HistoryExtra podcast

In the 1870s, British troops invaded the African kingdom of Asante, razed its capital, prowled its palace and plundered its exquisite golden treasures. In this episode, Barnaby Phillips tells Spencer ...

It was under the rule of the infamous emperor Nero that the Great Revolt, the first of the Jewish-Roman wars, began, sparking many decades of continuous conflict. Speaking to James Osborne, historian ...

Ireland's capital may be famous today for its nightlife and literature, but it has experienced more than its fair share of conflict and oppression alongside periods of great cultural and religious flo...

The life of Grigori Rasputin, the Siberian peasant healer who wielded influence over the family of Russia’s last tsar, has fascinated the world for more than a century. Historian Antony Beevor speaks ...

By 1559, Elizabeth I had secured the crown – but holding on to power would prove far more challenging. In this second episode of our four-part Sunday Series on the Tudor monarch, Rachel Dinning is joi...

What can Charlie Chaplin's life tell us about the experiences of poor working-class people in 19th- and early 20th-century London? Quite a lot, it turns out. Speaking to Charlotte Vosper, author and h...

Have women been relegated to the footnotes of French history? Katherine Pangonis – whose latest book is A History of France in 21 Women – tells Charlotte Vosper about why their stories have been pushe...

Few people had as much impact on the course of the 20th century as Vladimir Lenin – from his years as an émigré across the capitals of western Europe, to his role in the October Revolution of 1917 and...

The 1920s and 30s were golden decades for extremism. Across Europe, dictators including Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini goose-stepped their way into power, but in Britain, it was a different story. Here,...

Elizabeth I is one of history's most iconic monarchs, but her path to the throne was anything but secure. In this first episode of our four-part Sunday Series on the 16th-century royal, Rachel Dinning...