HistoryExtra podcast
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300 episodes
The HistoryExtra podcast brings you gripping stories from the past and fascinating historical conversations with the world's leading historical experts.
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For more fascinating stories from the past, head to HistoryExtra, the home of ‘History’s Greatest’ podcasts. Find out more at historyextra.com/podcast.
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Episodes page 2 of 6
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Yuri Gagarin: life of the week
Yuri Gagarin’s journey from a Nazi-occupied Soviet village into outer space make him one of the most famous people on Earth. In this episode, historian Asif Siddiqi tells Danny Bird about the life behind the legend,…
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How Christianity conquered the Roman empire
The Roman empire was home to a multitude of religious cults in the first century AD. However, only one – Christianity – rose to global domination. But why? That's a question that Tim Whitmarsh sets out to answer in his…
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The Odyssey’s forgotten epilogue
Why did Alexander the Great sleep with a copy of the Odyssey under his pillow? In this final episode of HistoryExtra's four-part series, Kev Lochun and classicist Daisy Dunn explore the astonishing cultural legacy of a…
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Why did witches confess?
Who were the people that were accused of witchcraft in the 1640s British witch trials? And why did they confess to being in league with the devil? In this episode, Marion Gibson breaks down the trial and interrogation…
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Inside the Maya storyworld
The Maya have a rich and varied storyworld shaped by diverse traditions and communities. In this episode, Mallory E Matsumoto tells Emily Briffett about her recent book, The Maya Myths, which explores tales of…
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Zheng Yi Sao: life of the week
Few pirates in history wielded as much power as Zheng Yi Sao, the woman who rose from obscurity to command one of the largest pirate fleets the world has ever seen, challenging the Qing empire's control of the South…
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The Fifth Crusade: triumph, disaster and the battle for Egypt
In 1217, crusaders launched an ambitious campaign to conquer Egypt, believing it held the key to reclaiming Jerusalem and securing the Holy Land. Historian and author Thomas Smith tells Emily Briffett why the crusaders…
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Is the Odyssey myth or memory?
The Odyssey is a tale of impossible monsters, angsty gods and the unquiet dead – but does that mean it holds no truth? In this third episode of HistoryExtra's four-part series, Kev Lochun and classicist Daisy Dunn turn…
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Renaissance Italy's firearm revolution
Long before the modern debates over gun control, Renaissance Italy was grappling with many of the same questions. As firearms became smaller and easier to conceal, guns spread rapidly through society: moving from…
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How blood banks saved Britain in WW2
How did the sign of the Red Vampire help British surgeons during the Second World War? Roderick Bailey, author of 'The Life Savers', explains to David Musgrove how Britain led the way in blood banks during the war, and…
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Pericles: life of the week
Ancient Athenian statesman Pericles was a remarkable figure, renowned for promoting democracy, championing the arts, and shaping the fate of the Athenian empire. Yet his legacy of military mistakes and eccentricity has…
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Did Churchill save the monarchy?
Winston Churchill was a passionate defender of Britain’s monarchy – but that didn’t mean he always saw eye to eye with the royals themselves. Jon Bauckham talks to Ted Powell about Churchill’s complex relationship with…
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Gods and monsters: the hidden stories of the Odyssey
Twenty years away from home: 10 of them spent fighting a war, and 10 more spent battling monsters, gods and his own worst instincts. In the second episode of HistoryExtra's four-part series on the Odyssey, Kev Lochun…
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Preview: Was Elizabeth I one of history’s greatest leaders?
