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HistoryExtra podcast

The HistoryExtra podcast brings you gripping stories from the past and fascinating historical conversations with the world's leading historical experts. HistoryExtra is a free history podcast, with episodes released six times a week. Subscribe now for the real stories behind your favourite films, TV shows and period dramas, as well as compelling insights into lesser-known aspects of the past.    We delve in

The WW2 nurses who saved lives in the skies
Nov 2026 · 3 books
0:00 / 39:46
Cover of The Flight Nurses Ward
The Flight Nurses Ward
Leah Garrett
your new book the flight nurses ward sheds light on the extraordinary work done by flight nurses ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of X Troop: The Secret Jewish Commandos of World War II
X Troop: The Secret Jewish Commandos of World War II
Leah Garrett
what i discovered when i wrote the book which was unlike x troop which was my last book about these jewish commandos in the uk who fought against the nazis ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of Inferno
Inferno
Dante Alighieri
dante's inferno is used a lot to describe iojima by the men and by the women that they were sort of like in dante's inferno ▶ tap to play from here
King Harold: tragic hero of the English
Nov 2026 · 1 book
0:00 / 41:09
Cover of Harold: The Last Anglo-Saxon King
Harold: The Last Anglo-Saxon King
Tom Licence
so i wanted to find out a bit more about harold from tom lysens who has just written harold's biography in the yale monarch series so a great expert to have on the podcast to hear about harold now the book is titled harold warrior king ▶ tap to play from here
Ancient goddesses: love, violence and ecstatic experiences
Nov 2026 · 2 books
0:00 / 29:56
Cover of The Aeneid
The Aeneid
Virgil
i found first as a child in virgil's poem the aeneid ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of Goddesses: A History of Love and War
Goddesses: A History of Love and War
Ronald Hutton
his latest book goddesses a history of love and war is out now ▶ tap to play from here
Life and death in the Viking age
Nov 2026 · 3 books
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Cover of The Sea King and the Sorceress: Life and Death in the Viking Age
The Sea King and the Sorceress: Life and Death in the Viking Age
Neil Price
i'm incredibly excited to be with you today to talk about your latest book the sea king and the sorceress life and death ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of Völuspá
Völuspá
Unknown
so i'm about to read from the jackson crawford translation of fall spa ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of Ynglinga saga
Ynglinga saga
Snorri Sturluson
and the first one of them is the saga the inglings which is the dynasty that ruled central sweden in in the early viking age and centuries prior to that ▶ tap to play from here
D-Day’s secret hero: the true story behind Pressure (In paid partnership with StudioCanal)
Oct 2026
0:00 / 43:04
Why we believe in the supernatural
Oct 2026 · 1 book
0:00 / 31:45
Cover of Worlds of Fear and Wonder
Worlds of Fear and Wonder
Malcolm Gaskell
historian malcolm gaskell joins eleanor evans in this episode of the history extra podcast to discuss his new book worlds of fear and wonder ▶ tap to play from here
How to build the ultimate medieval castle
Oct 2026 · 3 books
0:00 / 40:35
Cover of Castles: A Fortified History of the World
Castles: A Fortified History of the World
Dan Jones
my book castles i i go all the way back to the sort of origins of fortification ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of The Book of the City of Ladies
The Book of the City of Ladies
Christine de Pisan
book of the city ladies uses the idea of a castle as an analogy for her assembling great female historical figures from across the ages ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Unknown
if if we go back to the sort of classic texts of the late medieval english corpus um sir garwain and the green knight ▶ tap to play from here
Richard III's traumatic childhood
Oct 2026 · 1 book
0:00 / 32:12
Cover of The Innocence in the Tower: An Anatomy of a Mystery
The Innocence in the Tower: An Anatomy of a Mystery
Chris Skidmore
he's written a number of books on richard ii including the forthcoming the innocence in the tower an anatomy of a mystery ▶ tap to play from here
How Ghosts makes history funny – without getting it wrong
Oct 2026 · 1 book
0:00 / 26:35
Cover of Diary of Samuel Pepys
Diary of Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys
if you look at the great fire of london from peeps diary that p in some ways that that's a definitive version of that ▶ tap to play from here
America's anti-Chinese laws: a forgotten history
Oct 2026 · 1 book
0:00 / 29:02
Cover of John Doe Chinaman
John Doe Chinaman
Beth Lou Williams
historian beth lou williams has spent countless hours in the archives uncovering this wide ranging set of laws for her book john doe chinaman ▶ tap to play from here
An African king in the Roman empire
Oct 2026 · 2 books
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Rex Juba: 15 Glimpses of an African King
Andrew Kenrick
in this episode of the history extra podcast andrew kenric author of rex juba fifteen glimpses of an african king unravels his amazing life in conversation with david musgrove ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of Antony and Cleopatra
Antony and Cleopatra
William Shakespeare
of course those listeners familiar with shakespeare's manson and cleopatra will know this story well ▶ tap to play from here
Everyday life in a slave trading town
Oct 2026 · 1 book
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The Heretic of Kashu
Toby Green
the records of her case provide a remarkable window into everyday life in 17th century west africa and form the basis of toby green's latest book the heretic of kashu ▶ tap to play from here
