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The History Extra podcast brings you gripping stories from the past and fascinating historical conversations with the world's leading historical experts.
Produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine, History Extra is a free history podcast, with episodes released six times a week. Subscribe now for the real stories behind your favourite films, TV shows and period dramas, as well as compelling insights into lesser-known aspects of the past.
We delve into global history stories spanning the ancient world right up to the modern day. You’ll hear deep dives into the lives of famous historical figures like Cleopatra, Anne Boleyn and Winston Churchill, and explorations of intriguing events from the past, such as the Salem witch trials, the battle of Waterloo and D-Day.
Expect fresh takes on history, helping you get to grips with the latest research, as we explore everything from ancient Roman archaeology and Viking mythology to Renaissance royals and Tudor kings and queens.
Our episodes touch on a wide range of historical eras – from the Normans and Saxons to the Stuarts, Victorians and the Regency period. We cover the most popular historical subjects, from the medieval world to the Second World War, but you’ll also hear conversations on lesser-known parts of our past, including black history and women’s history.
Looking at the history behind today’s headlines, we consider the forces that have shaped today’s world, from the imposing empires that dominated continents, to the revolutions that brought them crashing down. We also examine the impact of conflict across the centuries, from the crusades of the Middle Ages and the battles of the ancient Egyptians to World War One, World War Two and the Cold War.
Plus, we uncover the real history behind myths, legends and conspiracy theories, from the medieval murder mystery of the Princes in the Tower, to the assassination of JFK.
Featuring interviews with notable historians including Mary Beard, Tracy Borman, James Holland and Dan Jones, we cover a range of social, political and military history, with the aim to start conversations about some of the most fascinating areas of the past.
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2401 Episodes
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1They gave us the alphabet, charted the seas by the Pole Star, and built Carthage – once Rome’s greatest rival. So why have the Phoenicians been forgotten? Speaking to Emily Briffett, historian Josephine Quinn explores the story of these ancient seafarers, traders and city-builders who connected the cities surrounding the Mediterranean – and left an extraordinary legacy – long before Greece and Rome rose to power.
The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
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Despite facing significant obstacles in their own lives, black women in the United States were at the forefront of campaigns for human rights at home and abroad. Historian Keisha N Blain tells the stories of some of these women who, in the 19th and 20th centuries, worked outside the corridors of power to fight for freedom across the globe. She was joined in conversation by Rob Attar.
(Ad) Keisha N Blain is the author of Without Fear: Black Women and the Making of Human Rights (W. W. Norton & Company, 2025). Buy it now from Amazon: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FWithout-Fear-Black-Making-Rights%2Fdp%2F0393882292.
The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
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In the years following Stalin’s death in 1953, a new phenomenon emerged within the Soviet Union: so-called 'dissidents'. Preferring to think of themselves as 'rights defenders', these individuals advocated a form of 'civil obedience' – a demand that the state abide by its own constitution and the basic rights and freedoms it promised on paper. Historian Benjamin Nathans speaks to Danny Bird about his Cundill Prize-nominated book To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause, which examines this extraordinary movement.
To find out more about the Cundill History Prize, go to https://www.cundillprize.com/
(Ad) Benjamin Nathans is the author of To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause: The Many Lives of the Soviet Dissident Movement (Princeton University Press, 2024). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Success-Our-Hopeless-Cause-Dissident-ebook/dp/B0CW1FHMSQ/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty.
The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
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The life of El Cid, the famed 11th-century Castilian warrior otherwise known as Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, is steeped in legend. Historian Nora Berend joins Danny Bird to examine his real-life exploits during the centuries-long series of campaigns by Christian kingdoms to reclaim the Iberian Peninsula from Muslim rule, known as the Reconquista. She unpacks his complex loyalties to both Christian and Muslim rulers, and explores how his story has been continually reshaped to serve politics, culture and Spanish national identity.
(Ad) Nora Berend is the author of El Cid: The Life and Afterlife of a Medieval Mercenary (Sceptre, 2024). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fel-cid%2Fnora-berend%2F9781399709620.
The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
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For Britain and Germany, both world wars saw hundreds of thousands of casualties – but what happened to the bodies of those who died on enemy territory? And what impact did this have upon their bereaved relatives, and their nation's memory of the war? Speaking to Emily Briffett, Tim Grady explores how both nations cared for their fallen foe during and after the First and Second World Wars.
(Ad) Tim Grady is the author of Burying the Enemy: The Story of Those who Cared for the Dead in Two World Wars (Yale University Press, 2025). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Burying-Enemy-Story-Those-Cared/dp/0300273975/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty.
The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
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The Mughal empire was one of the most powerful and influential dynasties in South Asian history, blending together a mix of cultural traditions to create a legacy of dazzling architecture, innovative governance, and turbulent politics. Speaking to Emily Briffett, historian Nandini Chatterjee journeys through the empire's rich history – and considers why it continues to spark debate today.
The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
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If you know anything about the Amazons of ancient legend, it's probably that they were fearsome female fighters, who bravely battled against male heroes of Greek legend. But, according to Professor David Braund, the Amazons were far more than just formidable warrior women – he explains why to David Musgrove.
(Ad) David Braund is the author of Amazons: The History Behind the Legend (Cambridge University Press, 2025). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Amazons-History-Behind-David-Braund/dp/1108834493/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty.
The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The story of the Vikings who travelled to eastern Europe is just as thrilling as the story of those who headed west. It's also just as important – still being relevant today through deep rooted connections to the ongoing war in Ukraine. But what are those long-lasting links, exactly? Historian and author Martyn Whittock examines this complicated history in conversation with James Osborne.
(Ad) Martyn Whittock is the author of Vikings in the East: From Vladimir the Great to Vladimir Putin – The Origins of a Contested Legacy in Russia and Ukraine (Biteback, 2025). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fvikings-in-the-east%2Fmartyn-whittock%2F9781785909054.
The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
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In 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, crossed the Channel and changed English history forever. Known to some as a ruthless and ambitious conqueror and to others as a astute and innovative state-builder, his legacy is still debated today, almost a thousand years later. But how much do we know about the man behind this formidable reputation? As new BBC Drama King and Conqueror hits the screens, Emily Briffett speaks to Professor David Bates to chart William's dramatic rise to power and the brutal realities of Norman rule.
The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
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As the threat of war began to loom in the 1930s, an elaborate system of fortifications sprung up in northeastern France. Known as the Maginot line, this string of defences was designed to protect the nation in the event of an invasion by Nazi Germany. So, when Hitler's forces did invade, how much blame should the Maginot Line shoulder for the fall of France in double-quick time? That's a question that's troubled historians ever since the traumatic events of 1940. In conversation with Spencer Mizen, Kevin Passmore explores why the line has become a symbol of a nation's collective failure to face the challenges of the modern world
(Ad) Kevin Passmore is the author of The Maginot Line: A New History (Yale). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Maginot-Line-New-History/dp/0300277040/ref=sr_1_3?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.aVgiucnHhsw8GtAN2IzrEswaM0EX3Dy8QpYSeLwhTOy7Z6m9IAKx54zspipA7_H7bCgN_FQUJr_zpW6dysMfypNtq01K4XLgkRG5-oZ8lqxJoeQmvIW_BgycqfLfg1ElWJm_NSVviLxLMW9BcfqGHRT8r0y_2BRCo4y-9WYWcaCRwpna3Ug5BAHAF-WV-t4FhpkfSmn3JsV8yZ6UXNUxBU4o0-mYIcgtNirSGF4pM5s.EMrngOGJ3WE8YDMfngnbIDj3xMLcHYdUUBhmLYgf-g4&dib_tag=se&qid=1752843122&refinements=p_27%3AKevin+Passmore&s=books&sr=1-3&tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty
The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
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From Hercule Poirot to Sherlock Holmes, crime fiction has long been a popular genre. But what was the first crime novel? How has crime writing affected real-life cases? And what was the 'Detection Club'? In this 'everything you wanted to know' episode, Isabel King is joined by crime fiction author and researcher Martin Edwards to discuss the history of the influential genre.
The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
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What if the 'fall' of Rome wasn’t a collapse, but a rebrand? In this episode, Alice Roberts delves into the dramatic transformation of the Roman world and the rise of Christianity, from cliffside burials in Wales to imperial politics in Constantinople. Speaking to Danny Bird, she reveals how early Christianity wasn’t a grassroots movement of the poor, but a strategic shift embraced by elites, bishops and emperors.
(Ad) Alice Roberts is the author of Domination: The Fall of the Roman Empire and the Rise of Christianity (Simon & Schuster, 2025). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Domination-Alice-Roberts/dp/1398510084/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty.
The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
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In 2010, the world was stunned when the United States exposed a covert Russian spy network operating on its soil. Seemingly all-American families living in white-picket-fenced suburbia were in fact deep undercover Russian agents. Many had been living under assumed identities for decades, lying even to their own children. In this episode, journalist Shaun Walker speaks to Danny Bird about Moscow’s longlasting ‘illegals’ programme – perhaps the most audacious chapter in the history of espionage. He reveals how the roots of the operation reached back more than a century to before the Bolshevik Revolution; how the Soviet Union deployed it against supposedly ‘friendly’ states; and how today’s Russia reveres these spies as patriotic heroes.
(Ad) Shaun Walker is the author of The Illegals: Russia's Most Audacious Spies and the Plot to Infiltrate the West (Profile Books, 2025). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fthe-illegals%2Fshaun-walker%2F9781788167772.
The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
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Edward the Confessor, England’s penultimate Anglo-Saxon king, has long been remembered as a saintly, pious monarch – but was he really the weak ruler whose indecision paved the way for the Norman Conquest that some historical sources would have us think? And if not, how should we understand him? Emily Briffett spoke to historian Tom Licence to explore the life of this medieval monarch – from his early years in exile and his ambitions for the crown to the subsequent political challenges he faced that ultimately shaped the fate of England.
