HistoryExtra podcast
Episodes
Richard III returns
06 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Ten years after the remains of Richard III were unearthed, and as The Lost King arrives in UK cinemas, archaeologist and author Mike Pitts reflects on...
Robert Harris on the manhunt for Charles I’s killers
05 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Charles II was determined to seek revenge on the men who killed his father. During the Restoration period the regicides fled across the globe and were...
Anti-Chinese prejudice: from gold rushes to exclusion laws
04 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the 19th century, the promise of gold brought Chinese immigrants to the west in unprecedented numbers. But before long, friction emerged on the gol...
WW2’s most daring raid
03 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Journalist and author Giles Whittell tells the story of the 1942 St Nazaire Raid, which saw hundreds of British commandos launch an audacious attack o...
15 minutes of fame: Babur, dynasty founder and diarist
02 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s the HistoryExtra podcast’s 15th birthday, and to celebrate, we’ve asked 15 historians to nominate a figure from history they think deserves...
The Knights Templar: everything you wanted to know
01 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Who joined the Knights Templar? When not waging war, what did they get up to on a day-to-day basis? And how did they become associated with the Holy G...
Clash of cultures: how interpreters bridged the gap between Britain and China
29 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Henrietta Harrison discusses her Cundill Prize-shortlisted book on the interpreters who took on the dangerous task of communicating between the Britis...
What can one woman reveal about Jewish life in medieval England?
28 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What can the life of one woman reveal about the experience of Jews in medieval England? Following the unveiling of a statue of Licoricia of Winchester...
The Napoleon of Fleet Street
27 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Historian Andrew Roberts discusses his new biography of Lord Northcliffe, the early 20th-century press baron who dominated the British media and had t...
Should mummies be on display?
26 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Is it strange that we go to museums to look at dead bodies? Angela Stienne’s book Mummified explores some of the ethical issues around displaying an...
15 minutes of fame: Hannah Humphrey, entrepreneurial Georgian printseller
25 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s the HistoryExtra podcast’s 15th birthday, and to celebrate, we’ve asked 15 historians to nominate a figure from history they think deserves...
The CIA: everything you wanted to know
24 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Why was the CIA formed? Who were the key players in the agency’s history? And what was its most significant scandal? Seventy five years on since the...
The end of Roman Britain: families, ancestors and DNA
23 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The use of ancient DNA analysis looks set to revolutionise our understanding of the end of Roman Britain. In this episode, we are joined by Professor ...
Love, marriage & wallpaper: the artistic lives of Jane and William Morris
22 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Victorian designer William Morris is remembered for his distinctive nature-inspired designs, many of which still grace wallpapers and furniture fabric...
Tutankhamun | 7. the contested legacy of an icon
21 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the 100 years since his tomb was discovered, Tutankhamun has become the icon of ancient Egypt – a muse for fashionistas and movie-makers, a pop ...
African and Caribbean people in Britain: a 2,000-year history
20 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The story of African and Caribbean people in Britain goes back to before the Roman empire. Rhiannon Davies spoke to Professor Hakim Adi to discover ho...
Dangerous ideas & scandalous lives: Germany’s first Romantics
19 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
At the turn of the 19th century, a small university town in Germany became the beating heart of an intellectual revolution. From philosophers and poet...
15 minutes of fame: Kleisthenes, father of Athenian democracy
18 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s the HistoryExtra podcast’s 15th birthday, and to celebrate, we’ve asked 15 historians to nominate a figure from history they think deserves...
Royal funerals: everything you wanted to know
17 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Where did traditional royal funerary practices come from? When did lying in state begin? And will the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II set any new preced...
Dan Jones on writing historical fiction
15 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
After making his name as a medieval historian, Dan Jones has turned his hand to historical fiction. His debut novel, Essex Dogs, follows ten hardened ...
Tutankhamun | 6. secrets of the pharaoh's mummy
14 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
There’s no more instantly recognisable symbol of ancient Egypt than a mummy. And, of course, the mummy of Tutankhamun is the most famous of all. But...
Escape from Colditz
13 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Bestselling author and historian Ben Macintyre joins us to discuss one of the most infamous German prisoner of war camps of the Second World War. I...
Winter is coming: the Anglo-Saxon year
12 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
How did the Anglo-Saxons think about changing seasons? Did they have the same months and use the same calendar as we do? What were the main festivals ...
15 minutes of fame: Aina Forbes Bonetta, Queen Victoria’s Yoruba goddaughter
11 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s the HistoryExtra podcast’s 15th birthday, and to celebrate, we’ve asked 15 historians to nominate a figure from history they think deserves...
Roman women: everything you wanted to know
10 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Could a Roman woman lead an army? What was it like to give birth in the ancient world? And how could women gain financial independence in the Roman em...
The Mary Rose | TRAILER
09 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What can a long-lost shipwreck reveal about Tudor England? In our new HistoryExtra podcast series, we’ll be marking the fortieth anniversary of the ...
Author, adventurer, archaeologist: Agatha Christie’s action-packed life
08 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Agatha Christie is known as the queen of crime fiction. But, as Lucy Worsley reveals, her life contained almost as much drama and mystery as her novel...
Tutankhamun | 5. Treasures of the tomb
07 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When Howard Carter cracked open Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922, he marvelled at the “wonderful things” he had discovered. But what exactly were thes...
The Holocaust: a 21st-century view
06 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
How has our understanding of the Holocaust changed over the decades? Professors Mary Fulbrook, Richard J Evans and Rebecca Clifford explore this quest...
Russia’s national past: unpicking history from propaganda
06 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In order to understand modern Russia, historian Orlando Figes argues, you need to understand the country’s view of its own past. From Putin’s hist...
15 minutes of fame: Malintzin, Aztec interpreter
04 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s the HistoryExtra podcast’s 15th birthday, and to celebrate, we’ve asked 15 historians to nominate a figure from history they think deserves...
Ellis Island: everything you wanted to know
03 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Between the 1890s and 1920s, an estimated 12-13 million immigrants arrived in the United States via a vast processing centre on an island just off New...
HistoryExtra Plus - Summer Listening Trailer
03 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Would you like to make the most of the summer holidays with more fascinating historical conversations? Then subscribe to our premium podcast channel...
How nomads changed the world
01 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Nomads have altered the shape of human history in many ways, but as societies that didn’t tend to leave a written record, their stories are often ...
Tutankhamun | 4. The mystery of Nefertiti
31 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The striking bust of Nefertiti has captivated people since its discovery in 1912. But who was this queen? How powerful was she? And how was she relate...
Return of the Viking raiders
30 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Across the eighth and ninth centuries, Britain and Ireland were targeted by a series of brutal Vikings raids. But that wasn’t the end of the story. ...
The big questions of religious history
29 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Why is being a historian of religion such a dangerous endeavour today? Is it easier to study the history of a religion if you are an adherent or an ou...
15 minutes of fame: Franz Nopcsa, Hungarian adventurer and palaeontologist
28 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s the HistoryExtra podcast’s 15th birthday! To celebrate, we’ve asked 15 historians to nominate a figure from history they think deserves the...
Troy: everything you wanted to know
28 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The story of the Trojan War – featuring the daring Achilles, beautiful Helen and one very deceptive horse – is a classic of western literature. Bu...
Castles: from mighty fortresses to fantastical palaces
26 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
John Goodall examines how the castle’s role has evolved through time – from medieval fortresses and prisons to regal residences and tourist hotspo...
Tutankhamun | 3. Life & death of a boy king
25 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Tutankhamun is the most famous pharaoh of all, but what do we actually know about his short life and reign? In episode three of our series on the boy ...
Glass men & killer doubles: a history of delusions
24 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
From ancient people who believed they were made of butter, to French Terror survivors who were convinced they’d been guillotined and given the wrong...
The BBC at 100: what can history tell us about its future?
23 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the final instalment of our series marking the BBC’s centenary, David Hendy explores what the corporation’s history can tell us about its futur...
15 minutes of fame: St Hadrian of Canterbury, medieval African theologian
21 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s the HistoryExtra podcast’s 15th birthday, and to celebrate, we’ve asked 15 historians to nominate a figure from history they think deserves...
Robin Hood: everything you wanted to know
21 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
There are few better-known folktales than the story of a gentlemanly outlaw roaming the forest with his band of merry men, robbing the rich to give to...
How one woman liberated a notorious US slave jail
19 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Kristen Green uncovers the life and legacy of Mary Lumpkin, an enslaved women trapped within the US domestic slave trade. Speaking to Emily Briffett, ...
Tutankhamun | 2. Egypt in the era of the boy king
18 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Tutankhamun’s reign took place during one of ancient Egypt’s most fascinating and turbulent periods – the 18th Dynasty. In episode two of our ne...
Lost languages & travelling communities: unexpected medieval histories
17 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As part of our series of conversations with winners of the 2022 Dan David Prize, Dr Kristina Richardson tells Helen Carr about her research into littl...
Countryside campaigners: four women who fought for our green spaces
16 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Matthew Kelly tells David Musgrove the story of four women who helped to protect and preserve the English countryside from the 1870s through...
15 minutes of fame: Charley Wilson, working-class trans man
15 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s the HistoryExtra podcast’s 15th birthday, and to celebrate, we’ve asked 15 historians to nominate a figure from history they think deserves...
