HistoryExtra podcast
Episodes
Medieval rebellions
14 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Historian Ryan Lavelle explores revolts against authority in the 11th century, including against the rule of William the Conqueror in England. Histor...
Everything you ever wanted to know about the Suffragettes, but were afraid to ask
13 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the latest of our series tackling the big questions on major historical topics, historian and author Diane Atkinson responds to listener queries a...
Scythians: Warrior Nomads of the Steppe
12 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In a talk from our 2019 History Weekend in Winchester, Barry Cunliffe shares his knowledge of the skilled horsemen who rampaged across the steppe in t...
A Cold War killing?
11 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Journalist and author Ravi Somaiya discusses his new book, Operation Morthor, which investigates the mysterious 1961 death of UN Secretary-General D...
Simon Schama on the Romantics
09 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Ahead of his new BBC Two series The Romantics and Us, the renowned art historian and broadcaster Simon Schama explores the legacy of the 18th and 19...
Isabel Wilkerson on caste in America
07 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Isabel Wilkerson discusses her new book, Caste: The Lies That Divide Us, which argues that the divisions...
Everything you ever wanted to know about the legends of King Arthur, but were afraid to ask
06 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the latest of our series tackling the big questions on major historical topics, experts Ron Hutton and Ad Putter respond to listener queries and p...
The Patient Assassin: A True Tale of Massacre, Revenge and the Raj
05 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In a talk she delivered at our 2019 BBC History Magazine History Weekend in Winchester, author and BBC broadcaster Anita Anand tells the dramatic stor...
Britain goes to war, part 2
04 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Historian Alan Allport discusses his new book, Britain at Bay, which explores the years 1938–41 as the country transitioned from an uneasy peace to...
Britain goes to war, part 1
03 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Historian Alan Allport discusses his new book, Britain at Bay, which explores the years 1938–41 as the country transitioned from an uneasy peace to...
Ernest Bevin: working-class warrior
02 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Author and former cabinet minister Andrew Adonis discusses his new biography of Ernest Bevin, exploring how the Labour politician played a crucial rol...
The uncommon lives of common sailors
31 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Author and journalist Stephen Taylor describes the experiences of ordinary British seamen who took to the waves during the age of sail in the 18th an...
Everything you ever wanted to know about the Hundred Years’ War, but were afraid to ask
30 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the latest of our series tackling the big questions on major historical topics, historian Anne Curry responds to listener queries and popular sea...
Crusaders: An Epic History of the Wars for the Holy Lands
29 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In a talk he delivered at our 2019 BBC History Magazine History Weekend in Winchester, historian, author and broadcaster Dan Jones introduces a vivid ...
The extraordinary life of Sultan Selim I
28 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Historian Alan Mikhail, author of a new biography of the Ottoman Sultan Selim I, explains how he transformed the empire in the early 16thcentury – w...
Edward the Confessor
26 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Medieval historian Professor Tom Licence, author of a new biography of King Edward the Confessor, discusses the life and times of the pre-conquest rul...
Revisiting the Kindertransport
24 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Playwright Jonathan Lichtenstein talks to us about his new book, The Berlin Shadow, which describes how he accompanied his father on a journey back t...
Everything you ever wanted to know about the Aztecs, but were afraid to ask
23 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the latest of our series tackling the big questions on major historical topics, historian Caroline Dodds Pennock responds to listener queries and...
Who Dares Wins: Britain in the Age of the Falklands
22 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In a talk he delivered at our 2019 BBC History Magazine History Weekend in Winchester, historian, author and broadcaster Dominic Sandbrook explores th...
The story of the Freemasons
21 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Historian John Dickie, author of the new book The Craft: How the Freemasons Made the Modern World, sifts fact from fiction in the history of a much m...
Africa’s cultural liberation
19 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Author and broadcaster Afua Hirsch, who is presenting the new BBC Four series African Renaissance: When Art Meets Power, discusses the histories of E...
The history of seduction
17 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Clement Knox, author of the recent book Strange Antics: A History of Seduction, explores ideas of sex, courtship and power from the 18th century un...
Everything you ever wanted to know about the Spanish Civil War, but were afraid to ask
16 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the latest of our series tackling the big questions on major historical topics, historian Paul Preston responds to listener queries and popular se...
Could D-Day Have Failed?
15 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In a talk he delivered at our 2019 BBC History Magazine History Weekend in Winchester, military historian and author Peter Caddick-Adams reflects on t...
