HistoryExtra Podcasts

The brutal childhood that shaped Richard III

4.6K views · 2d ago · 26:31

Richard III is one of the most divisive kings in all of English history – a man whose seizure of the throne in 1483 has provoked fierce debate for more than five centuries. But to what extent was his rise to power the product of his turbulent childhood?

Topics: A compelling king · Relationship with family · Young Richard's character · Richard's early reputation

Do we still live in the shadow of the Black Death?

3.9K views · 5d ago · 36:16

How did societies adapt in the decades that followed? And what lessons did this medieval catastrophe hold for future generations? In this final episode of HistoryExtra's series on the deadly disease, Emily Briffett and historian Thomas Asbridge – author of new book The Black Death: A Global History – consider how the pandemic transformed economies, beliefs and everyday life, and assess its longer legacy.

Topics: What was the Black Death? · Origins · What does the term ‘Black Death’ come from? · The impact of multiple waves of plague · Life during the age of plague · Did society adapt?

How did medieval people cope with the Black Death?

8.6K views · 1w ago · 44:45

For those who lived through it, the Black Death left a legacy of fear, loss and uncertainty. But how did people cope with such overwhelming catastrophe? And what do contemporary records reveal about the disease’s emotional impact?

Topics: Plague symptoms · A chance of survival? · Medieval public health measures · Burying the dead · Grief and loss in the Middle Ages · Kinship and abandonment

Was the Black Death a global pandemic?

11K views · 3w ago · 32:22

But where did it come from? How did it travel so quickly through towns and countryside? And did people at the time understand just how terrifying the illness would be? In this first episode of our three-part series on the deadly disease, Emily Briffett and historian Thomas Asbridge – author of 'The Black Death: A Global History' – trace the origins and spread of the Black Death.

Topics: The first case of biological warfare? · Understanding the medieval world · A global pandemic · Transmission and spread · Fear of the unknown · How deadly was the Black Death?

How the Vikings reshaped Anglo-Saxon England

7.2K views · 1mo ago · 32:19

In the final episode of our Sunday Series on the ninth-century Viking invasion of Anglo-Saxon England, Dr Eleanor Barraclough and James Osborne trace how the outcome of the battle rewrote the future of Anglo-Saxon England.

Topics: Quick recap · Why Alfred didn’t kill Guthrum · Conversion to Christianity · A proto-Danelaw? · Alfred’s later strategy and logistics · Alfred in his own words

The heroic rise of THIS Anglo-Saxon king may have inspired JRR Tolkien

10K views · 1mo ago · 30:50

In the third episode of HistoryExtra's four-part series on the Viking invasion of Anglo-Saxon England in the latter half of the ninth century, James Osborne is joined by historian Eleanor Barraclough to examine how Alfred the Great rose from the cusp of defeat, to a stunning military victory at the battle of Edington.

Topics: Anglo-Saxon England on the brink · Alfred burns the cakes · A growing resistance · The Viking perspective · JRR Tolkein’s inspiration? · A moment of heroism

Was King Alfred REALLY all that great?

13K views · 2mo ago · 42:00

In this second episode of HistoryExtra's four-part series on the Viking invasion of ninth-century England, James Osborne and historian Eleanor Barraclough explore the regions overrun by Viking forces and the rise of Alfred the Great amid the collapse of Anglo-Saxon resistance.

Topics: The Anglo-Saxon world · Anglo-Saxons vs Vikings · The arrival of the Vikings · Are we too harsh on the Anglo-Saxons? · The last kingdom · Alfred the Great?

Why the Vikings stopped raiding and started staying

5.5K views · 2mo ago · 36:38

Guest: Dr Eleanor Barraclough

In this opening episode of a four-part series on how the Viking Great Heathen Army pushed Anglo-Saxon England to the brink, James Osborne is joined by Dr Eleanor Barraclough to discuss the coming of the Great Heathen Army and take a closer look at the everyday lives and motivations of the people who would soon lay waste to much of Anglo-Saxon England.