From her defeat of the Spanish Armada to her iconic portraiture and status as the ‘Virgin Queen’, Elizabeth I is one of the past’s most famous figures – but what made her such an effective leader? Today on the…
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The Bayeux Tapestry's secret code of tyranny and injustice
The Bayeux Tapestry is coming home to England for an exhibition at the British Museum. In discussion with Dave Musgrove, Gale Owen-Crocker explains how the Tapestry was made, and why she thinks it contains a hidden…
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How to survive a day in the 14th century
What threats might you have faced on a daily basis in England in the 1300s? In this episode, Ian Mortimer guides Charlotte Vosper through a day in the 14th century and argues that it would have been surprisingly…
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Bess of Hardwick: life of the week
Bess of Hardwick fell out spectacularly with Mary, Queen of Scots and was dumped in the Tower of London by Elizabeth I. Yet nothing could get in the way of this extraordinary social climber. In this episode, Tracy…
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Alliance and acrimony: a history of Jewish-Muslim relations
From Islam’s emergence in the early medieval period, Muslims have been deeply connected with the followers of another faith: Judaism. In conversation with James Osborne, historian Marc David Baer examines the long…
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Who wrote the Odyssey?
The Odyssey is one of the most celebrated stories ever told, recounting the tale of Greek hero Odysseus’s 10-year journey home from the Trojan War. It is one of just two ancient Greek epic poems said to be the work of…
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1966: The World Cup that changed a nation
The England men’s football team has missed out on the opportunity to replicate the nation’s much-heralded victory back in the 1966 World Cup, still one of the most celebrated moments in its sporting history. But what…
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How Rome really conquered Britain
What if the Roman invasion and occupation of Britain was more complicated than we might think? Ferdinand Addis reveals how it really happened. Speaking to Charlotte Vosper, Ferdinand guides us through the complex…
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Edward Colston: life of the week
Edward Colston was a philanthropist and slave trader in the 17th and 18th centuries. He is infamous today for the fact that a statue of him was pulled down by a crowd of protestors in central Bristol in 2020 and dumped…
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Was Elizabeth Báthory really a serial killer?
Elizabeth Báthory is history's most prolific female serial killer and took pleasure in bathing in the blood of virgins... or so the story goes. In this episode, Shelley Puhak challenges that idea. Speaking to Isabel…
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What did the American Revolution really achieve?
How revolutionary was the American Revolution, and how far do 18th-century arguments about liberty and property still shape US politics today? In the final episode of HistoryExtra’s four-part series, Elinor Evans is…
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The captain's wife who took command
In the middle of the 19th century, the world's fastest ships raced across oceans carrying cargo, and the fortunes of ambitious young sea captains. In this episode, author Tilar J Mazzeo explores one voyage that…
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What could you eat in Georgian London?
Much of what was eaten by inhabitants of Georgian London is, perhaps surprisingly, familiar to us today. In this episode, Peter Ross takes Lauren Good on a culinary journey through the city – from people pocketing…
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Pablo Picasso: life of the week
From his birth in 1881 to his death in 1973, Pablo Picasso lived a life as revolutionary as his art. A child prodigy who transformed modern art, his story is one of genius, reinvention, scandal and relentless…
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When football became a weapon of the Cold War
The Cold War cast a shadow over all aspects of life – including the world's favourite sport. All sides of the ideological divide used football to score political goals. Tony Shaw and Alan McDougall talk Spencer Mizen…
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How Britain lost America
After declaring independence, the United States still had to survive a brutal conflict. In the third episode of HistoryExtra's four-part series on the American Revolutionary War, Elinor Evans and Adam IP Smith explore…
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A history of the US in 100 unexpected objects
As the United States marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Americans are taking a fresh look at their nation's past. But what if the story of the US isn't best told through presidents, wars…
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An A-Z history of the English alphabet
Which letter of the English alphabet did Benjamin Franklin think we'd be better off without? Why must the letter U (almost) always follow the letter Q? And what is the point of silent letters? From the first scratches…
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Abigail Adams: life of the week
As the wife of a founding figure in early American history, Abigail Adams was able to push beyond the restrictions of many of her sex in the 18th century, influencing policy and advocating for those in society who…
