

HistoryExtra podcast
Immediate
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 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/
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 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/
Episodes
Mentioned books

Dec 8, 2021 • 41min
How US-Russian relations fractured in the 1990s
Mary Sarotte tells Spencer Mizen about her new book Not One Inch, which reveals how diplomatic missteps after the fall of the Berlin Wall soured US-Russian relations and fuelled the rise of Vladimir Putin.(Ad) Mary Sarotte is the author of Not One Inch: America, Russia and the Making of Post-Cold War Stalemate (Yale University Press, 2022). Buy it now from Amazon:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Not-One-Inch-Post-Cold-Stalemate/dp/030025993X/?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

Dec 7, 2021 • 45min
Pearl Harbor episode 3: Countdown to the raid
In the latest episode in our new series on the raid on Pearl Harbor, Steve Twomey speaks to Ellie Cawthorne about the immediate run-up to the attack, revealing how inch-perfect Japanese planning and complacent oversights by American military figures combined to leave Pearl Harbor naval base a sitting duck for Japanese bombers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dec 7, 2021 • 40min
Pearl Harbor episode 2: America on the eve of war
In the latest episode in our new series on the raid on Pearl Harbor, Dayna Barnes speaks to Ellie Cawthorne about the United States in the years and months leading up to the attack. They discuss the American perspective on the disintegrating relationship with Japan, get to grips with US thinking on the eve of the attack, and ask: why was the American public blindsided by the Japanese raid? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dec 6, 2021 • 28min
Sex lives of medieval people
Were medieval attitudes to sex really that different from our own? Historian Katherine Harvey speaks to Elinor Evans about the sex lives of ordinary people in the Middle Ages – from how sexuality was governed by ideas about sin, to the “love magic” that was thought to trick people into bed.(Ad) Katherine Harvey is the author of The Fires of Lust: Sex in the Middle Ages (Reaktion Books, 2021). 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%2Fthe-fires-of-lust%2Fkatherine-harvey%2F9781789144895 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dec 5, 2021 • 54min
The Great Depression: everything you wanted to know
c Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dec 4, 2021 • 45min
Searching for WW1’s fallen soldiers
Robert Sackville-West describes attempts to identify the bodies of the dead after the devastating battles of the First World War Historian Robert Sackville-West describes the searches to identify – and in some cases, return – bodies of the dead after the devastating battles of the First World War: a service that provided important closure for many bereaved families. Speaking with Elinor Evans, he also explores how commemoration of the war dead has changed over the last century. (Ad) Robert Sackville-West is the author of The Searchers: The Quest for the Lost of the First World War(Bloomsbury, 2021). Buy it now from Amazon:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Searchers-Quest-Lost-First-World/dp/1526613158/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-viewingguide Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dec 3, 2021 • 30min
Christmas feasts: Medieval & Tudor revelry
From brawn to plum pottage, Annie Gray takes us back to the raucous world of festive feasting in the medieval and Tudor eras. Speaking to Ellie Cawthorne, for the first episode in our new mini-series on Christmas food through history, she also touches on subversive merrymaking, spectacular dinnertime entertainments and hefty meat pies.(Ad) Annie Gray is the author of At Christmas We Feast: Festive Food through the Ages (Profile Books, 2021). Buy it now from Waterstones:https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-viewingguide&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fat-christmas-we-feast%2Fannie-gray%2F9781788168199%23%3A~%3Atext%3DAt%20Christmas%20We%20Feast%3A%20Festive%20Food%20Through%20the%20Ages%20(Hardback)%26text%3D'A%20joy%20to%20immerse%20oneself%2Ctrimmings%2C%20pudding%20and%20brandy%20butter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dec 1, 2021 • 47min
Pearl Harbor episode 1: A gathering storm in Japan
In the first episode in our new series on the raid on Pearl Harbor, Chris Harding speaks to Ellie Cawthorne about Japan in the years running up to December 1941. They discuss the long-running historical factors that edged the country ever closer to war with the United States, and ask: what led Japan to embark on such a risky gamble? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nov 30, 2021 • 52min
Colour: a human history
Colour has been hugely important to humans through history, with different cultures attaching their own meanings to all the hues of the rainbow. From the ancient societies who venerated purple to the modern political radicals who chose red as the colour of revolution, James Fox speaks to Rhiannon Davies about these fascinating associations. (Ad) James Fox is the author The World According to Colour: A Cultural History (Allen Lane, 2021). Buy it now from Amazon:https://www.amazon.co.uk/World-According-Colour-Cultural-History/dp/1846148243/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-viewingguide Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nov 29, 2021 • 42min
Stranger danger? Xenophobia’s unexpected history
Psychiatrist and historian George Makari speaks to Jon Bauckham about the origins of the term “xenophobia”, and the ways in which western thinkers have interpreted people’s fear of strangers, from the 19th century to the present day. (Ad) George Makari is the author of Of Fear and Strangers: A History of Xenophobia (Yale University Press, 2021). Buy it now from Amazon:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fear-Strangers-History-Xenophobia/dp/0300259735/ref=asc_df_0300259735/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=534924812094&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12591081103742328032&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006715&hvtargid=pla-1420993758651&psc=1&th=1&psc=1&tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-viewingguide Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices


