Articles by History Extra podcast

Historians Greg Jenner and Joanne Paul join us to talk about the results of our 2017 History Hot 100 survey. We asked you to tell us which historical figures are interesting you most and the final list has provided plenty of food for thought…

We speak to Thomas Williams of the British Museum about his new book Viking Britain: An Exploration, which offers a fresh take on several centuries of Viking invasions and rule in Britain

Author and broadcaster Benjamin Woolley explores the very close relationship between James VI and I and his favourite the Duke of Buckingham. He also considers what role Buckingham may have played in the king’s demise

Historian and author Professor Jane Ridley reveals some lesser-known aspects of the 19th-century monarch’s life in a talk that she delivered at our Victorians Day earlier this year

Historians Fabrice Bensimon and Renaud Morieux explore the complex relationship between France and Britain in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was an era dominated by war and revolution but one which also saw more positive interactions between the…

Clair Wills of Princeton University discusses her new book Lovers and Strangers, which explores the lives of people from across the globe who moved to Britain after the Second World War

Author and BBC broadcaster Stuart Maconie reflects on the iconic 1936 protest against poverty and unemployment. He also describes his experiences of retracing the route of the march 80 years later

We speak to Professor Ronald Hutton about his new book The Witch, which reveals how societies throughout the globe have lived in fear of witchcraft for more than 2,000 years

We speak to filmmaker Dylan Howitt, director of a new BBC Four documentary entitled Out of Thin Air, which explores the story of a double disappearance and controversial criminal investigation from 1970s Iceland

Expert historians Hans van de Ven and Rana Mitter discuss China’s lengthy war against Japan and consider its impact on the country’s civil war and Chinese participation in the later conflict in Korea