Victory in the east
14 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As we approach the 75th anniversary of VJ Day, historian Jonathan Fennell describes how the British and Commonwealth forces turned the tide against J...
What’s in a medieval name?
12 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Medieval historian James Chetwood explores the origins of people’s names in the Middle Ages and how trends in naming changed dramatically over the c...
Authors in the Boer War
10 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Author and biographer Sarah LeFanu discusses her recent book, Something of Themselves, which examines the involvement of three British writers – Ru...
Everything you ever wanted to know about the American Civil War, but were afraid to ask
09 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the latest of our series tackling the big questions on major historical topics, historian Adam IP Smith responds to listener queries and popular ...
Medieval Wonder Women
08 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In a talk she delivered at our 2019 BBC History Magazine History Weekend in Winchester, historian, author and broadcaster Janina Ramirez brings to lif...
Documents that changed the world
07 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The distinguished journalists and broadcasters Peter Snow and Ann MacMillan talk about their new book, The Treasures of World History, which compiles...
Peter Frankopan on global history in 2020
05 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Five years after the publication of his landmark book The Silk Roads: A New History of the World, historian Peter Frankopan explores some of the majo...
Medieval dynasties: how to stay on the throne
03 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Historian Robert Bartlett explores how medieval royal families sought to retain their grip on the throne and explains why some dynasties thrived, whil...
Everything you ever wanted to know about Ancient Greece, but were afraid to ask (part 2)
02 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the latest of our series tackling the big questions on major historical topics, ancient historian Paul Cartledge responds to listener queries and...
Shadow King: The Life and Death of Henry VI
01 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In a talk she delivered at our 2019 BBC History Magazine History Weekend in Winchester, historian and author Lauren Johnson discusses the tragic life ...
The Princes in the Tower: History’s Greatest Mysteries
31 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode we reveal the winner in our History’s Greatest Mystery poll: the fate of the princes in the Tower. Historian Nathen Amin consid...
Stonehenge: History’s Greatest Mysteries
30 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
All this week we are counting down the top five of our History’s Greatest Mysteries poll. In second place is Stonehenge, and in today’s episode ...
The fate of Jesus’s body: History’s Greatest Mysteries
29 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
All this week we are counting down the top five of our History’s Greatest Mysteries poll. In today’s episode, historian and author Tom Holland exp...
The lost colony of Roanoke: History’s Greatest Mysteries
28 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
All this week we are counting down the top five of our History’s Greatest Mysteries poll. In today’s episode, historian Misha Ewen delves into the...
The Voynich Manuscript: History’s Greatest Mysteries
27 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
All this week we are counting down the top five of our History’s Greatest Mysteries poll. In today’s episode, historian Elma Brenner discusses the...
Everything you ever wanted to know about Ancient Greece, but were afraid to ask (part 1)
26 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the latest of our series tackling the big questions on major historical topics, ancient historian Paul Cartledge responds to listener queries and...
Uncrowned Queen: The Fateful Life of Margaret Beaufort, Tudor Survivor
25 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In a talk she delivered at our 2019 BBC History Magazine History Weekend in Winchester, historian and author Nicola Tallis describes the remarkable li...
Unburied treasures
24 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As the Portable Antiquities Scheme records it’s 1.5 millionth find, we speak to Michael Lewis, who is head of the scheme, about some of the most rem...
African American abolitionists in Britain
22 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Historian Hannah-Rose Murray describes how Frederick Douglass and other African American abolitionists toured Britain in the 19th century to campaign...
A history of magic
20 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Archaeologist and author Chris Gosden explores delves into the history of magical beliefs and practices from ancient times until the present day. Hist...
Everything you ever wanted to know about medieval queens, but were afraid to ask
19 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Dr Elena Woodacre is an expert on medieval and early modern queens and queenship at the University of Winchester. In this podcast, she answers the mos...
At home with the medieval aristocracy
18 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Louise Wilkinson, a medievalist at the University of Lincoln talks about her research into the household accounts of Eleanor de Montfort, a ...
Lionheart of stone: the medieval statue debate
17 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The past few months have seen vigorous debates about the future of statues to contested historical figures, typically related to the colonial era and ...
The Abdication crisis
15 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Historian and author Alexander Larman is joined by popular historian Dan Jones to discuss his new book, The Crown in Crisis, which explores Edward VI...
Nero: Rome’s Antichrist?