Topics: Who are the Vikings? · What is the Great Heathen Army · The Great Heathen Army's famous leaders · Why the Vikings came · Justice for Ragnar Lothbrok? · Life within the Great Heathen Army

The Odyssey’s forgotten epilogue is WILD

5.8K views · 2mo ago · 42:52

In this final episode of our four-part series on the Odyssey, Kev Lochun and classicist Daisy Dunn explore the astonishing cultural legacy of a poem that has been shaping how we think about home, heroism and hospitality for nearly 3,000 years. Plus, they consider what its portrayal of women reveals about power in the ancient world.

Topics: How to be a good ancient Greek host (or guest) · Women in the Odyssey · A hero's homecoming? · Is Odysseus’s story one big lie? · The origins of the Trojan War · The wider epic cycle – and an unhinged epilogue

How much of the Odyssey was actually real?

7.4K views · 2mo ago · 42:05

In this third episode of HistoryExtra's four-part series on the Odyssey, Kev Lochun and classicist Daisy Dunn turn archaeologist, tracing the real Bronze Age world of feasting kings and heroic warriors that inspired Homer's epic poem. What secrets can we glean from the layers of ancient Troy? What happened to the grand palace complexes of ancient Mycenae, so reminiscent of Ithaca, that caused them to vanish almost overnight? And why is a 3,000-year-old bathtub so exciting?

Topics: Can we map the Odyssey onto the real world? · The antihero archaeologist · What the destruction of Troy tells us · This is how the world of the Odyssey worked · How the Odyssey borrows from the Mycenaeans · The Homeric inferiority complex

Why did it take Odysseus 10 years to get home?

3.1K views · 3mo ago · 44:40

In the second episode of HistoryExtra's four-part series on the Odyssey, Kev Lochun and classicist Daisy Dunn explore Odysseus's greatest adventures – from encounters with the one-eyed Cyclops to brushes with the so-called witch Circe – and consider what they say about Greek views of civilisation, gender and divine power.

Topics: What is the Odyssey about? · Meeting the Greek gods · Introducing Odysseus – and Calypso · The Odyssey in 60 seconds · Odysseus meets Polyphemus · Shall I compare thee to a block of cheese?

The author of the Odyssey is probably not who you think

4.4K views · 3mo ago · 38:41

It is one of just two ancient Greek epic poems said to be the work of ‘Homer’. But who was Homer? And why, today, do we ask ourselves: ‘Did Homer even exist?’ In this first episode of HistoryExtra's four-part series on the Odyssey, Kev Lochun sits down with classicist Daisy Dunn to unpack the origins of the epic poem – and the enduring mystery around the identity of the man who ‘wrote’ it.

Topics: Historic fiction · The Homeric Question

America's unfinished business | Why the revolution never ended

2.7K views · 3mo ago · 34:28

Guest: Adam IP Smith

In the final episode of HistoryExtra’s four-part series, Elinor Evans is joined by Adam IP Smith to explore the end of the American Revolutionary War and the complicated legacy that followed. Beginning with Cornwallis’s surrender at Yorktown, they discuss Britain’s decision to cut its losses, the 1783 Treaty of Paris, the global consequences of the conflict, and the winners and losers of independence.

Topics: A British perspective on the war · The decisive moment · American celebration · Post-war negotiations · Did Britain care about losing the colonies? · Igniting the French Revolution

No, Britain was never going to defeat the US in 1776

12K views · 3mo ago · 35:04

In the third episode of HistoryExtra's four-part series on the American Revolutionary War, Elinor Evans and Adam IP Smith explore the military realities of the American Revolution: George Washington’s leadership, the importance of France, and the turning points that changed the conflict.

Topics: Could Britain have won the war? · Fighting former allies · Was George Washington a good leader? · An inescapable conflict · Major turning points · A war of endurance