HistoryExtra Long Reads

Drugging, fraud, even murder – women couldn’t really commit such heinous crimes, could they? Written by historian Rosalind Crone, this Long Read explores five audacious female-led felonies from the 18th and 19th centuries which bust misconceptions about women's lives in the past. HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature or...

Hans Holbein’s masterwork The Ambassadors is an exquisite portrait of two 16th-century diplomats. But, as well as being artistically impressive, the painting is also crammed with symbols and hidden messages. This Long Read written by historian Tracy Borman deciphers the clues hidden in Holbein's work that betray the turbulence of a fateful year. HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles...

Malcolm X became one of the most influential leaders in the US civil rights movement – thanks largely, explains this Long Read written by historian Ashley D Farmer, to the women who shaped his life and ideas. HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the June 2025 issue, and has been voiced in partner...

When the Spartacus revolt erupted in 73 BC, it exposed a terrifying truth: that the cocksure Roman Republic was nowhere near as invincible as it liked to believe. This Long Read written by historian Guy de la Bédoyère takes up the story. HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the June 2025 issue, a...

In 16th and 17th-century Scotland, many hundreds of ‘witches’ were put to death – 10 times the proportion executed in England. This Long Read written by Martha McGill asks what drove the killings. HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the May 2025 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the...

When blight began devastating potato crops across Ireland in 1845, British officials immediately recognised the dangers. And yet, within six years, the Great Famine had caused the deaths of at least 1 million people. This Long Read written by Padraic X Scanlan tells the story of how tangled Anglo-Irish relations and a profound devotion to market forces turned a crisis into a national catastrophe....

For the ancient Egyptians, wine played a pivotal part in mythology, ritual and the natural processes that enabled their survival. This Long Read written by Islam Issa explores six key roles it fulfilled in their society over the millennia. HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the May 2025 issue,...

Men committed the majority of violent crimes in Tudor and Stuart England. But when women murdered, the press had a field day. This Long Read, written by author and historian Blessin Adams, asks what drove society’s gleeful fascination with its “angels of death”. HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared...

When the remains of Richard III were rediscovered under a car park, Turi King led the verification team that worked on the skeleton – proving with 99.999% certainty that it was indeed that of the long-lost medieval king. As 2025 sees in the 10th anniversary of Richard’s reburial service, this Long Read written by King reflects on how science finally cracked this 500-year-old cold case. HistoryExtr...

Today she’s widely remembered as a risqué entertainer – yet she was also involved in many of the earth-shaking events of her era. As 2025 sees the 50th anniversary of Josephine Baker’s death, this Long Read written by Anna Maria Barry tells the story of a 20th-century icon. HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature original...

The reviled king was condemned to death as a “Tyrant, Traitor, Murderer and Public Enemy”. But, as 2025 marks the 400th anniversary of his accession, how fair does that judgment seem today? This Long Read, written by Jonathan Healey, offers his verdict... HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the...

It’s been 80 years since Britons heard the news that the war in Europe was over. But how did those who lived through VE Day remember the moment? With the help of the BBC WW2 People’s War archive, this Long Read written by John Willis reveals a day of partying, remembrance and continuing sacrifice. HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears....

In the 19th century, a magic new drug took the medical community by storm, riding a wave of scientific endeavour. But, as this Long Read written by historian Douglas Small reveals, it wasn’t long before the dark side of this miraculous substance began to emerge. HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared...

Battered by the Vikings, outshone by King Alfred, Mercia has long been painted as the also-ran of the Anglo-Saxon world. Yet, as this Long Read written by Max Adams considers, this mighty Midlands kingdom was at the very heart of the emergence of England. HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the...

This year has seen Donald Trump retake the US presidency, repeating his vow to ‘make America great again’. But he’s not the first to wield such a slogan, as this Long Read written by Phil Tinline explores. Back in the 1980s, Ronald Reagan stood for election with the same promise. Did he deliver? HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. To...

Fortune telling was all the rage in the 16th and 17th centuries, and practitioners would stop at nothing to tap in to the supernatural. This Long Read written by Martha McGill tells a story of Highland seers, tarot cards and encounters with the spirit world. HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in t...

It was a moment of possibilities, dislocation – and dread. This Long Read, written by Dan Todman, tells the story of the 1.5 million urban Britons evacuated to the countryside at the start of the Second World War. HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the February 2025 issue, and has been voiced i...

Slavery, exploitation and racism. These tragedies have long dominated histories of Africa. But there’s another way to tell this story. And, as this Long Read written by Luke Pepera explains, it’s one that puts Africans right at the centre of their continent’s extraordinarily rich and vibrant past. HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears....

King John’s sealing of Magna Carta at Runnymede in 1215 is one of the most feted moments of the Middle Ages. Yet, as this Long Read written by David Carpenter explains, it was in fact a charter issued by his son 10 years later that became fundamental to England’s history. HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally...

Marco Polo’s adventures in Asia earned him lasting fame. But are his accounts of these travels essentially works of fiction? In this Long Read, historian Peter Jackson investigates whether we can trust this medieval travel-writing superstar. HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the January 2025 i...

The experiences that radicalised Guy Fawkes and his gunpowder plot co-conspirators into violent extremists sound all too familiar today. This Long Read, written by Lucy Worsley, tells a story of religious clashes, state-sanctioned torture and comrades-in-arms willing to die for the cause. HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s f...

In early 1944, the Allied advance in Italy was brought to a halt at a rocky outcrop called Monte Cassino. This Long Read, written by historian James Holland, explores how flawed leadership was to blame for the bloodbath that followed. HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the January 2025 issue, a...

Celibacy barely merits a mention in the Bible. Yet, by the early Middle Ages, it was being celebrated as a shortcut to a seat next to God. In this Long Read written by Diarmaid MacCulloch, we explore Christianity’s long love affair with sexual abstinence. HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the...

The tragic fate of Cleopatra has long overshadowed her predecessor, Ptolemy XII. But, as this Long Read written by Diana T Nikolova explains, it’s impossible to understand the daughter’s downfall without exploring the father’s hapless reign. HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the Christmas 2024...

What can history teach us about how to find joy? In this Long Read written by Katie Barclay, we share five lessons from the past about the pursuit of happiness – from the warmth family can provide to the pleasures of curling up with a good book. HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the Christmas...