The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
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Histories of British involvement in the Caribbean tend to focus mainly on the period of plantation slavery but, in her new book Empire Without End, Imaobong Umoren argues that we need to take a broader view. It's only by taking the story back to the 16th century and forward until the present, she contends, that we can fully understand the intertwining themes of colonialism and racism in the region – and see how they connect to events in Britain. In this episode, Imaobong explores these ideas in conversation with Rob Attar.
(Ad) Imaobong Umoren is the author of Empire Without End: A New History of Britain and the Caribbean (Fern Press, 2025). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fempire-without-end%2Fimaobong-umoren%2F%2F9781911717034%23%3A~%3Atext%3DEmpire%20Without%20End%20offers%20a%2Cthe%20longevity%20of%20systemic%20racism.
The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
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Human beings tend to identify with being in a group, and, historically, few groupings have been more potent than the idea of the nation. But when did people first embrace the idea of the nation state? Is nationalism predominantly a right-wing creed? And does it thrive during periods of crisis and uncertainty? In this Everything You Wanted To Know episode, Danny Bird puts these questions and others submitted by our listeners to John Hutchinson.
The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
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In 1775, a respectable lady, a mild-mannered apothecary and his fast-living identical twin stood accused of pulling off a scam that had earnt them a fortune. But as their trial unfolded, the defendants turned on one another, and the plot thickened – who was the real orchestrator of the scheme, and who would hang for it? In this preview of episode one of History’s Greatest Scandals Season 2, Professor Hannah Greig and Ellie Cawthorne revisit this sensational courtroom drama, and consider what it can tell us about the Georgian age.
Find the full episode and listen to the whole series by heading to History's Greatest Scandals or following this link: pod.link/1783538769
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After causing the extinction of the dodo, humans soon realised that we had the power to destroy entire species – and we continue to reckon with that power. Speaking to James Osborne, Sadiah Qureshi discusses her new book Vanished, which looks at the connections between extinction and imperialism, and explores how changing ideas about extinction have reshaped the face of the planet.
(Ad) Sadiah Qureshi is the author of Vanished: An Unnatural History of Extinction (Penguin, 2025). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fvanished%2Fsadiah-qureshi%2F%2F9780241352106.
The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
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Christianity came to dominate Europe in the Middle Ages. However, some parts of Europe remained pagan until very recently. So how did non-Christian peoples survive, and prosper, in parts of Europe for centuries after most of the continent had adopted the Church? Francis Young, folklorist and historian of religion and belief, explains all to David Musgrove.
(Ad) Francis Young is the author of Silence of the Gods: The Untold History of Europe's Last Pagan Peoples (Cambridge University Press, 2025). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Silence-Gods-History-Europes-Peoples/dp/1009586572/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty.
The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
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In the latest episode of our monthly series charting the historical background of current news events, historians Hannah Skoda and Rana Mitter discuss how VJ Day is remembered 80 years on – and explore the rise, fall and rise of women's football.
The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
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marc.... h20. please!
This is not an African perspective, it's what a white colonizer woman believes is the African perspective. There is a lot of 'I think' or 'I believe'. I can find a colonizer perspective anywhere, I wanted a truly african perspective, this is absolutely not it.
How we are today. inserting ourselves into foreign wars as articulation point for super power. simultaneously absorbing the displaced from all this as refugees and migrants. RIP great Britain .
Since when is Buxton in Yorkshire!
love this dude. knows all about the cheese. Wallace loves you.
Blessed be the cheesemakers!
60000, Australians served in Vietnam, not one mention, typical arrogance of the Americans
This guy is a zionist, and couldn't care less about the holocaust currently being carried out in Gaza.
oh my God I guess you could read this woman's work, listening to her speak is like nails down a chalkboard. too bad I'm sure she's smart and it's an interesting subject. public speaking might be something to add to her expertise.
I listened to the first 3 minutes and it was exactly as unhinged as I had a imagined. Your guest need to stick to England and discuss the parallels between every single labor leader and the Communist apparstchic found in China, the old Soviet Union and North Korea. Not one of them have started a business, run a business, understand finance, markets, or set foot on a farm.
One sided propaganda from the BBC... As per usual.
Great story! Note Guy Scholefield is said 'Skolfield'. Pronunciation of Oamaru, a Maori name, also needs work.
It was chancellor Willy Brandt, who fell on his knees in Warsaw in 1970, not President Richard von Weizäcker.
Pathetic- so if you’re spanish your a liar , very racist propaganda
this isn't about museums as mich as a whine fest about how some women didn't get enough credit in the museum biz.. bummer
Fantastic episode. As an Australian who has a picture of my forebears from my DNA test, its so interesting having this fleshed out and brought to life across the early centuries.
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I don't find any of this convincing. She seems to be arguing that medieval people always told the truth and hated murder.
Always enjoy hearing Prof Tyldesley
22.34 Ireland, anyone?