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
2001
Lenin and the Russian revolutions
Catherine Merridale recounts the future Soviet leader’s famous 1917 train journey across Europe to Petrograd, where the took command of the Bolsheviks. Meanwhile, we speak to Helen Rappaport about some of the foreign nationals then living in Petrograd ...
53 min
2002
Historical television and the battle of Flodden
Tony Robinson discusses his new autobiography, No Cunning Plan, and the impact of shows such as Time Team and Blackadder. Meanwhile, Dr Katie Stevenson explores the 1513 battle of Flodden and its consequences for Scotland. Why did England emerge victor...
60 min
2003
Women in politics and Robinson Crusoe
Julie V Gottlieb charts the progression from the Suffragettes to Theresa May and Hillary Clinton, while Andrew Lambert tells the story of a Pacific island connected to the famous Daniel Defoe novel  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and o...
50 min
2004
Cold War summits
Historians David Reynolds and Kristina Spohr discuss their new book about the postwar meetings between international leaders that aimed to control the nuclear arms race  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
62 min
2005
Poldark and historical TV drama
As the smash-hit series Poldark returns to our screens, its historical advisor, Hannah Greig and Horrible Histories historian Greg Jenner join us to discuss the growing popularity of historical fiction on TV. The pair also consider the big question of ...
56 min
2006
The end of the First World War and the Duke of ...
Professor Robert Gerwarth discusses his new book The Vanquished, which shows how Europe continued to be beset by violence long after 1918. Meanwhile, Dr Huw Davies pays a visit to Apsley House, the magnificent London residence of the hero of Waterloo ...
54 min
2007
The Great Fire of London
As we approach the 350th anniversary of the 1666 blaze, historical author Alexander Larman describes how the inferno devastated London. Meanwhile, we speak to Nicholas Kenyon, director of the Barbican Centre, about the rebuilding of the city that took ...
39 min
2008
The Suez crisis and the north of England
Historian and author Alex von Tunzelmann reflects on the dramatic events that took place in the middle east and Hungary 60 years ago. Meanwhile, we speak to broadcaster Melvyn Bragg about his new BBC Radio 4 series that charts the fascinating history o...
59 min
2009
The 1920s: Roaring or tame?
Historian, author and broadcaster Kate Williams explores the key developments of the early interwar period, in this talk that was delivered at our 2015 History Weekend event in Malmesbury  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out inf...
59 min
2010
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
2011
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
2012
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
2013
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
2014
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
2015
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
2016
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
2017
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
2018
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
2019
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
2020
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
2021
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
2022
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
2023
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
2024
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
2025
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