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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2201
The Tommies’ final acts
Jonathan Ruffle, creator of the BBC Radio 4 historical drama Tommies, explores the situation on the front line in August 1918 as the First World War approached its end
23 min
2202
Catholics in Elizabethan England
Historian Jessie Childs tells the story of Thomas Tresham, a Tudor gentleman who built a remarkable monument to his Catholic faith and risked the anger of the Virgin Queen
31 min
2203
Rethinking 20th-century Britain
Professor David Edgerton explains why we need to revise our understanding of recent British history, from the world wars to the welfare state
30 min
2204
Nelson Mandela’s extraordinary life
On the centenary of Mandela’s birth, we speak to the politician and author Peter Hain about the South African leader’s remarkable achievements in the face of tremendous adversity
57 min
2205
The murder of the Romanovs
Historical author Helen Rappaport explains why the last Russian tsar and his family met a violent end in 1918 and considers whether Britain could have saved the Romanovs from their fate
32 min
2206
Britain’s refugee camps
Historian Jordanna Bailkin discusses her new book, Unsettled, which explores the experiences of people of several different nationalities who fled to Britain in the 20th century
29 min
2207
Spies through the ages
Professor Christopher Andrew discusses his new book The Secret World, which explores the history of intelligence and espionage from ancient times until the present day
33 min
2208
Making the modern world
We are joined by bestselling historical author Simon Winchester, who reveals how some of history’s greatest engineers helped create the industrial age
33 min
2209
Ireland’s past and present
Professor Jane Ohlmeyer discusses a new multi-volume history of Ireland and explains how the past continues to affect Anglo-Irish relations today
34 min
2210
Sherwood Forest through the ages
Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough, presenter of a BBC Radio 3 series on forests, takes a trip to the home of Robin Hood to explore how forests have shaped our history and mythology
31 min
2211
The national debt dilemma
Economist Martin Slater charts 350 years of British government borrowing – from the Glorious Revolution to the 2008 financial crisis – and considers what lessons this history might have for policy makers today
40 min
2212
Restoring women’s voices
Sarah Jackson, joint founder of East End Women’s Museum, explores how historical women are currently commemorated and how this might be done better in future
29 min
2213
The history of manners
Distinguished historian Sir Keith Thomas reflects on how concepts of civility and civilisation shaped society in the early modern period
37 min
2214
World War One at home
Professor Maggie Andrews, historical consultant on the BBC Radio 4 drama series Home Front, joins us to reveal how the First World War was affecting British civilian life as the conflict entered its closing stages
25 min
2215
Grenfell Tower: from hope to tragedy
Ahead of the BBC Two documentary Before Grenfell: A Hidden History, architect Peter Deakins discusses his involvement in the creation of the tower block and considers its place in the history of social housing in Britain
27 min
2216
Britain’s Catholic emancipation
Acclaimed historian and author Antonia Fraser joins us to discuss her new book The King and the Catholics: The Fight for Rights 1829
32 min
2217
The mystery of Donald Maclean
Author and editor Roland Philipps discusses A Spy Named Orphan, his new biography of the enigmatic Cambridge spy Donald Maclean
40 min
2218
America’s changing dream
Professor Sarah Churchwell and fellow historian Adam IP Smith explore some of the ideas in her new book Behold, America, which traces the history of America First and the American Dream
40 min
2219
Challenging British heroes
Ahead of her new Channel 4 series, the author and broadcaster Afua Hirsch argues that we need to seriously revise our understanding of the likes of Nelson and Churchill
28 min
2220
Jane Seymour: Henry VIII’s favourite queen
Bestselling author and historian Alison Weir discusses the life and tragic death of the Tudor king’s third wife, who bore him his long-awaited male heir. Alison also reveals the challenges of recreating Jane for her new historical novel
26 min
2221
The remarkable history of the Netherlands
In advance of his new BBC Radio 4 series, the journalist and broadcaster Misha Glenny reflects on some of the key moments in the Netherlands’ story: from the Dutch Golden Age to World War Two
22 min
2222
Beevor on Arnhem
Bestselling military historian Antony Beevor discusses his new book, which outlines why 1944’s Operation Market Garden was one of the biggest disasters of the Allied war effort
59 min
2223
The Women Behind Lord Byron
Miranda Seymour discusses the extraordinary lives of Annabella Milbanke and Ada Lovelace, the wife and daughter of Lord Byron
31 min
2224
The Entebbe raid
As the film Entebbe is about to arrive in UK cinemas, historian and author Saul David reveals the extraordinary story of the Israeli operation to rescue dozens of hostages from an airport in Uganda in 1976
44 min
2225
The failings of the French Revolution
Stephen Clarke, author of a new history of the French Revolution, argues that we need to look afresh at the events of 1789 and beyond
27 min