HistoryExtra podcast

Female spies of the Civil War era

23 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Historian Nadine Akkerman introduces a number of remarkable women who acted as secret agents in the 17th century Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privac...

Captain Cook’s Endeavour

20 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Journalist and author Peter Moore talks about HMS Endeavour, the ship that carried Cook on his landmark voyage to the Pacific 250 years ago Hosted on ...

Dan Jones on the secrets of popular history

17 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Historian, author and broadcaster Dan Jones talks to us about his career, his latest projects and how he combines swimming with his love of the past H...

Mary Beard’s life in Classics

16 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We pay a visit to the renowned Cambridge classicist to discuss her career, her passion for the ancient world and her desire to share her expertise wit...

Historical fact and fiction

15 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Historian and author Tracy Borman describes the process of writing her first historical novel, set in the era of King James VI & I and the European wi...

Ian Kershaw on postwar Europe

14 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

For the 500th episode of the History Extra podcast we are joined by Professor Sir Ian Kershaw, who appeared in our very first programme. This time the...

Inside the mind of Elizabeth I

13 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In the first of five special programmes to mark our upcoming 500th episode, historian, author and broadcaster Helen Castor explores the psychology of ...

Britons under Nazi rule

09 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Historical author Duncan Barrett tells the stories of Channel Islanders who spent several years living under German occupation during World War Two Ho...

Islam’s struggle with modernity

06 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Ed Husain, author of The House of Islam, meets with the historian Tom Holland to explore the roots of some of the challenges Muslims face in the 21st ...

Britain’s foreign policy secrets

02 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Historian Rory Cormac discusses his new book Disrupt and Deny, which investigates Britain’s use of spies and special forces for covert operations in...

The Tommies’ final acts

30 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Jonathan Ruffle, creator of the BBC Radio 4 historical drama Tommies, explores the situation on the front line in August 1918 as the First World War a...

Catholics in Elizabethan England

26 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Historian Jessie Childs tells the story of Thomas Tresham, a Tudor gentleman who built a remarkable monument to his Catholic faith and risked the ange...

Rethinking 20th-century Britain

23 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Professor David Edgerton explains why we need to revise our understanding of recent British history, from the world wars to the welfare state Hosted o...

Nelson Mandela’s extraordinary life

19 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

On the centenary of Mandela’s birth, we speak to the politician and author Peter Hain about the South African leader’s remarkable achievements in ...

The murder of the Romanovs

16 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Historical author Helen Rappaport explains why the last Russian tsar and his family met a violent end in 1918 and considers whether Britain could have...

Britain’s refugee camps

12 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Historian Jordanna Bailkin discusses her new book, Unsettled, which explores the experiences of people of several different nationalities who fled to ...

Spies through the ages

09 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Professor Christopher Andrew discusses his new book The Secret World, which explores the history of intelligence and espionage from ancient times unti...

Making the modern world

05 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We are joined by bestselling historical author Simon Winchester, who reveals how some of history’s greatest engineers helped create the industrial a...

Ireland’s past and present

02 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Professor Jane Ohlmeyer discusses a new multi-volume history of Ireland and explains how the past continues to affect Anglo-Irish relations today Host...

Sherwood Forest through the ages

28 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough, presenter of a BBC Radio 3 series on forests, takes a trip to the home of Robin Hood to explore how forests have shaped ...

The national debt dilemma

25 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Economist Martin Slater charts 350 years of British government borrowing – from the Glorious Revolution to the 2008 financial crisis – and conside...

Restoring women’s voices

21 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Sarah Jackson, joint founder of East End Women’s Museum, explores how historical women are currently commemorated and how this might be done better ...

The history of manners

18 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Distinguished historian Sir Keith Thomas reflects on how concepts of civility and civilisation shaped society in the early modern period Hosted on Aca...

World War One at home

14 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Professor Maggie Andrews, historical consultant on the BBC Radio 4 drama series Home Front, joins us to reveal how the First World War was affecting B...

Grenfell Tower: from hope to tragedy

11 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Ahead of the BBC Two documentary Before Grenfell: A Hidden History, architect Peter Deakins discusses his involvement in the creation of the tower blo...

