Episodes

  • How Roman roads transformed Europe

    How Roman roads transformed Europe
    Jan 9 2025
    They spanned a continent, offered a conduit for soldiers and pilgrims alike – and may not have been as straight as legend suggests. Roman roads played a formative role in Europe's development for centuries, and have inspired its leaders right up to the present day. Catherine Fletcher, author of The Roads to Rome tells Matt Elton more about the long-lasting influence of these ancient highways. (Ad) Catherine Fletcher is the author of The Roads To Rome: A History (The Bodley Head, 2024). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Roads-Rome-History-Catherine-Fletcher/dp/184792803X/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty. Hear Catherine Fletcher discuss the history of Florence, and offer her tips on Renaissance sites to visit in the city here: https://link.chtbl.com/I4AXl_kl. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    42 mins
  • Hotel Lux: the guesthouse of world revolution

    Hotel Lux: the guesthouse of world revolution
    Jan 8 2025
    History is often told through the epic struggles of famous personalities or grand movements. Yet sometimes the voices of ordinary people break through. In this episode, Maurice J Casey speaks to Danny Bird about his new book, Hotel Lux, which follows three connected families through the upheavals of the 20th century. Bound by idealism, friendship and love, their journey begins in 1920s Moscow, inside a hotel that was once a sanctuary for international revolutionaries drawn to the Soviet Union’s bold vision for a better world. (Ad) Maurice J Casey is the author of Hotel Lux: An Intimate History of Communism's Forgotten Radicals (Footnote Press, 2024). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hotel-Lux-Intimate-Communisms-Forgotten/dp/180444099X/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    37 mins
  • Introducing History's Greatest Scandals | New Podcast

    Introducing History's Greatest Scandals | New Podcast
    Jan 7 2025
    Poisoned sweets. Criminal misdeeds. And a sex scandal involving… the prime-minister. Listen to HistoryExtra's new podcast History’s Greatest Scandals, delving into the murky underworld of The Victorians. Ellie Cawthorne and historian Professor Rosalind Crone take a journey through the backstreets of 19th-century Britain to explore the darker side of Victorian life. Sneaking into private parlours, descending into candlelit mines, frequenting grim workhouses and paying a visit to an unscrupulous confectioner, uncovering some of the biggest scandals of the day – and explore what they can reveal about Victorian age. Series 1 launches today, 7 Jan 2025. Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40kQYTz Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/33plhOIkO9rtli5btfziHE Listen everywhere else by searching: History's Greatest Conspiracy Theories You can listen ad-free, access episodes early and more by subscribing to HistoryExtra Plus here: https://apple.co/4fgRA1d. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    3 mins
  • Susan B Anthony: life of the week

    Susan B Anthony: life of the week
    Jan 7 2025
    The name Susan B Anthony is inextricable from any history of the American movement for women's suffrage. Yet the life of the woman herself can be obscured by her status as a campaigner and figurehead. Speaking Elinor Evans, Susan Ware answers questions on the American social reformer and women's rights activist. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    52 mins
  • How the compass became a political weapon

    How the compass became a political weapon
    Jan 6 2025
    Why did early Islamic cartographers place south at the top of their maps? Who invented the magnetic compass? And why has 'the west' become an intensely political term, as well as a geographical one? Here, in conversation with Spencer Mizen, Jerry Brotton answers the most intriguing questions on the history of the four cardinal points: north, east, south and west. (Ad) Jerry Brotton is the author of The Four Points of the Compass: The Unexpected History of Direction (Allen Lane, 2024). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Four-Points-Compass-Unexpected-Direction/dp/0241556872/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty. Hear more from Jerry Brotton on the life and legacy of extraordinary cartographer Marie Tharp: https://link.chtbl.com/ZbHzAbh8. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    39 mins
  • Medieval towns: everything you wanted to know

    Medieval towns: everything you wanted to know
    Jan 5 2025
    What was it like to live in a British town or city in the Middle Ages? Were they filthy hotbeds of crime and violence? How often did fires break out? And where could you get a good slap-up meal if you were hungry? In this 'everything you wanted to know' episode, historian Professor Carole Rawcliffe speaks to David Musgrove to answer listener questions about medieval urban life – from filth and fire, to fast food, foreigners and fighting on the streets. Professor Carole Rawcliffe explores the keep-fit trends of the Middle Ages: https://link.chtbl.com/vIShX27F. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    49 mins
  • Harold Wilson: the rock 'n' roll prime minister

    Harold Wilson: the rock 'n' roll prime minister
    Jan 3 2025
    Harold Wilson is as central to the story of sixties Britain as the Beatles, Profumo and miniskirts. Admirers applauded the social reforms he introduced while in office; his critics accused the prime minister of being Machiavellian. Here, in conversation with Spencer Mizen, former home secretary Alan Johnson – who has just written a biography of Wilson – reveals how he rode the wave of the cult of youth sweeping the nation. (Ad) Alan Johnson is the author of Wilson: Twentieth Century Man/ (Swift Press, 2024). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Harold-Wilson-Ministers-Alan-Johnson/dp/1800753322/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty. Check out our series in which historians nominate who they think was Britain's greatest prime minister here: https://www.historyextra.com/membership/britains-greatest-prime-minister-historyextra-podcast-series/ The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    32 mins
  • Who is buried at Sutton Hoo?

    Who is buried at Sutton Hoo?
    Jan 2 2025
    The Sutton Hoo ship burial is one of the most famous discoveries in British archaeological history. But who is actually buried there? Or perhaps a better question is: why was the man buried with such a wealth of exotic goods? Dr Helen Gittos has a fascinating new theory that may alter our understanding of this major archaeological discovery. David Musgrove spoke to her to find out more. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    43 mins