History Extra podcast

Wolfson Prize-shortlisted authors Helen McCarthy, Sudhir Hazareesingh and Rebecca Clifford discuss the secrets of writing history books with popular appeal.

Dr Rosalind Crone answers all the key questions on the history of British prisonsJust how bad was life in Victorian prisons? How hard was hard labour, and how revolting was the food?

Professor Judith Herrin discusses the storied history of Ravenna, once capital of the western Roman empire.

Leah Garrett tells the story of X-troop, a group of Jewish commandos who became one of Britain’s most potent weapons against the Nazis

John Higgs discusses the extraordinary life and art of William Blake – an eccentric outsider once dismissed as a madman, but now hailed as a genius.

In the latest episode in our series on the prime ministers that experts believe accomplished most, Andrew Roberts nominates Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, third Marquess of Salisbury.

Tom Morcom and Helen Gittos discuss the Cerne Abbas Giant, a huge hill-carving in Dorset which has recently been re-dated to the Anglo-Saxon period

Rebecca Simon responds to your questions on the ‘golden age’ of piracy, when bands of buccaneers menaced the high seas, preying on merchant vessels

Steven Johnson explores innovations in science and public health that have led to huge increases in life expectancy.

Sometimes described as England’s Leonardo, Hans Holbein the Younger painted the great and the good of Tudor society. Franny Moyle chronicles his incredible art and tempestuous life.