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HistoryExtra podcast

History EN ↓ 2618 episodes

The HistoryExtra podcast brings you gripping stories from the past and fascinating historical conversations with the world's leading historical experts. HistoryExtra is a free history podcast, with episodes released six times a week. Subscribe now for the real stories behind your favourite films, TV shows and period dramas, as well as compelling insights into lesser-known aspects of the past. We delve into global history stories spanning the ancient world right up to the modern day. You’ll hear deep dives into the lives of famous historical figures like Cleopatra, Anne Boleyn and Winston Ch...

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Episodes

World War Two’s secret heroes 09.12.2019 26:23

Author and journalist Simon Parkin tells the incredible, but little-known, story of a real life game of battleships that transformed British fortunes in the battle of the Atlantic. Historyextra.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Asians in 1980s Britain 05.12.2019 26:26

Broadcaster Kavita Puri, who presents the BBC Radio 4 series Three Pounds in My Pocket, discusses how Asian communities were adjusting to life in Britain during the volatile 1980s. Historyextra.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Secrets of the river 02.12.2019 30:34

Lara Maiklem, author of the bestselling book Mudlarking, describes some of the fascinating historical objects she has discovered while scouring the banks of the Thames over the past 15 years. Historyextra.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Mountbattens: success and scandal 28.11.2019 45:06

The author and literary agent Andrew Lownie discusses his bestselling recent book The Mountbattens: Their Lives & Loves, which explores the colourful and controversial lives of Louis and Edwina Mountbatten. It’s a story that incorporates Indian independence, royal connections and scandalous love affairs. Historyextra.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn mo...

The teashop empire 25.11.2019 53:24

Author and journalist Thomas Harding describes how a family of Jewish immigrants to Britain in the 19th century went on to create Lyons – one of the country’s best-known food and restaurant companies. Historyextra.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Margaret Beaufort: Mother of the Tudors 21.11.2019 37:16

Historian and author Nicola Tallis discusses her new biography of Margaret Beaufort who played a key role in the Wars of the Roses and whose son, Henry VII, began the Tudor dynasty. Historyextra.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Maoism 18.11.2019 30:58

Professor Julia Lovell discusses her recent book Maoism: A Global History, which has just won the prestigious Cundill History Prize. In the conversation Julia explores the nature of Mao’s ideology and how it has shaped China and many other countries around the world. Historyextra.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podca...

A history of the United States 14.11.2019 40:39

Jill Lepore, professor of history at Harvard, discusses her acclaimed recent book These Truths, which charts the highs and lows of American history since 1492 and considers how far the United States has lived up to its founding ideals. Historyextra.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The King: Henry V on film 12.11.2019 39:01

Lauren Johnson discusses the history behind the new Netflix film The King, considering how closely it follows the real events of Henry V’s life and reign. Historyextra.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Pacific War on screen 11.11.2019 28:39

Roland Emmerich, director of the new blockbuster Midway film, tells us about the process of bringing a major World War Two battle to the big screen. Historyextra.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The rise and fall of the Berlin Wall 07.11.2019 52:17

On the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, author and editor Iain MacGregor revisits some of the most dramatic events associated with the history of the Cold War barrier, from its construction in 1961 to its modern afterlife. Historyextra.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Treasures of Tutankhamun 04.11.2019 26:43

As a major new exhibition of the pharaoh’s tomb arrives in London, we speak to curator Tarek El Awady about the remarkable artefacts buried with Egypt’s iconic boy king. Historyextra.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Fortress: An epic battle of World War I 31.10.2019 42:09

Professor Alexander Watson describes the dramatic battle for the fortress city of Przemysl, which pitted a multi-ethnic Habsburg force against the might of the Russian army in the early months of World War I. Historyextra.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The death of Kitchener: a World War One mystery 28.10.2019 40:09

The author and former Cabinet minister David Laws examines the life and dramatic death, in 1916, of Britain’s Secretary of State for War: Lord Kitchener. Historyextra.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Britain in the early 80s 24.10.2019 1:12:35

Historian and author Dominic Sandbrook joins us to discuss his new book, Who Dares Wins, which explores the pivotal early years of Margaret Thatcher’s premiership in Britain: 1979-1982. Historyextra.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The House of York 21.10.2019 46:44

Historian and author Thomas Penn discusses the Wars of the Roses, the princes in the Tower and the start of the Tudor era as he reflects on the Yorkist dynasty and the reigns of Edward IV and Richard III. Historyextra.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bonus Episode: Sequences with consequences 19.10.2019 40:53

In this special edition, produced by our friends from the Science Focus podcast, Dr Robert Elliott Smith examines the dark history of algorithms and considers how they affect all of our lives today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Slave revolt 17.10.2019 32:57

Historian James Walvin describes how enslaved people fought for their freedom and ultimately helped to bring down the Atlantic slave empires. Historyextra.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Peter Hennessy on Britain in transition 14.10.2019 43:43

Historian Peter Hennessy talks about his new book Winds of Change, which tells the story of Britain in the early 1960s and explores subjects such as the Cold War, decolonisation, the Profumo affair and the country’s failed attempt to join the EEC. Historyextra.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoic...

Secret listeners 10.10.2019 33:34

Author and historian Helen Fry talks about her new book, The Walls Have Ears, which describes an ingenious British intelligence operation to bug German prisoners during the Second World War. Historyextra.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

William Dalrymple on the East India Company 07.10.2019 37:10

William Dalrymple explains how a single London corporation took over the Mughal empire and became a major imperial power. Historyextra.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Catherine the Great: fact and fiction 03.10.2019 31:19

Ahead of a major new TV drama about the Russian empress, historian Janet Hartley explores Catherine’s life and considers whether there is any truth behind the scandals that continue to damage her reputation. Historyextra.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Orlando Figes on the transformation of Europe 30.09.2019 50:00

Orlando Figes describes the cultural transformations of 19th-century Europe through the lives of a remarkable menage a trois. Historyextra.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fake news in World War Two 26.09.2019 42:42

Author and journalist Henry Hemming discusses his new book, Our Man in New York, which describes the adventures of British spymaster William Stephenson who plotted to bring the United States into World War Two. Historyextra.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The destruction of Pompeii 23.09.2019 37:27

Daisy Dunn revisits the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and considers the history that was preserved at Pompeii and Herculaneum. Historyextra.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices