Everyday life in a slave trading town
Oct 18, 2026
In 1665 the Portuguese Inquisition arrested Crispina Peres, a powerful slave trader in the west African port of Cacheu. The records of her case provide a remarkable window into everyday life in…
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 hi
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From plague 'searchers' to strawberry birthmarks: a history of women's bodies
Oct 15, 2026
What was 'nidgeting'? How did women know they were pregnant before modern tests? And what did people in the past believe a mother’s imagination could do to her unborn child? In this episode, Lauren…
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The country house at war
Oct 13, 2026
It might be assumed that the owners of Britain's country houses weren't hugely affected by the Second World War, and that they continued to live in luxury in their vast estates. However, as Judith S…
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The pioneering surgeon who stood up to Rasputin
Oct 12, 2026
She pioneered lifesaving battlefield surgery, challenged the medical establishment, stood up to Rasputin, and became the world's first female professor of surgery – yet today, few people have heard…
The stolen Native Americans who shaped US history
Oct 11, 2026
Between 1492 and 1880, as many as 600,000 Native Americas were enslaved in the area that would become the United States. That’s the figure estimated by historian Linford D Fisher in his book Stealing…
Being disabled in the medieval era
Oct 08, 2026
Prosthetic legs, wheelbarrow wheelchairs and guide… children? Those were just some of the assistive technologies and body augmentations available to our medieval and early modern ancestors. In this…
Vanilla: a far from ordinary history
Oct 06, 2026
It's now often used as an adjective for anything standard, plain, and borderline boring – but the history of vanilla is anything but. Eric T Jennings – whose book Vanilla: The History of an…
Ancient explosives and the philosopher's stone: a history of alchemy
Oct 05, 2026
Think of alchemy, and you likely imagine bubbling vials of strange potions and molten metals. But how close is this popular perception to the truth? That’s the question behind historian and…
North Korea's religious dictators
Oct 04, 2026
More than three decades after the end of the Cold War and the fall of the USSR, the North Korean regime remains steadfastly in place, defiantly ploughing its own path some eight decades after its…
Inside Venice’s Jewish ghetto
Oct 01, 2026
In the early 16th century, Venice confined its Jewish population to a restricted quarter on an island in the city. It was the first settlement to bear the name 'ghetto' – a word that would go on to…
WW2's bloody battle for Arakan
Sep 29, 2026
In 1944, the Allies unleashed an offensive in Burma – a brutal campaign spearheaded by 3 Commando Brigade alongside the Indian and West African troops of XV Corps. Against a ruthless enemy and in one…
The Bayeux Tapestry: secrets of the stitchers
Sep 28, 2026
Mia Hansson has spent 10 years making an exact replica of the Bayeux Tapestry. In conversation with Dave Musgrove, she explains what her modern remake experience can teach us about the women who made…
How Henry VII seized – and kept – the crown
Sep 27, 2026
Henry VII is often remembered as a cold, calculating and penny-pinching monarch whose relentless pursuit of an ever-tightening grip on the throne overshadowed his achievements. But how fair is that…
The Soviet spy who couldn't love
Sep 24, 2026
In 1981, a Soviet spy walked into MI6 HQ in Tehran and offered to defect to Britain – if, in return, Britain could help him improve his performance in bed.
In this episode, Ben Macintyre introduces…
The slave ship that changed history
Sep 22, 2026
In 1781, more than 130 enslaved Africans were deliberately thrown from a ship called the Zorg into the Atlantic. The horrifying story of this slave ship – long mistakenly known as the Zong – was to…
Have we overlooked England’s local histories?
Sep 21, 2026
What happens to English history when you view it through a local lens, rather than a national one? Did people even notice when the Romans left Britain? Was 1066 really that important outside of…
The making of the modern Middle East
Sep 20, 2026
The Middle East has, for decades, been riven by violent conflict. But what are the roots and ongoing causes of this violence? In this episode, Simon Sebag Montefiore discusses The Cauldron, his new…
Joan of Arc: inspirational leader or flawed failure?
Sep 17, 2026
Joan of Arc's story is one of the most remarkable chapters in medieval history: that of a rebellious teenage peasant girl rising to become a military leader, before suffering an equally precipitous…
The forgotten slave traders who shaped Britain
Sep 15, 2026
Who were the people who financed Britain’s transatlantic slave trade – and how did their money transform the nation? Elinor Evans speaks to historian William A Pettigrew, who has led a landmark…
What is ‘Europe’, anyway?
Sep 14, 2026
What defines Europe – is it geography, politics, a shared culture, or perhaps a mix of all three? In this episode, historian Roderick Beaton tells Emily Briffett about the ways in which it has been…
Christianity, conflict and catastrophe: the life of CS Lewis
Sep 13, 2026
He's well-known for creating children's classic The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but what else can history teach us about CS Lewis? Michael Ward explores the life of the author with Isabel King…
Was Napoleon III the world's first populist leader?
Sep 10, 2026
Napoleon III's family was, in the words of historian Edward Shawcross, “the most cutthroat mafioso soap opera in the world”. Exiled to Switzerland as a boy and disowned by his own father, he spent…
The Bayeux Tapestry blockbuster at the British Museum
Sep 08, 2026
The Bayeux Tapestry exhibition at the British Museum is set to be the biggest historical event in decades. In conversation with David Musgrove, its curator Michael Lewis gives the lowdown on what the…
The secrets of our DNA
Sep 07, 2026
What can DNA tell us about who we are and where we came from?
Professor Turi King – who previously appeared on the podcast to discuss her research into Adolf Hitler’s DNA – returns to explore…
What's it like to live in a royal palace?
Sep 06, 2026
Did Lucy Worsley have 'the best job in history'? And what did she do when she worked in it? In this episode, Lucy reflects on her career so far, her time as Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces…
Roman kings: myth, memory and the making of power
Sep 03, 2026
Before Rome's republic and the age of emperors, there were kings… or so the story goes. Beginning with Romulus, and ending with Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, these rulers loomed large in the Roman…
Philip Augustus: the Plantagenets’ greatest rival
Sep 01, 2026
King Philip Augustus of France was the Plantagenets’ ultimate enemy. A ruler with an iron fist and sharp political instincts, he consistently exploited the squabbles of the English dynasty, all while…
Laura Ingalls Wilder: life of the week
Aug 31, 2026
Laura Ingalls Wilder’s 'Little House' books have captivated generations with tales of family, hardship and survival on the American frontier. But how closely did Wilder’s fiction reflect her real…
How bullies shaped 19th-century America
Aug 30, 2026
America's Gilded Age is often remembered for rapid expansion and opportunity, but beneath the surface lay a brutal society in which it paid to be a bully.
In this episode, Elinor Evans speaks to…
Is there a royal sex scandal hidden in plain sight in the Bayeux tapestry?
Aug 29, 2026
The Bayeux Tapestry is making headlines as it is loaned to the British Museum to be shown in England for the first time in almost a thousand years. It holds many mysteries, including the famous…