maconie discusses his documentary about the decline of working class representation in the arts and m...
48 min
1993
Charles II and an Atlantic experiment
Historian Clare Jackson talks about her new biography of the 17th-century king, which is part of the Penguin Monarchs series. Meanwhile, BBC radio presenter Peter Gibbs tells us the story of how Ascension Island’s plant life was transformed 150 years a...
40 min
1994
The Dissolution and a forgotten colony
Dr Adam Morton visits Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire to explore the events of Henry VIII’s assault on the monasteries. Meanwhile, historian and author Matthew Parker tells the story of Willoughbyland, a forgotten English colony in South America ...
53 min
1995
Democracy and an age of genius
Classicist Paul Cartledge heads back to Ancient Greece to explore the roots of mass participation in politics. Meanwhile, we speak to philosopher AC Grayling about his new book The Age of Genius: The Seventeenth Century and the Birth of the Modern Mind...
68 min
1996
The Easter Rising and a Victorian heyday
Heather Jones explores the dramatic rebellion of 1916, while Ben Wilson explains why the 1850s was such a transformative decade  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
63 min
1997
Muslims and Jews in the 16th century
Historian Jerry Brotton describes how Elizabethan England formed an important relationship with the Islamic world. He then goes on to tell the story of Venice’s Jewish ghetto, which was created 500 years ago  See acast.com/privacy for pr...
57 min
1998
The Holy Roman Empire and Capability Brown
Professor Peter Wilson discusses his new book The Holy Roman Empire: A Thousand Years of Europe's History. Meanwhile, garden historian Sarah Rutherford pays a visit to the grounds of Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire where she explores the work of th...
52 min
1999
Middle East history special
Kanishk Tharoor and Maryam Maruf, the presenter and producer of the new radio series Museum of Lost Objects, highlight some of the antiquities that have been destroyed during recent conflicts in Iraq and Syria. Meanwhile, we’re joined by historian Tom ...
53 min
2000
Verdun and the Renaissance
Professor David Reynolds describes the Battle of Verdun, which pitched French and German forces against each other in one of the bloodiest episodes of the First World War. Meanwhile, art critic and broadcaster Waldemar Januszczak talks to us about his ...
51 min