20th Century

HMT Empire Windrush arrives at Tilbury Docks

Bound for Britain: your guide to the arrival of the HMT Empire Windrush

Adrian Wooldridge explores meritocracy’s role in forging the modern world, and weighs up its challenges and advantages. (Image by Getty Images)

The merits of meritocracy

Kate Vigurs discusses the female agents of Britain’s Special Operations Executive, who carried out resistance work in France during the Second World War

Second World War

Women secret agents in Nazi-occupied France

A man digs a grave in Sarajevo for victims of the war in Bosnia, 1992

Yugoslavia: why shared Slavic identity couldn’t save an idealised nation from fracture and bloodshed

Illustration by Eleanor Shakespeare

“Make love not midnight snacks”: a social history of slimming clubs

Biographer Frances Wilson discusses a pivotal decade in the turbulent life of writer DH Lawrence. (Image by Getty Images)

Censorship, contradiction & controversy: a decade in the life of DH Lawrence

Britain's Greatest Prime Minister Podcast Series From HistoryExtra

Who was Britain’s greatest prime minister? Episode 9: Secrets of being a successful leader

Tim Maltin answers listener questions about the sinking of RMS Titanic in 1912. (Image by Getty Images)

Titanic: everything you wanted to know

Judith Mackrell explores the experiences of six women war correspondents who broke some of the key stories of the Second World War. (Image by Getty Images)

Second World War

Women reporters of WW2

On the evening of 13 March thousands of people in Phoenix, Arizona, and surrounding areas see a triangular formation of lights drifting above the city. Fife Symington, the governor of Arizona at the time, was one of the witnesses and he described the UFO as “otherworldly”. This image shows something similar to what was reported at the time. (Photo by Alamy)

A brief history of UFOs: top 10 sightings & timeline

Front door of No 10 Downing Street, the official residence of the British prime minister

From Walpole to Johnson: lessons from the 300-year history of the British prime minister

Britain's Greatest Prime Minister Podcast Series From HistoryExtra

Who was Britain’s greatest prime minister? Episode 8: Margaret Thatcher

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

Prisoners exercise and play sport in the courtyard of the Fleet Prison, circa 1872

Timeline: a history of prisons in Britain

The feared WW2 German battleship 'Bismarck', May 1941. (Photo by ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

Quiz How well do you know your warships?

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