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The astonishing laws of medieval Wales
From divorce settlements and cattle disputes to surprisingly modern ideas about gender and compensation, the laws of Hywel Dda shed unique light on how society functioned, in a turbulent age of rival princes and…
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Inside the Declaration of Independence
It’s 250 years since the Declaration of Independence brought a new nation into formal existence. But what did it actually say – and who did it leave out? In the second episode of HistoryExtra’s series on the American…
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Cannibalism, heartbreak and Madame Guillotine: George Forster's extraordinary life
He sailed to Antarctica with Captain Cook, rubbed shoulders with Benjamin Franklin and helped found a revolutionary republic. It’s little wonder, then, that Andrea Wulf describes George Forster – the 18th-century…
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Charlotte Brontë's life through clothes
We might picture Charlotte Brontë's life as an isolated one, separated from much of the world and its fashions as she whiled away the hours in her father's Haworth parsonage. But the truth, as Eleanor Houghton tells…
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Emma Goldman: life of the week
Anarchist, feminist, revolutionary: 19th-century activist and writer Emma Goldman emigrated from the Russian empire to the United States as a teenager, and spent decades challenging power and convention. In this…
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Stealing the V2 rocket: Britain’s secret WW2 intelligence coup
In 1944, as Allied troops pushed across Europe after D-Day, the Allies faced a terrifying new threat: Hitler’s V2 weapons, striking without warning at supersonic speed. In this episode, Emily Briffett speaks to author,…
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The road to the American Revolutionary War
The United States often presents its birth as a straightforward struggle for liberty – but reality was far more messy. In this first episode of HistoryExtra's four-part series on the American Revolutionary War, Elinor…
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The protestant missionaries that didn't change the world
Why did Protestant missionaries travel the globe across the course of centuries, only to convert remarkably few people? Alec Ryrie – author of new book The World’s Reformation – tells Elinor Evans about the neglected…
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Strangers and aliens in Tudor England
Many histories of the 16th century tell stories of monarchs and courtiers – but there is, of course, much more to the century than that. Speaking to Charlotte Vosper, Nandini Das charts the ways in which migration and…
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Alexander the Great: life of the week
Stretching from Greece to India, Alexander the Great’s empire was one of the largest in human history, and he’d conquered it all by the time he was 30 years old. So how did this young king of a small Greek kingdom…
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What myths do we tell about royal women?
Have royal women's stories been misconstrued? Speaking to Charlotte Vosper, Kate Williams argues that many of them have been, tracing the lives of a whole host of queens – from Hatshepsut to Queen Victoria – to explore…
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Cleopatra’s death – and cultural afterlife
The final chapter of Cleopatra’s life is shrouded in mystery. Did she really take her own life? Was an asp involved? And why don’t we know where her tomb is? In this final episode of our four-part Sunday Series on the…
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Masters of disinformation: how British spies played dirty in the Cold War
They 'haunted' an Indonesian general with a talking ghost and planted fake hippies in a Bulgarian youth festival. But did they change the course of the Cold War? Rory Cormac introduces Spencer Mizen to the comically…
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Churchill's toughest decision
In the summer of 1940, the Royal Navy attacked a French fleet moored off the coast of north Africa, killing almost 1,300 sailors. Winston Churchill described his decision to greenlight the operation as the toughest he…
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Henry Paget: life of the week
Henry Paget, 5th Marquess of Anglesey, lived a life of extravagance, luxury and theatre – and for this, he was the subject of much intrigue in the late 19th century. In this episode, Michael Hall speaks to Charlotte…
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The hidden history of female sexual pleasure
How did women in the past experience sex and pleasure? Kate Lister reveals that this is a rather complicated question. Instead of simply lying back and thinking of England, women have long fought for their right to…
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Why Cleopatra was more than a bewitching beauty
We often think of Cleopatra as using her feminine wiles to secure, and maintain, power. But was that really the case? And what other skills and qualities did she have? In this third episode of our four-part Sunday…
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Better than Bridgerton: the real Georgian masquerade
Is there a real historical phenomenon behind Bridgerton’s masked ball? And what would it really have been like? In this episode, Meghan Kobza takes us behind the doors of the glittering Georgian masquerades. Speaking…
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