HistoryExtra podcast

Life of the week: Spartacus

30 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

"I am Spartacus" is one of the most iconic lines in cinema history: from the 1960 film starring Kirk Douglas in the titular role, it has come to defin...

The West's enduring fascination with Asia

29 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Asia has long enthralled people in the west, with voyages of discovery and military expeditions setting out in search of wealth, wisdom and the chance...

Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: everything you wanted to know

28 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Did the hanging gardens of Babylon really exist? How was Egypt's Great Pyramid built? And could any one person have seen all seven ancient wonders? In...

Nicholas Winton: the 'British Schindler'

26 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, a British stockbroker worked tirelessly to rescue hundreds of Jewish children from Nazi-occupied ...

Conspiracy | 2. Was Pearl Harbor an inside job?

25 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On 7 December 1941, Japan attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbor. It's one of the most notorious surprise attacks in history, but how much of a su...

Ireland's tangled relationship with empire

24 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Often described as England's first colony, Ireland has a long – and deeply complicated – relationship with empire. Rhiannon Davies speaks to histo...

Life of the Week: Harold Godwinson (Harold II)

23 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

King Harold II is famous for getting an arrow to the eye at the battle of Hastings. But is that story even true? And what else should we know about th...

Britain's long love affair with sport

22 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Britons may not always be the best at playing sports. But, as David Horspool tells Spencer Mizen, when it comes to inventing, codifying and becoming u...

The Silk Road: everything you wanted to know

21 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Silk Road is one of the most famous trade routes in history, a vast interconnected network along which not only goods but ideas, knowledge and cul...

The Renaissance: an explosion of creativity

19 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

From the nightmarish creations of Hieronymus Bosch to the intricate flying machines of Leonardo da Vinci, the Renaissance was a time of experimentatio...

Conspiracy | 1. Was Elizabeth I a man?

18 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In her most famous speech, delivered on 9 August 1588, Queen Elizabeth I declared that she had the "heart and stomach of a king". Was that just rhetor...

Conspiracy | Series 2 Trailer

18 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Who shot JFK? Have the Knights Templar been hiding the Holy Grail? And what really landed at Roswell in 1947? In the second series of Conspiracy from ...

From the Mongols to the Huns: the nomads who dominated Eurasia

17 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

From the Huns, Mongols and Magyars to the Turks, Xiongnu, Scythians and Goths, these nomadic people of the Eurasian steppes built long-lasting empires...

Life of the Week: Frederick Douglass

16 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Having run away from a life of slavery as a young man, Frederick Douglass went on to forge his own path as an abolitionist, orator, writer and statesm...

The hidden history of women in intelligence

15 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

From women who worked in vital wartime intelligence centres like Bletchley Park to those who parachuted behind enemy lines as part of SOE operations, ...

The Bloomsbury Group: everything you wanted to know

14 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

From the groundbreaking novels of Virginia Woolf to the economic theories of John Maynard Keynes, the Bloomsbury Group shook up British culture in the...

'Madness' and the supernatural

12 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The birth of psychiatry in the early-19th century changed the way that 'madness' was understood, with beliefs in the supernatural becoming evidence of...

Boston Tea Party | 5. A complex legacy

11 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Why does the Boston Tea Party still loom so large in the popular story of American independence today? Is it right that it holds so much significance?...

Why were the Romantics obsessed with Mount Vesuvius?

10 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Romantics were obsessed with Mount Vesuvius, climbing up to peer into its bubbling depths, and even using it as a metaphor to describe some of the...

Life of the Week: Stalin

09 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Josef Stalin is a titan of modern history – and one of its most infamous leaders, responsible for the deaths of millions. Danny Bird spoke to Robert...

James Longstreet: Confederate Judas

08 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

James Longstreet spent the American Civil War as one of the leading generals in the Confederate Army. But after 1865 he became a supporter of reconstr...

Medieval popes: everything you wanted to know

07 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Who were some of the most influential popes of the Middle Ages? What did you have to do to earn the title of 'anti-pope'? And which pope was believed ...

A history of song: from Schumann to Sting

05 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Songs can trigger a range of emotions in their listeners: intense joy, sadness or even disgust. But how did this type of musical composition develop a...

Boston Tea Party | 4. The crackdown

04 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The consequences of the protest are vital in understanding the role of the Boston Tea Party in the revolution that was to come. In episode four, we he...

Aztec warfare

03 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Why did warfare play such a pivotal role in Aztec society? How could claiming captives benefit a warrior in life and death? And what was 'Flower War'?...

