HistoryExtra podcast

In a talk from our virtual lecture series, author Charles Spencer discusses his book The White Ship, which explores the story of England’s early Norman monarchs and recounts a maritime tragedy that threw England’s royal line into disarray in 1120. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Historian Susan Cohen discusses how Britain’s National Health Service has changed over the decades since its landmark creation in 1948. She explores the challenges of providing ‘cradle-to-grave care’ for all Britons, and discusses some of the biggest issues that the service has faced, including discrimination in the ranks, AIDS and Covid-19. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informat...

Historian Paul Betts discusses his book Ruin and Renewal, which explores how postwar regeneration after 1945 was inspired by the contested concept of civilisation, and examines some of the competing visions for Europe’s future. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Physicist and oceanographer Helen Czerski discusses the impact of oceans on human civilisations through history, from providing food to connecting trade routes. Plus, she explores how our relationship with the oceans has changed throughout the ages. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rosie Whitehouse tells the story of a group of Holocaust survivors who sailed to Palestine in 1946, in defiance of the Royal Navy   Author and journalist Rosie Whitehouse discusses her book The People on the Beach, which tells the story of a group of Holocaust survivors who sailed from Italy to Palestine in 1946, taking on the might of the Royal Navy in the process. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/...

As the campaign to vaccinate the population against Covid-19 picks up pace, Gareth Williams explores previous efforts to combat lethal diseases, from smallpox to polio   Gareth Williams, emeritus professor of medicine at the University of Bristol, traces historical efforts to vaccinate populations against killer infections – from Edward Jenner’s eureka moment with smallpox in 18th-century England...

Dominic Sandbrook answers popular search queries and listener questions about Britain in the 1960s   Did the Sixties really swing? Why did the decade see such an explosion of popular culture? And what were the top sellers in the supermarket? Historian, author and broadcaster Dominic Sandbrook answers popular search queries and questions you submitted about Britain in the 1960s. Hosted on Acast. Se...

Historian Helen Fry, author of MI9, gives a lecture on the secret service for escape and evasion, who led missions to help allied prisoners of war make it out of Nazi-occupied Europe during the Second World War. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Laurence Rees compares the actions of the two dictators over the course of the Second World War   Historian, author and broadcaster Laurence Rees discusses his new book, Hitler and Stalin, which compares the actions of the two dictators over the course of the Second World War. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/ad...

Priya Satia explores how historians helped advance the British empire, only to later become critics of imperialism   Professor Priya Satia discusses her recent book, Time’s Monster, which explores how historians helped advance the aims of the British empire, only to later become highly critical of imperialism.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad...

David Hepworth tells the story of the British rock bands – from the Beatles and Rolling Stones to Led Zeppelin – who took the United States by storm in the 1960s   Author and broadcaster David Hepworth tells us about his latest book, Overpaid, Oversexed and Over There, which documents how a wave of skinny, pale, long-haired musicians from Blighty became the toast of 1960s America, heralding in a c...

Frank McDonough discusses the second volume in his history of the Third Reich, The Hitler Years, which details how Nazi Germany fell from the peak of its power in 1940 to disastrous defeat five years later. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stephen Baxter discusses the latest insights revealed by a new study of the 11th-century survey of England    Professor Stephen Baxter discusses the latest insights revealed by a new study of Domesday Book, which suggests that William the Conqueror’s survey of England in the mid-1080s was more efficient, complex, and sophisticated than previously thought. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for...

Jerry Brotton, professor of Renaissance studies at Queen Mary University of London, responds to listener questions and popular internet search queries about the Renaissance. He tackles everyday life in the era and explains why it saw such an explosion of ground-breaking art and culture. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoi...

Robert Hutchinson gives a lecture on the Tudor monarch's final years, plagued by illness, bankruptcy, and thwarted ambitions In a lecture he delivered at BBC History Magazine’s 2019 Chester History Weekend event, historian Robert Hutchinson discusses the final years of the Tudor monarch, revealing a lonely, vulnerable man plagued by illness, bankruptcy, and thwarted ambitions. Hosted on Acast. See...

Kavita Puri discusses the experiences of British South Asians during the 1990s and early 2000s. BBC journalist Kavita Puri discusses the new series of her Radio 4 documentary Three Pounds in My Pocket, which explores the experiences of British South Asians during the 1990s and early 2000s. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastc...

In this episode from our archive, Ian Kershaw offers his take on how the continent has developed since the Second World War In this archive episode from 2018, recorded to mark HistoryExtra’s 500th episode, historian Sir Ian Kershaw offers his take on how the continent has developed over the past seven decades since the Second World War. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....

Robert Tombs discusses the historical background to Brexit, exploring Britain’s long and fluctuating relationship with Europe Professor Robert Tombs discusses his new book This Sovereign Isle, which examines the history of Britain’s relationship with Europe. He talks about how ideas about the past have shaped Brexit, and how future historians might view Britain’s decision to leave the EU. Hosted o...

In this archive episode, Catherine Merridale recounts how the future Soviet leader travelled to Petrograd in 1917 – a key moment in the Russian Revolution In this episode from our archive, Catherine Merridale discusses her book Lenin on the Train, which recounts the future Soviet leader’s famous 1917 train journey across Europe to Petrograd – a key moment in the Russian Revolution. Hosted on Acast...

James Holland tells the story of the dramatic Allied assault on the island of Sicily in the Second World War Military historian James Holland tells the story of the dramatic assault on the island of Sicily in 1943 – a key moment in the Second World War that saw Allied forces battle to return to ‘Fortress Europe’. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad...

Emma Griffin tackles internet search queries and questions submitted by listeners about Britain’s Industrial Revolution Emma Griffin tackles internet search queries and questions submitted by listeners about Britain’s Industrial Revolution, from the key inventions and cultural impact to workers’ rights and child labour. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about...

Tim Grady gives a lecture exploring the varied experiences of German Jews in the First World War In a lecture he delivered at our 2019 History Weekend in Chester based on his book, A Deadly Legacy: German Jews and the Great War, Tim Grady reveals how German Jews played a central role in the First World War, and considers how they were impacted by the legacies of the conflict. Hosted on Acast. See...

Edward Brooke-Hitching discusses some of history’s strangest literary curiosities, from hoax manuscripts to tomes bound in human skin Edward Brooke-Hitching discusses his book The Madman’s Library, which tells the stories of some of history’s strangest literary curiosities, from hoax manuscripts and books of demonology to volumes written in blood or bound in human skin. Hosted on Acast. See acast....

Jacqueline Riding considers whether the Jacobite prince was a valiant freedom fighter, or a haughty coward Ever since he led a failed Jacobite rebellion against the British crown in 1745, Bonnie Prince Charlie has divided opinion. To his supporters, he was a courageous freedom fighter; to his detractors, a gutless popinjay. On the 300th anniversary of his birth, Jacqueline Riding considers the con...

In this episode from our archive, Jessie Childs tells the story of Tudor gentleman Thomas Tresham, whose faith set him at odds with the Virgin Queen In this archive episode from 2018, historian Jessie Childs tells the story of Thomas Tresham, a Tudor gentleman who built a remarkable secret monument to his Catholic faith and risked the anger of the Virgin Queen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priva...