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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Episodes page 6 of 6
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Nellie Bly: life of the week
In the late 19th century, when female reporters were largely confined to newspapers' society pages, Nellie Bly's daring investigations and headline-grabbing exploits made her a household name. From her audacious exposé…
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The improbable alliance that defeated Hitler
To what extent does the course of history turn on the force of individual personalities? It’s a question that looms large when examining the unlikely alliance forged between Britain, the United States and the Soviet…
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Remember, remember: The legacy of the Gunpowder Plot
'Remember, remember the fifth of November…'. For more than 400 years, the Gunpowder Plot has been etched into Britain’s memory. In the final episode of our series on the plot, Danny Bird speaks to John Cooper to trace…
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Five partitions that shaped South Asia
If you were to look down at South Asia from space at night, you would see a bright scar stretching more than 2,000 miles. This is the border between India and Pakistan – a division established within living memory.…
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Crystal balls & contacting angels: predicting the future in early modern England
Eating the palpitating heart of a mole. Sleeping with a wolf's tooth under your pillow. Communicating with angels through a crystal ball. In the 16th and 17th centuries, people had many cunning methods for predicting…
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Giuseppe Garibaldi: life of the week
He led one of history's most celebrated guerrilla campaigns, showed remarkable political acumen, and drove aristocratic English women wild. Is it any wonder that Giuseppe Garibaldi is one of the towering figures of…
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A day in the life of a gladiator
If we were to step back in time on to the blood-soaked sand of the Roman gladiatorial arena, what would we uncover about society, power and entertainment in the ancient civilisation? Speaking to Rachel Dinning,…
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What if the Gunpowder Plot had succeeded?
We know the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 failed – but what if it hadn’t? What if Guy Fawkes had ignited the gunpowder under parliament, killing the king, nobles and bishops, and reducing Westminster to rubble? In the…
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Bodies, bones & overflowing churchyards: a history of graveyards
Burying the dead has never been a simple matter. Whether due to elaborate grave goods, unique burial rituals, or public health concerns, burial places through history have taken on a variety of unusual and intriguing…
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Myspace and MTV: how will future historians study the 21st century?
From social-media accounts to TV shows and video games, recent decades offer an enormous wealth of material for future historians to explore. But what are the challenges presented by this vast amount of data? And how…
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Malcolm X: life of the week
Malcolm X was one of the most influential – and, sometimes, divisive – figures of the civil rights movement in the United States, a political activist whose approach proved both powerful and controversial. Speaking to…
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Ghosts, grief and the paranormal
Why are we so spooked – and yet so fascinated – by things that go bump in the night? And can science really prove that ghouls exist? Alice Vernon talks to Jon Bauckham about the evolution of ghost-hunting over the past…
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How the Gunpowder Plot unravelled
In the autumn of 1605, Catholic conspirators believed they were about to strike a blow to the heart of the English state – but then a mysterious letter exposed their plan. In this second episode of our four-part series…
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Sex and sensationalism: a history of the tabloids
Tabloid journalists often get a bad press. From publishing libellous headlines to hacking celebrities’ phones, recent years have not exactly done much to enhance Fleet Street’s reputation. But where did tabloid…
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11th-century Europe: not just the Norman Conquest
When we think of Europe in the 11th century, one date stands out: 1066. However, as Professor Charles West explains, this was a century of great change, and great events, across all of Europe. In conversation with…
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William Shakespeare: life of the week
William Shakespeare is one of history’s most famous names – but how much do we really know about the man himself? And how did his family, education and marriage shape his works and influence his worldview? Speaking to…
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Tudor life with Ruth Goodman
What did ordinary Tudors eat and drink on a daily basis? How did they keep themselves clean without baths and showers? And what surprising beliefs did they hold about sex, religion and childhood? Social historian Ruth…
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Who laid the fuse for the Gunpowder Plot?
