HistoryExtra Long Reads Podcast
1) The A to B of medieval travel
From dodging deceitful street hustlers and menacing bandits to dealing with the looming threat of food poisoning, sea sickness and even death, medieval travel could be a dangerous business. In today’s...Show More
2) Art deco: designs for life
In the interwar era, artists and designers embraced a sleek modern style that embodied the optimism and elegance of the age. On the centenary of the Paris expo that launched Art Deco on the internatio...Show More
3) Elizabeth I's forbidden love
In 1579, Queen Elizabeth I embarked on a romance with a French duke she affectionately dubbed her “frog”. The pair seemed destined for marriage. Yet, writes historian Elizabeth Tunstall in this Long R...Show More
4) Swings and roundabouts: a history of British playgrounds
We all have childhood memories of playgrounds. But what can the evolution of outdoor play in Britain tell us about the experience of being young over the past 200 years? This Long Read, written by his...Show More
5) Julius Caesar's funeral drama
The assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC drove tensions sky-high in ancient Rome. As this Long Read written by historian Jessica Clarke reveals, plays staged at his funeral were carefully chosen to...Show More
6) Live Aid at 40
When Bob Geldof exhorted audiences to fill Wembley Stadium and empty their pockets for famine relief in Ethiopia, he changed the face of charity fundraising – and of live music. Forty years on, this L...Show More
7) Inside the Luftwaffe during the battle of Britain
When the Battle of Britain erupted, many Luftwaffe pilots anticipated a swift victory. Yet soon that confidence had been replaced by chronic fatigue and a crippling fear of drowning in “dirty water”. ...Show More
8) Spiked drinks, counterfeit coins and the lodgers from hell
Drugging, fraud, even murder – women couldn’t really commit such heinous crimes, could they? Written by historian Rosalind Crone, this Long Read explores five audacious female-led felonies from the 18...Show More
9) The Ambassadors: painting on the precipice
Hans Holbein’s masterwork The Ambassadors is an exquisite portrait of two 16th-century diplomats. But, as well as being artistically impressive, the painting is also crammed with symbols and hidden me...Show More
10) The women who shaped Malcolm X
Malcolm X became one of the most influential leaders in the US civil rights movement – thanks largely, explains this Long Read written by historian Ashley D Farmer, to the women who shaped his life an...Show More