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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

Shakespeare’s world and cricket in South Africa 21.04.2016 56:29

Edward Wilson-Lee looks at how the playwright’s work became celebrated on a global scale, while Dean Allen recounts the story of a pioneering British cricket enthusiast who popularised the sport in 19th-century South Africa Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Student life and working class culture 14.04.2016 52:23

Our own Ellie Cawthorne talks about her new BBC Radio 4 series that focuses on 900 years of higher education. Meanwhile, author and broadcaster Stuart Maconie discusses his documentary about the decline of working class representation in the arts and media Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Charles II and an Atlantic experiment 07.04.2016 43:45

Historian Clare Jackson talks about her new biography of the 17th-century king, which is part of the Penguin Monarchs series. Meanwhile, BBC radio presenter Peter Gibbs tells us the story of how Ascension Island’s plant life was transformed 150 years ago Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Dissolution and a forgotten colony 31.03.2016 56:45

Dr Adam Morton visits Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire to explore the events of Henry VIII’s assault on the monasteries. Meanwhile, historian and author Matthew Parker tells the story of Willoughbyland, a forgotten English colony in South America Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Democracy and an age of genius 24.03.2016 1:12:28

Classicist Paul Cartledge heads back to Ancient Greece to explore the roots of mass participation in politics. Meanwhile, we speak to philosopher AC Grayling about his new book The Age of Genius: The Seventeenth Century and the Birth of the Modern Mind Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Easter Rising and a Victorian heyday 17.03.2016 1:07:31

Heather Jones explores the dramatic rebellion of 1916, while Ben Wilson explains why the 1850s was such a transformative decade Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Muslims and Jews in the 16th century 10.03.2016 1:01:39

Historian Jerry Brotton describes how Elizabethan England formed an important relationship with the Islamic world. He then goes on to tell the story of Venice’s Jewish ghetto, which was created 500 years ago Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Holy Roman Empire and Capability Brown 03.03.2016 56:09

Professor Peter Wilson discusses his new book The Holy Roman Empire: A Thousand Years of Europe's History. Meanwhile, garden historian Sarah Rutherford pays a visit to the grounds of Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire where she explores the work of the great landscape designer Capability Brown. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcast...

Middle East history special 25.02.2016 57:42

Kanishk Tharoor and Maryam Maruf, the presenter and producer of the new radio series Museum of Lost Objects, highlight some of the antiquities that have been destroyed during recent conflicts in Iraq and Syria. Meanwhile, we’re joined by historian Tom Asbridge to explore the events of the Third Crusade, which pitted Saladin against Richard the Lionheart Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for m...

Verdun and the Renaissance 18.02.2016 55:22

Professor David Reynolds describes the Battle of Verdun, which pitched French and German forces against each other in one of the bloodiest episodes of the First World War. Meanwhile, art critic and broadcaster Waldemar Januszczak talks to us about his new BBC Four series The Renaissance Unchained Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit p...

Benjamin Franklin in London 11.02.2016 1:00:43

George Goodwin discusses the American Founding Father’s years in the British capital, on location at Benjamin Franklin House Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The battle over Henry VIII’s will 04.02.2016 59:34

Tudor expert Dr Suzannah Lipscomb talks to fellow historian Dan Jones about a remarkable 16th-century document. The king's will had great ramifications for 16th-century England and is still hotly debated today Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Romanovs and King Arthur 28.01.2016 58:46

Historian and author Simon Sebag Montefiore talks to us about his new book that chronicles the remarkable Russian ruling dynasty. Meanwhile, archaeologist Miles Russell pays a visit to Tintagel Castle in Cornwall, which has long been associated with one of Britain’s most powerful legends Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastcho...

A global view of history 21.01.2016 48:36

In a talk from our 2015 History Weekend event at Malmesbury, historian Michael Scott argues that we need to bring the histories of China, Greece, India and Rome together to adopt a less segmented approach to the ancient world Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Postwar Germany and medieval CSI 14.01.2016 56:33

Dr Lara Feigel talks to us about her new book, The Bitter Taste of Victory: In the Ruins of the Reich, which shows how the Allies used culture to try to rebuild Germany after 1945. Meanwhile, we are joined by historian Elizabeth New to discuss a project that uses modern forensic techniques to analyse medieval seals Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your...

The amazing history of Egypt 07.01.2016 57:04

In a lecture from our 2015 History Weekend event, Professor Joann Fletcher, presenter of the BBC series Immortal Egypt, explores the story of this remarkable civilisation, from the pyramids to Cleopatra Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Victorian bakers and the Leningrad symphony 31.12.2015 44:34

Historian and TV presenter Alex Langlands explains how bread making in the 19th century differed from today. Meanwhile, music expert Tom Service tells the remarkable story of Dimitri Shostakovich’s 7th symphony, which was composed and performed during the World War Two siege of Leningrad Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastcho...

2015 Christmas history quiz 24.12.2015 26:33

Test your trivia knowledge with our podcast pub quiz. The questions have been devised by QI’s Justin Pollard Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Britain’s railways and the Titanic 17.12.2015 54:23

Simon Bradley, author of The Railways: Nation, Network and People talks to us about a British transport revolution. Meanwhile, we pay a visit to Titanic Belfast in the company of Aidan McMichael, an expert on the world’s most famous ocean liner Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A history of red hair and amazing animals 10.12.2015 48:02

Jacky Colliss Harvey charts the fascinating history of red-headedness from ancient times until the present day. Meanwhile, Stephen Moss talks about his new book Natural Histories, which accompanies a recent BBC Radio 4 series, describing extraordinary species that have changed our world Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoi...

The Battle of the Atlantic and the history of Spain 03.12.2015 1:01:27

Jonathan Dimbleby describes the pivotal World War Two naval clash, while Marion Milne talks about a new BBC Four series on Spain through the ages Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shakespeare in 1606 and Olympic swimmers 26.11.2015 52:38

Professor James Shapiro talks to us about his new book 1606: William Shakespeare and the Year of Lear, a follow-up to his acclaimed 1599. Meanwhile the author Julie Checkoway tells the story of a remarkable group of Japanese-American swimmers who sought unlikely Olympic glory. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/ad...

The Peasants’ Revolt and a Cold War spy 19.11.2015 56:22

Author and broadcaster Melvyn Bragg introduces his latest historical novel, Now is the Time, which centres on the 14th-cenury uprising. Meanwhile, we talk to Andrew Lownie about his new biography of a key member of the Cambridge Spy Ring, Guy Burgess. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ancient Rome special 12.11.2015 59:41

Classical historian and broadcaster Mary Beard talks to us about her new one-volume history of Rome entitled SPQR. Meanwhile, we speak to the bestselling historical novelist Robert Harris about his latest fictional portrait of the Roman statesman Cicero Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The end of the Cold War and British culture 05.11.2015 1:02:45

Professor Robert Service describes how the leaders of the United States and Soviet Union – Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev – brought about a dramatic change in east-west relations. Meanwhile, historian Dominic Sandbrook talks to us about his new BBC TV series Let Us Entertain You, which highlights Britain’s postwar cultural successes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....