History Extra podcast

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What's History Extra podcast about?

The HistoryExtra podcast brings you interviews with the world's best historians, on everything from the ancient world and the Middle Ages to the Second World War and the history behind current events. Produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine and BBC History Revealed, it offers fresh takes on history's most famous figures and events. Subscribe for the real stories behind your favourite historical films and TV shows, and compelling insights into lesser-known aspects of the past.

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Archaeology’s golden age: e...

09.30.2023

The first half of the 20th century is often talked about as a golden age of archaeology – a time marked by thrilling finds such as those of Tutankhamun’s tomb and the ship burial at Sutton Hoo. But was it ...

History Extra podcast episodes:

09.30.2023 Archaeology’s golden age: everything you wanted to know The first half of the 20th century is often talked about as a golden age of archaeology – a time marked by thrilling finds such as those of Tutankhamun’s tomb and the ship burial at Sutton Hoo. But was it ...
09.28.2023 One day in the British empire On 29 September 1923, the British empire was at its territorial height. But even as British power stretched across the globe, were the seeds of the empire’s destruction already sown? Speaking to Ellie Cawthorne, Matthew Parker charts what was happening ...
09.27.2023 Great Reputations: Emmeline Pankhurst In the latest in our series charting the reputations of key historical figures, June Purvis and Lyndsey Jenkins discuss the life and contested legacy of Emmeline Pankhurst – from whether her story obscures that of the wider suffragette movement to ...
09.26.2023 Radio Times: a century of British broadcasting In 1923, a new periodical was launched to guide listeners through the BBC’s nascent radio offerings. Its name? The Radio Times. Across the coming decades, it not only featured radio and TV listings, but also offered a window into the ...
09.25.2023 How to live like a Roman emperor What did Roman emperors actually do all day? Were they really as bloodthirsty as legend would suggest? And why was food so important? Speaking to Matt Elton, popular historian, author and broadcaster Mary Beard tackles some of the big questions ...
09.24.2023 How has fear shaped history? With the climate crisis, war in Ukraine, a recent pandemic and the rise of AI, it can feel like there is more to be fearful of today than ever before. But according to historian Robert Peckham, human society has always ...
09.23.2023 The Battle of Britain: everything you wanted to know The Battle of Britain has gone down in history as an epic dogfight between the RAF and the Luftwaffe – one where Britain faced overwhelming odds and the threat of an almost inevitable invasion. However, according to Dr Victoria Taylor, ...
09.21.2023 Rocket women: America’s first female astronauts In the late 1970s, NASA admitted women onto their space programme for the first time. Six women were chosen as the first cohort, and would endure unprecedented media attention alongside the agency’s rigorous training. Speaking to Elinor Evans, Loren Grush ...
09.20.2023 Great Reputations: Napoleon In the latest in our series charting the contested reputations of key historical figures, Laura O’Brien and David Andress discuss the life and afterlife of Napoleon Bonaparte, and explore why his story – including his rise to power and his ...
09.19.2023 Chaos & violence in country houses We think of English houses as idyllic locations for an afternoon out, but as Stephanie Barczewski reveals, many have a more turbulent and violent history than we might expect. From the wholesale destruction of the Reformation and the damage caused ...
09.18.2023 The shoemaker who helped slaves escape the South Thomas Smallwood, a formerly enslaved shoemaker, helped hundreds of people to flee from slavery in the American South in the 1840s. Speaking to Elinor Evans, Scott Shane shares Smallwood’s remarkable story, and reveals how he was known for writing a ...
09.17.2023 Scandals that shocked Georgian Britain From torrid affairs and messy duels to corrupt law-enforcers and vengeful ghosts, Georgian Britain loved a good scandal. Speaking to Ellie Cawthorne, historian and author Emily Brand dishes the dirt on cases that shocked, appalled – and captivated – Georgian ...
09.16.2023 British parliament: everything you wanted to know From the gunpowder plot and Oliver Cromwell’s clash with Charles I to Winston Churchill’s speeches during the Second World War, parliament has witnessed some of the most dramatic moments in British history. Speaking with Spencer Mizen, Stephen Roberts answers your ...
09.14.2023 When poison pen letters caused chaos Long before the rise of the internet troll, malicious letters written by anonymous authors were causing untold grief to those who received them, and tugging at the seams of social cohesion in small communities. Speaking to Spencer Mizen, Emily Cockayne ...
09.13.2023 Great Reputations: Cleopatra In the latest in our series charting the contested reputations of key historical figures, Joyce Tyldesley and Catharine Edwards discuss the life and cultural afterlife of Egyptian queen Cleopatra – from her association with feminine beauty to the focus on ...
09.12.2023 Secrets of the Anglo-Saxon bone chests Held in Winchester Cathedral are several ornate chests, said to contain the venerated bones of early kings of Wessex and England, dating from the seventh to the 12th centuries. But what can these boxes reveal about attitudes to death and ...
09.11.2023 Jane Austen’s passion for fashion From ribbons, bonnets and ballgowns to Mr Darcy’s see-through shirt, the works of Jane Austen have long sparked the imaginations of fashion-minded readers and audiences. But what did the author herself wear? Austen has often been accused of dowdiness, but ...
09.10.2023 The brain behind the Dambusters raid The Dambusters raid of May 1943 is one of the most celebrated episodes of the Second World War. But in military terms, was it in fact a flop? And was Barnes Wallis, the man behind the audacious attack, really the ...
09.09.2023 Spanish flu: everything you wanted to know Did the Spanish flu pandemic actually begin in Spain? What were the symptoms? Is it true it killed more people than the First World War, and how similar was it to the Covid pandemic? Speaking to Lauren Good, Agnes Arnold-Forster ...
09.07.2023 Women who shaped the Roman empire How do you surface the stories of women in the Roman empire, when the majority of ancient texts were written by men, telling of military victories and losses, or intrigues in the political arena? Speaking to Elinor Evans, Emma Southon ...
09.06.2023 Great Reputations: Oliver Cromwell In the latest in our series charting the contested reputations of key historical figures, Ronald Hutton and Mark Stoyle debate the life and legacy of statesman, politician and military leader Oliver Cromwell, exploring his religious zealotry, his campaign in Ireland, ...
09.05.2023 The secret club for radical New York women In downtown New York, in the early 20th century, a secret club of women met regularly, to discuss ideas, politics, art and their own lives. They forged friendships and alliances, and took up some of the most significant social fights ...
09.04.2023 Margaret Cavendish: scandalous 17th-century writer Margaret Cavendish has been largely forgotten and, when remembered, divides opinion. One of England’s first female philosophers, professional authors and scientists, the 17th-century writer challenged convention throughout her life with her proto-feminist writing and audacious behaviour. Speaking to Lauren Good, ...
09.03.2023 The triumph of Joan of Arc In 1429 a young peasant woman burst onto the scene and transformed the fortunes of England and France in the Hundred Years’ War. In today’s episode, medieval historian and former supreme court judge Jonathan Sumption joins Rob Attar to discuss ...
09.02.2023 Rome v Carthage: everything you wanted to know Of all the enemies the Roman empire faced in its centuries-long history, one name stood out: Hannibal. In the late third century BC, the Carthaginian general came dangerously close to destroying Rome and utterly reshaping the history of the world. ...
08.31.2023 Tokyo’s devastating 1923 earthquake Exactly 100 years ago today, on 1 September 1923, the streets of Tokyo began to shudder. It was the first warning sign that something terrible was coming – a devastating earthquake that would level much of the city. But, as ...
08.30.2023 US Civil Rights: legacy When cries of “Black Lives Matter” rang out across the world in 2020, protestors were echoing the chants of civil rights activists advocating for change in the previous century. In the sixth and final episode of our series delving into ...
08.29.2023 On the trail of a Nazi war criminal In 1949 the notorious Nazi doctor Josef Mengele, known as the “Angel of Death” fled to South America. Three decades later, US lawyer Gerald Posner set out to track him down. What followed was a remarkable tale of dogged persistence ...
08.28.2023 How did empire shape modern Britain? Across the 20th century, Britain’s empire reached a peak and then began to disintegrate. Yet, according to historian Charlotte Lydia Riley, the country continued to be indelibly shaped by an imperial mindset even despite decolonisation, as evidenced in everything from ...
08.27.2023 Why did medieval Europe become Christian? Why did Christianity become so deeply embedded across western Europe in the centuries after the end of the Roman empire? To what extent did the old gods of Rome survive? And how did the concept of being Christian change over ...
08.26.2023 The Mongols: everything you wanted to know How brilliant a military leader was Genghis Khan? Could the Mongols have conquered all of Europe? And were they as brutal as they’re often portrayed to be? Speaking to Spencer Mizen, Nicholas Morton answers your queries on the nomadic warriors ...
08.24.2023 The lost world of Dickens’ London From grimy back alleys and ghastly churchyards to debtors’ prisons and old curiosity shops, Charles Dickens evoked a vision of Victorian London that’s still vivid today. And, ever since Dickens’ books were published, literary fans have visited London to seek ...
08.23.2023 US Civil Rights: Malcolm X’s assassination In 1965, Malcolm X walked out onto the stage of a Harlem ballroom, and was shot dead. In the fifth episode of our series delving into the US Civil Rights movement, Rhiannon Davies speaks to Dr Clarence Lang and Dr ...
08.22.2023 The miners’ strike: a view from the ground In March 1984, miners across Britain walked out of the pits and refused to go back. What followed was one of the longest, largest, and most divisive strikes in British history, as the miners stayed out of work to fight ...
08.21.2023 California’s hidden history of slavery Today California is renowned worldwide as a heartland of sun-drenched luxury. But, according to Jean Pfaelzer, the state’s prosperity is in large part built on the proceeds of human bondage. Jean speaks to Ellie Cawthorne about the various forms slavery ...
08.20.2023 Letters from medieval England The Pastons were a prominent aristocratic family from around 1380 to 1750, with stakes in the dynamic politicking of the Tudor and Stuart courts. But, what really makes this family stand out is the huge collection of letters and documents ...
08.19.2023 New Zealand: everything you wanted to know New Zealand has a short history in terms of human settlement – but according to Professor James Belich, that makes it all the more interesting and worthy of study. In conversation with David Musgrove, James answers listener questions on the ...
08.17.2023 Indian experiences in WW2 Around 2.5 million Indian soldiers fought in the Second World War. Behind this staggering number lies a complex web of emotional experiences – and Diya Gupta unpicks that tangled web in her new book, India in the Second World War: ...
08.16.2023 US Civil Rights: the 1964 Civil Rights Act When President Lyndon B Johnson signed the 1964 Civil Rights Act, he made history – but did sweeping laws actually result in tangible social change? In the fourth episode of our series exploring the US Civil Rights movement, Rhiannon Davies ...
08.15.2023 Learning disabilities: an overlooked history When we think about the experiences of people with learning and intellectual disabilities in the past, we often hear stories of discrimination, poor treatment and exclusion. While that is in many cases accurate, historian Lucy Delap is keen to highlight ...
08.14.2023 Secrets of ancient Chinese tombs We’ve all heard of the astonishing Terracotta Warriors, but they are just one of a number of fascinating ancient burials to have been discovered across China. Speaking to Robert Attar, Professor Jessica Rawson explores the contents of a handful of ...
08.13.2023 How forgers helped rescue Holocaust victims Between 1940 and 1943, a group of Polish diplomats and Jewish activists created a secret programme to forge and smuggle Latin American identity documents. Their aim? To help thousands of Jews escape extermination in the Holocaust. Historian and author Roger ...
08.12.2023 Ancient Egyptian religion: everything you wanted to know For more than 3,000 years, the ancient Egyptians adhered to a rich and complex system of beliefs, worshipping a vast pantheon of mighty – and often animal-headed – gods and goddesses. But how did this dynamic religion emerge? What was ...
08.11.2023 Introducing HistoryExtra Long Reads Take a deep dive into the past as we bring you the very best of BBC History Magazine, Britain’s bestselling history magazine. With a new episode released every Monday, enjoy fascinating and enlightening articles from leading historical experts, covering a ...
08.10.2023 Did our ancestors really think the world was flat? When did people first figure out the world wasn’t flat? Well, according to author James Hannam, it was much earlier than you might imagine. In today’s episode, James tells Jon Bauckham more about humanity’s quest to determine the shape of ...
08.09.2023 US Civil Rights: the March on Washington As well as being one of the largest protest marches ever staged, the 1963 March on Washington also made history as the setting for Martin Luther King Jr’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech. In the third episode of our ...
08.08.2023 Roger Mortimer: medieval rebel Seven hundred years ago this August, Roger Mortimer broke out of the Tower of London and went on to mastermind the deposition of his captor and arch-enemy, Edward II. In conversation with Spencer Mizen, Paul Dryburgh explains why he believes ...
08.07.2023 Emotional revolution in postwar Britain After the psychological trauma and family separation of the Second World War, Britain underwent an emotional revolution. Psychologists and social reformers focused more than ever before on the vital importance of loving and intimate family relationships. And as Teri Chettiar ...
08.06.2023 Rome vs Persia: an unwinnable fight The Roman empire was used to getting its own way – but there was one power it was never able to overcome. Despite frequent bouts of warfare, the Parthian and later Persian empire managed to hold its own against Rome ...
08.05.2023 British seaside holidays: everything you wanted to know What did Victorians get up to on the beach? When did fish and chips first become popular? And what’s the dark story behind Punch and Judy? It’s time to grab your bucket and spade, because for our latest Everything You ...

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