History Topics

History Podcasts

Our History Extra podcast comes out every week, featuring interviews with notable historians talking about topics ranging from crusading knights to Tudor monarchs and the D-Day landings. It's free to listen to, and all the past editions of the podcast, going back to June 2007, are still available online for you to download.

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If you don't have a podcast player, you can download the mp3 files from the links below. Please be patient as this may take some time to download.

This week's podcast

The Second World War

Thursday 22nd June 2017

James Holland discusses the second book in his The War in the West trilogy with John Buckley, focusing on the years 1941-43.

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Podcast archive

Jane Austen and Tudor London

Thursday 15th June 2017

Lucy Worsley shares her thoughts on the Georgian novelist, while Stephen Alford explains how the English capital was transformed in the 16th century

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Medieval manuscripts and the First World War

Thursday 8th June 2017

Christopher de Hamel discusses his book Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts, which has just won the Wolfson History Prize, while Jonathan Ruffle gives us the lowdown on the latest events in his wartime radio drama Tommies

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The Six-Day War and the Great Fire of London

Thursday 1st June 2017

Matthew Hughes reflects on a pivotal Arab-Israeli conflict that began 50 years ago this month, while Dan Jones discusses some of the most interesting aspects of the 1666 inferno

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Civil wars and Restoration England

Thursday 25th May 2017

David Armitage explores how internal conflicts have changed through history, while Ian Mortimer guides us through life in the late 17th century.

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England’s bloody Reformation

Thursday 18th May 2017

Professor Peter Marshall reveals why England was beset with violence in the decades following Henry VIII’s break from Rome

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Queen Victoria’s dinners and Henry VIII’s niece

Thursday 11th May 2017

Annie Gray explores the eating habits of Britain’s second-longest reigning monarch, while Morgan Ring reflects on the fascinating life of Margaret, Countess of Lennox

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Martin Luther and the making of the USA

Thursday 4th May 2017

Lyndal Roper explores the life of the father of the Reformation, while Misha Glenny considers the key milestones in the development of the United States.

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The Islamic enlightenment

Thursday 27th April 2017

Christopher de Bellaigue and Yasmin Alibhai-Brown discuss how the Muslim world has adapted to wider changes taking place in the 19th and 20th centuries

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Historical fiction and a US murder scandal

Thursday 20th April 2017

Philippa Gregory reflects on her long career as a bestselling historical novelist, while David Grann investigates the killing of several Native Americans in the 1920s, which became an early case for the FBI

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The ‘Father of History’ and India in the British empire

Thursday 13th April 2017

Paul Cartledge reflects on the work of Herodotus, the first historian, while Jon Wilson challenges conventional views of the Raj

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