HistoryExtra podcast

Enjoying our new Black Death series? Listen to the next three episodes right now on our new subscription podcast channel HistoryExtra Plus, along with early access to our new series on the end of Roman Britain. Follow the link below to sign up now:  https://apple.co/3w0aaXz   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adc...

From voting scandals and political messaging to drag queens and ABBA, Dr Dean Vuletic speaks to Ellie Cawthorne about the history of the Eurovision Song Contest. He discusses some of the controversies in the competition’s past and reveals what it can tell us about the changing face of Europe over the last six decades. (Ad) Dean Vuletic is the author of Postwar Europe and the Eurovision Song Contes...

What would it have been like to live through a Black Death outbreak? In this episode, Ellie Cawthorne speaks to Professor Samuel Cohn about the experiences of medieval people in communities ravaged by the deadly disease. He reveals what the chroniclers tell us about the range of responses to the crisis in the late 1340s, and the lengths people went to to survive. The primary sources quoted in this...

Jacob Mchangama explores the global history of free speech, discussing its ancient origins, staunchest defenders and biggest critics. Speaking to Matt Elton, he also reveals the ways the right to speak freely has been threatened at moments of social upheaval. (Ad) Jacob Mchangama is the author of Free Speech: A Global History from Socrates to Social Media (Basic Books, 2022). Buy it now from Amazo...

Phillipa Vincent-Connolly explores the lives of disabled people in the Tudor era. Speaking to Ellie Cawthorne, she uncovers complex attitudes to disability in the period, and reveals how some disabled figures played key roles at the royal court. (Ad) Phillipa Vincent-Connolly is the author of the Disability and the Tudors: All the King's Fools (Pen & Sword, 2021). Buy it now from Amazon: https://w...

In September 1519, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan set off on a fateful voyage to find a route to the Spice Islands. In the centuries since, Magellan has gone down in history as a chivalric adventurer, his name forever linked to the first circumnavigation of the globe. But, as Professor Felipe Fernández-Armesto tells Ellie Cawthorne, Magellan’s career was in fact shaped more by failure than...

What are the origins of aircraft being used in war? How common were dogfights? And were early fighter pilots really the ‘knights of the air’? Speaking with Emily Briffett, Paul Beaver answers your top questions about military aviation in our latest Everything you wanted to know episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoi...

The might of the Tudor dynasty was built on the blood and sweat of three generations of another family – the Dudleys. And sometimes, they paid the ultimate price. Rhiannon Davies speaks to Joanne Paul about the members of the family who were key players in the Tudor era, from Edmund Dudley’s efforts to raise taxes for Henry VII to Robert Dudley’s flirtatious friendship with Elizabeth I. (Ad) Joann...

Over recent years, our understanding of the Black Death has been radically transformed by new scientific developments. In this episode, Ellie Cawthorne speaks to Professor Monica Green about what the latest research can tell us about where the plague originated, and how it spread to eventually engulf vast swathes of the globe. The primary sources quoted in this series are taken from: The Black Dea...

Giles Tremlett explores the turbulent history of Spain. Speaking to Elinor Evans, he explores how its position on Europe's south-western corner has exposed it to influences from all over the world, giving it a history unlike any other nation on the continent. (Ad) Giles Tremlett is the author of España: A Brief History of Spain (Apollo, 2022). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Espa%...

Deborah Cohen discusses a close-knit group of American foreign correspondents who reported on the tumult of interwar Europe in the 1920s and 1930s. She talks to Elinor Evans about how they dispatched breaking news back to the US, becoming some of the most famous names of the day in the process. (Ad) Deborah Cohen is the author of Last Call at the Hotel Imperial: The Reporters Who Took on a World a...

Britain is a land full of lost settlements – villages, towns and even cities. Matthew Green explores these deserted places with David Musgrove, looking at their scarred and romantic remains in the landscape, and considering how and why they became lost to time. (Ad) Matthew Green is the author of Shadowlands: A Journey through Lost Britain (Faber & Faber, 2022). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www...

