HistoryExtra podcast

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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

Fourteen of the 19 people hanged for witchcraft at Salem were women. So could their gender – or perhaps their transgression of gender norms – be part of the reason they were targeted? And what about the five men hanged? In this episode we’ll try to unpick the complicated question of how gender impacted on the Salem witch trials. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Salem was made up of a dense web of social connections – not all of which were harmonious. In fact, it was a community riven with fault lines that threatened to open up into great chasms of conflict. In this episode we’ll investigate whether tensions between members of the community could help explain who was accused of demonic activity – and who accused them. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The list of failings that could be levelled against the Salem justice system is substantial – from the acceptance of so-called ‘spectral evidence’ to the chaotic scenes that unfolded in the courtroom. In this episode we’ll consider how suspected witches were tried, revealing how they were induced into giving confessions and even encouraged to implicate others. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From flying witches to demonic familiars and translucent cats, the Salem villagers believed themselves plagued by a spectrum of supernatural terrors. In this episode we’ll be investigating the long history of witchcraft beliefs that influenced accusations, from the first witches in the ancient world to the explosion of witch hunts triggered by fears of a satanic conspiracy in Early Modern Europe and America. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tom Standage traces technological advances in transport, from the invention of the wheel to the rise of the car Tom Standage, author of A Brief History of Motion, speaks to Jon Bauckham about technological advances in transport, from the invention of the wheel to the rise of the car, and reveals why modern transport dilemmas echo those of the late 19th century. (Ad) Tom Standage is the author of A Brief History of Motion: From the Wheel to the Car to What Comes Next (Bloomsbury, 2021). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Brief-History-Motion-Wheel-Comes/dp/1526608324/?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

Dr Sara Read explores women’s experience of pregnancy and childbirth in early modern England. Speaking to Emma Slattery Williams, she discusses the research behind her recent novel, which tells the story of a midwife working during the Great Plague of 1665. (Ad) Sara Read is the author of The Gossips’ Choice (Wild Pressed Books, 2020). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gossips-Choice-Sara-Read/dp/1916489680/?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

Dr Souvik Naha reveals how the Victorians used cricket to export “British virtues” across the empire For 19th-century imperialists, cricket wasn’t just a game, it was a means of exporting “British virtues” across the empire. Dr Souvik Naha tells Spencer Mizen about the sport’s great “civilising mission”. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Professor Lea Ypi reflects on her childhood years, which witnessed the final years of communism in Albania and the fraught transition to capitalist democracy. In conversation with Rob Attar, she also considers what these experiences have taught her about the true nature of freedom. (Ad) Lea Ypi is the author of Free: Coming of Age at the End of History (Penguin, 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%2Ffree%2Flea-ypi%2F9780241481851 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Historian Tony Warner talks to Elinor Evans about some of the real historical figures depicted in the new Netflix western The Harder They Fall, starring Idris Elba and Regina King, and tells us more about where the film sits in the genre of black westerns. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Religion was a powerful force at play in the Salem settlement. It not only determined the villagers’ daily routine but their whole outlook on life, influencing how they saw their neighbours and giving shape to their fears about threats to their community. In this episode we’ll be investigating how the Puritanical mindset stirred up intense paranoia about the devil, and could have made people more inclined to confess to satanic corruption. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1692, Salem was a colonial outpost teetering on the edge of a precipice. In this episode we’ll explore what life was like in the New England settlement, and consider whether environmental pressures – from the threat of attack to an inhospitable climate – could have played a role in the outbreak of accusations of witchcraft. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In order to understand why the Salem witch trials happened, we need to get to grips with how exactly things unfolded over the course of 1692. In this episode, we piece together a timeline of the events that reveals how the strange behaviour of a couple of young girls spread like a virus, mutating and mushrooming into community-wide paranoia that ultimately culminated in multiple executions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1692, 19 members of a small New England community were hanged for witchcraft. Over the course of the year, young girls convulsed and barked like dogs, women confessed to flying on poles to satanic sabbaths, and villagers recounted seeing ghostly apparitions and translucent cats. How can we explain these seemingly inexplicable events? With the help of experts, we’ll delve into the historical factors that were at play in Salem to get to grips with one of the most fascinating moments in American history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Irving Finkel speaks to Ellie Cawthorne about his book The First Ghosts, which looks at what we can learn from the first written evidence of ghost beliefs. He reveals what ancient Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets can tell us about everything from necromancy and getting rid of troublesome spirits to demons and the underworld. (Ad) Irving Finkel is the author of The First Ghosts: Most Ancient of Legacies (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%2Fthe-first-ghosts%2Firving-finkel%2F9781529303261 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Greg Jenner talks about his latest book, Ask A Historian, which tackles 50 burning questions that people have about the past Public historian Greg Jenner talks to Elinor Evans about his latest book, Ask A Historian, which tackles on 50 questions exploring some unexpected chapters of history that people have always wanted to know about – from whether people really ate powdered mummies, to the best historical figures to choose for an Oceans’ Eleven-style heist. (Ad) Greg Jenner is the author of Ask A Historian: 50 Surprising Answers to Things You Always Wanted to Know (Orion, 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%2Fask-a-historian%2Fgreg-jenner%2F9781474618618 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Listen to our new podcast series delving into one of the most fascinating and mysterious events in American history. Find the first four episodes in your podcast feed from 31 October. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We often focus on the views we can see through windows, but what about the windows themselves? Matt Elton speaks to cultural sociologist Rachel Hurdley to explore what windows can reveal about our past – from living conditions and architectural styles to wider issues of defence, politics and social change. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Christina Ezrahi speaks to Elinor Evans about the story of Nina Anisimova, one of the most famous ballerinas in Stalin’s Soviet Union. After being arrested for supposed counter-revolutionary activity, Anisimova was transported to a forced labour camp, only to make a remarkable return to the stage. (Ad) Christina Ezrahi is the author of Dancing for Stalin: A Dancer’s Story of Courage and Survival in Soviet Russia (Elliott & Thompson Ltd, 2021). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dancing-Stalin-Dancers-Courage-Survival/dp/1783965576#:~:text=Dancing%20for%20Stalin%20is%20a,of%20courage%2C%20resilience%20and%20triumph.&text=of%20Bolshoi%20Confidential-,Nina%20Anisimova%20was%20one%20of%20Russia's%20most%20renowned%20ballerinas%20and,career%20concealed%20a%20dark%20secret./?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

