HistoryExtra podcast

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 ...

Secrets of Lindisfarne

26 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Archaeologist David Petts and Lisa Wilkins of DigVentures discuss an extraordinary Viking-era discovery that’s been made on the monastic site of Lin...

Medieval medicine

24 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Elma Brenner of the Wellcome Library examines the state of healthcare in the Middle Ages and reveals some unusual remedies that were offered for peopl...

Georgian terrorists: the Cato Street Conspiracy

21 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

On the 200th anniversary of the Cato Street Conspiracy, Stephen Bates examines a failed attempt to murder the entire British cabinet in February 1820...

Burglary: a modern history

19 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Historian Eloise Moss, author of Night Raiders, explores a century of home intrusion in Britain, from the cat burglar phenomenon to Cold War espionag...

The rise of Hitler

17 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Frank McDonough discusses the first volume in his new two-part history of Nazi Germany. Historyextra.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privac...

Michael Wood on the Peterloo photograph

14 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The acclaimed popular historian and broadcaster Michael Wood talks to us about a photograph he discovered that links his family to the infamous Peterl...

The bombing of Dresden

12 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

On the 75th anniversary of the Dresden raid, historical author Sinclair McKay explores one of the most controversial Allied actions of the Second Wor...

Secrets of war leadership

10 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Historian Andrew Roberts reflects on some of the greatest and most nefarious war leaders of the past – including Napoleon, Hitler, Churchill and Eis...

Confronting evils

07 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Susan Neiman considers how Germany and the United States have sought to come to terms with histories of racism and violence. Historyextra.com/podcast ...

Marie Antoinette

05 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Historian John Hardman discusses his new biography of the 18th-century French queen, exploring her role in the politics of the revolutionary era and e...

Mary Beard on the nude in western art

03 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Ahead of her new BBC Two series The Shock of the Nude, classicist Mary Beard discusses some of the thorny issues surrounding the naked body in wester...

The woman who gave birth to rabbits

31 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Historian Karen Harvey explores the unusual case of Mary Toft who caused a sensation in 1726 by apparently giving birth to rabbits. Karen considers wh...

Indians in the trenches

29 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

George Morton-Jack, historian and author of The Indian Empire at War, reflects on the contributions made by the vast number of Indian soldiers who fo...

Fighting for the vote

27 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Historian and author Clare Wright reveals how Australian women battled for political equality in the early 20th century and helped inspire suffrage m...

The Holocaust orphans

24 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

As we approach the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, historian Rebecca Clifford tells the stories of child survivors of the Holocaust ...

Simon de Montfort’s medieval revolution

22 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Historian Sophie Ambler chronicles the dramatic life of Simon de Montfort, the 13th-century rebel who battled Henry III for mastery in England and est...

The Windrush generation

20 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Historian, author and broadcaster Colin Grant discusses his recent book, Homecoming: Voices of the Windrush Generation, which tells the stories of p...

Puritans and the Mayflower

17 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Stephen Tomkins discusses the rise of Puritanism in England and the origins of the Mayflower voyage to North America in 1620. Historyextra.com/podca...

The Auschwitz volunteer

15 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Jack Fairweather, author of the Costa Biography Award-winning book The Volunteer, tells the story of the Polish resistance leader Witold Pilecki who ...

Medieval myths

13 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Historian Hannah Skoda tackles some common misconceptions about the middle ages, from irrational peasants and filthy towns, to powerless women and min...

Confronting a dark past

09 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

As we approach the 75th anniversary of the end of the Holocaust, historical broadcaster Chris Bowlby explains how Germany has sought to come to terms...

From Allies to enemies

06 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Award-winning historian Serhii Plokhy talks to us about his new book Forgotten Bastards of the Eastern Front, which describes a little-known World Wa...

The long history of Brexit

02 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

For our first episode of 2020, Professor David Reynolds explores how several centuries of British history have fed into the recent Brexit debate. He s...

The filthy Middle Ages?

30 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Does the Medieval era deserve its reputation for poor hygiene and bad odours? Dr Katherine Harvey examines the evidence and reveals some of the unusua...

A curious history of Christmas

26 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Sam Willis and James Daybell offer a distinctive take on festive traditions, which takes in violent Christmas cards and obscene snowmen. Historyextra....

2019 Christmas history quiz

23 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Test your history knowledge with our annual festive quiz, devised by QI writer Justin Pollard. Historyextra.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast....

The birth of the modern world

19 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

 The writer and historian Charles Emmerson reflects on the crucial years 1917-24, which witnessed the conclusion of the First World War, the collapse...

Politics, Roman style

16 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Classicist and political journalist Asa Bennett discusses his new book Romanifesto, which explores the lessons that 21st-century politicians could le...

Eleanor of Aquitaine: myth and reality

12 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Sara Cockerill, author of a new biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine, explores the story of the remarkable medieval queen and challenge some common misco...

World War Two’s secret heroes

09 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Author and journalist Simon Parkin tells the incredible, but little-known, story of a real life game of battleships that transformed British fortunes ...

Asians in 1980s Britain

05 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Broadcaster Kavita Puri, who presents the BBC Radio 4 series Three Pounds in My Pocket, discusses how Asian communities were adjusting to life in Bri...

Secrets of the river

02 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Lara Maiklem, author of the bestselling book Mudlarking, describes some of the fascinating historical objects she has discovered while scouring the b...

The Mountbattens: success and scandal

28 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The author and literary agent Andrew Lownie discusses his bestselling recent book The Mountbattens: Their Lives & Loves, which explores the colourfu...

The teashop empire

25 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Author and journalist Thomas Harding describes how a family of Jewish immigrants to Britain in the 19th century went on to create Lyons – one of th...

