Podcast transcripts

Read full transcripts of selected episodes of the HistoryExtra podcast

London during the Blitz - the systematic night-time bombing of the British by the Luftwaffe in 1940 - 1941. (Photo by Getty Images)

Rationing, school closures and ‘Blitz spirit’: how did people cope in WW2?

Doctor treating a patient, from a 14th-century manuscript. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)

Elma Brenner on medieval wellbeing: “People in the Middle Ages were absolutely focused on staying healthy”

James Shapiro discusses Shakespeare and America. (Images by Dreamstime)

How William Shakespeare shaped America

Illustration of Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19). (Photo by Alamy)

Coronavirus: what might we learn from pandemics in the past?

Hadley Freeman.

Secrets of a 20th-century Jewish family: Hadley Freeman on her book House of Glass

Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler watch a Nazi parade staged for the Italian dictators's visit to Germany. (Photo by Getty Images)

How do dictators seize power? The malevolent careers of eight 20th-century leaders explained

Podcast Mary Beard Transcript

A history of nakedness in art: Mary Beard on her new BBC series Shock of the Nude