HistoryExtra podcast

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Dec 2, 2022 • 43min

Books of the year 2022

From books delving into hidden histories to eye-opening global stories and epic World War Two blockbusters, 2022 has been an excellent year for history books. Rhiannon Davies is joined by historians Michael Wood, Rana Mitter and Catherine Nixey to discuss some of their top picks.Subscribe to BBC History Magazine or BBC History Revealed this season and receive a book of your choice worth up to £30* at https://www.buysubscriptions.com/subscribe2022Listeners from outside the UK can also subscribe*Book promotion only available for UK residents Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Dec 1, 2022 • 49min

The Cuban Missile Crisis: tensions mount

How did the world end up on the brink of nuclear disaster? In the first episode of our series on the Cuban Missile Crisis, Elinor Evans speaks to expert historians Alex von Tunzelmann, Mark White and William Taubman to explore the roots of the nuclear standoff, tracking the rise in tensions during the Cold War and introducing the key players in the looming confrontation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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10 snips
Nov 30, 2022 • 46min

Debtors’ prisons: Dickensian horrors or economic successes?

Dr. Alexander Wakelam, a historian from Cambridge University specializing in economic history, delves into the intriguing mechanics of Georgian debtors' prisons. He reveals how these institutions evolved from medieval laws and explores their prevalence across England. The contrast between squalid conditions in regional jails and the relatively comfortable quarters for wealthier prisoners is striking. Wakelam also discusses the complex dynamics of family life inside prisons and how they functioned as contract enforcement tools in an era of credit culture.
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Nov 29, 2022 • 44min

Dark Age bullies & forgotten kingdoms: busting early medieval myths

The traditional story that’s told about Britain from the end of the Roman period through to the arrival of the Vikings is one of coalescing kingdoms, leading inexorably towards the rise of Wessex as the last man standing. However, the real story is much more complicated, as Thomas Williams tells David Musgrove in this new episode.(Ad) Thomas Williams is the author of Lost Realms: Histories of Britain from the Romans to the Vikings (William Collins, 2022). Buy it now from Amazon:https://www.amazon.co.uk/HEROIC-AGE-HB/dp/0008171963/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Nov 28, 2022 • 28min

Enslavement, separation & survival: the story of "Ashley's sack"

In 1850s South Carolina, an enslaved woman named Rose packed a sack containing a few precious items for her nine-year-old daughter Ashley. Ashley §was then separated from her mother and sold, and it’s likely the two never saw each other again. This heart-wrenching story is embroidered on a tattered cotton sack now held in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. In this episode, Professor Tiya Miles discusses her Cundill prize-shortlisted book on “Ashley’s sack” and what it can reveal about women’s experiences during slavery. (Ad) Tiya Miles is the author of All That She Carried: The History of a Black Family Keepsake, Lost & Found (Penguin Random House, 2021). Buy it now from Amazon:https://www.amazon.co.uk/All-That-She-Carried-Keepsake/dp/1984854992/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-HistbotySubscribe to BBC History Magazine or BBC History Revealed this season and receive a book of your choice worth up to £30* at https://www.buysubscriptions.com/subscribe2022Listeners from outside the UK can also subscribe*Book promotion only available for UK residents Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Nov 27, 2022 • 1h 2min

Surgical history: everything you wanted to know

Why was a transfusion of lamb’s blood believed to cure epilepsy? What surgical procedures could you get in ancient Egypt? And were medieval surgical practitioners really a help to patients – or a hindrance? Speaking with Emily Briffett, Paul Craddock unravels the long history of surgery, from its ancient roots right up to recent developments that have changed the practice forever, including antiseptics, antibiotics and lessons learned from farmers and embroiderers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Nov 26, 2022 • 5min

Cuban Missile Crisis TRAILER

On 16 October 1962, US President John F Kennedy was made aware of the presence of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba, just 90 miles away from the shores of the United States. The 13 October days that followed were some of the most dangerous in modern history, as the world stood on the brink of mutually assured nuclear destruction. This HistoryExtra podcast series marks the 60th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis, exploring the long roots of the nuclear standoff, and the perspectives of the nations and figures at its centre.  Episodes will be released in this feed weekly.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Nov 25, 2022 • 38min

American psychiatry: a tortured history

From the earliest asylums that sold themselves as restorative “retreats”, to the damaging vogue for lobotomies and electric shock therapy, psychiatry in America has gone through many iterations since its origins in the 18th century. Andrew Scull, author of Desperate Remedies, speaks to Rhiannon Davies about the discipline’s complex history. (Ad) Andrew Scull is the author of Desperate Remedies: Psychiatry’s Turbulent Quest to Cure Mental Illness (Belknap Press, 2022). Buy it now from Amazon:https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FDesperate-Remedies-Psychiatrys-Turbulent-Illness%2Fdp%2F0674265106" Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Nov 24, 2022 • 43min

The Mary Rose | 6. protecting the wreck

When the Mary Rose was first pulled from the Solent, you could be forgiven for thinking that what had been salvaged was just a “pile of old wood”. But, over the years, incredible developments in conservation and analysis have revealed the wreck to be a precious historical resource, allowing us to discover more than we could have imagined. In this final episode, Emily Briffett speaks to Christopher Dobbs, Professor Eleanor Schofield and Dr Alex Hildred to understand the complex conservation processes behind keeping the wreck alive. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Nov 23, 2022 • 26min

Spiritualism, fairies, and Arthur Conan-Doyle

Historians Fiona Snailham and Anna Maria Barry reveal why the creator of Sherlock Holmes was so obsessed with contacting the dead. Speaking to Ellie Cawthorne, they discuss the rise of spiritualism in Britain, Harry Houdini’s crusade to unmask fraudulent mediums, and why Arthur Conan-Doyle believed that fairies had been caught on camera. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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