HistoryExtra Podcast

Victorian London prison, Newgate. Prisoners in the exercise yard. Engraving by Gustave Doré, 1872 (Photo by Getty Images)

British prisons: everything you wanted to know

Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy (Photo by Alamy)

Ravenna: from Roman powerhouse to artistic hub

Leah Garrett tells the story of X-troop, a group of Jewish commandos who became one of Britain’s most potent weapons against the Nazis. (Image by Getty Images)

Second World War

Britain’s secret Jewish commandos

John Higgs discusses the extraordinary life and art of William Blake – an eccentric outsider once dismissed as a madman, but now hailed as a genius. (Image by Getty Images)

William Blake: “artist or genius, or mystic, or madman”

Britain's Greatest Prime Minister Podcast Series From HistoryExtra

Who was Britain’s greatest prime minister? Episode 7: Lord Salisbury

Tom Morcom and Helen Gittos discuss the Cerne Abbas Giant, a huge hill-carving in Dorset which has recently been re-dated to the Anglo-Saxon period (Image by HistoryExtra)

The curious tale of an Anglo-Saxon giant

Rebecca Simon responds to your questions on the ‘golden age’ of piracy, when bands of buccaneers menaced the high seas, preying on merchant vessels.

The golden age of piracy: everything you wanted to know

Steven Johnson explores innovations in science and public health that have led to huge increases in life expectancy.

Why are we living longer than our ancestors?

Sometimes described as England’s Leonardo, Hans Holbein the Younger painted the great and the good of Tudor society. Franny Moyle chronicles his incredible art and tempestuous life. (Image by Getty Images)

Painting the Tudors: Hans Holbein the Younger

Barry Cunliffe considers the story of Brittany from prehistory to today, and explores the region’s connections with Britain. (Image by Getty Images)

General prehistory

Bretons, Britons, Celts & King Arthur

Britain's Greatest Prime Minister Podcast Series From HistoryExtra

Who was Britain’s greatest prime minister? Episode 6: Winston Churchill

Ralph Hope reveals how officers of the notorious East German security service sought to reinvent themselves after the fall of the Berlin Wall

What the Stasi did next

Everything you wanted to know about the Anarchy | HistoryExtra Podcast

The Anarchy: everything you wanted to know

Busting myths about the Anglo-Saxons | HistoryExtra Podcast

Busting myths about the Anglo-Saxons

Cynthia Saltzman reveals how the French leader plundered Europe’s greatest works of art. (Image by Getty Images)

Napoleon the art thief