21st Century

Expert history articles and analysis about the global events of the 21st century…

To mark HistoryExtra’s 1,000th episode, Dan Jones takes us on a whistlestop tour through the last millennium of British history. (Image by Steve Sayers)

Dan Jones on 1,000 years of British history

We mark International Women’s Day with a panel discussion tackling the central issues of women’s history. (Images by Getty Images)

The big questions of women’s history

An illustration of a 17th century plague doctor

‘Fake history’: hunting down false facts about the past

Tod Todeschini

Crafting historical weapons for Wolf Hall and The Witcher

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

Susan Cohen discusses the highs and lows of the NHS, from its creation in 1948 to the challenges it faces today. (Image by Getty Images)

The NHS: a brief history

Supporters of Donald Trump protest in Pennsylvania as the state’s electoral college casts its votes, December 2020

The constitutional crisis behind 2021’s presidential transition

Ian Kershaw on the Second World War. (Image by Fran Monks for BBC History Magazine)

Editor’s pick: Ian Kershaw on postwar Europe

Robert Tombs on Brexit's long historical roots. (Image by Getty Images)

Brexit’s long historical roots

Professor Robert Tombs, Fellow of French history at St John's College

“Both sides of the Brexit debate have got things wrong about our history”: Robert Tombs on Britain’s complex relationship with Europe

Gary Oldman plays Winston Churchill in the 2018 Oscar winner 'Darkest Hour'.

Think piece Our dangerous devotion to the Second World War

Rege-Jean Page as Simon Basset and Phoebe Dynevor as Daphne Bridgerton

Bridgerton: “A period drama like no other”

Hannah Greig, historian and etiquette advisor to new Netflix show Bridgerton, joins us to talk about the historical detail that can be found in the drama. (Image courtesy Netflix)

Bridgerton: ripping up the rulebook on Regency romance

2020_verdict

2020: the historians’ verdict

Kerri Greenidge, Tom Holland, Suzannah Lipscomb and Michael Wood debate the historical context of 2020

2020: The historians’ verdict