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For most of the latter half of the 20th century, the world was frozen in a standoff. The Cold War era was defined by the ideological fissure between capitalism, led by the United States, and communism...
· 47 min 46 sec
Professor Hannah Greig and Ellie Cawthorne revisit the remarkable life of the Chevalier D’Eon – whose extraordinary adventures and identity captured the imagination of Georgian Britain As a celebrity,...
· 35 min 43 sec
Climbing to the top of Gilded Age society in 19th-century America, socialite Alva Vanderbilt made headlines for being one of the first elite women to divorce on her terms, and she later turned her amb...
· 40 min 45 sec
From unholy fights in the most sacred of spaces to downing glasses of sherry for breakfast, this Long Read written by Sarah Elizabeth Cox introduces the pugilists who punched their way into Britons’ a...
· 18 min 38 sec
Across 12,000 years of history, prosperity has flourished in societies where women could fully participate – and faltered when they were pushed to the margins. That's what Dr Victoria Bateman argues i...
· 46 min 11 sec
They gave us the alphabet, charted the seas by the Pole Star, and built Carthage – once Rome’s greatest rival. So why have the Phoenicians been forgotten? Speaking to Emily Briffett, historian Josephi...
· 49 min 42 sec
Despite facing significant obstacles in their own lives, black women in the United States were at the forefront of campaigns for human rights at home and abroad. Historian Keisha N Blain tells the sto...
· 38 min 34 sec
Recent weeks have seen thousands of St George's and union flags being flown in villages, towns and cities around England. But what's the real history behind those symbols? In this episode of our fortn...
· 41 min 5 sec
In the years following Stalin’s death in 1953, a new phenomenon emerged within the Soviet Union: so-called 'dissidents'. Preferring to think of themselves as 'rights defenders', these individuals advo...
· 51 min 42 sec
The life of El Cid, the famed 11th-century Castilian warrior otherwise known as Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, is steeped in legend. Historian Nora Berend joins Danny Bird to examine his real-life exploits du...
· 30 min 59 sec
Professor Hannah Greig and Ellie Cawthorne examine the story of the Zong massacre, in which more than 130 enslaved people were murdered – and their deaths claimed on insurance In the 1780s, an extrao...
· 34 min 31 sec
For Britain and Germany, both world wars saw hundreds of thousands of casualties – but what happened to the bodies of those who died on enemy territory? And what impact did this have upon their bereav...
· 40 min 32 sec
How does the past shape today's world? In HistoryExtra's fortnightly podcast History Behind the Headlines, Matt Elton is joined by regular panellists Hannah Skoda and Rana Mitter and guest experts to...
· 37 sec
She was an Italian Catholic in a ferociously anti-papist English court. An aspiring nun in a hotbed of hedonism. In this Long Read written by historian Breeze Barrington, we follow the extraordinary t...
· 19 min 37 sec
The Mughal empire was one of the most powerful and influential dynasties in South Asian history, blending together a mix of cultural traditions to create a legacy of dazzling architecture, innovative...
· 49 min 50 sec
If you know anything about the Amazons of ancient legend, it's probably that they were fearsome female fighters, who bravely battled against male heroes of Greek legend. But, according to Professor Da...
· 43 min 7 sec
The story of the Vikings who travelled to eastern Europe is just as thrilling as the story of those who headed west. It's also just as important – still being relevant today through deep rooted connec...
· 45 min 38 sec
Professor Hannah Greig and Ellie Cawthorne revisit the world’s first major financial crash: the South Sea Bubble of 1720 In 1720, would-be speculators were in a frenzy over an irresistible new invest...
· 35 min 0 sec
In 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, crossed the Channel and changed English history forever. Known to some as a ruthless and ambitious conqueror and to others as a astute and innovative state-builder,...
· 49 min 10 sec