History Extra podcast

In this archive episode, Catherine Merridale recounts how the future Soviet leader travelled to Petrograd in 1917 – a key moment in the Russian Revolution

James Holland tells the story of the dramatic Allied assault on the island of Sicily in the Second World War

Emma Griffin tackles internet search queries and questions submitted by listeners about Britain’s Industrial Revolution

Tim Grady gives a lecture exploring the varied experiences of German Jews in the First World War

Edward Brooke-Hitching discusses some of history’s strangest literary curiosities, from hoax manuscripts to tomes bound in human skin

Jacqueline Riding considers whether the Jacobite prince was a valiant freedom fighter, or a haughty coward

In this episode from our archive, Jessie Childs tells the story of Tudor gentleman Thomas Tresham, whose faith set him at odds with the Virgin Queen

Eight hundred and fifty years ago today, the archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, was brutally murdered in his cathedral. Dr Emily Guerry explains what happened next

Hannah Greig, historian and etiquette advisor to new Netflix show Bridgerton, joins us to talk about the historical detail that can be found in the drama – and the inspirations behind it

Lauren Johnson responds to listener questions about the Wars of the Roses, the 15th-century clashes for the English throne between the houses of Lancaster and York