In the autumn of 1605, Robert Catesby and Guy Fawkes led a desperate band of Catholic gentlemen in one of history's most daring conspiracies. Having smuggled 36 barrels of gunpowder beneath the Palace of Westminster,…
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Reagan's plan to 'make America great again'
The phrase 'Make America Great Again' is indelibly associated with President Trump – yet a very similar version of the slogan – 'Let's Make America Great Again' – was in fact used by his predecessor Ronald Reagan. What…
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How enslaved people fought for freedom across the Atlantic
From armed uprisings in the Caribbean to the hidden power of ritual, song and solidarity, the story of enslaved people’s resistance is far richer and more radical than has often been told. In this episode, Sudhir…
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Aneurin Bevan: life of the week
Aneurin Bevan's commitment to social justice led to the creation of the National Health Service in 1948 – one of the most ambitious social reforms in British history. He was an MP who stuck to his principles in the…
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Bandits & blasphemers: crime in 17th century Scotland
Which crimes were most common in Scotland in the 17th century – and what can those crimes reveal about society at the time? In today's episode, we're delving into a world of violence, vengeance, bandits and…
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The Normans: everything you wanted to know
After five years we come to our final 'everything you wanted to know about' episodes. We revisit our first episode where Marc Morris, author of an acclaimed history of the Norman Conquest, tackles some of the big…
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How Julius Caesar's funeral drama fuelled the mob
The assassination of Julius Caesar is one of the most infamous plots of the ancient world, but the dictator's death wasn't the only moment in his life and afterlife marked by political machinations. Speaking to Emily…
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The dark side of Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys is well-known for his brilliantly evocative diary, which gives an unsurpassed insight into daily life in Restoration London. However, it turns out Pepys also had a sinister side. Something that has been…
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Margaret Tudor: life of the week
Margaret Tudor was the daughter of a king, the sister of a king, and the wife of a king. But she was a political power player in her own right, carefully balancing family loyalties to both the crown of England and the…
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Britain's female slaveowners: the heiresses who made fortunes from enslavement
Women's role as slaveowners is often overlooked – but, just like men, they both profited from and maintained the institution of slavery. Speaking to Ellie Cawthorne, historian Miranda Kaufmann profiles several…
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Roman homes: everything you wanted to know
If you could sneak a peek past the front door of a Roman home, what could you expect to find? Why was having a hole in your ceiling a clever feat of engineering in the ancient world? How could sharing a communal toilet…
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Preview: Should historians be celebrities?
Historian, author and broadcaster David Olusoga is among the famous faces to feature on new TV series The Celebrity Traitors, which launches in the UK next Wednesday, 8 October on BBC One. But what are the…
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Queer life in Georgian Britain
There were many ways queer people in the Georgian era fought against social and legal restrictions to express their desire and convey their love for one another, from molly houses and marriages to adult adoption,.…
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Breaking news! How stories spread in early modern Europe
If you lived in 16th-century London, would you have any idea what was happening in Paris, Venice or Frankfurt? Well, yes, according to Joad Raymond Wren – and that news could reach you quicker than you might expect.…
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Robert Peel: life of the week
He established the Metropolitan police, became embroiled in years of bitter disputes over the Corn Laws, and was vilified for his political U-turns. During his political career including two tenures as prime minister…
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The German Peasants' War: a summer of fire and blood
The German Peasants' War of 1524-5 was the largest popular uprising in western Europe before the French Revolution. Thousands flocked to its cause as it swept across vast quantities of German-speaking land with speed,…
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Art Deco: everything you wanted to know
In the interwar period, a movement emerged that brought together architecture, fashion, and even typography that echoed the hopes, anxieties and ambitions of the early 20th century. Charting the rise of a style that…
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America in Korea: a failed occupation?
For three quarters of a century, the Korean peninsula has been divided between two very different regimes that are bitterly opposed to each other. But did it have to be this way? In his book, A Fractured Liberation,…
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The real Miss Moneypennys: the secret history of Britain's female spies
From cleaners to codebreakers, women’s contributions to the history of British intelligence have often gone unrecognised and forgotten. But in actuality, female operatives penetrated enemy networks, executed…
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Andrew Carnegie: life of the week
How did a man who crushed unions in Gilded Age America come to see himself as humanity’s benefactor? Speaking to Elinor Evans, historian and biographer David Nasaw explores the many contradictions of 19th-century…
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Wages for housework: the daring 1970s campaign that challenged women's roles
In the 1970s, a global group of feminist activists banded together with one demand: 'wages for housework'. Emily Callaci explores this campaign in her Cundill Prize-nominated book Wages for Housework and, in this…
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Ancient Roman theatre: everything you wanted to know
Who went to the theatre in ancient Rome – and what kind of spectacle would they have expected to see? And did the drama performed on stage reflect the politics, society and culture of the day? Emily Briffett and…
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Haiti's first and only king
Born to an enslaved mother in the British Caribbean in the tumultuous, brutal world of the late 18th century, Henry Christoph's role in the Haitian Revolution saw him rise to prominence – and was just one chapter in a…
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How the Cold War made the modern world
For most of the latter half of the 20th century, the world was frozen in a standoff. The Cold War era was defined by the ideological fissure between capitalism, led by the United States, and communism, espoused by the…
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Alva Vanderbilt: life of the week
Climbing to the top of Gilded Age society in 19th-century America, socialite Alva Vanderbilt made headlines for being one of the first elite women to divorce on her terms, and she later turned her ambition – and…
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How women were erased from economic history
Across 12,000 years of history, prosperity has flourished in societies where women could fully participate – and faltered when they were pushed to the margins. That's what Dr Victoria Bateman argues in her new book…
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The Phoenicians: everything you wanted to know
They 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…
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Black women and the fight for human rights
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…
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Soviet dissidents who challenged the Kremlin
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…
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El Cid: life of the week
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…
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Burying the enemy: commemorating the world wars' fallen foes
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…
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The Mughal empire: everything you wanted to know
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…
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The Amazons: wonder-women of the ancient world
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…
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