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.Β
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We delve into global history stories spanning the ancient world right up to the modern day. Youβll 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.Β
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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.Β
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Our episodes touch on a wide range of historical eras ββ―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 youβll also hear conversations on lesser-known parts of our past, including black history and womenβs history.Β
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Looking at the history behind todayβs headlines, we consider the forces that have shaped todayβs 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.Β Β
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Plus, we uncover the real history behind myths, legends and conspiracy theories, fromΒ the medieval murder mystery of the Princes in the Tower, to the assassination of JFK.Β Β
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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.Β
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Prehistoric stone circles: everything you want to know
Episode 2075
Saturday, August 31, 2024 β’ Duration 41:33
If you've ever visited one of the many prehistoric stone circles that dot the landscape of Britain and Ireland, you've probably come away with lots of questions. How were they built? When were they built? Why were they built? And what on earth were they for? In this 'everything you want to know' episode, we've got the answers β or at least some of them β for you, as Professor Vicki Cummings delves into the history of prehistoric stone circles with David Musgrove.
(Ad) Vicki Cummings is co-author of Stone Circles: A Field Guide (Yale University Press, 2024). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stone-Circles-Field-Guide/dp/0300235984/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty.
Listen to our episode with Mike Pitts on Britainβs most famous prehistoric monument, Stonehenge, here:https://link.chtbl.com/iAT9Pelw.
The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
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The plague that brought the Roman empire to its knees
Episode 2074
Thursday, August 29, 2024 β’ Duration 45:13
In AD 165, the Roman empire was enjoying a period of seemingly unprecedented prosperity and stability. Then, the Antonine Plague arrived, bringing with it death, chaos, and fear. Speaking with James Osborne, Colin Elliott, author of Pox Romana, dissects the impact of this devastating plague on Roman society, and questions whether it was the cause of the empire's eventual demise.
(Ad) Colin Elliott is the author of Pox Romana: The Plague That Shook the Roman World (Princeton University Press, 2024). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pox-Romana-Turning-Ancient-History/dp/069121915X/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty.
The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
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Gulag doctors: saving lives in Stalin's prison camps
Episode 2066
Tuesday, August 20, 2024 β’ Duration 40:04
The Soviet gulag was a place of brutality, exploitation and death. But it was also home to tens of thousands of medical personnel who had to overcome limited facilities, appalling conditions and political menace in a battle to save the inmates' lives. Professor Dan Healey, author of a new book on these Gulag doctors, talks to Rob Attar about their complex roles in the heart of Stalin's labour camps.
(Ad) Dan Healey is the author of The Gulag Doctors: Life, Death, and Medicine in Stalin's Labour Camps (Yale University Press, 2024). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gulag-Doctors-Medicine-Stalins-Labour/dp/0300187130#:~:text=Dan%20Healey%20explores%20the%20lives,a%20proportion%20of%20their%20patients./?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
Tudor ladies-in-waiting: the women who served Henry VIII's queens
Episode 1979
Sunday, May 12, 2024 β’ Duration 37:55
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
How should we teach the slave trade?
Episode 1104
Tuesday, August 10, 2021 β’ Duration 37:53
Teachers Richard Kennett and Tom Allen discuss how they have worked with six other teachers to create a new textbook on this previously overlooked element of the cityβs history, and its impact on Bristol today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Building utopia after WW1
Episode 1103
Monday, August 9, 2021 β’ Duration 49:01
Left traumatised by the horrors of the First World War, between the 1920s and 1940s people around the world set out to create βperfectβ societies β with mixed results. Anna Neima, author ofΒ The Utopians: Six Attempts to Build the Perfect Society,Β charts their efforts.
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(Ad) Anna Neima is the author ofΒ The Utopians: Six Attempts to Build the Perfect SocietyΒ (Pan Macmillan, 2021). Buy it now from Waterstones:Β https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-hexpod&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fthe-utopians%2Fanna-neima%2F2928377056346
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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The Ottoman empire: everything you wanted to know
Episode 1102
Sunday, August 8, 2021 β’ Duration 49:36
Eugene Rogan answers listener questions on one of historyβs most powerful β and long-lasting β empires
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How did the Ottomans dominate swathes of Europe, Asia and Africa for up to seven centuries? How did their sack of Constantinople in 1453 change the course of history? And why did they back the wrong horse in the First World War? Eugene Rogan answers your questions on one of the worldβs greatest empires.Β
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(Ad) Eugene Rogan is the author of The Fall of the Ottomans: The Great War in the Middle East, 1914-1920 (Allen Lane, 2015). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fall-Ottomans-Great-Middle-1914-1920/dp/1846144388/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-hexpod
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Portraits, power and royal wigs
Episode 1101
Saturday, August 7, 2021 β’ Duration 41:30
Sue Pritchard, curator of a new exhibition of royal portraits at the National Maritime Museum, discusses how wigs were used to convey royal power
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Sue Pritchard, curator ofΒ Tudors to Windsors, a new exhibition of royal portraits at the National Maritime Museum, discusses how monarchs used wigs to convey royal power and spark fashions, from Elizabeth Iβs fiery false locks, to Charles IIβs luxuriant cascading curls.Β
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Wartime Britainβs mixed-race babies
Episode 1100
Friday, August 6, 2021 β’ Duration 38:31
During the Second WorldΒ War, an estimated 2,000 babies were fathered by African-American GIs stationed in Britain. Lucy Bland reveals how these mixed-race children faced discrimination in the streets and ambivalence from the government, andΒ why soΒ many were given up by their mothers.
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Β (Ad) Lucy Bland is the author ofΒ Britain's βBrown Babiesβ: The Stories of Children Born to Black GIs and White Women in the Second World WarΒ (Manchester University Press, 2019). Buy it now from Amazon:Β https://www.amazon.co.uk/Britains-%60Brown-Babies-Stories-Children/dp/1526133261/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-hexpod
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The transformation of Indiaβs glamorous golden couple
Episode 1099
Wednesday, August 4, 2021 β’ Duration 58:15
John Zubryzcki shares the story of the party-loving royals of the House of Jaipur, who turned to politics following Indian independence
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In the 1950s and 60s, the House of Jaipurβs Jai and Ayesha were seen as Indiaβs golden couple, rubbing shoulders with American film stars and British royalty. But as the princely statesβ power was squeezed post-partition, the couple had to balance partying with politics. John Zubrzycki charts their tumultuous lives.
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(Ad) John Zubryzcki is the author ofΒ The House of Jaipur: The Inside Story of Indiaβs Most Glamorous Royal FamilyΒ (C Hurst and co, 2021). Buy it now from Amazon:Β https://www.amazon.co.uk/House-Jaipur-Inside-Indias-Glamorous/dp/1787385566/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-hexpod
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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