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Immediate Media

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/

History Extra podcast

In 1860, the diverse Ottoman city of Damascus witnessed the massacre of thousands of Christians. The killings, combined with Constantinople’s hardline response, shattered the city’s tolerant society and it took 25 years for Damascus to recover its stability and prosperity. In this episode, historian Eugene Rogan speaks to Danny Bird to explain why these shocking events proved to be a watershed in the modern history of the Middle East. Please note this episode was recorded prior to the recent overthrowing of the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

(Ad) Eugene Rogan is the author of The Damascus Events: The 1860 Massacre and the Destruction of the Old Ottoman World (Allen Lane, 2024). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Damascus-Events-Massacre-Destruction-Ottoman/dp/0241646901/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.IapvBEKCIqhQm-BbjKftljRk1TA_VBpZ7bXCg7threSN0bj6MPRltJGlS73YwU1CTss6Nc7uBxaLRCwrWnt2zcCrwloA-t6mMO1ojfST9HSOm-Ec9Hen0zY5TptmqLz0Z7G2ctxcDl6MxeUG3lWwXG_amqwTEMG0VZE9wR0ibxQobkXOhI6BklFEzoQJRGEI.SvyjmxOllS3heTUkDz-TdWlTflyf7JTwIsSmiD8DWMY&qid=1721830311&sr=1-1&tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty.

The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
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The massacre that shattered the old Ottoman world

Churches were central to life in the Middle Ages. But with the Reformation wreaking havoc on religious buildings, nowadays it's hard to get a sense of what a medieval church would actually have looked like. As a stonemason and conservator, Andrew Ziminski has spent his working life restoring medieval churches, and he is the author of a new book, Church Going, all about the ins and outs of these historic religious buildings. Andrew speaks to David Musgrove about how churches originally looked and worked – and explains some of their oddities.

(Ad) Andrew Ziminski is the author of Church Going: A Stonemason's Guide to the Churches of the British Isles (Profile Books, 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%2Fchurch-going%2Fandrew-ziminski%2F9781800818682.

Hear more from Andrew Ziminski, as he talks about some of Britain’s most impressive stone buildings and monuments: https://link.chtbl.com/vxYSMNqA.

The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
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Secrets of medieval churches

Hannah Skoda and Rana Mitter look back at the history behind some of the year's biggest news stories in this special episode of our monthly series

From the rise of AI to a plethora of elections and life-saving vaccines, it's been a busy 12 months. Hannah Skoda and Rana Mitter look back at the history behind some of the biggest stories of the year – and pick their favourite books of 2024, in this special episode of our monthly series.

Interested in the podcasts Hannah and Rana mentioned? Listen to our conversations with the authors here:

Gary Bass discusses his book //Judgement at Tokyo// – https://link.chtbl.com/gv8g8Rg8

Kathleen DuVal on her book //Native Nations// – https://link.chtbl.com/s8f1ON-e
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2024 in review: history behind the headlines

Charlotte Hodgman heads to Hampton Court Palace to check out their restored Georgian kitchen garden in the company of garden keeper Vicki Cooke. Meanwhile bestselling historical novelist Wilbur Smith talks about his latest book Desert God. Plus we continue our First World War series with memories of November 1914 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Georgian gardens and historical fiction

We know the Vikings best as brutal, seafaring, pagan raiders – and that’s an important part of their lives and histories. But it’s only one aspect: what about their love lives, experiences of travels, and attitudes to religion? Speaking with James Osborne, Eleanor Barraclough unpicks the day-to-day lives and culture of the Vikings across their vast – and complicated – geographic domain and timeline. 

(Ad) Eleanor Barraclough is the author of Embers of the Hands: Hidden Histories of the Viking Age (Profile Books, 2024). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Embers-Hands-Intimate-History-Viking/dp/1788166744/?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

Ordinary Vikings: hidden histories of the Nordic world

Daring department store stunts. Warming cups of cocoa. Argumentative bartering with butchers. What can revisiting high streets gone by reveal about British social history? Historian Annie Gray takes listeners on a shopping trip through the centuries, telling Ellie Cawthorne more about the goods, refreshments and entertainment on offer.

(Ad) Annie Gray is the author of The Bookshop, The Draper, The Candlestick Maker: A History of the High Street (Profile Books, 2024). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bookshop-Draper-Candlestick-Maker-History/dp/1800812248/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=&tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty.

Annie Gray revisits the life of Churchill's cook during the Second World War here: https://link.chtbl.com/kzJZF5Gk. 

The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shopping and snacking: a social history of the high street

How might cryptic messages written from within a political prison bring us closer to understanding a captive queen? Historian Jade Scott has studied the letters Mary, Queen of Scots wrote in captivity, and describes them as "her weapons, her armour, her battle strategy". Speaking to Lauren Good, she reveals what we can learn from these coded missives – from the huge varieties of cipher they contained to how the Queen of Scots smuggled them past her captors.

(Ad) Jade Scott is the author of Captive Queen: The Decrypted History of Mary, Queen of Scots (Michael O'Mara Books, 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%2Fcaptive-queen%2Fjade-scott%2F9781789296464.

Rosemary Goring reveals more about the Scottish years of Mary, Queen of Scots: https://link.chtbl.com/6WgzyzA0.

The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
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Decoding Mary, Queen of Scots

From their remote Yorkshire parsonage, sisters Emily, Charlotte and Anne Brontë penned stories that would capture the imaginations of generations of readers. But how popular were books such as Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights at the time? How did childhood games influence their Brontës' later writing? And how close can we get to their individual personalities? Speaking to Lauren Good, Claire O'Callaghan explores the lives of the literary sisters – from their Yorkshire upbringings to their tragic ends.

The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
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The Brontës: everything you wanted to know

The medieval approach to sustainability was entirely different to ours today. In a world where the modern definition of 'waste' didn't even exist, the repair market boomed and building materials were rarely brand new. Speaking to Annette Kehnel, Lauren Good discovers what we might be able to learn from our medieval ancestors – from second-hand shopping to the history of paper manufacturing.

(Ad) Annette Kehnel is the author of The Green Ages: Medieval Innovations in Sustainability (Profile Books, 2024). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Green-Ages-Medieval-Innovations-Sustainability/dp/1800816251/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty.

Hear from Eleanor Barnett about how people in the past tackled food waste: https://link.chtbl.com/PxFKyfQ7. 

The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
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Medieval make do and mend

King Æthelred II ruled England from 978 to 1016 – with a little gap in 1014. Known to history as 'the Unready', he faced many challenges in his reign, not least the attentions of several Viking invasion forces. It was Æthelred's failure to deal with such threats that landed him with his rather unfortunate nickname. However, as Levi Roach explains to David Musgrove, the story of his reign is a far more complicated one, with long-term consequences.

(Ad) Levi Roach is the author of Æthelred: The Unready (Yale University Press, 2016). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/AEthelred-Unready-Monarchs-Levi-Roach/dp/0300196296/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty.

If your enjoyed this medieval episode, be sure to listen to this episode where Joanna Story answers listener questions about the Anglo-Saxon kings and kingdoms: https://link.chtbl.com/dwG7ZNcl.

The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Æthelred the Unready: life of the week

Series two of SAS Rogue Heroes hits our screens later this week, so we're bringing you an episode to get you up to scratch on the WW2 escapades of Britain’s elite special forces. Why was the SAS – or Special Air Service – first founded? Who was responsible for its creation? And what impact did a parachuting padre have on the morale of its men in the aftermath of D-Day? In this episode, which first aired in 2023, author and broadcaster Joshua Levine answers listener questions on the SAS during the Second World War, in conversation with Jon Bauckham.

The second series of SAS Rogue Heroes begins on BBC One on Wednesday 1 January at 9pm.

The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
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The SAS in WW2: everything you wanted to know

The SAS in WW2: everything you wanted to know

Lyt når som helst, hvor som helst

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