Hollywood history: everything you wanted to know
14 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What are the most impactful films in Hollywood history? What made the golden age of film so golden? And how important were Hollywood movies in project...
The Sahara: a green and pleasant land
12 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Sahara is known as one of the world’s hottest and driest environments, but during his explorations of the desert over the past 60 years, Martin ...
Tutankhamun | 1. Unearthing the boy king’s lost tomb
11 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
One hundred years ago, in 1922, Egyptologist Howard Carter made one of the most spectacular discoveries in the history of archaeology, when he unearth...
Is Queen Henrietta Maria’s rotten reputation deserved?
10 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As the wife of Charles I, Henrietta Maria was in the firing line of the parliamentary propaganda machine. The Stuart queen was known as the “popish ...
Measurement: an unexpected history
09 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
From weight and distance, to calorie-counting and calculating the depths of space, throughout history, humans have loved to measure things. Speaking t...
15 minutes of fame: Alice Kinloch, Pan-African activist
08 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s the HistoryExtra podcast’s 15th birthday! To celebrate, we’ve asked 15 historians to nominate a figure from history they think deserves the...
First World War poets: everything you wanted to know
07 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
How much has our view of the First World War – one of mud, trenches and futility – been shaped by the work of a handful of poets? How did the Brit...
Stalingrad: a soldier’s testimony
05 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Author Iain MacGregor reveals how the unpublished memoirs of a German officer shed fascinating new light on the battle of Stalingrad. Speaking with Ro...
Medieval monks: a day in the life
04 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Danièle Cybulskie charts a day in the life of a medieval monk, from morning rituals and mealtime misbehaviour to daily chores and worldly reflection....
Gone with the Wind: how a 1936 novel explains modern America
03 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Sarah Churchwell discusses her new book The Wrath to Come, which re-examines the controversial legacy of Margaret Mitchell’s immensely pop...
Treason: from Anne Boleyn to Lord Haw Haw
02 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Mark Cornwell charts the history of treason in Britain. He tells Kev Lochun how a handful of high profile cases – from Anne Boleyn and the...
15 minutes of fame: St Wilfrid, quarrelsome church reformer
01 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s the HistoryExtra podcast’s 15th birthday! To celebrate, we’ve asked 15 historians to nominate a figure from history they think deserves the...
Gold rushes: everything you wanted to know
31 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Stephen Tuffnell answers listener questions on the series of gold rushes that captivated the imaginations of hordes of prospectors in the 19th century...
Reconstructing black lives in the Antebellum South
29 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As part of our series of conversations with winners of the 2022 Dan David Prize, Dr Kimberly Welch talks to Helen Carr about her research using legal ...
The end of Roman Britain | 8. ends and beginnings
28 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the final episode of the series, David Musgrove wraps up what we’ve learnt from our experts about how Britain moved out of the orbit of the Roman...
Hannibal: Rome’s greatest nightmare
27 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Philip Freeman shares the story of how the brilliant Carthaginian general Hannibal led his elephants over the Alps and into Rome’s nightmares, makin...
Stalin’s library: inside the mind of a dictator
26 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Historian Geoffrey Roberts explores the life and career of Josef Stalin through his vast book collection. In conversation with Rob Attar, Professor Ro...
15 minutes of fame: Queen Tiye, overshadowed ancient Egyptian royal
25 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s the HistoryExtra podcast’s 15th birthday! To celebrate, we’ve asked 15 historians to nominate a figure from history they think deserves the...
The partition of India: everything you wanted to know
24 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For the latest in our everything you want to know series, historian Dr Anwesha Roy revisits the 1947 partition of India, which divided British-ruled I...
The BBC at 100: scandals break
22 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the penultimate episode of our series marking the centenary of the BBC, David Hendy looks back at some of the scandals surrounding the corporation ...
The end of Roman Britain | 7. bones, diet and migrants
21 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we talk to Dr Sam Leggett, an expert in archaeological bone analysis, about the latest fascinating research with stable isotopes, to ...
The first Vietnam War
20 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Historian Christopher Goscha explores the decade-long conflict between the French empire and Ho Chi Minh’s communist Vietnamese forces that followed...
Powerful pages: the beguiling history of books
19 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For centuries, humanity has had a love affair with books. But these volumes are far more than just receptacles for stories. They have been tools to sp...
15 minutes of fame: Marie Tharp, ground-breaking cartographer
18 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s the HistoryExtra podcast’s 15th birthday! To celebrate, we’ve asked 15 historians to nominate a figure from history they think deserves the...
The Inca empire: everything you wanted to know
17 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What did an ordinary day in the Inca empire look like? How did the Inca count using knots? And why were stones so sacred to the civilization? In conve...
