HistoryExtra podcast

As we approach the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, historian Hester Vaizey reveals the impact this momentous event had on the lives of ordinary East Germans. Meanwhile, freelance journalist Dan Cossins visits the Banqueting House in London in the company of Professor Ronald Hutton, to discuss the Restoration Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more a...

As we approach Bonfire Night, historian Clare Jackson pays a visit to Coughton Court in Warwickshire to explore its connections to the Gunpowder Plot. Meanwhile, Yale University's Jay Winter joins us to discuss the First World War. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

British Museum director Neil MacGregor joins us to talk about his new BBC Radio 4 series Germany: Memories of a Nation, which illustrates the country's history through a wealth of fascinating objects. Meanwhile, historical author Giles Milton discusses some surprising tales from the past, including the story of Adolf Hitler's drug addictions. To read an extract from Milton's book, click here. Host...

Charlotte Hodgman heads to Hampton Court Palace to check out their restored Georgian kitchen garden in the company of garden keeper Vicki Cooke. Meanwhile bestselling historical novelist Wilbur Smith talks about his latest book Desert God. Plus we continue our First World War series with memories of November 1914 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad...

Ranulph Fiennes talks about his ancestors' involvement in the battle of Agincourt, and Paul Preston explores the life of Spanish communist politician Santiago Carrillo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Historian Helen Castor discusses her new biography of the tragic French heroine Joan of Arc, describing her famous victories and the dramatic trial that condemned her to death. Putting the questions is fellow historian Dan Jones. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr Yuval Harari chats to us about his new book, Sapiens, which explores tens of thousands of years of history and offers fresh insights into subjects such as agriculture, war, empire, science and capitalism. Plus, he questions whether all our progress has made us happier Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoice...

Charles Spencer talks to Matt Elton about his new book, Killers of the King, which describes Charles II's efforts to track down and take revenge on the men who executed his father during the Civil War. Meanwhile, Charlotte Hodgman visits Rosedene cottage in Worcestershire to discover more about Chartism Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices....

Dan Jones is interviewed by Tudor expert Suzannah Lipscomb about his new book on the Wars of the Roses. The two historians discuss the writing of popular history, the role of medieval kings and the controversial figure of Richard III, among other things. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tudor historian Tracy Borman discusses the career of Thomas Cromwell, the henchman of Henry VIII who brought down Anne Boleyn only to eventually share the same fate. Meanwhile, our First World War audio series continues as veterans recall September 1914 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Former BBC Two controller Janice Hadlow talks about her new book The Strangest Family, which explores the private lives of King George III and his family. Meanwhile, we speak to Adam Rutherford about his BBC Four series The Beauty of Anatomy that describes the connections between anatomical study and great works of art. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about...

In a lecture from our 2013 History Weekend festival, historian Tom Asbridge talks about how our understanding of the Crusades has changed over the past several centuries Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Historian and author Matthew Parker discusses how Ian Fleming's James Bond novels reveal his thoughts about the changes taking place in Jamaica in the 1950s and 1960s. Meanwhile, author and biographer Caroline Moorehead discusses her new book about resistance to the Nazis in occupied and Vichy France during the Second World War Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn mor...

Historian and broadcaster David Olusoga discusses the subject of his new TV series The World's War, revealing how millions of people across the globe arrived in Europe to fight the First World War. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As we approach the centenary of the First World War, historian Alexander Watson, author of Ring of Steel: Germany and Austria-Hungary at War, 1914-1918, offers a German and Austro-Hungarian perspective on the events of 1914–18 and explains how the Central Powers were overcome by the Allies. Meanwhile, we continue our series of extracts from interviews with veterans of the war, this time focusing o...

Chris Skidmore, who is writing a new biography of Richard III, talks to us about how his research is presenting a different picture of the controversial 15th-century king. Meanwhile, we speak to Pamela Hartshorne about the challenges people faced in Tudor England when trying to keep their cities clean and hygienic.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about you...

Former Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown talks to Matt Elton about his new book on French resistance fighters who took on the Nazis during the Second World War. Meanwhile, Kathryn Ferry takes a trip to Hastings and St Leonards, in the company of Charlotte Hodgman, to explore Britain's interwar holiday boom. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad c...

Peter Finn and Petra Couvee reveal how the CIA tried to change the course of the Cold War by smuggling banned literature into the USSR, including Boris Pasternak's 1957 novel Doctor Zhivago. Plus, in the second instalment of a series of extracts of interviews with First World War veterans – recorded by the Imperial War Museum – retired parachutist Dolly Shepherd, reservist George Ashurst and Royal...

Classical historian Michael Scott delves into the remarkable history of Delphi, the site of a renowned oracle in Ancient Greece and a place that was visited by many leading figures in the Greek and Roman worlds. Plus we speak to Hugh Thomas, who has just completed the third volume of his trilogy of books on the Spanish empire, about how Spain managed to rule vast territories during the 16th centur...

Historian and Conservative MP Kwasi Kwarteng explores the long and complex relationship between wealth and warfare, from the Spanish empire until the present financial crisis. Meanwhile, Richard Van Emden explains how he put together a new book of first hand reminiscences from the First World War Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit p...

Timothy Mowl guides us around a historic English garden, while Andreas Campomar explains Latin America's fixation with football Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're joined in the studio by the acclaimed Yale historian Adam Tooze to talk about his new book The Deluge, which focuses on the climax of the First World War and the resultant rise of the United States. Plus, we kick off our new Our First World War series with audio clips of interviews with veterans of the conflict. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about yo...

Historians Catherine Merridale and Cyprian Broodbank have just been announced as the winners of the latest Wolfson History Prizes for their books on the Kremlin and the Mediterranean world. We spoke to them about their research and the challenges of writing popular history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adcho...

As we approach the 70th anniversary of D-Day, military historian James Holland challenges some popular assumptions about the 1944 Normandy campaign and recounts his experiences of meeting veterans. Meanwhile, historian and author Sarah Gristwood pays a visit to Tewkesbury Abbey, which was a pivotal location in the 15th-century Wars of the Roses. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more info...

Jerry Toner discusses the lives of slaves in Ancient Rome, while Tim Butcher explores the life of Gavrilo Princip, killer of Franz Ferdinand Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices