HistoryExtra Long Reads

Shakespeare and his peers served up hearty helpings of diverse dishes and ingredients – many of them spiced with forgotten meanings. This Long Read written by Sam Bilton reveals how food allusions illustrate five key themes of everyday life.Today's feature originally appeared in the March 2026 issue of HistoryExtra magazine, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

By 1889, Jack the Ripper's grisly murders had sparked terror throughout London. So when the mutilated body of a woman was found beneath railway arches near the Thames, a coded alert was dispatched to warn metropolitan police divisions: "Another Whitechapel." But her killer wasn't Jack. Following her recent BBC Two series, this Long Read, written by Lucy Worsley, investigates the horrifying crimes of the Thames Torso murderer. Today's feature originally appeared in the February 2026 issue of HistoryExtra Magazine, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How do civilisations collapse? That was the question at the heart of Edward Gibbon's The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Two hundred and fifty years after it was published, this Long Read, written by Guy de la Bédoyère, argues that Gibbon's magnum opus remains a landmark in the writing of history. Today's feature originally appeared in the February 2026 issue of HistoryExtra Magazine, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Extremism was on the march across continental Europe in the 1920s and 1930s – yet Britons chose a different, more moderate path. This Long Read, written by Alwyn Turner, explores why Britain largely tuned out the strongman theatrics and held to a more moderate course. Today's feature originally appeared in the February 2026 issue of HistoryExtra Magazine, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

1066 is synonymous with the battle of Hastings. Yet while Duke William of Normandy was launching his conquest of England, the rest of Europe had its own crises to contend with. This Long Read written by Charles West takes us on a tour of the continent during this dramatic year. Today's feature originally appeared in the January 2026 issue of HistoryExtra Magazine, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

At the turn of the 12th century, two men from a Staffordshire village died suddenly. Their lifeless bodies were taken to the local graveyard and solemnly laid to rest – but a few days later, they were apparently spotted walking around the village, with their coffins on their backs. This Long Read written by John Blair investigates the medieval terror of the living dead. Today's feature originally appeared in the January 2026 issue of HistoryExtra Magazine, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Britain’s War Office thanked the SAS for its remarkable efforts in WW2 by abolishing it – yet soon realised the error of its ways. This Long Read written by Gavin Mortimer tells the story of how the elite unit reinvented itself to confront the challenges of the postwar world. Today's feature originally appeared in the January 2026 issue of HistoryExtra Magazine, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Killing, burning, pillaging, enslaving. Even when heading to sunnier climes, Viking raiders deployed the same tactics that they had used along the shores of northern and western Europe, as this Long Read written by Thomas Williams reveals. Today's feature originally appeared in the January 2026 issue of HistoryExtra Magazine, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Women accused of violent murders have often faced assumptions about their motives and disbelief that the ‘gentle sex’ could commit such bloody crimes. This Long Read written by Rosalind Crone investigates four such cases from the 19th century. HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from HistoryExtra Magazine, the new name for BBC History Magazine. Today’s feature originally appeared in the Christmas 2025 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Boxing and football? In a Winter Olympics? In October? Held in 1908, the first ever Winter Games was an experimental affair – but, according to this Long Read written by Martin Polley, it was one that sowed the seeds for future and snowier competitions. Today's feature originally appeared in the February 2026 issue of HistoryExtra Magazine, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the conflict with Nazi Germany raged on, British tram drivers tuned in to Tchaikovsky and waitresses revelled in Wagner. But why? This Long Read written by Alexandra Wilson explores the surprising Second World War obsession with opera. HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from HistoryExtra Magazine, the new name for BBC History Magazine. Today’s feature originally appeared in the Christmas 2025 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

David Musgrove investigates whether the iconic embroidery was simply one of many A new theory, put forward by Professor John Blair, questions whether the world-famous embroidery was unique. In this Long Read, David Musgrove asks the experts whether there could have more than one ‘Bayeux Tapestry’. Today’s feature originally appeared in the December 2025 issue of BBC History Magazine, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ancient accounts of Julius Caesar’s early life depict an all-action hero who outwitted tyrants and terrorised bandits. But can they be trusted? This Long Read written by David S Potter investigates... Today’s feature originally appeared in the December 2025 issue of BBC History Magazine, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Margaret Beaufort, the mother of Henry VII, is often characterised as a domineering woman who plotted her son’s rise to the throne. But how true is that depiction? This Long Read, written by Lauren Johnson, explores the life of the founding matriarch of the Tudor dynasty. Today’s feature originally appeared in the December 2025 issue of BBC History Magazine, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Spain's transition from dictatorship to democracy in the late 1970s surely counts as one of modern Europe’s most remarkable stories. On the 50th anniversary of General Franco’s death, this Long Read written by Paul Preston explores how pluralism arose from the ashes of tyranny. Today’s feature originally appeared in the December 2025 issue of BBC History Magazine, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jane Austen was a brilliant observer of Georgian Britain – but she couldn’t speak for everyone. The author’s books depict an evocative slice of early 19th-century life, but many aspects of the Regency era are only hinted at in her novels, as this Long Read written by Lizzie Rogers reveals. Today’s feature originally appeared in the Christmas 2025 issue of BBC History Magazine, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices