HistoryExtra Long Reads

History Extra

Take a deep dive into the past as we bring you the very best of HistoryExtra magazine, Britain’s bestselling history magazine. With a new episode released every Monday, enjoy fascinating and enlightening articles from leading historical experts, covering a broad sweep of the centuries – from the scandals of Georgian society to the horrors of the First World War, revolutions, rebellions, and more.

Play

Open in

24 episodes
weekly
Avg 21 min
English

Episodes 24

Newest Oldest Longest

All20 Unplayed20 In progress0 Played0

Counted on this page — what you have heard stays on this device, so it is not something the list can be paged by.

#162
September 6 · 21 min
The Magdalene laundries: Ireland’s secret shame
Louise Brangan explores the dark legacy of Ireland’s Magdalene laundries – and the thousands of women detained in them
#161
August 30 · 21 min
The troubled birth of England
The collapse of Roman rule in Britain, followed by the emergence of kingdoms established by Germanic tribes, marks one of the most turbulent periods in Britain’s history. But what factors drove this dramatic transformation? This Long Read written by Nick Higham chronicles the rise of the Anglo-Saxons. Today’s feature originally appeared in the July 2026 issue of HistoryExtra magazine, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#160
August 23 · 25 min
Cultural dreams v political nightmares: life in interwar Weimar
Katja Hoyer explores Weimar’s turbulent interwar years, where modernist ambition and rising extremism collided in a fragile democracy
#159
August 16 · 21 min
Athens v Sparta: a Greek tragedy
Adrian Goldsworthy traces how Athens and Sparta went from united defenders of Greece to bitter rivals whose war shattered the ancient Greek world
#158
August 9 · 21 min
Sex, secrecy and social ambition: inside a Georgian masquerade
Meghan Kobza explores the dazzling and dangerous world of the 18th-century masquerade
#157
August 2 · 24 min
Marilyn Monroe: the brains behind the bombshell
Lucy Bolton reveals how the star became a cultural icon not just through her glamorous image, but through fierce ambition, talent and relentless hard work The heart-shaped face. The iridescent blonde hair. And who can forget that billowing white dress? Image was key to Marilyn Monroe’s meteoric rise but, as this Long Read written by Lucy Bolton explains on the star’s centenary, her success was only possible because of raw talent, ambition and a ferocious work ethic. Today's feature originally appeared in the June 2026 issue of HistoryExtra magazine, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#156
July 26 · 21 min
How the Black Death devastated the Muslim world
Thomas Asbridge investigates why the Black Death proved deadlier in the Muslim world, devastating cities across the Near East
#155
July 19 · 19 min
The secret history behind the Odyssey
Daisy Dunn uncovers the Bronze Age realities woven into Homer’s timeless epic
#154
July 12 · 14 min
"War minus the shooting": football during the Cold War
Tony Shaw and Alan McDougall explore four cases in which Cold War rivalries turned football matches into global political contests
#153
July 5 · 19 min
Georgian Britain's most curious hoax
Madeleine Pelling uncovers eight extraordinary frauds that duped Britain during the Age of Enlightenment
#152
June 28 · 22 min
US at 250: the hard road to independence
George Goodwin reveals how years of mounting tensions culminated in the Declaration of Independence
#151
June 21 · 22 min
Elizabeth II: the great survivor
David Cannadine explores how Elizabeth II steered Britain through seven decades of upheaval, from imperial decline to multicultural transformation
#150
June 14 · 22 min
The seven deadly sins: a medieval self-help guide
Peter Jones reveals how the seven deadly sins were devised as practical medieval remedies for longstanding human problems
#149
June 7 · 24 min
Lost stories from Pompeii
Jess Venner pieces together the lives of Pompeii from the ashes of Mount Vesuvius
#148
May 31 · 18 min
Nell Gwyn: England's mistress
Sophie Shorland explores the hidden depths of Restoration England's 'good-time girl'
#147
May 24 · 20 min
The Asante gold: a tale of blood and plunder
Barnaby Phillips examines the history of the golden treasures taken from the kingdom of Asante in the 19th century
#146
May 17 · 22 min
How medieval mothers took back control
Elinor Cleghorn examines how medieval women engaged with, and challenged, prevailing ideas about motherhood
#145
May 10 · 22 min
Rome's people power
Shushma Malik considers how Roman citizenship was weaponised to build and strengthen the growing empire
#144
May 3 · 22 min
The 'Iron Curtain' speech: why Churchill poked the Russian bear
Richard Toye reframes our understanding of the war victor's renowned 1946 lecture
#143
April 26 · 24 min
Anne Boleyn’s image problem
Dark or brunette? Fair or swarthy? A paragon of beauty or a refined charmer? Our picture of Henry VIII’s ill-fated second queen has become distorted over five centuries – but new research by Owen Emmerson and others comes closer to revealing her true appearance. This Long Read, written by Owen, explains more. 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

Showing 1–20 of 24 episodes