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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

The Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Mercia played an important role in the development of England. Although it was sandwiched between the other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Northumbria and Wessex, unlike those two places, it lacks a great historical chronicle. And, according to Max Adams, this means it's been somewhat overlooked in the story of the birth of the Anglo-Saxon state. Talking to David Musgrove, Max explains why we ought to know more about Mercia.

(Ad) Max Adams is the author of The Mercian Chronicles: King Offa and the Birth of the Anglo-Saxon State, AD 630–918 (Bloomsbury, 2025). 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-mercian-chronicles%2Fmax-adams%2F9781838933258. 

The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
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Make Mercia Great Again

In the latest episode of our monthly series charting the past behind the present, historians Rana Mitter and Hannah Skoda explore the ways the Second World War continues to shape the world of today. Plus the medieval manuscripts hitting the headlines, and an express history of rail nationalisation.

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

WW2 legacies and Magna Carta: history behind the headlines

In everything from the social sciences and technology to art and architecture, 18th-century Scotland saw a flowering of ideas and innovation. But what made the Enlightenment in Scotland different to the rest of Europe? Who were some of its key thinkers? And why were so few women involved? Historian Craig Smith, from the University of Glasgow, runs Ellie Cawthorne through the key inventions and individuals of the Scottish Enlightenment. 

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

Victoria, Ella, Irene and Alix of Hesse were four young European princesses and granddaughters of Queen Victoria, whose marriages would change the face of early 20th-century Europe. Speaking to Elinor Evans, Frances Welch introduces the four sisters. She explores their relationships with one another, and reveals how their stories stretch from the court of their respected 'Grandmama Queen', to revolutionary Russia. 

(Ad) Frances Welch is the author of The Lives and Deaths of the Princesses of Hesse: The Curious Destinies of Queen Victoria's Granddaughters (Hachette, 2024). Buy it now from Amazon:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lives-Deaths-Princesses-Hesse-granddaughters/dp/1780725213#:~:text=Drawing%20on%20hundreds%20of%20previously,Revolution%2C%20and%20through%20both%20World. 

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

Royal sisters: the tragic lives of Queen Victoria's granddaughters

Calamity Jane roars into the popular imagination atop the Deadwood Stage with a 'whip-crack-away' and her pistol ready-loaded. A bold and resourceful frontierswoman, Calamity held her own among the men of the American West. But she was also instrumental in the making of her own myth. Emily Briffett spoke to historian Karen Jones to piece together what is known about the humble origins of the woman who became the “heroine of the plains”.

(Ad) Karen Jones is the author of Calamity: The Many Lives of Calamity Jane (Yale University Press, 2020). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Calamity-Many-Lives-Jane/dp/0300212801/?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

Calamity Jane: life of the week

Tahra Bey became a celebrity with his apparent ability to control his pulse, stab himself without pain and even bury himself alive. Dr Dahesh, meanwhile, was a spiritualist who sparked an entire religious movement. Speaking to Lauren Good, Raphael Cormack explores the lives of these two figures who made a name for themselves in the occult scene of the 1920s – and what their stories can reveal about the anxieties of the age.

(Ad) Raphael Cormack is the author of Holy Men of the Electromagnetic Age: A Forgotten History of the Occult (C Hurst & Co, 2025). 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%2Fholy-men-of-the-electromagnetic-age%2Fraphael-cormack%2F9781805262749. 

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

Spiritual showmen: the 1920s occult

Nothing beats a well-loaded cheeseboard. But while so many of us enjoy a stinky stilton and ripe brie, or chuck a reliable old cheddar into our basket at the supermarket each week, what do we actually know about the history of the cheese we eat? From sustaining Roman troops to becoming a staple in lunchboxes across the globe, the history of cheese is a fascinating - and surprising - story that spans thousands of years and many continents. In this 'everything you wanted to know' episode, Isabel King is joined by cheesemonger and author Ned Palmer to explore the development of various flavourful fromages and how they have shaped societies worldwide. 

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

Cheese history: everything you wanted to know

Few 19th-century leaders have a CV quite like Otto von Bismarck's. This formidable statesman's cunning, charisma and eye for an opportunity helped him drive the unification of Germany and engineer a stunning defeat of France in 1871. Here, in conversation with Spencer Mizen, Katja Hoyer introduces a man whose rise would change the face of European geopolitics forever.

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

Otto von Bismarck: life of the week

In the summer of 1944, as the German forces were retreating in northern Italy, a small group of soldiers made a detour to a remote villa in search of Albert Einstein's cousin. Robert Einstein posed no threat to the Nazi regime, but nonetheless they were determined to hunt him down. The tragic events that followed are the basis of a new book by the bestselling author Thomas Harding – he spoke to Rob Attar about an appalling crime and the decades-long hunt for justice that followed.

(Ad) Thomas Harding is the author of The Einstein Vendetta: Hitler, Mussolini, and a True Story of Murder (Michael Joseph, 2025). 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-einstein-vendetta%2Fthomas-harding%2F9780241658482.

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

The Einstein murders

Who were the Beaker People? What was their contribution to the building of Stonehenge? And did their arrival in Britain really lead to the obliteration of the indigenous population? Here, in conversation with Spencer Mizen, Mike Parker-Pearson answers the most pressing questions on the prehistoric culture that changed Britain for good. 

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

WW2 legacies and Magna Carta: history behind the headlines

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