Épisodes

  • A poetic history of England

    A poetic history of England
    Mar 6 2026
    How can you do justice to the story of 1,300 years of English history? Through verse, according to cultural historian Catherine Clarke – whose latest book is A History of England in 25 Poems. She takes Lauren Good on a poetic journey through time, exploring how it could be used for spiritual uplift and social change – and how it can offer uniquely human insights into key moments in history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    40 min
  • The hidden history behind Mount Rushmore

    The hidden history behind Mount Rushmore
    Mar 4 2026
    Mount Rushmore is one of the most iconic images in US history – but its story is far more complex and controversial than that of a simple sculpture. In this episode, historian Matthew Davis joins Elinor Evans to discuss his latest book, A Biography of a Mountain, which delves into the layers of myth and meaning behind the granite. Davis explains how the Black Hills – sacred to the Lakota Nation – were seized in violation of treaties, and how sculptor Gutzon Borglum, a man with ties to the Ku Klux Klan, came to carve the faces of four presidents on to a mountainside. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    40 min
  • Juana Inés de la Cruz: life of the week

    Juana Inés de la Cruz: life of the week
    Mar 3 2026
    She led “a life that really, in many ways, shouldn't have been possible”. So says historian Paul Gillingham of Juana Inés de la Cruz. This 17th-century polymath and nun challenged a host of social conventions – earning, through her extraordinary books and poems, a place in the pantheon of great Mexican literary figures. Here, in conversation with Spencer Mizen, Paul discusses the life of a woman he describes as "the Spanish Shakespeare". ----- GO BEYOND THE PODCAST If you'd like to learn more about the people who have shaped Mexico over the past 500 years, then why not listen to Spencer Mizen's conversation with Paul Gillingham on the history of Mexico – from the conquistadors to the cartels. You'll find that in our archive: https://bit.ly/4rv6R4H Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    31 min
  • The forgotten wars that redefined Europe

    The forgotten wars that redefined Europe
    Mar 2 2026
    While the crusades raged across the Holy Land in the southern Levant, the kingdoms of central and northern Europe were engaged in their own battle to extend Christendom. Speaking to James Osborne, Aleks Pluskowski details how and when the Baltic crusades – or Northern crusades – began, and examines their links to the broader crusading culture of the Middle Ages. ----- GO BEYOND THE PODCAST To learn more about the medieval history of central and eastern Europe, listen to our episode on the role of the Rus people in the formation of the lands that are now Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia: https://bit.ly/4k7dF68 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    42 min
  • Does Magna Carta matter today?

    Does Magna Carta matter today?
    Mar 1 2026
    Politicians invoke it, activists wield it, and legal thinkers debate what it can offer the modern world. But what does Magna Carta really mean today? In this fourth and final episode of HistoryExtra's Sunday Series on the charter, Emily Briffett and historian Nicholas Vincent consider its long afterlife, tracing how a narrow medieval settlement morphed into a document that still speaks to ongoing struggles about power, justice and freedom. ––––– GO BEYOND THE PODCAST If you’re curious to learn more about Magna Carta and the world in which it originated, Emily Briffett has put together some essential reading, listening and viewing from the HistoryExtra archive to help deepen your understanding: https://bit.ly/3ZMTReR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    38 min
  • Slavery in the Islamic world

    Slavery in the Islamic world
    Feb 27 2026
    Slavery in the Islamic world has a diverse and controversial history. Speaking to Emily Briffett, historian and journalist Justin Marozzi explores some of the stories at the heart of his latest book Captives and Companions, tracing networks of enslavement that stretched from sub-Saharan Africa to Central Asia. He reveals how people who were enslaved became soldiers, labourers, concubines and courtiers, and considers what this complex history tells us about power, faith and human experience across the centuries. ----- GO BEYOND THE PODCAST To find out more about the history of slavery, catch up with this episode of the HistoryExtra podcast in which historian Claire Taylor explores the realities of slave trading along the medieval Silk Road: https://bit.ly/40itSfu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    50 min
  • The real women behind Europe's greatest legends

    The real women behind Europe's greatest legends
    Feb 25 2026
    National icons aren’t born – they’re engineered. But how were historical figures such as Joan of Arc and Isabella of Castile transformed into political symbols, their real lives lost beneath centuries of myth-making? In this episode of the HistoryExtra podcast, Janina Ramirez tells Danny Bird about some of the women – from Byzantine empresses to religious fanatics and revolutionary martyrs – that have been elevated to such pedestals, and how these legends are created, re-created and repurposed for nationalist mythologies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    36 min
  • Thomas Edison: life of the week

    Thomas Edison: life of the week
    Feb 24 2026
    Widely remembered as the ultimate American inventor, Edison’s greatest talent may have been for self-promotion. In this episode, historian Iwan Morus speaks to Elinor Evans about how Edison built a brand around invention, clashed with rivals including Nikola Tesla, and exploited the press to secure his legacy – even when the science involved wasn’t all his own. ----- GO BEYOND THE PODCAST To find out more about the ‘current war’ between Edison, Tesla and Westinghouse, head to: https://bit.ly/4q3xUTB. And to listen to Iwan's interview about Nikola Tesla, visit: https://bit.ly/45yU7S3 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    34 min