HistoryExtra podcast
The HistoryExtra podcast brings you gripping stories from the past and fascinating historical conversations with the world's leading historical experts.
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1976
Cooking for Churchill
Annie Gray tells the story of Georgina Landemare, who became Winston Churchill’s cook during the Second World War. Historyextra.com/podcast
37 min
1977
Rutger Bregman’s optimistic history of the world
Rutger Bregman ranges through the past to argue that humanity is inherently good. Historyextra.com/podcast
35 min
1978
Living on the edge in Victorian Britain
Emma Griffin explores how economic changes in 19th-century Britain affected family life for working class Victorians. Historyextra.com/podcast
34 min
1979
Everything you ever wanted to know about the En...
Diarmaid MacCulloch responds to listener queries and popular search enquiries about Henry VIII’s break from Rome and the seismic events that followed. Historyextra.com/podcast
39 min
1980
Surviving the Great Plague
Vanessa Harding describes the events of the 1665 Great Plague and explains how people at the time sought to cope with the disease. Historyextra.com/podcas
29 min
1981
Rethinking the Renaissance
Catherine Fletcher offers a fresh view on this transformative period in Italy – and Europe’s – past. Historyextra.com/podcast
39 min
1982
The life and legend of Florence Nightingale
Mark Bostridge reflects on the pioneering Victorian nurse’s work at the Crimean War and beyond. Historyextra.com/podcast
28 min
1983
Everything you ever wanted to know about the Vi...
Judith Jesch responds to listener queries and popular search enquiries about the medieval Scandinavian people. Historyextra.com/podcast
63 min
1984
Britain at War
On the 75th anniversary of VE Day we speak to Dan Todman about Britain’s role in defeating the Nazis and the challenges of the postwar years. Historyextra.com/podcast
44 min
1985
The Northumbrians: from Bede to Geordie Shore
Dan Jackson traces the distinctive history and culture of North East England, from ancient times to the present day. Historyextra.com/podcast
38 min
1986
Medieval globetrotters
Historian Valerie Hansen, author of a new history of the year 1000 AD, surveys the state of the world a millennium ago and argues that this was a crucial moment in the story of globalization, comparable to 1492. Historyextra.com/podcast
34 min
1987
Everything you ever wanted to know about the Vi...
Sarah Richardson responds to listener queries and popular search enquiries about Queen Victoria and the age that bears her name. Historyextra.com/podcast
38 min
1988
The Corn Laws crisis
Stephen Bates describes the battle over bread prices that divided Parliament in the mid-19th-century. Historyextra.com/podcast
33 min
1989
How the world made us
Lewis Dartnell discusses how Earth’s physical features have had a profound effect on human civilisations throughout history. Historyextra.com/podcast
40 min
1990
The unexpected Vikings
Sam Willis and James Daybell take a sideways look at the Viking era, exploring how things like keys, butter and haircuts fit into their story. Historyextra.com/podcast
34 min
1991
Everything you ever wanted to know about Britis...
Archaeologist David Miles responds to listener queries and popular search enquiries about Britain’s distant past. Historyextra.com/podcast
57 min
1992
A Nazi mystery
Philippe Sands talks to us about his new book, The Ratline, which explores the dramatic life and mysterious death of the senior Nazi Otto von Wächter. Historyextra.com/podcast
57 min
1993
A new view of Africa’s past
Toby Green explores the history of West Africa and its relations with the wider world, from the era of the slave trade to more recent times. Historyextra.com/podcast
43 min
1994
Chanel and the Riviera
Biographer Anne de Courcy discusses the experiences of fashion designer Coco Chanel, as well as some of the other famous faces who graced the French Riviera, during the interwar years and the era of Nazi occupation. Historyextra.com/podcast
46 min
1995
Everything you ever wanted to know about D-Day,...
Military historian Peter Caddick-Adams responds to listener queries and popular search enquiries about one of the defining episodes of World War Two. Historyextra.com/podcast
53 min
1996
The scandalous Byrons
Emily Brand explores the dramatic lives of the Georgian aristocratic family whose lives were blighted by scandal long before the arrival of the renowned poet. Historyextra.com/podcast
35 min
1997
The mistresses of Charles II
Historian and author Linda Porter explores the lives of the many women who shared Charles II’s bed. Historyextra.com/podcast
27 min
1998
The spies who inspired Bond
Henry Hemming on the real historical personalities who Ian Fleming drew on to create 007 and other characters in the Bond novels. Historyextra.com/podcast
23 min
1999
Everything you ever wanted to know about Roman ...
Miles Russell responds to listener queries and popular search enquiries about the four centuries of Roman rule in Britain. Historyextra.com/podcast
41 min
2000
Apollo 13
Fifty years on from the NASA mission that almost ended in disaster, historian Tom Ellis revisits the dramatic story of the astronauts’ incredible battle to survive. Historyextra.com/podcast
46 min