History Behind the Headlines: Elections, ‘panda diplomacy’ and the word of the year

02 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The latest instalment of our monthly sees Hannah Skoda and Rana Mitter look back at the history behind the big stories of 2023 – and what they might...

How spies shaped the modern world

01 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How did British agents bug German PoWs during the Second World War? What qualities do you need to be a successful spy? And how are deepfakes changing ...

The Habsburgs: everything you wanted to know

31 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Habsburgs were one of Europe's most formidable – and durable – dynasties, ruling over swathes of the continent for centuries. Speaking to Spen...

The medieval Welsh Marches: identity on the frontier

29 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The medieval Welsh Marches are often seen as a hotly contested border territory between Wales and England that frequently boiled over into violence. B...

Boston Tea Party | 3. The destruction of the tea

28 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The destruction of more than 46 tonnes of tea on the evening of 16 December 1773 is an event that holds huge importance in the popular story of the US...

Sherlock Holmes: the real history that inspired the detective stories

27 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sherlock Holmes is arguably the most famous fictional detective of all time. The resident of 221B Baker Street has been the subject of countless film ...

Life of the week: Queen Victoria

26 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What picture comes to mind when you think of Queen Victoria? For many, it will be a grieving woman in her mourning gown, or perhaps a monarch cooly st...

Merry Christmas from the HistoryExtra podcast

25 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As a Christmas present from us, we're sharing an exclusive sneak peek into what 2024 has in store on the HistoryExtra podcast, from upcoming series de...

Druids: everything you wanted to know

24 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Were druids the wise, kindly and benevolent figures of ancient societies, or bloodthirsty, barbaric priests with a penchant for brutal human sacrifice...

Bannockburn: Robert the Bruce’s greatest victory

22 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Robert the Bruce’s landmark victory over the English at the battle of Bannockburn has secured his place as a hero in the annals of Scottish history....

Boston Tea Party | 2. The Sons of Liberty

21 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Boston Tea Party is often invoked as a symbol of non-violent protest, but how true is that picture? In episode two, we meet the Sons of Liberty –...

Amazing Grace: a story of salvation and slavery

20 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

John Newton was a slave-ship captain in the 18th century. However, he was also a devout Christian who went on to become a famous preacher and wrote th...

Life of the week: Amelia Earhart

19 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Amelia Earhart broke record after record in 20th-century aviation, being the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean – and famously attemp...

Nazi Germany: the myth of the innocent bystander

18 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In 1945, after defeat in the Second World War, many Germans claimed to have known nothing about what had happened to their fellow Jewish citizens – ...

1970s Britain: everything you wanted to know

17 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

1970s Britain has gained a reputation for being fairly bleak, filled with strikes and economic turbulence. But was it really so terrible? From the uni...

Caesar | 1. Beware the Ides of March

16 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

On 15 March 44 BC, Rome’s dictator strode into the Senate House of Pompey for a meeting with the city’s political elite. Little did he know that t...

Caesar | 4. Honourable men

16 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In episode four of our new series on Julius Caesar’s rise and fall, we come face-to-face with the men who orchestrated the assassination. Professor ...

Caesar | 2. Was this ambition?

16 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When Julius Caesar was born, few would have expected him to climb to the summit of Roman political power, but by the time of his death that was exactl...

Caesar | 5. The dogs of war

16 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The deed is done, but the battle is far from over. In episode five of our new series on Julius Caesar’s rise and fall, Rob Attar is joined by Profes...

Caesar | 6. The evil that men do

16 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In the concluding part of our new series on Julius Caesar’s rise and fall, we take the story on to its dramatic coda as battles continue to rage ove...

Caesar | 3. Master of his fate

16 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The last decade of Julius Caesar’s life was dominated by civil war, his romance with Cleopatra and his quest for ultimate power. In episode three of...

Netflix's The Crown: history and storytelling

15 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Netflix's hit drama The Crown has come to a close after six seasons and 60 episodes, having dramatised the Windsor dynasty from the mid-20th century t...

Boston Tea Party: Igniting a revolution | Trailer

14 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

On the evening of 16 December 1773, around a hundred men boarded three ships in Boston harbour, hoisting more than 46 tonnes of tea over the vessels’...

Boston Tea Party | 1. Tea and taxes

14 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How did tea become such an incendiary issue in late 18th-century Boston? To understand this, we need to travel back at least a decade. Joined by exper...

Georgian grand houses: the forgotten women who built them

13 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Many might assume that Britain's grand houses were paid for, designed and built solely by men. However, as Amy Boyington reveals, this was far from th...

Life of the Week: Mansa Musa

12 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In the list of the world’s all-time wealthiest people, one name regularly tops the charts: Mansa Musa. Ruling a kingdom that stretched across West A...

Introducing Life of the Week

12 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We’re making our new 'Life of the Week' series freely available for everyone to enjoy. Every Tuesday from 12 December, join us as we step back int...

Caesar: Death of a Dictator | Trailer

11 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

On the Ides of March, 44 BC, the most famous Roman in history was murdered. Julius Caesar’s killers hoped to save the Republic, but in the end the...

Victoria's armpit and 'giant' bones: body parts that changed history

11 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How did a severed ear start a war between Britain and Spain in the 18th century? And what has Queen Victoria's armpit got to do with the development o...

The American Gilded Age: everything you wanted to know

10 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How did the Gilded Ages get its name? What caused the explosion of industry at this time? Who were the great industrialists of the age, and what can t...

Books and war: from James Bond to leaflet bombing

08 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Throughout time, both authors and their readers have gone to war. In that process, the written word has become a deadly weapon and a glimmer of peace ...

Shakespeare: Past Master | 4. Hamlet

07 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Farah Karim-Cooper reveals what the playwright’s famous tragedy tells us about how death and mortality were viewed in the Tudor era Written at the ...

Medieval manners: social etiquette in the Middle Ages

06 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Medieval people are often portrayed in popular culture as being grubby and smelly, with few manners to recommend them. However, in reality, such uncou...

Marshal Pétain: Vichy France in the dock

04 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Following its liberation in 1944, France began a reckoning with its years of defeat, occupation and collaboration with Nazi Germany. On trial was Mars...

1950s Britain: everything you wanted to know

03 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Was 1950s Britain a grim, grey nation, haunted by the spectre of the Second World War, or was it a vibrant, forward-thinking country that had – in t...

The dangerous road to the Bastille

01 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The French Revolution of 1789 is one of the defining events of world history – but the decades preceding the revolution were also seismic, being mar...

Shakespeare: Past Master | 3. Julius Caesar

30 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Islam Issa charts what the tragic history play tells us about the ancient world – and the insights it offers into the politics of the playwright’s...

Du Fu: China's greatest poet

29 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Writing during the celebrated Tang dynasty, Du Fu is heralded as China's greatest poet, musing on subjects from how to cook noodles to war and rebelli...

Cities that turbocharged art history

27 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

From Renaissance Florence and ancient Babylon to the kingdom of Benin and Heian-era Kyoto, cities across history have served as launchpads for extraor...

Astronomy history: everything you wanted to know

26 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When was it established that the Earth is round? Did the Catholic church help or hinder the practice of astronomy? And how transformative was the big ...

The dark side of Dickens

24 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Charles Dickens was a master of managing his personal brand. In fact, almost everything we know about him comes from one biography, written by his fri...

Shakespeare: Past Master | 2. Romeo and Juliet

23 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sophie Duncan delves into the playwright’s world-famous tragedy to reveal what it tells us about youth in the Tudor era The doomed romance of young...

Thanksgiving: everything you wanted to know

23 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Rachel Herrmann charts the long history of America’s famous holiday – from modern parades and celebrations to the first feast From the fabled fir...

The dangers of medieval travel

22 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Why did medieval people hit the road or the high seas? Was it expensive to travel in the Middle Ages, and what were the biggest risks that a medieval ...

The Princes in the Tower: has the mystery been solved?

20 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In the summer of 1483, two young princes disappeared from the Tower of London – and were never seen again. Had they been killed by their uncle, Rich...

The Pre-Raphaelites: everything you wanted to know

19 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How did the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood become so famous? Did Elizabeth Siddal really almost die in a bathtub when she modelled for John Everett Millai...

Resistance in the Second World War

17 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Why, across Nazi-occupied Europe, did some people choose to resist the Third Reich? This is the question at the heart of Halik Kochanski's book Resist...

Shakespeare Trailer

16 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

William Shakespeare’s plays are among the celebrated works in all of English literature – but they also offer key insights into the time in which ...

Shakespeare: Past Master | 1. Henry V

16 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Jerry Brotton offers expert insights into what the playwright’s much-quoted history play tells about nationalism and nationhood at the time it was f...

George Orwell’s forgotten wife

15 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

George Orwell – the author of classics like 1984 – is a household name. But have you heard of his first wife, Eileen O’Shaughnessy, who convince...

Magic books: a global history

13 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What are the earliest forms of written magic? How do the stories of magic and religion intersect? And how will these stories’ continued presence in ...

Norse myths: everything you wanted to know

12 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What myths did the Norse believe, and what influence did they exert on daily life? Was the trickster god Loki really that bad, and was Odin really tha...

Medieval Stalingrad: The siege of Calais

10 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Dan Jones chronicles the brutal siege of Calais, an overlooked campaign in the Hundred Years’ War, and the focus of his new novel During the Hundre...

The First Crusade | 5. The end or the beginning?

09 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In episode five of our new series on the First Crusade, we rejoin the crusaders for the last time as they reach their final goal, the holy city of Jer...

The Munich Putsch: Hitler’s bungled revolution

08 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Frank McDonough explores the infamous failed coup that shaped the early history of the Nazi party On 8 November 1923, the Nazi Party launched a coup ...

Women’s history: from 1066 to Margaret Thatcher

06 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Novelist Philippa Gregory reflects on 900 years of women’s history, from the huge upheavals of the Norman invasion to successfully securing the righ...

Ancient Egyptian pyramids: everything you wanted to know

05 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For millennia, Egypt’s mighty pyramids have acted as emblems of the vibrant ancient civilisation that once straddled the Nile Valley. From mysteries...

Scotland’s last witch

03 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Nicknamed ‘Hellish Nell’ from childhood, spiritualist medium Helen Duncan made a living from claiming to communicate with the spirits of the dead ...

The First Crusade | 4. Besieged

02 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In late AD 1097, a weary and wartorn band of crusaders arrived at the imposing walls of Antioch: a key strategic location on the long journey down the...

Fighting racism in postwar Britain

01 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sixties Britain didn’t swing for all its citizens – with racism, anti-immigration rhetoric and the spectre of unemployment affecting many black an...

Horror films: a chilling cultural history

30 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Ever since the shadow of Count Orlok crept up the staircase in 1922’s Nosferatu, and Fay Wray emitted her iconic scream in 1933’s King Kong, horro...

The history of Jamaica: everything you wanted to know

28 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Caribbean island of Jamaica has a long and complex history, from its crucial role in the transatlantic slave trade to being the birthplace of Rast...

Killers of the Flower Moon: The real history

26 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Killers of the Flower Moon, the new historical epic from Martin Scorsese, dramatises a series of murders that was described by press at the time as th...

The First Crusade | 3. Crossing into the unknown

25 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In the call to crusade that ignited the idea of holy war in the minds of the western European populace, Pope Urban II painted a picture of evil “inf...

Disease killers: the black nurses who conquered TB

24 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Tuberculosis – otherwise known as the ‘Great White Plague’ – was a scourge on society and killed countless sufferers. Rhiannon Davies spoke to...

Who moulded Winston Churchill?

22 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Winston Churchill’s remarkable career saw him interact with many of the other great figures of the age, many of whom had a profound impact on Britai...

The Second Barons’ War: everything you wanted to know

21 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Why was Henry III so unpopular with his barons? How did the future Edward I turn the tide of the war? Did leading rebel Simon de Montfort create the f...

Renaissance eugenics

19 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Whether it was creating super-fast thoroughbreds, or fashioning dogs small enough to fit in your sleeve, animal breeding was an obsession of the Renai...

The First Crusade | 2. On the road

18 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos had asked the pope for a small crack team of western knights to aid him with his struggles in Asia Minor – ...

1960s Britain: smashing the status quo?

17 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The early 1960s saw the British establishment face a challenging new landscape. It was an era of rapid change, but also of enduring conservatism. Davi...

Life of the week Trailer

16 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our new bonus series delves into the fascinating lives of some of history's most significant figures, from ancient pharaohs to 20th-century secret age...

Disney at 100

15 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

October 2023 marks the centenary of the Walt Disney Company, which from its early days as one of the pioneers of animated films has grown to become a ...

Weimar Germany: everything you wanted to know

14 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The decade and a half between the end of the First World War and the ascent of Nazism is one of the most debated and mythologised periods of German hi...

Slave traders: the men who built a brutal empire

12 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The trans-Atlantic slave trade expanded greatly in the 18th century, growing from a relatively small enterprise to a global business that saw millions...

The First Crusade | 1. The call to arms

11 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In episode one of our series on the First Crusade, we consider how a landmark papal bull lit a fire under the idea of crusading, triggering a military...