First published in Russia in 1903, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion purported to demonstrate evidence of a global Jewish conspiracy. Though it has repeatedly been proven to be a forgery, the text has helped fuel antisemitism across the world, from Henry Ford in America, to Nazi Germany and anti-Jewish hatred today.

In this episode of History’s Greatest Conspiracy Theories, Rob Attar speaks to Professor Pamela S Nadell about why the infamous tract has proven so popular and how it connects to other antisemitic ideas.

History’s Greatest Conspiracy Theories is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. For more fascinating stories from the past, head to HistoryExtra, the home of ‘History’s Greatest’ podcasts. There you can find other feeds including History’s Greatest Cities and HistoryExtra LongReads. Find out more at ⁠historyextra.com/podcast⁠.

We'd love to know what you think about the podcast, so leave us a review and let us know the topics you think we should be covering. Or, follow us on ⁠Facebook⁠, ⁠X⁠, ⁠Instagram⁠ or ⁠YouTube⁠ to keep in touch.

You can listen ad-free to this episode and more by subscribing to HistoryExtra Plus here: https://historyextra.supportingcast.fm/

This episode was hosted by Rob Attar and produced by Jack Bateman.

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In her most famous speech, delivered on 9 August 1588, Queen Elizabeth I declared that she had the "heart and stomach of a king". Was that just rhetoric? Or could England’s iconic Tudor queen actually have been a man masquerading as a woman?

In this episode of History’s Greatest Conspiracy Theories, Tudor historian Tracy Borman speaks to Rob Attar about the bizarre 'Bisley Boy' conspiracy theory that was popularised by none other than Dracula author Bram Stoker.

History’s Greatest Conspiracy Theories is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. For more fascinating stories from the past, head to HistoryExtra, the home of ‘History’s Greatest’ podcasts. There you can find other feeds including History’s Greatest Cities and HistoryExtra LongReads. Find out more at ⁠historyextra.com/podcast⁠.

We'd love to know what you think about the podcast, so leave us a review and let us know the topics you think we should be covering. Or, follow us on ⁠Facebook⁠, ⁠X⁠, ⁠Instagram⁠ or ⁠YouTube⁠ to keep in touch.

You can listen ad-free to this episode and more by subscribing to HistoryExtra Plus here: https://historyextra.supportingcast.fm/

This episode was hosted by Rob Attar and produced by Jack Bateman.

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On 7 December 1941, Japan attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbor. It’s one of the most notorious surprise attacks in history, but how much of a surprise actually was it? Did President Franklin Roosevelt know that the attack was coming and even encourage it as a means of propelling the US into World War Two? 

In the first episode of season 2 of History’s Greatest Conspiracy Theories, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Steve Twomey joins Rob Attar to tackle the "back door to war" conspiracy theory, explaining why many

History’s Greatest Conspiracy Theories is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. For more fascinating stories from the past, head to HistoryExtra, the home of ‘History’s Greatest’ podcasts. There you can find other feeds including History’s Greatest Cities and HistoryExtra LongReads. Find out more at ⁠historyextra.com/podcast⁠.

We'd love to know what you think about the podcast, so leave us a review and let us know the topics you think we should be covering. Or, follow us on ⁠Facebook⁠, ⁠X⁠, ⁠Instagram⁠ or ⁠YouTube⁠ to keep in touch.

You can listen ad-free to this episode and more by subscribing to HistoryExtra Plus here: ⁠https://historyextra.supportingcast.fm/

This episode was hosted by Rob Attar and produced by Jack Bateman.

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Did NASA fake the moon landing? Did the Knights Templar discover America? And was Elizabeth I really a man in disguise? In Season 2 of History's Greatest Conspiracy Theories, Rob Attar is joined by expert historians to explore how these theories came about and whether any of them might actually be true.

History’s Greatest Conspiracy Theories is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. For more fascinating stories from the past, head to HistoryExtra, the home of ‘History’s Greatest’ podcasts. There you can find other feeds including History’s Greatest Cities and HistoryExtra LongReads. Find out more at ⁠historyextra.com/podcast⁠.

We'd love to know what you think about the podcast, so leave us a review and let us know the topics you think we should be covering. Or, follow us on ⁠Facebook⁠, ⁠X⁠, ⁠Instagram⁠ or ⁠YouTube⁠ to keep in touch.

You can listen ad-free to this episode and more by subscribing to HistoryExtra Plus here: ⁠https://historyextra.supportingcast.fm/⁠

This episode was hosted by Rob Attar and produced by Jack Bateman.

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In light of the recent announcement that President Trump has ordered the release of classified files surrounding JFK’s assassination, we’re bringing you three episodes delving into the case. In this third episode, recorded in April 2024, Rob Attar puts more listeners’ questions about the assassination to author and journalist Gerald Posner. Who did Lyndon Johnson think was behind the murder? Why do so many people believe in a conspiracy theory? And why is Lee Harvey Oswald’s other killing rarely discussed?

History’s Greatest Conspiracy Theories is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. For more fascinating stories from the past, head to HistoryExtra, the home of ‘History’s Greatest’ podcasts. There you can find other feeds including History’s Greatest Cities and HistoryExtra LongReads. Find out more at historyextra.com/podcast.

We'd love to know what you think about the podcast, so leave us a review and let us know the topics you think we should be covering. Or, follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram or YouTube to keep in touch.

You can listen ad-free to this episode and more by subscribing to HistoryExtra Plus here: https://apple.co/4fgRA1d.

This episode was hosted by Rob Attar and produced by Jack Bateman.

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In light of the recent announcement that President Trump has ordered the release of classified files surrounding JFK’s assassination, we’re bringing you three episodes delving into the case. In this second episode, recorded in April 2024, Rob Attar rejoins the investigative journalist Gerald Posner to tackle your questions about the assassination and the web of intrigue that surrounds it.

History’s Greatest Conspiracy Theories is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. For more fascinating stories from the past, head to HistoryExtra, the home of ‘History’s Greatest’ podcasts. There you can find other feeds including History’s Greatest Cities and HistoryExtra LongReads. Find out more at historyextra.com/podcast.

We'd love to know what you think about the podcast, so leave us a review and let us know the topics you think we should be covering. Or, follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram or YouTube to keep in touch.

You can listen ad-free to this episode and more by subscribing to HistoryExtra Plus here: https://apple.co/4fgRA1d.

This episode was hosted by Rob Attar and produced by Jack Bateman.

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On 22 November 1963, President John F Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested and charged with the murder, but, over the past 60 years, millions of people have come to believe that Oswald was just a small cog in a wider plot to murder the president.

In light of the recent announcement that President Trump has ordered the release of classified files surrounding JFK’s assassination, we’re re-releasing three episodes delving into the case. In this first episode, recorded in January 2024, Rob Attar speaks to the journalist Gerald Posner, whose landmark 1993 book Case Closed famously concluded that Oswald had indeed acted alone. Together, they dissect the evidence from the assassination and consider why conspiracy theories about it have become so widespread.

History’s Greatest Conspiracy Theories is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. For more fascinating stories from the past, head to HistoryExtra, the home of ‘History’s Greatest’ podcasts. There you can find other feeds including History’s Greatest Cities and HistoryExtra LongReads. Find out more at historyextra.com/podcast.

We'd love to know what you think about the podcast, so leave us a review and let us know the topics you think we should be covering. Or, follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram or YouTube to keep in touch.

You can listen ad-free to this episode and more by subscribing to HistoryExtra Plus here: https://apple.co/4fgRA1d.

This episode was hosted by Rob Attar and produced by Jack Bateman.

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Poisoned sweets. Criminal misdeeds. And a sex scandal involving… the prime-minister.

Listen to HistoryExtra's new podcast History’s Greatest Scandals, delving into the murky underworld of The Victorians. Ellie Cawthorne and historian Professor Rosalind Crone take a journey through the backstreets of 19th-century Britain to explore the darker side of Victorian life. Sneaking into private parlours, descending into candlelit mines, frequenting grim workhouses and paying a visit to an unscrupulous confectioner, uncovering some of the biggest scandals of the day – and explore what they can reveal about Victorian age.

Series 1 launches 7 Jan 2025.

Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40kQYTz

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/33plhOIkO9rtli5btfziHE

Listen everywhere else by searching: History's Greatest Conspiracy Theories

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History's Greatest Conspiracy Theories returns soon!

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In July 1947, some unusual debris was discovered at Roswell Army Air Field in New Mexico. Was this the remains of a crashed military balloon, or something from much, much further away? Has the US government spent the past 75 years hiding proof of alien life from us all? In our series on history’s most well-known conspiracy theories, Dr David Clarke gives Rob Attar the lowdown about the Roswell Incident and considers how it relates to the long history of UFO sightings.

History’s Greatest Conspiracy Theories is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. For more fascinating stories from the past, head to HistoryExtra, the home of ‘History’s Greatest’ podcasts. There you can find other feeds including History’s Greatest Cities and HistoryExtra LongReads. Find out more at historyextra.com/podcast.

We'd love to know what you think about the podcast, so leave us a review and let us know the topics you think we should be covering. Or, follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram or YouTube to keep in touch.

You can listen ad-free to this episode and more by subscribing to HistoryExtra Plus here: https://apple.co/4fgRA1d.

This episode was hosted by Rob Attar and produced by Jack Bateman.

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In the fifth episode of our series on history’s most well-known conspiracy theories, we investigate the idea that a highly advanced civilisation existed many thousands of years ago, before being wiped out by a calamitous event. Rob Attar speaks to archaeologist Flint Dibble about the ancient Greek origins of the Atlantis legend and how it has been reimagined in more recent times, including in the Netflix series ‘Ancient Apocalypse’.

History’s Greatest Conspiracy Theories is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. For more fascinating stories from the past, head to HistoryExtra, the home of ‘History’s Greatest’ podcasts. There you can find other feeds including History’s Greatest Cities and HistoryExtra LongReads. Find out more at historyextra.com/podcast.

We'd love to know what you think about the podcast, so leave us a review and let us know the topics you think we should be covering. Or, follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram or YouTube to keep in touch.

You can listen ad-free to this episode and more by subscribing to HistoryExtra Plus here: https://apple.co/4fgRA1d.

This episode was hosted by Rob Attar and produced by Jack Bateman.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices