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History Extra podcast

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The History Extra podcast brings you gripping stories from the past and fascinating historical conversations with the world's leading historical experts.  

 

Produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine, History Extra 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 Churchill, and explorations of intriguing events from the past, such as the Salem witch trials, the battle of Waterloo and D-Day. 

 

Expect fresh takes on history, helping you get to grips with the latest research, as we explore everything from ancient Roman archaeology and Viking mythology to Renaissance royals and Tudor kings and queens. 

 

Our episodes touch on a wide range of historical eras – from the Normans and Saxons to the Stuarts, Victorians and the Regency period. We cover the most popular historical subjects, from the medieval world to the Second World War, but you’ll also hear conversations on lesser-known parts of our past, including black history and women’s history. 

 

Looking at the history behind today’s headlines, we consider the forces that have shaped today’s world, from the imposing empires that dominated continents, to the revolutions that brought them crashing down. We also examine the impact of conflict across the centuries, from the crusades of the Middle Ages and the battles of the ancient Egyptians to World War One, World War Two and the Cold War.  

 

Plus, we uncover the real history behind myths, legends and conspiracy theories, from the medieval murder mystery of the Princes in the Tower, to the assassination of JFK.  

 

Featuring interviews with notable historians including Mary Beard, Tracy Borman, James Holland and Dan Jones, we cover a range of social, political and military history, with the aim to start conversations about some of the most fascinating areas of the past. 

Unlock full access to HistoryExtra.com for 6 months for just 99p https://www.historyextra.com/join/

2009 Episodes
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After years of suspicion and hostility, relations between the Soviet Union and the United States had improved by the 1930s. In this episode, Lisa Kirschenbaum tells Danny Bird about how two Soviet satirists, Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov, launched a remarkable road trip across America in the middle of that fraught decade. From inedible T-bone steaks and coming face-to-face with President Roosevelt, to the grim reality of Jim Crow, it was a journey that continues to fascinate to this day. (Ad) Lisa Kirschenbaum is the author of Soviet Adventures in the Land of the Capitalists: Ilf and Petrov's American Road Trip (Cambridge University Press, 2024). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Soviet-Adventures-Land-Capitalists-American/dp/1316518469/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Galileo Galilei stands as one of the most significant figures in the history of science and thought. But how did he gain this illustrious reputation? In today's 'Life of the Week' episode, historian of science James Hannam delves into Galileo's pioneering observations and experiments. Speaking to Danny Bird, he reveals how the dissemination of Galileo's discoveries provoked the orthodoxies of his day and even threatened his own liberty. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Europe's peasants have all but disappeared since the end of the Second World War. Patrick Joyce has studied the past 200 years of the peasant experience, and in conversation with David Musgrove, he explores what we might learn about this vanished world. He considers what European peasant society was like, and how far peasants' world view differed from the way most of us see the world today. (Ad) Patrick Joyce is the author of Remembering Peasants: A Personal History of a Vanished World (Penguin, 2024). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fremembering-peasants%2Fpatrick-joyce%2F9780241543023%23%3A~%3Atext%3DEnlightening%2C%20timely%20and%20vital%2C%20this%2Cour%20future%20remains%20profoundly%20relevant.%26text%3Dbook'%20Annie%20Proulx-%2CA%20way%20of%20life%20that%20once%20encompassed%20most%20of%20humanity%2Crural%20world%20by%20the%20urban. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Millions of people flock to museums each year, eager to learn about the past and be inspired by the artefacts on display. But how old is the concept of the museum? How exactly has it shifted over time? And what controversies have plagued museums in recent years? Dr Caroline McCaffrey-Howarth talks to Jon Bauckham about the history of these remarkable institutions, covering everything from Renaissance ‘cabinets of curiosities’ to the triumphant Great Exhibition of 1851. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
You've heard of Shakespeare, but have you heard of his contemporary Mary Sidney, the first person to translate the Book of Psalms into English poetry? Or what about Elizabeth Cary, who published the first original play known to be written by a woman in English? In her new book Shakespeare's Sisters: Four Women Who Wrote the Renaissance, Ramie Targoff delves into the lives of four fascinating women writers from the Renaissance period. Speaking to Lauren Good, she explores a poignant question: what would the literary canon look like if these women had been better remembered? (Ad) Ramie Targoff is the author of Shakespeare's Sisters: Four Women Who Wrote the Renaissance (Riverrun, 2024). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shakespeares-Sisters-Women-Wrote-Renaissance/dp/1529404894/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
D-Day: Air

