History Extra podcast

Jonathan Healey delves into the turbulent 17th century, which saw not only regicide and civil war, but also the political awakening of society as a whole

Judith Jesch and Carolyne Larrington share their favourite Viking poetry and discuss what it tells us about the age in which it was written

From Dunkirk to Pearl Harbor, Laurence Rees charts the major moments of the opening stages of the Second World War

From daily routine and diet to warfare and survival, Peter Hart answers listener questions about life on the frontline during the First World War

From fallout shelters to regeneration plans, Julie McDowall reveals how Cold War Britain planned to respond to nuclear attack

Ben Wilson examines the long relationship between cities and nature, and the ways in which past generations of urban planners have attempted to bring wildlife closer to home

Duncan Mackay delves into Rome’s brutal conquest of Britain and the ferocious rebellion against it, led by an infamous warrior queen

Jane Malcolm-Davies unpicks the historical sources to uncover what people wore in the 16th century

Historian and broadcaster Laurence Rees explains some of the short and long term causes of the Second World War

Marc Morris answers listener questions on the history of British castles – from the motte and bailey structures of William the Conqueror to the great stone fortresses of Edward I