13 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Roman historian Shushma Malik discusses the infamous crimes of the emperor Nero and considers whether he is deserving of his monstrous reputation. His...
Everything you ever wanted to know about the Cuban Missile Crisis, but were afraid to ask
12 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the latest of our series tackling the big questions on major historical topics, historian Mark White responds to listener queries and popular sea...
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles
11 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Historian Pauline Stafford shares the latest research and thinking on some of the most important historical sources from Early Medieval England. Histo...
Museums and colonialism
10 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Historian Alice Procter discusses her recent book The Whole Picture, which explains how modern museums often have problematic colonial histories an...
David Abulafia on The Boundless Sea
08 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Historian David Abulafia discusses his latest book, The Boundless Sea: A Human History of the Oceans, which was recently declared the winner of the p...
California’s century of change
06 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Laurence Grissell, producer of the recent BBC Radio 4 series The Californian Century, explores some of the key moments in the Golden State’s modern...
Everything you ever wanted to know about the Scottish Wars of Independence, but were afraid to ask
05 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the latest of our series tackling the big questions on major historical topics, historian Iain MacInnes responds to listener queries and popular ...
The Picts
04 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Gordon Noble and Nicholas Evans, co-authors of The King in the North, discuss the latest thinking about the culture that flourished in what’s now S...
Women and the Crusades
03 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Historian Natasha Hodgson explores the many different aspects of women’s involvement in the medieval campaigns fought in the Holy Land. Historyextra...
World War Two: the challenge of commemoration
01 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Historian and author Keith Lowe speaks to us about his new book Prisoners of History, which tells the stories of 25 monuments to the Second World War...
A history of pandemics: from Spanish Flu to Covid-19
29 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Medical historian and journalist Mark Honigsbaum, author of The Pandemic Century, compares the current Covid-19 pandemic, and our responses to it, to...
Everything you ever wanted to know about the Georgians, but were afraid to ask
28 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the latest of our series tackling the big questions on major historical topics, historian Kate Smith responds to listener queries and popular sea...
William and Cnut: a tale of two conquerors
27 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Historian Emily Ward, co-editor of a new book on the conquests of 1016 and 1066, explains how the earlier Danish invasion of England is crucial to ou...
Amy Robsart: a Tudor tragedy
26 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Historian and novelist Nicola Cornick discusses the life and mysterious death of Tudor gentlewoman Amy Robsart, wife of Elizabeth I’s chief favourit...
Britain and the Korean War
24 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of war on the Korean peninsula, historian Grace Huxford describes the key events of the conflict and explains...
Working mothers
22 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Historian Helen McCarthy, author of the new book Double Lives, considers how women in Britain have sought to balance the demands of work and childcar...
Everything you ever wanted to know about British battlefields, but were afraid to ask
21 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the latest of our series tackling the big questions on major historical topics, historian and battlefield guide Julian Humphrys responds to liste...
Saturday lecture: Medieval love and marriage
20 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the final talk from our virtual Medieval Life and Death Day event, historian Sally Dixon-Smith explores the history of romantic love and marriage p...
The Lancaster
19 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Historian, author and former RAF navigator John Nichol describes the history of the iconic WWII bomber aircraft and tells the stories of the men who f...
Henry III: inside the mind of a medieval king
17 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Historian David Carpenter, author of a major new biography of the 13th-century monarch Henry III, explains how we know more about his inner mind than ...
Francis Drake: slave trader
16 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sir Francis Drake was an English naval hero, famed for circumnavigating the globe and his role in defeating the Spanish Armada. But, he was also a sla...
Britain and the slave trade
15 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As Britain’s involvement in the transatlantic slave trade comes under scrutiny following recent protests, historian Christer Petley charts the histo...
Everything you ever wanted to know about the civil rights movement, but were afraid to ask
14 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the latest of our series tackling the big questions on major historical topics, historian Kevin Gaines responds to listener queries and popular s...
The Field of the Cloth of Gold
12 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII and Francis I’s magnificent peace summit in northern France, historian Glenn Richardson explores the events ...
The secret plot to kill Lincoln
10 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Bestselling authors Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch speak to us about their new book The Lincoln Conspiracy, which explores a little-known attempt to ki...
The unexpected Tudors
08 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Historians Sam Willis and James Daybell, creators of the Histories of the Unexpected books and podcast, take a sideways look at the Tudors era, exp...
Everything you ever wanted to know about Nazi Germany, but were afraid to ask
07 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the latest of our series tackling the big questions on major historical topics, historian Richard J Evans responds to listener queries and popular...
Saturday lecture: Medieval disease and medicine
06 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the third of five talks from our virtual Medieval Life and Death Day event, historian Elma Brenner explores some of the diseases that afflicted peo...
The history of the Bible
05 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Biblical scholar John Barton considers the historical background to the most influential book in western culture, exploring its creation and how it fi...
A legendary pirate
03 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Bestselling author Steven Johnson talks to us about his new book, Enemy of All Mankind, which tells the story of the infamous 17th-century English pi...
The cosmopolitan Chaucer
01 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Marion Turner explores the life of the 14th-century poet, arguing that we need to look beyond his status as the ‘father of English literature’. Hi...
Everything you ever wanted to know about the Civil War, but were afraid to ask
31 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the latest of our series tackling the big questions on major historical topics, historian Mark Stoyle responds to listener queries and popular sea...
Saturday lecture: Medieval food
30 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the second of five talks from our virtual Medieval Life and Death Day event, historian Chris Woolgar presents a broad survey of what, when and how ...
Indian soldiers at Dunkirk
29 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Historian Ghee Bowman, author of The Indian Contingent, tells the stories of a group of Muslims in the British Expeditionary Force who were part of t...
Medieval prisoners of war
27 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Rémy Ambühl discusses his new research into the fate of captives in the Hundred Years’ War. Historyextra.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast....
David Olusoga on A House Through Time
25 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Ahead of the third instalment of his acclaimed BBC TV series A House Through Time, historian and broadcaster David Olusoga delves into the story of B...
Everything you ever wanted to know about the Crusades, but were afraid to ask
24 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the latest of our series tackling the big questions on major historical topics, historian Rebecca Rist responds to listener queries and popular se...
Saturday lecture: Medieval crime and violence
23 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the first of five talks from our virtual Medieval Life and Death Day event, historian Hannah Skoda explores the nature and consequences of crime an...
Cooking for Churchill
22 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Food historian Annie Gray tells the story of Georgina Landemare, who became Winston Churchill’s cook during the Second World War. Her career offers...
Rutger Bregman’s optimistic history of the world
20 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Bestselling Dutch historian Rutger Bregman discusses his new book, Humankind: A Hopeful History, which ranges through the past to argue that humanity...
Living on the edge in Victorian Britain
18 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Historian Emma Griffin, author of the new book Bread Winner, explores how economic changes in 19th-century Britain affected family life for working ...
Everything you ever wanted to know about the English Reformation, but were afraid to ask
17 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the latest of our series tackling the big questions on major historical topics, historian Diarmaid MacCulloch responds to listener queries and pop...
Surviving the Great Plague
15 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As we grapple with the Covid-19 pandemic, historian Vanessa Harding describes the events of the Great Plague that afflicted London in 1665, and explai...
Rethinking the Renaissance
13 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Historian Catherine Fletcher, author of the new book The Beauty and the Terror: An Alternative History of the Italian Renaissance, offers a fresh vie...
The life and legend of Florence Nightingale
11 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth, biographer Mark Bostridge reflects on the pioneering Victorian nurse’s work at the Crim...
Everything you ever wanted to know about the Vikings, but were afraid to ask
10 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the latest of our series tackling the big questions on major historical topics, Judith Jesch, professor of Viking studies, responds to listener qu...
Britain at War
08 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On the 75th anniversary of VE Day we speak to historian Dan Todman, author of Britain's War: A New World, 1942–1947, about Britain’s role in def...
The Northumbrians: from Bede to Geordie Shore
06 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Historian Dan Jackson, author of The Northumbrians, traces the distinctive history and culture of North East England, from ancient times to the prese...
Medieval globetrotters
04 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Historian Valerie Hansen, author of a new history of the year 1000 AD, surveys the state of the world a millennium ago and argues that this was a cruc...
Everything you ever wanted to know about the Victorians, but were afraid to ask
03 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the latest of our new series tackling the big questions on major historical topics, historian Sarah Richardson responds to listener queries and po...
The Corn Laws crisis
01 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Author and journalist Stephen Bates describes the battle over bread prices that divided Parliament in mid-19th-century Britain. Historyextra.com/podca...
How the world made us
29 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Scientist and author Lewis Dartnell discusses his recent book Origins, which explores how Earth’s physical features have had a profound effect on h...