HistoryExtra podcast

Between 1550 and 1650, English trade flourished as thousands of merchants sought out trading ventures across the globe. In conversation with Emily Briffett, Edmond Smith tracks the experiences of England’s merchants and explores how their efforts as a community shaped England’s relationship with the rest of the world.(Ad) Edmond Smith is the author of Merchants: The Community that Shaped England's Trade and Empire, 1550-1650 (Yale University Press, 2021). Buy it now from Amazon:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Merchants-Community-Shaped-Englands-1550-1650/dp/0300257953/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-viewingguide Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Murray Pittock answers listener questions about the Jacobites, and their attempts to restore the Stuart dynasty to the throne. Speaking to Emma Slattery Williams, he discusses who the Jacobites were, why their risings failed, and how realistic the hit show Outlander is in its portrayal of the Jacobite cause. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On several occasions from the 14th to 16th centuries, hundreds of people in central Europe began moving their bodies in a strange uncontrollable fashion – often for days on end. What was behind this unusual behaviour? In the final episode of this series of History’s Greatest Mysteries, medieval historian Helen Carr describes the events of the ‘dancing plagues’ and considers the various explanations that have been put forward so far. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fifty years ago, in September 1971, Lin Biao boarded a flight out of the country, only to crash in the Mongolian desert shortly afterwards. Was this the result of an aborted coup on Lin’s part? And where exactly was his plane heading? In the latest in our series on history’s biggest conundrums, historian Rana Mitter answers these questions and more about the mysterious “Lin Biao incident”. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thanks largely to Homer’s Iliad, the Trojan War is one of the most famous events in Greek mythology. But how much – if any – of the legend is actually true? In the latest in our series on history’s biggest conundrums, the author and classicist Daisy Dunn revisits the literary and archaeological sources to seek out evidence for the clash between the Greeks and the city of Troy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Ninth Legion of the Roman army was last recorded in York in around AD 107. After that it simply vanished from history. To this day no-one knows what caused the destruction of this elite army unit, although many theories have been put forward. As we continue our series on history’s most puzzling events, Miles Russell explores the various possibilities and explains what he think is the most likely reason for the legion’s disappearance. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In December 1926, crime writer Agatha Christie left her home and vanished without a trace. When she was discovered 11 days later, Christie claimed to have no memory of what had happened. As part of our series on history’s greatest mysteries, Dominic Sandbrook discusses the case that baffled the British public and triggered one of the largest manhunts ever mounted. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anna Whitelock looks back on some key moments and trends that made the historical headlines in 2021. Speaking to Ellie Cawthorne, she covers topics including the “history wars”, cuts to university history courses and the best books published this year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Annie Gray looks back on festive food in the 20th century – from suspect dishes made under WW2 rationing to joyful postwar creations pickled in aspic and coated in piped green mayonnaise. Speaking to Ellie Cawthorne, for the final episode in our mini-series on Christmas food through history, she also touches on the best wartime cake recipes, Fanny Craddock, and putting bananas in Christmas pudding. (Ad) Annie Gray is the author of At Christmas We Feast: Festive Food through the Ages (Profile Books, 2021). Buy it now from Waterstones:https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-viewingguide&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fat-christmas-we-feast%2Fannie-gray%2F9781788168199%23%3A~%3Atext%3DAt%20Christmas%20We%20Feast%3A%20Festive%20Food%20Through%20the%20Ages%20(Hardback)%26text%3D'A%20joy%20to%20immerse%20oneself%2Ctrimmings%2C%20pudding%20and%20brandy%20butter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Helen Fry speaks to Jon Bauckham about the remarkable life and career of Thomas Kendrick, an elusive MI6 intelligence officer who helped thousands of Jews escape Nazi-controlled Austria, before going on to mastermind the biggest Allied bugging operation of the Second World War. (Ad) Helen Fry is the author of Spymaster: The Man Who Saved MI6 (Yale University Press, 2021). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Spymaster-Man-Who-Saved-MI6/dp/0300255950/ref=asc_df_0300255950/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=499174488919&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13204997830046097313&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006715&hvtargid=pla-1244937888688&psc=1&th=1&psc=1&tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-Histboty Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the final episode in our new series on the raid on Pearl Harbor, Ellie Cawthorne speaks to Robert Lyman about the attack’s immediate aftermath and long term legacy, charting the chaos the Japanese offensive unleashed and tracing events through to the present day. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Elizabeth Stuart was beloved by Protestants and Catholics, English and Scots alike. Many clamoured for her to replace her brother, Charles I, on the throne, and one admirer even commissioned a treasonous painting of her wearing the Tudor crown. Nadine Akkerman speaks to Rhiannon Davies about this fascinating and now largely forgotten figure. (Ad) Nadine Akkerman is the author of Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Hearts (Oxford University Press, 2021). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Elizabeth-Stuart-Hearts-Nadine-Akkerman/dp/0199668302/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-Histboty Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Richard Bosworth answers listener questions on the authoritarian ideology that emerged in Italy a century ago How was Mussolini able to seize control in Italy a century ago? What differentiated Italian Fascism from Nazism? And is the term “fascist” bandied around too much today? In the latest in our series answering your questions on history’s biggest subjects, Richard Bosworth speaks to Spencer Mizen about the history of the rightwing ideology. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dejan Djokic reflects on the brief 1991 war that saw Slovenia secure independence and helped set in motion the bloody collapse of Yugoslavia. In conversation with Rob Attar, he explores the events both as a historian and through his own memories of being a Yugoslav conscript based in Slovenia at the time. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From Twelfth cakes to creepy greetings cards and booze-soaked desserts, Annie Gray guides us through festive feasting in the Victorian era. Speaking to Ellie Cawthorne, for the third episode in our mini-series on Christmas food through history, she also touches on turkey, trifle and whether the Victorians really did “invent Christmas”. (Ad) Annie Gray is the author of At Christmas We Feast: Festive Food through the Ages (Profile Books, 2021). Buy it now from Waterstones:https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-viewingguide&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fat-christmas-we-feast%2Fannie-gray%2F9781788168199%23%3A~%3Atext%3DAt%20Christmas%20We%20Feast%3A%20Festive%20Food%20Through%20the%20Ages%20(Hardback)%26text%3D'A%20joy%20to%20immerse%20oneself%2Ctrimmings%2C%20pudding%20and%20brandy%20butter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Historian Mark Mazower explains how the Greeks secured an unlikely victory against the Ottoman empire in their 1820s fight for freedom. Speaking to Rob Attar, he also reveals how the dramatic events of two centuries ago would have a profound impact on the future of the European continent. (Ad) Mark Mazower is the author of The Greek Revolution: 1821 and the Making of Modern Europe (Allen Lane, 2021). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Greek-Revolution-Making-Modern-Europe-ebook/dp/B08W1TZMG9/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-Histboty Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the latest episode in our new series on the raid on Pearl Harbor, Ellie Cawthorne and Gavin Mortimer chart how the attack unfolded on 7 December 1941, sharing the stories and eyewitness accounts of those involved, from Japanese pilots and US navy personnel to army nurses and top commanders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

John Callow discusses the tragic case of the Bideford witches, the last women in England to be executed for the crime of witchcraft In 1682, three women – Temperance Lloyd, Susannah Edwards and Mary Trembles – became the last in England to be hanged for the crime of witchcraft. John Callow speaks to Kev Lochun about how circumstance and ill-fortune led the so-called “Bideford witches” to the gallows, and how history has rehabilitated them. (Ad) John Callow is the author of The Last Witches of England: A Tragedy of Sorcery and Superstition (Bloomsbury, 2021). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-Histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fthe-last-witches-of-england%2Fjohn-callow%2F9781788314398 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As we approach the 1900th anniversary of the building of Hadrian’s Wall, Rob Collins answers listener questions on Britain’s most famous Roman fortification. Speaking to David Musgrove, he tackles the big issues about the boundary’s creation and purpose, as well as looking at everyday life on the wall. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stephen Walker tells Rhiannon Davies about the history of animals in space, from fruit flies and monkeys to Laika the Soviet space dog Thousands of animals paved the way for human space travel. But for many of them, it was an incredibly painful – or deadly – experience. Stephen Walker tells Rhiannon Davies about this overlooked chapter of space exploration, from Soviet space dogs strapped to rockets and chimpanzees sent up by NASA, to two tortoises who orbited the moon. (Ad) Stephen Walker is the author of Beyond: The Astonishing Story of the First Human to Leave Our Planet and Journey into Space(HarperCollins, 2021). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-Histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fbeyond%2Fstephen-walker%2F9780008372507 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Taking in glamorous dinner parties and decadent “wine-chocolate”, Annie Graytransports us back to a festive feast from the Georgian era. Speaking to Ellie Cawthorne, for the second episode in our mini-series on Christmas food through history, she also touches on dangerous parlour games and complaints about Christmas being “too commercial”. (Ad) Annie Gray is the author of At Christmas We Feast: Festive Food through the Ages (Profile Books, 2021). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-viewingguide&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fat-christmas-we-feast%2Fannie-gray%2F9781788168199%23%3A~%3Atext%3DAt Christmas We Feast%3A Festive Food Through the Ages (Hardback)%26text%3D'A joy to immerse oneself%2Ctrimmings%2C pudding and brandy butter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mary Sarotte tells Spencer Mizen about her new book Not One Inch, which reveals how diplomatic missteps after the fall of the Berlin Wall soured US-Russian relations and fuelled the rise of Vladimir Putin. (Ad) Mary Sarotte is the author of Not One Inch: America, Russia and the Making of Post-Cold War Stalemate (Yale University Press, 2022). Buy it now from Amazon: ​​https://www.amazon.co.uk/Not-One-Inch-Post-Cold-Stalemate/dp/030025993X/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-Histboty Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the latest episode in our new series on the raid on Pearl Harbor, Dayna Barnes speaks to Ellie Cawthorne about the United States in the years and months leading up to the attack. They discuss the American perspective on the disintegrating relationship with Japan, get to grips with US thinking on the eve of the attack, and ask: why was the American public blindsided by the Japanese raid? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the latest episode in our new series on the raid on Pearl Harbor, Steve Twomey speaks to Ellie Cawthorne about the immediate run-up to the attack, revealing how inch-perfect Japanese planning and complacent oversights by American military figures combined to leave Pearl Harbor naval base a sitting duck for Japanese bombers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Were medieval attitudes to sex really that different from our own? Historian Katherine Harvey speaks to Elinor Evans about the sex lives of ordinary people in the Middle Ages – from how sexuality was governed by ideas about sin, to the “love magic” that was thought to trick people into bed. (Ad) Katherine Harvey is the author of The Fires of Lust: Sex in the Middle Ages (Reaktion Books, 2021). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-Histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fthe-fires-of-lust%2Fkatherine-harvey%2F9781789144895 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Robert Sackville-West describes attempts to identify the bodies of the dead after the devastating battles of the First World War Historian Robert Sackville-West describes the searches to identify – and in some cases, return – bodies of the dead after the devastating battles of the First World War: a service that provided important closure for many bereaved families. Speaking with Elinor Evans, he also explores how commemoration of the war dead has changed over the last century. (Ad) Robert Sackville-West is the author of The Searchers: The Quest for the Lost of the First World War(Bloomsbury, 2021). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Searchers-Quest-Lost-First-World/dp/1526613158/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-viewingguide Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From brawn to plum pottage, Annie Gray takes us back to the raucous world of festive feasting in the medieval and Tudor eras. Speaking to Ellie Cawthorne, for the first episode in our new mini-series on Christmas food through history, she also touches on subversive merrymaking, spectacular dinnertime entertainments and hefty meat pies. (Ad) Annie Gray is the author of At Christmas We Feast: Festive Food through the Ages (Profile Books, 2021). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-viewingguide&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fat-christmas-we-feast%2Fannie-gray%2F9781788168199%23%3A~%3Atext%3DAt%20Christmas%20We%20Feast%3A%20Festive%20Food%20Through%20the%20Ages%20(Hardback)%26text%3D'A%20joy%20to%20immerse%20oneself%2Ctrimmings%2C%20pudding%20and%20brandy%20butter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the first episode in our new series on the raid on Pearl Harbor, Chris Harding speaks to Ellie Cawthorne about Japan in the years running up to December 1941. They discuss the long-running historical factors that edged the country ever closer to war with the United States, and ask: what led Japan to embark on such a risky gamble? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Colour has been hugely important to humans through history, with different cultures attaching their own meanings to all the hues of the rainbow. From the ancient societies who venerated purple to the modern political radicals who chose red as the colour of revolution, James Fox speaks to Rhiannon Davies about these fascinating associations. (Ad) James Fox is the author The World According to Colour: A Cultural History (Allen Lane, 2021). Buy it now from Amazon: ​​https://www.amazon.co.uk/World-According-Colour-Cultural-History/dp/1846148243/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-viewingguide Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Psychiatrist and historian George Makari speaks to Jon Bauckham about the origins of the term “xenophobia”, and the ways in which western thinkers have interpreted people’s fear of strangers, from the 19th century to the present day. (Ad) George Makari is the author of Of Fear and Strangers: A History of Xenophobia (Yale University Press, 2021). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fear-Strangers-History-Xenophobia/dp/0300259735/ref=asc_df_0300259735/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=534924812094&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12591081103742328032&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006715&hvtargid=pla-1420993758651&psc=1&th=1&psc=1&tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-viewingguide Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Christine Kinealy answers listener questions on the devastating famine that struck Ireland in the mid-19th century Christine Kinealy answers listener questions on the causes and consequences of the devastating famine that struck Ireland in the mid-19th century. Speaking to Ellie Cawthorne, she also discusses whether we should call it a “famine”, the role of aid and migration in the crisis, and if the British government can be blamed for what happened. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shakespeare has been an obsession of extremist groups across the globe over the centuries. The Nazi Party held him up as a hero, while Osama Bin Laden condemned him as the ultimate symbol of the depraved west. Islam Issa speaks to Rhiannon Davies about the playwright’s tangled relationship with terror. (Ad) Islam Issa is the author of Shakespeare and Terrorism (Routledge, 2021). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shakespeare-Terrorism-Spotlight-Islam-Issa/dp/0367334836/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-viewingguide Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Historian Roderick Beaton ranges over 4,000 years of Greek history, from the glories of Mycenae to the life of a modern European nation. In discussion with Rob Attar, he picks out some of the key moments in this journey, including the triumphs of ancient Greece, the conquests of Alexander the Great and the 1820s battle for independence. (Ad) Roderick Beaton is the author of The Greeks: A Global History (Faber, 2021). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-viewingguide&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fthe-greeks%2Fprofessor-prof-roderick-beaton%2F9780571353569 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Peter Stanford speaks to Emily Briffett about his new book, If These Stones Could Talk, which chronicles his journeys around Britain and Ireland’s churches, abbeys, chapels and cathedrals in a quest to understand how religion has defined our past and continues to shape our present. (Ad) Peter Stanford is the author of If These Stones Could Talk: The History of Christianity in Britain and Ireland through Twenty Buildings (Hodder & Stoughton, 2021). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-viewingguide&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fif-these-stones-could-talk%2Fpeter-stanford%2F9781529396423 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From the courtesans of Edo Japan and ancient Greece to the mollyhouses of Regency London, Kate Lister speaks to Ellie Cawthorne about her new book Harlots, Whores and Hackabouts, which charts the long, diverse and colourful history of sex work. (Ad) Kate Lister is the author of Harlots, Whores & Hackabouts: A History of Sex for Sale (Thames & Hudson, 2021). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-viewingguide&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fharlots-whores-and-hackabouts%2Fkate-lister%2Fwellcome-collection%2F9780500252444 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The “Age of Discovery” is traditionally known as a period between the 15th and 16th centuries, when European Christian powers sailed west and encountered lands and peoples previously unknown to them. However, speaking to David Musgrove, Professor Marc David Baer contends that this narrative overlooks the influential role of the Ottoman empire. (Ad) Marc David Baer is the author of The Ottomans: Khans, Caesars and Caliphs (Basic Books, 2021). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ottomans-Khans-Caesars-Caliphs/dp/1473695708/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-viewingguide Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How much blood was spilled in the border regions of England and Scotland from the 14th to the 16th centuries? Who were the Reivers? And why did the French get involved? Michael Brown talks to Spencer Mizen about the cross-border clashes that marred Anglo-Scottish relations for 200 years. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1965, Scottish aristocrat Ewan Forbes stood to inherit his family’s baronetcy but, as a transgender man, he soon became embroiled in a top-secret legal case which had consequences that still affect the lives of trans people today. Zoe Playdon explores this still largely unknown story, in conversation with Matt Elton. (Ad) Zoe Playdon is the author of The Hidden Case of Ewan Forbes: The Transgender Trial that Threatened to Upend the British Establishment (Bloomsbury, 2021). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hidden-Case-Ewan-Forbes/dp/152661913X/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-viewingguide Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What makes a good Second World War exhibit? How can we best share the story of the Holocaust? Two new galleries dedicated to these seismic events at London’s Imperial War Museum grapple with these questions and others. Historian Keith Lowe spoke to curators Vicki Hawkins, Kate Clements and James Bulgin about the challenges of creating them. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jim Downs speaks to Ellie Cawthorne about his book Maladies of Empire, which reveals how the conditions created by colonialism, war and slavery affected the study of disease and its spread in the 18th and 19th centuries. (Ad) Jim Downs is the author of Maladies of Empire: How Slavery, Imperialism, and War Transformed Medicine (Belknap Press, 2021). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=maladies+of+empire&adgrpid=130572957750&gclid=CjwKCAiA1aiMBhAUEiwACw25MVXIayiB36t6Q37ItDISGlC8aLKZyWNwGh6rUPr8g_WnL2PKKC-y3xoC2IAQAvD_BwE&hvadid=543075455219&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=1006715&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=12263352264959276216&hvtargid=kwd-1262783386938&hydadcr=24404_1748884&tag=googhydr-21&ref=pd_sl_2iezca746i_e&tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-viewingguide Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jane Ridley speaks to Ellie Cawthorne about the life and reign of George V. She reveals how the king, often unfairly dismissed as something of a dullard, in fact successfully steered the monarchy through a tumultuous era of British history. (Ad) Jane Ridley is the author of George V: Never a Dull Moment (Chatto & Windus, 2021). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/George-V-Never-Dull-Moment/dp/0701188707/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-viewingguide Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the author of the Life of King Alfred, the Welsh churchman Asser is in large part responsible for how the early medieval king was viewed, and the fact that he eventually got the moniker ‘the Great’. Speaking with our content director David Musgrove, Dr Robert Gallagher tells us about a new discovery he’s made about this monastic wordsmith. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When did espionage become professionalised? What ingenious gadgets did intelligence agents use in the past? And how have animals been used for spying? Speaking with Elinor Evans, Michael Goodman tackles listener questions and popular search queries on the history of espionage and intelligence. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On 13 November 1002, the St Brice’s Day Massacre took place, when Danes living in England were killed, apparently on the orders of King Aethelred. But the extent of the violence and motivation behind it continues to be much debated by historians. In conversation with David Musgrove, Dr Benjamin Savill outlines his new theory that the massacre may have been planned specifically for the feast day of the exiled St Brice. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Medieval manuscripts tell a story far greater than just what’s written inside them. In conversation with Emily Briffett, Mary Wellesley shares the hidden histories of the artisans, authors and owners behind these fragile and beautiful documents. (Ad) Mary Wellesley is the author of Hidden Hands: The Lives of Manuscripts and their Makers (Quercus, 2021). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-viewingguide&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fhidden-hands%2Fmary-wellesley%2F9781529420883 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ernest Shackleton looms large in the heroic age of exploration, making two bids to reach the South Pole and famously attempting to traverse the Antarctic continent, before his ship was crushed by pack ice. Fellow polar explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes chronicles his dangerous exploits and reflects on his own expeditions in a conversation with Rhiannon Davies. (Ad) Ranulph Fiennes is the author of Shackleton: A Biography (Michael Joseph, 2021). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shackleton-Ranulph-Fiennes/dp/0241356717/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=118715083359&dchild=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwt-6LBhDlARIsAIPRQcKRJILLUHRFfyslY6G2SY7Q2IWBFoJ617jPKW4rPHt0f2vvyQmAHZEaAgQOEALw_wcB&hvadid=506961849035&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=1006715&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=14826065410558208685&hvtargid=kwd-1209672137750&hydadcr=24433_1816114&keywords=ranulph+fiennes+shackleton&qid=1635519967&qsid=257-7780269-8086666&sr=8-1&sres=0241356717%2C0340826991%2C0241977258%2C1785904868%2C0753809877%2C0099422433%2CB07C7RDKXQ%2C1509896120%2C1472907159%2CB09D4VQW4X%2C1774261995%2C0753522063%2C1909263109%2CB06WD53Q24%2C1976969964%2CB08PFSDJLB&srpt=ABIS_BOOK&tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-viewingguide Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Historian Susan Williams discusses the United States’ covert programme to undermine the leaders of newly independent African nations in the 1950s and 1960s. Speaking to Rob Attar, she highlights the stories of Congo’s Patrice Lumumba and Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah, both of whom were ultimately ousted from power. (Ad) Susan Williams is the author of White Malice: The CIA and the Neocolonisation of Africa (C Hurst & Co, 2021). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-viewingguide&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fwhite-malice%2Fsusan-williams%2F9781787385559 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt Lewis tells Spencer Mizen about the extraordinary escapades of Hereward the Wake, who led a rebellion in the 1070s that drove William the Conqueror and the Normans to distraction. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After the witch trials were over, Salemites had to resume life as normal and come to terms with what had happened. Suspected witches had to go back to living alongside those who had accused them. In our final episode we’ll be looking at the difficult legacy of the events at Salem, revealing how the beliefs that underlined them endured and asking: why did the witch trials happen? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices