Danny Bird

I’m Danny, a Content Producer on HistoryExtra magazine. Working with leading historians, I commission, research, write and edit features that answer the questions readers are genuinely curious about, and I’m always looking for engaging ways to help readers keep pace with the latest expert insights and discoveries from the history they’re interested in. As well as writing, I’m a host on the HistoryExtra podcast, where you’ll find me speaking with historians about some of my favourite historical topics; namely modern Soviet/Russian and Spanish history! I joined the team in 2022, working initially as staff writer on BBC History Revealed, before moving to BBC History Magazine, which has since become HistoryExtra. I’ve been fascinated with the past since childhood and obtained a History BA (Hons) at the University of Sheffield, where I developed a special interest in the Spanish Civil War and the Paris Commune. I then gained my History MA from University College London, studying at its School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES), where I researched the early Soviet state’s fixation with the Paris Commune. Prior to joining HistoryExtra, I was a civil servant and a freelance writer for Time and History Today magazine, writing on everything from the story behind Picasso’s masterpiece, Guernica, to the historical role of revolutions.