A panel of expert historians discuss how history can help make sense of current events in Afghanistan The Taliban recently regained control of Afghanistan as US forces withdrew after two decades in the country. How can history help make sense of this seismic moment? Matt Elton joins a panel of experts – William Dalrymple, Rabia Latif Khan, Elisabeth Leake and Bijan Omrani – to explore how Afghanistan’s past can help us understand its present situation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What did the word ‘pharaoh’ mean? How did you become an ancient Egyptian king? And what was that beard all about? Speaking with Emily Briffett, Joyce Tyldesley answers listener questions and top internet search queries about ancient Egypt’s royal rulers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Historian Dan Jones’s new book, The Tale of the Tailor and the Three Dead Kings, reimagines a medieval ghost story for modern audiences. He explains to Dave Musgrove what it tells us about attitudes to the afterlife in the Middle Ages. (Ad) Dan Jones is the author of The Tale of the Tailor and the Three Dead Kings: A medieval ghost story (Head of Zeus, 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-tale-of-the-tailor-and-the-three-dead-kings%2Fdan-jones%2F2928377065249 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chris Pearson talks to Elinor Evans about his latest book, Dogopolis, which explores how human-canine relationships shaped urban living in three cities – New York, Paris and London – in the late 19th and 20th centuries, from differing attitudes towards pets and strays, to their roles in modern security. (Ad) Chris Pearson is the author of Dogopolis: How Dogs and Humans Made Modern New York, London, and Paris (Chicago, 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%2Fdogopolis%2Fchris-pearson%2F9780226798165 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Martha S Jones discusses her Cundill History Prize-shortlisted book Vanguard, which charts African-American women’s long and determined fight for the vote. She speaks to Ellie Cawthorne about how the battle for suffrage connected to other issues and a wider struggle for political power. (Ad) Martha S Jones is the author of Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All (Basic Books, 2020). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vanguard-Black-Barriers-Insisted-Equality/dp/1541618610/?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

Tim Harper speaks to Ellie Cawthorne about his Cundill History Prize-shortlisted book Underground Asia, which reveals how clandestine networks of anti-colonialist rebels operated across Asia in the early 20th century. (Ad) Tim Harper is the author of Underground Asia: Global Revolutionaries and the Assault on Empire (Allen Lane, 2020). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Imperial-Underground-Harper-Tim/dp/1846145627/?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

Following the fortunes of one extended family in a south-western French town in the 18th and 19th centuries, Emma Rothschild’s Cundill Prize-shortlisted book An Infinite History builds up a picture of what life was like for ordinary people in provincial France. She tells Rhiannon Davies how generations of the family survived revolution, wars and sweeping economic changes, to reveal a fascinating story of France’s history from below. (Ad) Emma Rothschild is the author of An Infinite History: The Story of a Family in France Over Three Centuries (Princeton, 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%2Fan-infinite-history%2Femma-rothschild%2F%2F9780691200309%3Fawaid%3D3787%26utm_source%3Dredbrain%26utm_medium%3Dshopping%26utm_campaign%3Dcss%26gclid%3DCjwKCAjwh5qLBhALEiwAioods2hTOQ1IkWOOFqRZBkpKLDUNCmQ6uocmn4hwJXCKU3gMq_sKt-QVPBoCSygQAvD_BwE Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices