HistoryExtra podcast

The end of Roman Britain | 2. life in the late imperial age

16 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In the second episode of our podcast series on the end of Roman Britain, David Musgrove investigates what life was like for people living in the later...

African-American philanthropy

15 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In the first episode in our series of conversations with winners of the 2022 Dan David Prize, Dr Tyrone Freeman speaks to Helen Carr about his award-w...

Reconstructing the body of God

14 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Francesca Stavrakopoulou, author of the Wolfson History Prize shortlisted book God: An Anatomy, discusses what ancient biblical texts tell us about th...

Midway: why America won the WW2 naval battle

13 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In June 1942, the US and Japanese navies went head to head over a small atoll in the middle of the Pacific ocean. Brendan Simms and Steven McGregor, a...

Crime & punishment in Britain: everything you wanted to know

12 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Who maintained law and order before the police? When did Britain ban capital punishment – and why? And what are some of the weirdest punishments dol...

Has Britain always looked backwards?

10 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

From the “Blitz spirit” invoked in the Covid-19 pandemic, to the 16th-century sense that a lost greatness needed to be recovered, historian Hannah...

The end of Roman Britain | 1. introduction, and a mystery mosaic

09 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What really happened in Britain as Roman influence waned? Recent research is shaking up our view of the end of imperial rule during the fifth century,...

How the Persians were written out of history

08 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones tells Spencer Mizen why Eurocentric depictions of the “barbarous” Persians have obscured the achievements of one of the anci...

Shady deals & rigged elections: the changing face of corruption

07 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Professor Mark Knights discusses how ideas about corruption were transformed in Britain and its empire between 1600 and 1850. Speaking to Ellie Cawtho...

Plastic surgery: transformed by WW1

06 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The First World War unleashed an unprecedented wave of violence, and medicine struggled to keep up. British surgeon Harold Gillies was at the forefron...

Britain’s transformation during the Queen’s lifetime

05 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week sees Queen Elizabeth II make history as the first ever British monarch to celebrate their platinum jubilee. To mark her 70 years on the thro...

Empire of blood

03 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Professor Caroline Elkins explains how the British empire was sustained by violence for more than 200 years. Speaking with Rob Attar, she reveals how ...

The Black Death | 6. how the pandemic transformed societies

02 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In the final episode of our series on the Black Death, Professor Mark Bailey and Dr Claire Kennan discuss the medieval pandemic’s dramatic social, p...

Fairy queens & giantesses: pagan goddesses in Christian Europe

01 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Although medieval Europe was firmly Christian, pagan deities still loomed large in the popular imagination. Rhiannon Davies spoke to Ronald Hutton abo...

The birth of insulin: a scientific drama

31 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

One hundred years on from Fred Banting and Charles Best’s discovery, Dr Kersten Hall tells the tale of insulin and its vital role in helping people ...

Dracula at 125: what can a vampire tell us about Victorian Britain?

30 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Marking the 125th anniversary of the publication of Dracula, Roger Luckhurst tells Ellie Cawthorne why Bram Stoker’s vampire thriller has had such a...

Witchcraft: everything you wanted to know

29 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Were all suspected witches burned at the stake? Was torture a legal way of gaining a confession of practising magic? And which professions were most c...

Alice Roberts on unearthing the Romans, Vikings & Anglo-Saxons

27 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Professor Alice Roberts explores how cutting-edge developments in archaeology and genetic science can broaden our understanding of what happened in Br...

The Black Death | 5. death, sin & spirituality

26 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The arrival of a terrifying pandemic made medieval people increasingly preoccupied with death, sin and the afterlife. In this episode, Ellie Cawthorne...

Antony Beevor on the Russian revolution

25 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Bestselling military historian Antony Beevor discusses his new book Russia: Revolution and Civil War 1917-1921. In conversation with Rob Attar, he del...

Eliza Acton: Britain’s first modern cookery writer

24 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Writer Annabel Abbs discusses poet and food writer Eliza Acton, the protagonist of her new historical novel The Language of Food. She tells Emma Slatt...

The BBC at 100: change & innovation in 60s Britain

23 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In the latest episode of our monthly series marking the centenary of the BBC, media historian David Hendy speaks to Matt Elton about the ways in which...

WW2’s desert war: everything you wanted to know

22 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Historian Jonathan Fennell answers listener questions on the North African campaign in the Second World War. Speaking with Rob Attar, he discusses som...

Christine de Pizan: from medieval writer to feminist icon

20 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Charlotte Cooper-Davis delves into the life and legacy of Christine de Pizan, a late medieval writer who was actively involved in the production of he...

The Black Death | 4. medieval medical thinking

19 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How do you fight a disease, when you don’t know what causes it? In this episode, Ellie Cawthorne speaks to Elma Brenner about medieval medical think...

A legacy of inequality: the economic impact of empire

18 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Imperialism led to eye-watering profits for the British, and after decolonisation those who had grown rich from the colonial project rewrote the rules...

Stasi poets: creative writing & the Cold War

17 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Journalist Philip Oltermann explores the unusual story of the poetry group run by the East German Ministry for State Security. Speaking to Rob Attar, ...

Cathedrals: from bishops' seats to tourist hotspots

16 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Nicholas Orme speaks to Emily Briffett about the long story of English cathedrals, tracing their role in society from their beginnings in the early Mi...

The Restoration: everything you wanted to know

15 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How did the Restoration of the monarchy come about, after a period of civil war and 11 years of Republican rule? How smooth was the transfer of power?...

HistoryExtra Plus: get early access to our podcast series

14 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Enjoying our new Black Death series? Listen to the next three episodes right now on our new subscription podcast channel HistoryExtra Plus, along with...

Eurovision: a political history

13 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

From voting scandals and political messaging to drag queens and ABBA, Dr Dean Vuletic speaks to Ellie Cawthorne about the history of the Eurovision So...

The Black Death | 3. living through the plague

12 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What would it have been like to live through a Black Death outbreak? In this episode, Ellie Cawthorne speaks to Professor Samuel Cohn about the experi...

Free speech: a brief, contentious history

11 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Jacob Mchangama explores the global history of free speech, discussing its ancient origins, staunchest defenders and biggest critics. Speaking to Matt...

Disabled people in Tudor times

10 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Phillipa Vincent-Connolly explores the lives of disabled people in the Tudor era. Speaking to Ellie Cawthorne, she uncovers complex attitudes to disab...

Magellan: daring explorer or doomed failure?

09 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In September 1519, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan set off on a fateful voyage to find a route to the Spice Islands. In the centuries since, Ma...

War in the air: everything you wanted to know

08 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What are the origins of aircraft being used in war? How common were dogfights? And were early fighter pilots really the ‘knights of the air’? Spea...

The Dudleys: power behind the Tudor throne

06 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The might of the Tudor dynasty was built on the blood and sweat of three generations of another family – the Dudleys. And sometimes, they paid the u...

The Black Death | 2. origins & spread

05 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Over recent years, our understanding of the Black Death has been radically transformed by new scientific developments. In this episode, Ellie Cawthorn...

Spain’s tumultuous story

04 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Giles Tremlett explores the turbulent history of Spain. Speaking to Elinor Evans, he explores how its position on Europe's south-western corner has ex...

Despatches on dictators: US reporters in 1930s Europe

03 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Deborah Cohen discusses a close-knit group of American foreign correspondents who reported on the tumult of interwar Europe in the 1920s and 1930s. Sh...

Britain’s lost towns and villages

02 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Britain is a land full of lost settlements – villages, towns and even cities. Matthew Green explores these deserted places with David Musgrove, look...

Medieval childhood: everything you wanted to know

01 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What was it like to grow up in the Middle Ages? In our latest Everything you wanted to know episode, Dr Emily Joan Ward answers your questions about m...

The failings of emancipation

29 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Professor Kris Manjapra speaks to Ellie Cawthorne about his book Black Ghost of Empire, which reveals how the end of slavery helped perpetuate systems...

The Black Death | 1. Introduction

28 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In the late 1340s, people in cities, towns and villages across the medieval world began to fall ill from a mysterious pestilence. This six part series...

Video games at 50: a cultural history

27 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Fifty years on from the launch of the world’s first commercial home video game console – the Magnavox Odyssey – John Wills talks to Matt Elton a...

Libraries: a book lover’s history

26 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Andrew Pettegree and Arthur der Weduwen delve into the history of libraries, from the humble book lover’s private selection to the most lavish liter...

The BBC at 100: TV takes off in the 1950s

25 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In the latest episode of our monthly series marking the centenary of the BBC, media historian David Hendy speaks to Matt Elton about the rise of telev...

The Falklands War: everything you wanted to know

24 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How much of a gamble did sending a task force to the South Atlantic represent for Margaret Thatcher? How close did Britain come to losing the conflict...

Introducing: HistoryExtra Plus

23 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Would you like ad-free versions of our podcasts, early access to series and exclusive bonus content? Then check out our subscription podcast feed Hist...

Rebel ramblers of the Kinder Trespass

22 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Ninety years on from the Kinder Mass Trespass, Ben Anderson speaks to Ellie Cawthorne about what this act of popular protest achieved in 1932, how it ...

Catherine the Great: inoculation pioneer

21 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Lucy Ward speaks to Elinor Evans about the story of English Quaker doctor Thomas Dimsdale, who took up the risky challenge of inoculating Empress Cath...

Trailblazers of black British theatre

20 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Stephen Bourne introduces Spencer Mizen to some of the pioneers of black British theatre, from Ira Aldridge, who in 1825 became the first black actor ...

The Jagiellonians: the dynasty that shaped central Europe

19 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Natalia Nowakowska reveals the story of the Jagiellonians – one of the most successful dynasties that many people have never even heard of. Speaking...

Operation Mincemeat: WW2 espionage on film

18 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In 1943, British agents concocted a daring plot to trick Hitler, involving a dead body, fake love letters and a false identity. Speaking with Emily Br...

Royal residences: everything you wanted to know

17 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Historian Tracy Borman answers listener questions about the history of British royal residences, from imposing castles to decadent palaces. She speaks...

The Northman: bringing the Viking world to life on screen

15 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A blood-splattered slice of Viking action arrives in UK cinemas today with the release of Robert Eggers’ new saga-inspired epic, The Northman. Profe...

Pets, pests & portents: birds through time

14 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Over time, we’ve viewed birds as pets, pests, natural delights and bad omens. Roy and Lesley Adkins tell Emily Briffett about our complex and length...

Inside a Roman home

13 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What could you expect to hear in the atrium of a Roman home? What was everyday life like for the slaves who worked in the kitchens? And which emperor ...

Medieval emotions: were they like our own?

12 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Speaking to Dave Musgrove, medieval historian Elizabeth Boyle reflects on life throughout the Covid lockdowns, using early Irish literature to explore...

Corruption in the ancient world

11 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What was corruption like in the ancient world – and how can studying it help us make sense of shady dealings in the 21st century? Matt Elton speaks ...

Trade unions: everything you wanted to know

10 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Mark Crail tackles popular internet search queries and listener questions about the history of Britain’s trade union movement and its attempts to se...

Wiretapping: a secret history

08 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Wiretapping has a chequered past in the United States, from civil war soldiers who were seen as heroes for tapping enemy wires to the political scanda...

Burning down Ireland’s stately homes

07 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Professor Terence Dooley, author of Burning the Big House, tells Ellie Cawthorne why so many of Ireland’s grand homes were subjected to arson during...

Benjamin Franklin: portrait of a revolutionary

06 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Acclaimed filmmaker Ken Burns tells Elinor Evans about the life and accomplishments of Benjamin Franklin – a man who both loved Britain but became a...

Oxford: from wild student parties to the shadow of war

05 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Daisy Dunn tells Spencer Mizen how students at Oxford University – including Evelyn Waugh, Vera Brittain and John Betjeman – were buffeted by worl...

Why the Ukraine conflict isn’t a new Cold War

04 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

International history expert Professor Kristina Spohr talks to Matt Elton about the historical parallels of the current conflict in Ukraine – and wh...

Scottish clans: everything you wanted to know

03 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What do we mean by the word ‘clan’? Were these Scottish kinship groups more often allies or enemies? And did they really wear tartan? Speaking wit...

What one duel can tell us about Jacobean England

01 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Lloyd Bowen shares the story of one remarkable 1601 duel with Elinor Evans. He reveals what the wealth of evidence around a single dispute can tell us...

Digging up Roman London

31 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Archaeologist Dominic Perring discusses what we know about London’s Roman past with Emily Briffett, examining the city’s key turning points and ex...

Life in Cromwell’s Britain

30 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Anna Keay introduces Spencer Mizen to the dramatic decade between the execution of Charles I in 1649 and the restoration of the monarchy in 1660. She ...

1942: Churchill’s darkest hour

29 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Historian Taylor Downing chronicles the events of the year 1942, which he contends was Britain’s lowest moment in the Second World War. Speaking to ...

Rapa Nui’s island mysteries

28 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Archaeologist Cat Jarman delves into the mysteries and debates surrounding the history of Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island. In conversation with ...

The history of beauty: everything you wanted to know

27 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Health and beauty historian Lucy Jane Santos answers listener questions and popular online search queries about beauty throughout the ages. From early...

Bridgerton: behind the scenes of season 2

25 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Hannah Greig, a historical consultant to the hit series Bridgerton, takes us behind the scenes of season two. She speaks to Elinor Evans about the rea...

Suleyman the Magnificent: the 16th-century’s most powerful ruler?

24 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

When Suleyman the Magnificent became Sultan of the Ottoman empire in 1520, he was proclaimed the world’s most powerful man, who could use his armies...

Our Winston Churchill obsession

23 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Winston Churchill looms large in the modern imagination. Everyone from Fidel Castro to George W Bush have cited him as an exemplar in times of crisis....

Naked statues, naughty gods & bad wine

22 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Classicist and author Garrett Ryan talks to Kev Lochun about some of the biggest and most commonly asked questions surrounding ancient Greece and Rome...

The BBC at 100: the corporation at war

21 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In the third episode of our monthly series marking the centenary of the BBC, media historian David Hendy tells Matt Elton how the BBC became an import...

The Napoleonic Wars: everything you wanted to know

20 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Dr Mike Rapport tackles popular search queries and listener questions about the 19th-century conflicts that tore Europe apart and triggered seismic po...

Prohibition: busting myths about the ban on booze

18 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Mark Lawrence Schrad speaks to Ellie Cawthorne about his book Smashing the Liquor Machine, which busts commonly held myths about prohibition, revealin...

Stitching together the history of fabric

17 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The history of fabric is interwoven with the story of humanity, from the sackcloth shirts that tore open the skin of pious medieval saints to cotton’...

Carrot conspiracies & digging for victory: feeding Britain in WW2

16 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Professor John Martin speaks to Emily Briffett about Britain’s battle against starvation during the Second World War. From the invention of familiar...

​​Children of the Norman Conquest

15 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Dr Eleanor Parker, author of Conquered: The Last Children of Anglo-Saxon England, talks to David Musgrove about the young people whose lives were upen...

Britain’s WW2 island internment camp

14 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

During the Second World War, the British government imprisoned thousands of German and Austrian-born residents – many of them refugees from Nazi opp...

Gladiators: everything you wanted to know

13 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Who became a gladiator? Were they really the superstars of their day? And was giving a thumbs down for a death sentence a real thing? In this Everythi...

Fredegund and Brunhild: a tale of two queens

11 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Shelley Puhak delves into the lives of queens Fredegund and Brunhild, famed for their bitter and bloody rivalry which wracked the Frankish empire in t...

Eugenics: a toxic history

10 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Adam Rutherford discusses the dark – and often surprising – history of the eugenics movement Geneticist Adam Rutherford speaks to Ellie Cawthor...

​​Gardens and the scientific revolution

09 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Clare Hickman explores how gardens were used as places of scientific experimentation in the 18th and 19th centuries During the scientific revolution...

Periods, fertility & childbirth: a pre-modern history

08 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Mary Fissell talks to Ellie Cawthorne about women’s reproductive health in early modern Europe and America. She discusses how women dealt with their...

Radical women

07 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Nan Sloane speaks to Ellie Cawthorne about her new book Uncontrollable Women, which charts the stories of now largely forgotten female activists who w...

The Franks: everything you wanted to know

06 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Dr Christian Cooijmans answers listener questions on the medieval world of the Franks. Speaking to David Musgrove, he discusses long-lasting Frankish...

How museums are shaping the future

04 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Neil MacGregor talks to Matt Elton about his new BBC Radio 4 series, The Museums that Make Us, and the ways in which museums around the UK are adaptin...

Ukraine: the WW2 roots of today's conflict

03 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Keith Lowe talks to Matt Elton about the ways in which today’s conflict between Russia and Ukraine can be traced back to the Second World War and de...

Old English: a quick guide

02 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Hana Videen explores the Old English language and reveals what it can tell us about daily life at the time it was spoken The medieval language of Ol...

Witch hunters: cynical persecutors or misguided zealots?

01 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Marion Gibson discusses the motivations and methods of “witch finders” who sought out supernatural wrongdoing in Stuart Britain. Speaking to Ellie...

Fascism in Britain

28 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Nigel Copsey discusses the British Union of Fascists and its leader, Oswald Mosley Nigel Copsey speaks to Ellie Cawthorne about the British Union of...

The American Revolutionary War: everything you wanted to know

27 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Benjamin Carp tackles listener questions and popular search queries on the conflict that saw colonists in North America rise up and declare independen...

The BBC at 100: establishment values in the 1930s

26 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In the second instalment of our new monthly series marking the centenary of the BBC, media historian David Hendy speaks to Matt Elton about the ways i...

Vikings: Valhalla’s real inspirations

25 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Screenwriter Jeb Stuart discusses the real history that inspired his new Netflix show Vikings: Valhalla   Screenwriter Jeb Stuart speaks to Kev Loch...

Nixon in China: the trip that changed the Cold War

23 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Fifty years ago this month, US president Richard Nixon embarked on a trip to China – a visit that marked a key moment in the thawing of relations be...