What was it like to grow up in the Middle Ages? In our latest Everything you wanted to know episode, Dr Emily Joan Ward answers your questions about medieval childhood. Speaking to Dave Musgrove, she discusses topics including education, how children were put to work, and what they did for fun. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit pod...

Professor Kris Manjapra speaks to Ellie Cawthorne about his book Black Ghost of Empire, which reveals how the end of slavery helped perpetuate systems of oppression and racial injustice, rather than disrupt them. (Ad) Kris Manjapra is the author of Black Ghost of Empire: The Long Death of Slavery and the Failure of Emancipation (Penguin, 2022). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources...

In the late 1340s, people in cities, towns and villages across the medieval world began to fall ill from a mysterious pestilence. This six part series looks at the how the Black Death shook the Middle Ages, killing millions and transforming societies. Speaking to expert historians, we'll track the spread of this devastating disease, reveal what it was like to live through the pandemic and consider...

Fifty years on from the launch of the world’s first commercial home video game console – the Magnavox Odyssey – John Wills talks to Matt Elton about how videogames have reflected the world around them over the past half century, and the ways in which history and gaming increasingly overlap. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcast...

Andrew Pettegree and Arthur der Weduwen delve into the history of libraries, from the humble book lover’s private selection to the most lavish literary collections. In conversation with Emily Briffett, they explore the innovations and ideas that made libraries what they are today. (Ad) Andrew Pettegree and Arthur der Weduwen are the authors of The Library: A Fragile History (Profile Books, 2021)....

In the latest episode of our monthly series marking the centenary of the BBC, media historian David Hendy speaks to Matt Elton about the rise of television during the 1950s – and how the decade saw the BBC increasingly clash with the political world.   (Ad) David Hendy is the author of The BBC: A People’s History (Profile Books, 2022). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=7...

How much of a gamble did sending a task force to the South Atlantic represent for Margaret Thatcher? How close did Britain come to losing the conflict? And did victory change the nation’s relationship with its armed forces? Speaking to Spencer Mizen, Helen Parr answers listener questions about British troops’ campaign to retake the Falkland Islands four decades ago. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/...

Would you like ad-free versions of our podcasts, early access to series and exclusive bonus content? Then check out our subscription podcast feed HistoryExtra Plus. Follow the link below to sign up now:  https://apple.co/3xNlgAM Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ninety years on from the Kinder Mass Trespass, Ben Anderson speaks to Ellie Cawthorne about what this act of popular protest achieved in 1932, how it became mythologised as a key moment in the right-to-roam campaign, and how we should remember it today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lucy Ward speaks to Elinor Evans about the story of English Quaker doctor Thomas Dimsdale, who took up the risky challenge of inoculating Empress Catherine II against smallpox, as a powerful statement at a time when the disease was ravaging Russia and superstition held sway. (Ad) Lucy Ward is the author of The Empress and the English Doctor: How Catherine the Great defied a deadly virus (Oneworld...

Stephen Bourne introduces Spencer Mizen to some of the pioneers of black British theatre, from Ira Aldridge, who in 1825 became the first black actor to play Othello, to the emergence of Britain’s black-led theatre companies. (Ad) Stephen Bourne is the author of Deep Are the Roots: Trailblazers Who Changed Black British Theatre (The History Press 2021). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.c...

Natalia Nowakowska reveals the story of the Jagiellonians – one of the most successful dynasties that many people have never even heard of. Speaking with Emily Briffett, she discusses how they rose from pagan tribal origins in Lithuania to become one of the biggest Catholic dynasties in Europe, with an expansive empire and a legacy that can still be felt today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priva...

In 1943, British agents concocted a daring plot to trick Hitler, involving a dead body, fake love letters and a false identity. Speaking with Emily Briffett, author and historian Ben Macintyre discusses the real history behind Operation Mincemeat, a new film adapted from his 2010 book of the same name. Operation Mincemeat is in UK cinemas from 15 April. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for m...