Britain’s Catholic emancipation

07 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Acclaimed historian and author Antonia Fraser joins us to discuss her new book The King and the Catholics: The Fight for Rights 1829 Hosted on Acast. ...

The mystery of Donald Maclean

04 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Author and editor Roland Philipps discusses A Spy Named Orphan, his new biography of the enigmatic Cambridge spy Donald Maclean Hosted on Acast. See a...

America’s changing dream

31 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Professor Sarah Churchwell and fellow historian Adam IP Smith explore some of the ideas in her new book Behold, America, which traces the history of A...

Challenging British heroes

29 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Ahead of her new Channel 4 series, the author and broadcaster Afua Hirsch argues that we need to seriously revise our understanding of the likes of Ne...

Jane Seymour: Henry VIII’s favourite queen

24 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Bestselling author and historian Alison Weir discusses the life and tragic death of the Tudor king’s third wife, who bore him his long-awaited male ...

The remarkable history of the Netherlands

21 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In advance of his new BBC Radio 4 series, the journalist and broadcaster Misha Glenny reflects on some of the key moments in the Netherlands’ story:...

Beevor on Arnhem

17 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Bestselling military historian Antony Beevor discusses his new book, which outlines why 1944’s Operation Market Garden was one of the biggest disast...

The Women Behind Lord Byron

14 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Miranda Seymour discusses the extraordinary lives of Annabella Milbanke and Ada Lovelace, the wife and daughter of Lord Byron Hosted on Acast. See aca...

The Entebbe raid

10 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

As the film Entebbe is about to arrive in UK cinemas, historian and author Saul David reveals the extraordinary story of the Israeli operation to resc...

The failings of the French Revolution

07 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Stephen Clarke, author of a new history of the French Revolution, argues that we need to look afresh at the events of 1789 and beyond Hosted on Acast....

500 years of medicine

03 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We speak to Simon Bowman of the Royal College of Physicians, which is celebrating its 500th anniversary, about how the work of doctors has changed sin...

Were the suffragettes terrorists?

30 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Historian Fern Riddell talks about her new biography of suffrage campaigner Kitty Marion, which explores some of the darker aspects of the campaign fo...

1983: the Cold War almost goes nuclear

26 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Historian and author Taylor Downing describes the events of the Able Archer scare, which nearly witnessed global Armageddon when the Soviets misread t...

Economists who changed the world

23 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Author and economist Linda Yueh discusses the work and legacy of some of history’s greatest economic thinkers, revealing some of the lessons they mi...

Medieval bodies

19 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Art historian Jack Hartnell talks about his new book Medieval Bodies, which offers some fascinating perspectives on the ways people in the middle ages...

Africa’s contested past

16 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Historians Tom Young and Emma Dabiri explore how Africa’s past has affected its present in a discussion prompted by the themes of Tom’s new book, ...

Shakespeare’s greatest actor

12 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Ahead of his BBC Radio 3 documentary Exit Burbage, the journalist and author Andrew Dickson explores the remarkable career of Richard Burbage, a Jacob...

The Vietnam War on film

09 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Acclaimed filmmaker Lynn Novick describes the making of an epic documentary series on the conflict in Vietnam, which she has co-directed with Ken Burn...

Medieval mystics

05 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Medieval historian Hetta Howes reveals the extreme lengths to which women in the Middle Ages went to get closer to God and discusses how mystics were ...

A quick history of France

03 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Historian and author John Julius Norwich reflects on some of the key moments in France’s history and relates a few of the more unusual and scandalou...

Creating the SAS

29 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We are joined by John Lewes, nephew and biographer of Jock Lewes, to talk about how his uncle helped found one of the world’s most famous special fo...

Opposing the Nazis

26 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Robert Scott Kellner talks about the extraordinary diary of his German grandfather, Friedrich, who recorded his observations of many of the Third Reic...

The history of today

22 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Historical novelist and broadcaster Sarah Dunant expands on her new BBC Radio 4 series When Greeks Flew Kites, which uses the past to illuminate moder...

The postwar world

19 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Historian and author Keith Lowe joins us to talk about his book The Fear and the Freedom, which explores the legacy of the Second World War on the dec...

The Marshall Plan and the Cold War

15 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Economist and author Benn Steil explains the background to the 1947 US aid initiative to Europe and describes how it helped shape relations between th...

Ruth Ellis: the last woman to be hanged in Britain

12 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Ahead of her new BBC Four series The Ruth Ellis Files, Gillian Pachter explores the controversial case of a British woman who was hanged for murder in...

Vikings on screen

08 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We speak to the acclaimed screenwriter and producer Michael Hirst about his work on the smash hit series Vikings and the secrets of creating blockbust...

Music and revolution

05 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Music expert Graham Griffiths discusses the 20th-century pianist and composer Leokadiya Kashperova, whose career was blighted by the events of the Rus...

Schama on Civilisations

01 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

As the major new BBC arts history series Civilisations is due to air, we speak to Simon Schama, one of its three presenters, to discuss the making of ...

Science and suffrage

26 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Historian of science Patricia Fara discusses her new book A Lab of One’s Own, which explores the challenges facing women scientists in the First Wor...

The Terracotta Warriors

22 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

With a new exhibition open in Liverpool featuring a group of Terracotta Warriors, Edward Burman explores the fascinating history of these ancient Chin...

BBC Arabic at 80

19 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In the year that BBC Arabic celebrates its 80th anniversary, we speak to the network’s Communication Advisor, Wissam El Sayegh, about the BBC’s hi...

The World Cup story

15 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

With this year’s tournament in Russia only a few months away, we speak to veteran football writer Brian Glanville about the 88-year history of this ...

The Spanish Flu pandemic

12 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Catharine Arnold joins us to discuss her new book Pandemic: 1918, which explores the story of the influenza outbreak that caused devastation across th...

The Pankhursts

08 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In the second of our two episodes marking the centenary of (some) women being granted the vote in Britain, historian June Purvis considers the role of...

The Suffragettes

05 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

As we approach the centenary of (some) British women being granted the vote, historian and author Diane Atkinson explores the stories of the suffrage ...

Elizabeth’s love rival

01 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Historian and author Nicola Tallis explores the life of Lettice Knollys, who was a leading figure at the Tudor court until she enraged the Virgin Quee...

Britain’s secret wartime prison

29 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Historian Helen Fry shares her discoveries about the Cage, a clandestine British interrogation centre, where extreme methods were used to extract info...

Living with the oceans

25 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Archaeologist Barry Cunliffe meets with historian David Abulafia to discuss humanity’s relationship with the Mediterranean and the Atlantic since an...

The story of the Bayeux Tapestry

22 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Following the announcement that the Noman embroidery may soon be heading to Britain, historian Kathryn Hurlock tackles some of the big questions relat...

East End Crime

18 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

John Bennett delves into the dark history of disorder and lawlessness in London’s East End From Jack the Ripper to the Kray twins, historian and tou...

Prisoners of war

15 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Historian Clare Makepeace joins us to discuss her new book Captives of War, which draws on first-hand testimonies to examine the experiences of Britis...

Mary Shelley and her monster

11 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Fiona Sampson, author of a new biography of Mary Shelley, discusses the remarkable life of the Frankenstein author and considers what her story can te...

The tragedy of Lady Jane Grey

08 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Historian, author and broadcaster Helen Castor describes the short, but dramatic, life and reign of England’s ‘Nine Days Queen’, who is the subj...

Hamilton: the man behind the musical

04 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We explore the amazing life story of Alexander Hamilton, with Ron Chernow, whose biography of the American Founding Father inspired the hip-hop musica...

Churchill’s darkest hour

02 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Antony McCarten, writer of the new historical blockbuster Darkest Hour, considers whether the British leader came close to seeking peace with Hitler i...

1917: The world at war

28 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Renowned First World War historian Professor David Stevenson explores the Russian Revolution, the Balfour Declaration, Passchendaele, and American ent...

Christmas history quiz

25 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The History Extra team present our annual festive quiz, testing your history knowledge with a Christmas twist. The questions have been set, as always,...

Alfred the Great and science at Christmas

21 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Historian and author Max Adams discusses the famed Anglo-Saxon king and considers whether he deserves his stellar reputation. Meanwhile, we team up wi...

