History Extra podcast

Historian Laurence Rees charts the devastating course of the Holocaust

Nicholas Morton charts the rise and fall of the Middle Eastern regions held by the Franks in 12th and 13th centuries

From marathons to mountaineering, Rachel Hewitt highlights previously overlooked evidence of women’s sporting and outdoor endeavours from the 19th century

From beloved queen to defiant divorcee, Dr Nicola Clark and Dr Tracy Borman chart the fluctuating fortunes of Henry VIII’s first wife, Catherine of Aragon

Rebecca Hardie explores the life and legacy of the 10th-century leader known as the ‘Lady of the Mercians’ and ‘Mother of the English’

From Freud’s experiments with cocaine to doctors sampling chloroform at dinner parties, Mike Jay reveals how scientists and thinkers experimented with drugs in the 19th century

Laurence Rees explores the role of Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt in shaping the course of the Second World War

Simon Sebag Montefiore answers listener questions about the history of imperial Russia’s formidable rulers

Meg Foster unpicks the shadowy legend of the 19th-century Australian bushranger known as ‘Black Douglas’

Mark Hollingsworth charts the Soviet’s Union’s tireless efforts to win the Cold War via the dark arts of espionage and subterfuge