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
201
Toilets through time | 2. Medieval privies
David Musgrove and historian James Wright revisit the dark and dangerous world of medieval latrines
33 min
202
Has imperial history become too politicised?
With Britain's imperial past still prompting fierce debate, a new book sets out to recentre the views of historians. Three people behind the project – Alan Lester, Bronwen Everill and Sathnam Sanghera – explain its aims
38 min
203
Francis Drake: life of the week
Robert Hutchinson revisits the expeditions and adventures of Elizabethan England's most famous sea captain
39 min
204
Our long obsession with the end of the world
Human history is riddled with apocalyptic visions – Dorian Lynskey explores what our terror of the future reveals about our past
36 min
205
The Grand Tour: everything you wanted to know
From classical sites to society scandals, Lizzie Rogers answers listener questions on the 18th-century travellers who visited continental Europe
39 min
206
Black Death: everything you wanted to know
Professor John Hatcher answers listener questions on the plague pandemic that ravaged 14th-century Europe, in this archive episode from 2021
39 min
207
The Decameron: sex, plague, and a medieval Love...
With the release of a new Netflix drama based on Boccaccio's The Decameron, Rebecca Bowen explains why this text was a medieval bestseller, which helped people come to terms with the horrors of the plague
41 min
208
Toilets through time | 1. Roman latrines
David Musgrove pays a visit to the revolting world of Roman toilets, in the company of Dr Hannah Platts
31 min
209
Assassinations that shaped US history
Adam IP Smith explores the ways in which presidential assassinations – and attempted assassinations – have transformed the history of the United States
29 min
210
Is democracy doomed? History behind the headlines
Rana Mitter and Hannah Skoda explore the long roots of recent tensions in democracies around the world
37 min
211
Catherine of Braganza: the Merrie Monarch's for...
Sophie Shorland discusses Catherine of Braganza, queen of Charles II, whose often overlooked life story offers an alternative picture of Restoration England
37 min
212
The Spanish Inquisition: everything you wanted ...
Giles Tremlett answers listener questions about the Spanish Inquisition, to uncover the real history behind the sinister and bloodthirsty 'Black Legend' of Spain
38 min
213
1217: the year that (almost) changed English hi...
Catherine Hanley revisits the pivotal year of 1217, when English history could have been irrevocably altered
36 min
214
Deeds not words | 6. Mission accomplished?
We explore how the increasingly militant suffragette campaign was brought to a sudden conclusion – and whether it achieved its aims
30 min
215
Kindness & hostility: refugees in wartime Britain
Paul Dowswell reveals how those who fled Nazism didn't always receive a warm welcome in Britain
29 min
216
Catherine de' Medici: life of the week
Leah Redmond Chang unravels the complex life of the royal mother and regent popularly known as 'the serpent queen'
45 min
217
The suffragettes who fell in love
Wendy Moore explores the fascinating lives of two women in love during the First World War – from suffragette pranks to becoming prisoners of war
28 min
218
Servants: everything you wanted to know
Lucy Lethbridge answers listener questions on the daily realities of domestic service in the era of Downton Abbey and beyond
34 min
219
Anxieties of the Edwardian age
Alwyn Turner discusses life in Britain at the turn of the 20th century – an era of music halls, mass media and mixed feelings about the nation's future
34 min
220
Deeds not words | 5. Burning down the house
We explore how the suffragette movement became increasingly militant, escalating from smashing windows to arson attacks and planting bombs
38 min
221
How the Plantagenets forged the English state
Caroline Burt and Richard Partington consider how the reigns of six Plantagenet kings altered the face of English governance
44 min
222
Justinian: life of the week
Peter Sarris explores the long-lasting legacy of a man who ripped up the law books and remade the eastern Roman empire – and had a plague named after him
53 min
223
The woman who saved the children
Clare Mulley discusses the life and work of Eglantyne Jebb, a pioneering campaigner for the rights of children who was spurred on by the horrors of the First World War
33 min
224
Victorian crime and punishment: everything you ...
Drew Gray tackles listener question on crime, courts, policing, punishments and prisons in 19th-century Britain
47 min
225
How the Dreyfus Affair tore France apart
Maurice Samuels explains how the French Army conspired to frame a Jewish officer at the turn of the 20th century, sparking a scandal that threatened the very foundations of the French Republic
41 min