Margaret Beaufort: Mother of the Tudors

21 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Historian and author Nicola Tallis discusses her new biography of Margaret Beaufort who played a key role in the Wars of the Roses and whose son, Henr...

Maoism

18 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

 Professor Julia Lovell discusses her recent book Maoism: A Global History, which has just won the prestigious Cundill History Prize. In the convers...

A history of the United States

14 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Jill Lepore, professor of history at Harvard, discusses her acclaimed recent book These Truths, which charts the highs and lows of American history s...

The King: Henry V on film

12 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Lauren Johnson discusses the history behind the new Netflix film The King, considering how closely it follows the real events of Henry V’s life and...

The Pacific War on screen

11 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Roland Emmerich, director of the new blockbuster Midway film, tells us about the process of bringing a major World War Two battle to the big screen....

The rise and fall of the Berlin Wall

07 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

On the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, author and editor Iain MacGregor revisits some of the most dramatic events associated with th...

Treasures of Tutankhamun

04 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

As a major new exhibition of the pharaoh’s tomb arrives in London, we speak to curator Tarek El Awady about the remarkable artefacts buried with Egy...

The Fortress: An epic battle of World War I

31 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Professor Alexander Watson describes the dramatic battle for the fortress city of Przemysl, which pitted a multi-ethnic Habsburg force against the mig...

The death of Kitchener: a World War One mystery

28 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The author and former Cabinet minister David Laws examines the life and dramatic death, in 1916, of Britain’s Secretary of State for War: Lord Kitch...

Britain in the early 80s

24 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Historian and author Dominic Sandbrook joins us to discuss his new book, Who Dares Wins, which explores the pivotal early years of Margaret Thatcher’...

The House of York

21 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Historian and author Thomas Penn discusses the Wars of the Roses, the princes in the Tower and the start of the Tudor era as he reflects on the Yorkis...

Bonus Episode: Sequences with consequences

19 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this special edition, produced by our friends from the Science Focus podcast, Dr Robert Elliott Smith examines the dark history of algorithms and c...

Slave revolt

17 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Historian James Walvin describes how enslaved people fought for their freedom and ultimately helped to bring down the Atlantic slave empires. Historye...

Peter Hennessy on Britain in transition

14 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Historian Peter Hennessy talks about his new book Winds of Change, which tells the story of Britain in the early 1960s and explores subjects such as ...

Secret listeners

10 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Author and historian Helen Fry talks about her new book, The Walls Have Ears, which describes an ingenious British intelligence operation to bug Germ...

William Dalrymple on the East India Company

07 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

William Dalrymple explains how a single London corporation took over the Mughal empire and became a major imperial power. Historyextra.com/podcast   ...

Catherine the Great: fact and fiction

03 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Ahead of a major new TV drama about the Russian empress, historian Janet Hartley explores Catherine’s life and considers whether there is any truth ...

Orlando Figes on the transformation of Europe

30 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Orlando Figes describes the cultural transformations of 19th-century Europe through the lives of a remarkable menage a trois. Historyextra.com/podcast...

Fake news in World War Two

26 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Author and journalist Henry Hemming discusses his new book, Our Man in New York, which describes the adventures of British spymaster William Stephens...

The destruction of Pompeii

23 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Daisy Dunn revisits the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and considers the history that was preserved at Pompeii and Herculaneum. Historyextra.com/podcast H...

Max Hastings on the Dambusters

19 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Sir Max Hastings discusses his new book on the iconic World War Two raid, describing the ingenuity and courage of the operation, as well as the terrib...

Suzannah Lipscomb on women’s lives in Reformation France

16 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Dan Jones about the lives of women in 16th-century France. Historyextra.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy ...

Tom Holland on Christianity’s enduring legacy

12 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Historian and author Tom Holland discusses his new book Dominion, which explores the history of Christianity and argues that it has had a transformat...

The Crusades, with Dan Jones

09 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Bestselling medieval historian Dan Jones discusses his new book Crusaders, which tells the stories of these religious conflicts through the people wh...

Poland, 1939: World War Two begins

05 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

As we reach the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of World War Two, historian Roger Moorhouse tells the story of the 1939 battle for Poland that saw t...

Hitler’s war with Anglo-America

02 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Professor Brendan Simms talks to us about his new biography of Adolf Hitler, which argues that the Nazi dictator’s main preoccupation was rivalry wi...

War trauma

29 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Dr Emma Butcher and Dr Hannah Partis-Jennings explore the history of war trauma, discussing how it has affected soldiers and civilians in conflicts s...

Chernobyl: the story of a tragedy

26 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Historian Serhii Plokhy, author of an award-winning book on the 1986 Soviet nuclear disaster, explores the causes and consequences of the Chernobyl ac...

The real Peaky Blinders

22 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

As the fifth series of the BBC historical drama is about to air, we talk to historian Andrew Davies about the real Birmingham gangsters who inspired t...

The corner shop revolution

19 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Babita Sharma explores the history of the British corner shop, explaining how Asian immigrants transformed these local businesses. Historyextra.com/po...

Peterloo: the story of a massacre

15 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Ahead of the 200th anniversary of Peterloo, we speak to Robert Poole, author of a major new history of the massacre. He explores the history of 19th-...

Britain's key archaeological discoveries

12 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Archaeologist and writer Mike Pitts discusses some of the major archaeological finds that have shaped the way we understand the early history of the B...

Gordon Brown on Andrew Carnegie

10 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Former prime minister Gordon Brown discusses the American businessman Andrew Carnegie, who gave away most of his fortune at the turn of the 20th cent...

Prisoner dilemmas

08 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Harry Potter explores the twists and turns in the history of the British penal system. Historyextra.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy...

Why black hair matters

05 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Historian and broadcaster Emma Dabiri explains how the history of black hair reflects broad themes of capitalism, slavery, colonialism and more. Histo...