D-Day: Air

2024-05-2233:443

On 6 June 1944, the Allies began their long-awaited invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe. By the end of the day, more than 150,000 men had landed in northern France, ready to start pushing further inland. But how had this immense undertaking been planned? And how long was it before they achieved their first objective? In the first episode of our new three-part series, Jon Bauckham talks to Saul David about the experiences of the Allied airborne forces on D-Day, revealing how paratroopers and glider infantry were pivotal to the invasion’s overall success. (Ad) Saul David is an acclaimed author, historian and broadcaster. His latest book is Sky Warriors: British Airborne Forces in the Second World War (William Collins, 2024). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sky-Warriors-British-Airborne-Forces/dp/0008522162/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
At the end of the 19th century, Britain and America entered the grip of a cat craze that saw the humble moggy catapulted from urban nuisance to beloved household pet. Historian Kathryn Hughes speaks to Charlotte Hodgman about 19th-century attitudes to cats, and how Louis Wain's anthropomorphic drawings helped us fall in love with all things feline. (Ad) Kathryn Hughes is the author of Catland: Feline Enchantment and the Making of the Modern World (Fourth Estate, 2024). Buy it now from Amazon: http://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=164&awinaffid=489797&p=https%3A%2F%2Fapp.frame.io%2Freviews%2F9164ab37-aa66-49f6-bc25-ac496e432528&clickref=historyextra-social-histboty The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Maria Theresa defied expectations of what a female ruler could achieve in the 18th century. When she ascended the throne of the Habsburg empire in 1740, there were riots on the streets of Vienna, and Europe's major powers prepared to pounce. Yet, as Pieter Judson tells Spencer Mizen, over the next four decades Maria Theresa introduced wide-ranging social reforms, and turned Austria into a military force to be reckoned with. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Operating under the codename Agent Zo, Polish resistance fighter Elżbieta Zawacka was one of the most courageous intelligence agents of the Second World War. From running secret missives under the noses of the Nazis, to parachuting behind enemy lines, Clare Mulley recounts her dramatic story to Ellie Cawthorne. (Ad) Clare Mulley is the author of Agent Zo: The Untold Story of Fearless WW2 Resistance Fighter Elżbieta Zawacka (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 2024). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Agent-Zo-Fearless-Resistance-Elzbieta/dp/1399601067/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Why did the French Revolution descend into a spiral of paranoia, finger-pointing and state violence? Were fears of treachery and counter-revolution justified? And how did the guillotine become a symbol of revolutionary justice? Speaking to Danny Bird, historian David Andress answers listener questions about 'the Terror' – a bloodthirsty phase of the French Revolution in which the new Republic descended into mass hysteria. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Smash-hit historical romance Bridgerton returns this week. One of the series' key characters is the elusive Lady Whistledown – a savvy wordsmith with a penchant for causing mayhem among the Regency elite. But did an anonymous gossipmonger like Whistledown really exist in the Regency era? Emily Briffett speaks to public historian Professor Hannah Greig – historical consultant to the series – to delve into the outrageous world of Georgian scandal sheets and gossip rags, and learn more about those who dished the dirt. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Why did a remote Pacific island become one of the most fiercely fought-over locations in the Second World War? In the fifth and final episode of our series on WW2's Greatest Battles, military historian James Holland speaks to Ellie Cawthorne about the battle of Guadalcanal. He reveals why occupying the island was seen as key to victory in the Pacific arena, explores the challenges of conducting a coherent military campaign across land, air and sea, and explains how US forces were able to wrest control of Guadalcanal from the Japanese. James Holland is the co-founder of the Chalke History Festival - which runs from 24-30 June 2024. As a media partner of the festival, we're offering an exclusive 15% off Chalke Festival day tickets for subscribers to either HistoryExtra or BBC History Magazine. Check out our spring offers and benefits at www.historyextra.com/pod The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Until recently, the history of sex between men was a taboo topic. But by delving into the historical archive, historian Sir Noel Malcolm has uncovered a more complex story of same-sex relationships and encounters in early modern Europe and the Ottoman world. He speaks to Rebecca Franks about his findings. (Ad) Noel Malcolm is the author of Forbidden Desire in Early Modern Europe: Male-Male Sexual Relations, 1400-1750 (Oxford University Press, 2024). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Forbidden-Desire-Early-Modern-Europe/dp/0198886330/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
In the latest episode of our monthly series charting the past behind the present, Hannah Skoda and Rana Mitter chronicle the history of student protests, explore the story of a remarkable medieval astrolabe and discuss some new discoveries about Jane Austen. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Every queen had ladies in waiting, but few of those royal companions witnessed such tumult as the women who served the six queens of Henry VIII. Speaking to Kev Lochun, Dr Nicola Clark discusses how these women navigated the competing demands of queen, country and family as the world was reshaped around them. (Ad) Nicola Clark is the author of The Waiting Game: The Untold Story of the Women Who Served the Tudor Queens (Orion, 2024). Buy it now from Waterstones: .http://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=4746&awinaffid=489797&p=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fthe-waiting-game%2Fnicola-clark%2F9781474622202&clickref=historyextra-social-histboty. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Was tragedy or comedy the crowd favourite of the ancient Greek stage? Were audiences raucous and rowdy, or quiet and civilised? And how much do modern theatrical productions draw on their ancient antecedents? Speaking to Emily Briffett, classicist Sarah Nooter answers your top questions about the theatrical antics of ancient Greece – from advice on stage management to scatological humour. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Is it ever appropriate to fictionalise the Holocaust? That's a question highlighted by the controversies surrounding The Tattooist of Auschwitz, a 2018 novel by Heather Morris, which sold millions across the globe but also received criticism from some in the historical community for the way it represents the reality of Auschwitz. As a new TV adaptation arrives on Sky, Professor Richard J Evans speaks to Rob Attar about the book and the challenges facing all writers and film-makers seeking to tell stories about one of the darkest episodes in history. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
In October 1942, Axis and Allied forces went head-to-head in the North African desert. Fighting over access to the Suez Canal and crucial oil fields, tanks and infantrymen slogged it out across sand dunes and minefields, under the command of two of the most charismatic military leaders of the war. In the fourth episode of our series on WW2's Greatest Battles, military historian James Holland fills Ellie Cawthorne in on the story and significance of El Alamein, and the challenges of desert warfare. James Holland is the co-founder of the Chalke History Festival - which runs from 24-30 June 2024. As a media partner of the festival, we're offering an exclusive 15% off Chalke Festival day tickets for subscribers to either HistoryExtra or BBC History Magazine. Check out our spring offers and benefits at www.historyextra.com/pod The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Based on the bestselling novels of CJ Sansom, Disney+'s new Tudor drama Shardlake is a 16th-century whodunnit that takes place during the tumult of the dissolution of the monasteries. The show's historical consultant, Peter Wagstaff, tells Kev Lochun about how Shardlake brings the story of a lawyer who solves crimes and mysteries for some of the most prominent members of Tudor society to the screen. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Kublai Khan will go down in history as the man who cemented the Mongol empire's status as the one of the mightiest powers in the world – and changed the course of Chinese history in the process. In our latest Life of the Week episode, Nicholas Morton tells Spencer Mizen how this hugely capable leader built on the achievements of his grandfather Genghis. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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