The origins of civilisation

18 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Yale political scientist James C Scott talks to us about his new book, Against the Grain, which explores some of the key questions around early agricu...

Cornwell on Shakespeare

14 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

We are joined by the world-renowned historical novelist Bernard Cornwell who shares the story behind his latest book Fools and Mortals, which explores...

Eating with Dickens

11 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Food historian and author Pen Vogler explores the Victorian diet and recipes through the life and works of 19th-century Britain’s best-known writer ...

Animals that changed us

07 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The academic, author and broadcaster Alice Roberts talks to us about her new book Tamed, which explores some of the most important relationships peopl...

Britain on the edge

04 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The historian and journalist Simon Heffer ranges over class, empire, politics. scandals and suffrage in an exploration of Britain in the years leading...

Black Tudors

30 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Historian Miranda Kaufmann, author of Black Tudors: The Unknown Story, explores the lives of several Africans who resided in 16th-century England Host...

Victorian medicine

27 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Dr Lindsey Fitzharris, author of The Butchering Art, delves into the terrifying world of 19th-century hospitals and shows how scientific advances even...

The history of sleep

23 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Historian Sasha Handley explores the bedtime routines of the early modern period and considers what lessons today’s sleepers can draw from past cent...

Charles II on the run

20 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

We join historian and author Charles Spencer on location at Boscobel House to discuss Charles II’s desperate flight from parliamentarian forces at t...

Demons and shipwrecks

16 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

To accompany their upcoming events in the UK-wide Being Human festival, Kasia Szpakowska discusses her research into Ancient Egyptian demonology, whil...

Drinking history

13 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Mark Forsyth, author of A Short History of Drunkenness, draws on fascinating examples from across the globe to explore humanity’s longstanding relat...

Britain’s Chinese army

09 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Historians Frances Wood and Spencer Jones, who are both contributors to the upcoming Channel 4 documentary Britain’s Forgotten Army, reflect on the ...

The Last Kamikazes

06 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

BBC journalist Mariko Oi discusses her experiences of interviewing some of the last survivors of the notorious Japanese raids in World War Two, in adv...

How networks shape history

02 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The renowned historian, author and broadcaster Niall Ferguson reveals the ways networks have transformed our world, from the medieval era to the socia...

The search for King Arthur

30 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Archaeologist Dr Miles Russell talks to us about his bold new theory on the legendary British ruler, which is based on a reinterpretation of Geoffrey ...

The Medici

26 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Historian and author Mary Hollingsworth reflects on the powerful dynasty who dominated the Italian Renaissance but whose tale also includes tyranny, c...

The death of Stalin

23 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Historian Joshua Rubenstein discusses the dramatic events surrounding the death of Soviet leader Josef Stalin in 1953, now the subject of a major new ...

The Gunpowder Plot

19 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Historians Hannah Greig and John Cooper, who are consultants on the new BBC drama Gunpowder, explore the story of the 1605 attempt to blow up the king...

Living with the Gods

16 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Former British Museum director Neil MacGregor talks about his new BBC Radio 4 series Living with the Gods, and the accompanying exhibition, which toge...

Richard III reconsidered

12 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Historian and politician Chris Skidmore discusses his major new biography of the Yorkist king, offering his take on pivotal moments such as Richard’...

The Munich Conference

09 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The acclaimed historical novelist Robert Harris talks to us about his new book Munich, which explores the events of September 1938 where Neville Chamb...

The world of the Scythians

05 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

We explore some of the most fascinating objects in the British Museum’s new exhibition about this nomadic warrior people who flourished 2,500 years ...

Starkey on the Reformation

02 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Ahead of his BBC Two documentary to mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, the historian and broadcaster David Starkey offers his views on Mar...

Tales of war

28 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The distinguished authors and broadcasters Peter Snow and Ann MacMillan discuss their new book War Stories, which explores some remarkable incidents o...

Victoria the matchmaker

25 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Author and TV producer Deborah Cadbury discusses her new book Queen Victoria’s Matchmaking, which reveals how the 19th-century British monarch sough...

Christianity and the classical world

21 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Classicist and journalist Catherine Nixey talks about her new book The Darkening Age with Professor Edith Hall. Their discussion explores the momentou...