From plague 'searchers' to strawberry birthmarks: a history of women's bodies
Oct 2026 · 3 books
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Cover of Presence: A Book of Mormon
Presence: A Book of Mormon
Erin McGlock
erin mcglock about her new book presence which explores the history of the female body and the longstanding beliefs that society has held about it ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of Pressure
Pressure
Geir Jordet
the upcoming home release of pressure the gripping untold story of the efforts to chart the weather on d day we've teamed up with studio canal for a special event at the royal society of arts in london featuring david haig the writer of pressure ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of The Midwife's Book: Or the Whole Art of Midwifery Discovered
The Midwife's Book: Or the Whole Art of Midwifery Discovered
Jane Sharp
and say like in jane sharp's midwifery manual which is a seventeenth century english one ▶ tap to play from here
The country house at war
Oct 2026 · 1 book
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Cover of The Country House at War: A Story of Loss, Reinvention, and the Birth of a New Britain
The Country House at War: A Story of Loss, Reinvention, and the Birth of a New Britain
Judith S. Lewis
your book the country house at war a story of loss reinvention and the birth of new britain explores how country houses in britain were repurposed during the second world war ▶ tap to play from here
The pioneering surgeon who stood up to Rasputin
Oct 2026 · 4 books
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Cover of I, Vera
I, Vera
Miranda Seymour
that's the question that acclaimed biographer miranda seymour takes on in her latest book i vera an account of the astonishing life of the world's first female professor of surgery ▶ tap to play from here
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The Colour is White
Vladimir Hoklov
luckily firstly there had been a very good biography w written in russian which has never been translated by vladimir hoklov called the colour is white rather unmemorably ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of The Master and Margarita
The Master and Margarita
Mikhail Bulgakov
bulgarkov was giving his patients camphor before he wrote the master and margaret and became a writer ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of Factory Poems
Factory Poems
Vera Gedroyd
she wrote a magnificent series of of poems called the factory poems about her experiences as a factory doctor ▶ tap to play from here
The stolen Native Americans who shaped US history
Oct 2026 · 3 books
0:00 / 47:45
Cover of Stealing America: The Hidden Story of Indigenous Slavery in the United States
Stealing America: The Hidden Story of Indigenous Slavery in the United States
Linford D. Fisher
whose book stealing america the hidden story of indigenous slavery in us history documents the sustained and systematic way in which native american people were taken from their homes ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America
The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America
Andres Resendez
recent books like andres resandes's book the other slavery and other forms of scholarship is just this idea that from the very moment of spanish colonization ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of The Crown Silence
The Crown Silence
Brooke Newman
i'm thinking of my my friend's recent book the crown silence which i i i think is so so powerful brooke newman did an amazing job with that book ▶ tap to play from here
Being disabled in the medieval era
Oct 2026 · 2 books
0:00 / 45:39
Cover of Toxophilus
Toxophilus
Roger Ascham
he wrote this book on how to shoot guns it's called the school of shooting ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of The City of God
The City of God
Saint Augustine
he wrote a book called the city of god ▶ tap to play from here
Vanilla: a far from ordinary history
Oct 2026 · 1 book
0:00 / 37:11
Cover of Vanilla: The History of an Extraordinary Bean
Vanilla: The History of an Extraordinary Bean
Eric T. Jennings
i spoke to eric t jennings whose book vanilla the history of an extraordinary bean is among the titles shortlisted for this year's clendon history prize ▶ tap to play from here
Ancient explosives and the philosopher's stone: a history of alchemy
Oct 2026 · 3 books
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Cover of The Age of Alchemy
The Age of Alchemy
Kit Chapman
so today we are talking all about your book the age of alchemy ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of The Canterbury Tales
The Canterbury Tales
Geoffrey Chaucer
chaucer mocks it in the canterbury tales you know why is there no such thing as a rich alchemist ▶ tap to play from here
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The Secrets of Isabella Cortez
Isabella Cortez
there's one called the secrets of isabella cortez isabella cortez almost certainly never existed ▶ tap to play from here
North Korea's religious dictators
Oct 2026 · 2 books
0:00 / 45:55
Cover of Korean Messiah, Kim Il Song and the Christian Roots of North Korea's personality cult
Korean Messiah, Kim Il Song and the Christian Roots of North Korea's personality cult
Jonathan Cheng
in jonathan cheng's new book korean messiah the wall street journal correspondent argues that it owes much to the enduring cult of personality around its founder ▶ tap to play from here
Cover of Bible
Bible
Various
they are waking up at three or four or five in the morning every day to pray out loud for hours before breakfast they are memorizing entire books of the bible from beginning to end verbatim ▶ tap to play from here
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