HistoryExtra podcast

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...

The unexpected Vikings

27 Apr 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 Viking era, expl...

Everything you ever wanted to know about British prehistory, but were afraid to ask

26 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In the latest of our new series tackling the big questions on major historical topics, archaeologist David Miles responds to listener queries and pop...

A Nazi mystery

24 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Philippe Sands, author of the multi-award-winning memoir East West Street, talks to us about his new book, The Ratline, which charts his investigat...

A new view of Africa’s past

22 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Historian Toby Green, author of the award-winning book A Fistful of Shells, explores the history of West Africa and its relations with the wider worl...

Chanel and the Riviera

20 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Anne de Courcy discusses Coco Chanel, and some other famous faces who graced the French Riviera, during the interwar years and the era of Nazi occupat...

Everything you ever wanted to know about D-Day, but were afraid to ask

19 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In the latest of our new series tackling the big questions on major historical topics, military historian Peter Caddick-Adams responds to listener qu...

The scandalous Byrons

17 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Historian and author Emily Brand speaks about her new book, The Fall of the House of Byron, which explores the dramatic lives of the Georgian aristoc...

The mistresses of Charles II

15 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Historian and author Linda Porter talks about her new book Mistresses: Sex and Scandal at the court of Charles II, exploring the lives of the many wo...

The spies who inspired Bond

13 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Author and spy expert Henry Hemming discusses the real historical personalities who Ian Fleming drew on to create 007 and other major characters in th...

Everything you ever wanted to know about Roman Britain, but were afraid to ask

12 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In the third of our new series tackling the big questions on major historical topics, archaeologist Miles Russell responds to listener queries and po...

Apollo 13

10 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Fifty years on from the NASA mission that almost ended in disaster, historian Tom Ellis revisits the dramatic story of the astronauts’ incredible ba...

The Black Death and social change

08 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

As we seek to understand the broader impacts of Covid-19, historian Jane Whittle looks at how the devastating plague of the 1340s significantly reshap...

The genius of Artemisia

06 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Renaissance historian Catherine Fletcher explores the remarkable life and art of the acclaimed 17th-century Italian painter Artemisia Gentileschi, who...

Everything you ever wanted to know about the Tudors, but were afraid to ask

05 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Tracy Borman responds to listener queries and popular search enquiries about the 16th-century English royal dynasty. Historyextra.com/podcast Hosted o...

Viking women

03 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Johanna Katrin Fridriksdottir explores what everyday life was like for women in Norse society, the opportunities available to them and the challenges ...

Okinawa: the battle and the bomb

01 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

On the 75th anniversary of the battle of Okinawa, historian Saul David revisits one of the bloodiest clashes of the Pacific War and explains how it p...

Women at war

30 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Dr Julie Wheelwright, author of the new book Sisters in Arms, explains the roles of female warriors from ancient times until the present day. History...

Everything you ever wanted to know about the Normans, but were afraid to ask

29 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

 In a bonus Sunday episode, Marc Morris, author of an acclaimed history of the Norman Conquest, tackles some of the big questions about William the C...

A history of celebrity

27 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Greg Jenner chats explores the changing nature of fame over the centuries and describes how celebrities have fared in the public glare. Historyextra.c...

Russia’s musical journeys

25 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Sophy Roberts, author of The Lost Pianos of Siberia, explains how the instrument can illuminate the history of Russia, from the tsarist era to the de...

Blitz spirit

23 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

At a time when Britons are being asked to revisit the ‘Blitz spirit’, historian Jonathan Boff explains how ordinary people coped with the privatio...

Shakespeare and America

20 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Acclaimed author James Shapiro considers why England’s foremost playwright has had such a profound impact on the United States, and how his words sp...

News in the Middle Ages

18 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

 Historian Helen Birkett explores communication networks and the spread of information and news in the medieval era. Historyextra.com/podcast Hos...

Coronavirus: a historical perspective

16 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

As COVID-19 dominates the news, Laura Spinney draws historical parallels with other pandemics in history and asks what we might learn from disease out...

Wales’s turbulent 20th century

13 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Simon Jenkins talks about his new BBC radio programme, Wales: A 20th-century Tragedy?, which explores the difficulties faced by the country in recen...

Resistance in the British empire

11 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Priyamvada Gopal speaks about her book Insurgent Empire, which explores opposition to British colonial rule both within the empire and in Britain it...

Hadley Freeman on a 20th-century family history

09 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Hadley Freeman speaks to us about her quest to uncover her family’s history through some of the most tumultuous events of the 20th century. History...

Written in stone

06 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Stonemason Andrew Ziminski talks about some of Britain’s most impressive buildings and monuments. Historyextra.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acas...

Dictators explained

04 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

 Frank Dikötter discusses his new book How to Be a Dictator, which explores the malevolent careers of eight 20th-century rulers. Historyextra.com/p...

Food and war

02 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Historian Rachel B Hermann talks about her recent book No Useless Mouth, which explores how food and hunger played a critical role in the story of th...

London’s trailblazing women

28 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

 The author Francesca Wade talks to us about her new book Square Haunting, which tells the stories of five remarkable women – among them Virginia ...