The vanishing inventor
15 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On 16 September 1890, inventor Louis Le Prince boarded a train to Paris and vanished without a trace. In his book The Man Who Invented Motion Pictures...
The end of Roman Britain | 6. cultures lost and found
14 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In episode six of our podcast series on the end of Roman Britain, Professor Robin Fleming speaks to David Musgrove about how far the archaeological ev...
Britain’s century of political nightmares
13 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
From the First World War to the financial crash of 2008, Phil Tinline tells Spencer Mizen how politicians have reacted to the many crises that have be...
Royal rivals? Medieval England and France’s tempestuous relationship
12 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Catherine Hanley chronicles the greatest conflicts and alliances between England and France from 1100-1300, through the stories of the men, women and ...
15 minutes of fame: Tsiang Ting-fu, Chinese historian and diplomat
11 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s the HistoryExtra podcast’s 15th birthday! To celebrate, we’ve asked 15 historians to nominate a figure from history they think deserves the...
The Peasants’ Revolt: everything you wanted to know
10 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In 1381, thousands of men and women surged into London, attacking jails, burning down palaces, murdering the Archbishop of Canterbury and confronting ...
Elizabeth I’s greatest rival?
08 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sixteenth-century Europe was dominated by two female powerhouses: Elizabeth I of England and Catherine de Medici, the French Queen Mother. The two wom...
The end of Roman Britain | 5. an identity crisis?
07 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the fifth episode of our podcast series on the end of Roman Britain, David Musgrove talks to Dr James Gerrard about how society changed as Britain ...
David Stirling: SAS hero or fraud?
06 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Special forces historian Gavin Mortimer casts a critical eye over David Stirling, who is renowned as the founder of the SAS in the Second World War. S...
The Norman kings of Africa
05 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Normans famously conquered England, but did you know they also had a short-lived kingdom in North Africa in the 12th century? Professor Levi Roach...
15 minutes of fame: Hildegard of Bingen, medieval polymath
04 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s the HistoryExtra podcast’s 15th birthday! To celebrate, we’ve asked 15 historians to nominate a figure from history they think deserves the...
British schools and education: everything you wanted to know
03 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When did schooling become compulsory? How far did education differ between girls and boys? And why does the British school year start in September? Sp...
On the streets of 19th-century London
01 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Oskar Jensen introduces the characters roaming the streets of Georgian and Victorian London, from beggars to ballad singers. Speaking to Ellie Cawthor...
The end of Roman Britain | 4. religion and belief
30 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the fourth episode of our podcast series on the end of Roman Britain, David Musgrove considers the role of religion in late Roman Britain with Dr D...
Casanova: more than a serial seducer
29 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Giacomo Casanova is remembered for his reputation as a serial seducer. But according to author Leo Damrosch, he was far more than that. Speaking with ...
From bohemian Brighton to military Plymouth: the LGBTQ history of four British cities
28 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Matt Cook and Alison Oram discuss their new book Queer Beyond London, which uncovers the LGBTQ experience in four English cities – Brighton, Manches...
15 minutes of fame: Marguerite de Navarre, royal influencer
27 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s the HistoryExtra podcast’s 15th birthday! To celebrate, we’ve asked 15 historians to nominate a figure from history they think deserves the...
The Mali empire: everything you wanted to know
26 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Who founded the Mali empire? What impact did Islam have on its trajectory? What were its interactions with medieval Europe like? And what made its gre...
The BBC at 100: political tensions in the 1970s and 80s
24 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the latest instalment of our monthly series marking the centenary of the BBC, media historian David Hendy talks to Matt Elton about the political p...
The end of Roman Britain | 3. a militarised state?
23 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the third episode of our podcast series on the end of Roman Britain, David Musgrove looks at how far Britain was a militarised state between the th...
Who were the Celts?
22 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Simon Jenkins considers the enigmatic story of the Celts, and asks whether any such people ever actually existed. Speaking with David Musgrove, he als...
Pioneering women pilots: from ballooning spectacles to flying escapades
21 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sally Smith considers the contributions made and significant firsts achieved by British women in the field of aviation, from ballooning and parachutin...
Discovering a lost royal battleship
20 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Claire Jowitt discusses the discovery of a 17th-century shipwreck off the coast of Norfolk Claire Jowitt speaks to Matt Elton about the news of t...
The Edwardians: everything you wanted to know
19 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In our latest everything you wanted to know episode, Dr John Jacob Woolf answers listener questions on Edwardian Britain. Speaking to Ellie Cawthorne,...
Watergate at 50: the making of an American scandal
17 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Half a century on from the Watergate scandal, Clifford Williamson explores its twists and turns, its key players, and its lasting impact on American p...