HistoryExtra Podcast

HistoryExtra podcast episodes are released every week, featuring interviews with notable historians on topics spanning ancient history through to recent British to American events. Episodes feature history stories and perspectives on everything from crusading knights to Tudor monarchs and the D-Day landings.

Michael Goodman responds to your questions on the decades of geopolitical tension that shaped relations between east and west in the second half of the 20th century. (Image by Getty Images)

The Cold War: everything you wanted to know

In this lecture, Michael Wood uses the stories of five individuals from across the centuries to cast light on China’s rich and varied history

General ancient history

Voices of China

A decade since it first aired, Carolyne Larrington explores the medieval world that inspired the fantasy epic

Exclusive podcast Game of Thrones’ medieval roots

Dr Amanda McVitty explains what treason meant in the medieval era, and why its consequences were particularly brutal. (Image by Getty Images)

Why treason was so unforgivable in the Middle Ages

Mary Hollingsworth discusses her new book, Princes of the Renaissance, which charts the wars and alliances between the powerful Italian families of the 15th and 16th centuries. (Image by Getty Images)

Formidable dynasties of the Italian Renaissance

Gordon Campbell reveals how the Vikings made epic voyages of discovery across the Atlantic a millennium ago. (Image by Getty Images)

Vikings in North America

Journalist Andrea Pitzer discusses her latest book, Icebound: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World, a compelling story of survival in the Arctic during the 16th century. (Image by Getty Images)

Shipwrecked in the Arctic: a 16th-century survival story

Shushma Malik discusses some of the most admired and reviled Roman emperors, and considers whether the legends surrounding them stand up to scrutiny. (Image by Getty Images)

The Roman emperors: everything you wanted to know

Toby Wilkinson gives a lecture on the archaeologists and adventurers whose discoveries helped transform our understanding of the ancient Egyptians

Adventure and archaeology in the golden age of Egyptology

Tod Todeschini

Crafting historical weapons for Wolf Hall and The Witcher

Egyptologist Aidan Dodson explores the life, death and afterlife of ancient Egypt’s sun queen. (Image by Getty Images)

Nefertiti: wife, mother, pharaoh

Helen O’Hara highlights female pioneers of film, and reveals some of the challenges faced by women working in Hollywood over the past century. (Image by Getty Images)

The women who fought back against Hollywood

Broadcaster and author Cathy Newman shares stories of duos that changed the course of history. (Image by Getty Images)

Rivalries and romances: couples that shook up history

Dr Cat Jarman explores the far-reaching trading networks of the Vikings, from the Baltic sea to Asia

The Vikings’ global connections

The space race: everything you wanted to know

The space race: everything you wanted to know