History Extra podcast podcast

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/

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/

 

#2469

A short history of ghost hunting

A spooky story during the Christmas season has become traditional – and the modern ghost s... more

8 hrs Ago

40 MINS

40:51

8 hrs Ago


#2468

Becoming Jane Austen

What inspired the daughter of a rural reverend to write about eligible bachelors and drunk... more

Yesterday

28 MINS

28:51

Yesterday


#2467

Ghosts, gods & sea monsters: a supernatural history of the Atlantic

For centuries, sailors crossing the Atlantic believed they were not alone – haunted by gho... more

12 Dec 2025

34 MINS

34:14

12 Dec 2025


#2466

The summer that changed everything for the Kennedys

Historian Leigh Straw describes one pivotal summer in the life of the Kennedy family. With... more

10 Dec 2025

38 MINS

38:33

10 Dec 2025


#2465

Margaret Beaufort: life of the week

Born in the tumultuous 15th century, Margaret Beaufort – mother of Henry VII – endured per... more

09 Dec 2025

47 MINS

47:40

09 Dec 2025


#2464

Idi Amin's willing helpers

Idi Amin is 20th-century Africa’s most notorious ruler – a cartoonish tyrant who has been ... more

08 Dec 2025

41 MINS

41:06

08 Dec 2025


#2463

“You can’t kill and maim with impunity”: the powerful legacy of Nuremberg

In the 80 years since Nazi leaders stood in the dock, how has the international community ... more

07 Dec 2025

36 MINS

36:58

07 Dec 2025


#2462

Assassins vs Templars

The Assassins and the Knights Templar are two of history’s most intriguing, enigmatic and ... more

05 Dec 2025

50 MINS

50:17

05 Dec 2025


#2461

WW2's Tunisian campaign: the Stalingrad of Africa

For the Allies it was an enormous triumph and for Nazi Germany it was another Stalingrad. ... more

03 Dec 2025

46 MINS

46:37

03 Dec 2025


#2460

Empress Matilda: life of the week

In the tumultuous aftermath of Henry I’s death, England was thrown into one of the most ch... more

02 Dec 2025

42 MINS

42:41

02 Dec 2025


#2459

How warhorses transformed medieval England

William the Conqueror used them to devastating effect in 1066. Robert the Bruce worked out... more

01 Dec 2025

36 MINS

36:21

01 Dec 2025


#2458

Did the Nazis get a fair trial?

In October 1946, after a trial lasting almost a year, the Nazi leaders on the dock in Nure... more

30 Nov 2025

38 MINS

38:09

30 Nov 2025


#2457

Forgotten female secret agents of WW2

From sabotage operations to devastating betrayals, stories of the women of Special Operati... more

28 Nov 2025

34 MINS

34:53

28 Nov 2025


#2456

What causes cultures to decline and fall?

The new BBC TV series Civilisations: Rise and Fall charts the decline of some of history's... more

26 Nov 2025

44 MINS

44:05

26 Nov 2025


#2455

Christopher Marlowe: life of the week

From his possible espionage work for the Elizabethan state to his open flirtations with at... more

25 Nov 2025

42 MINS

42:54

25 Nov 2025


#2454

Uprising: the Civil Wars untangled

On 30 January 1649, Charles I was led on to a freshly erected scaffold outside Whitehall’s... more

24 Nov 2025

37 MINS

37:00

24 Nov 2025


#2453

The Nazis’ crimes laid bare

When the Nazi leaders went on trial in Nuremberg from November 1945, the true horrors of t... more

23 Nov 2025

46 MINS

46:30

23 Nov 2025


#2452

What does Hitler’s DNA really tell us?

A recent documentary drawing conclusions from new analysis of Adolf Hitler’s DNA has spark... more

22 Nov 2025

48 MINS

48:17

22 Nov 2025


#2451

Mutilated corpses and undead mothers-in-law: vampire epidemics through history

Fears of the undead rising from their graves to cause trouble have recurred in societies a... more

21 Nov 2025

38 MINS

38:49

21 Nov 2025


#2450

The problem with poo: a millennium of manure

When did poo become a problem? Why was manure so important in the medieval economy? And wh... more

19 Nov 2025

35 MINS

35:07

19 Nov 2025


#2449

James Garfield: life of the week

US president James Garfield's life is often overshadowed by his untimely death in 1881, as... more

18 Nov 2025

56 MINS

56:15

18 Nov 2025


#2448

A new history of multicultural Britain

As Britain's influence on the world around it grew throughout the 19th and 20th centuries,... more

17 Nov 2025

42 MINS

42:34

17 Nov 2025


#2447

What should we do with the Nazis? The road to the Nuremberg Trials

At the end of the Second World War, the victorious Allies had to decide the fates of the s... more

16 Nov 2025

41 MINS

41:34

16 Nov 2025


#2446

Who stole the Tudor crown?

On her deathbed Elizabeth I named the Scottish James VI as her successor, ensuring a smoot... more

14 Nov 2025

33 MINS

33:47

14 Nov 2025


#2445

The librarian who stole KGB secrets

When an elderly man with a battered suitcase walked into the British embassy in Vilnius in... more

12 Nov 2025

32 MINS

32:07

12 Nov 2025


#2444

Nellie Bly: life of the week

In the late 19th century, when female reporters were largely confined to newspapers' socie... more

11 Nov 2025

48 MINS

48:22

11 Nov 2025


#2443

The improbable alliance that defeated Hitler

To what extent does the course of history turn on the force of individual personalities? I... more

10 Nov 2025

39 MINS

39:36

10 Nov 2025


#2442

Remember, remember: The legacy of the Gunpowder Plot

'Remember, remember the fifth of November…'. For more than 400 years, the Gunpowder Plot h... more

09 Nov 2025

37 MINS

37:16

09 Nov 2025


#2441

Five partitions that shaped South Asia

If you were to look down at South Asia from space at night, you would see a bright scar st... more

07 Nov 2025

36 MINS

36:11

07 Nov 2025