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) How Spain became a democracy
Spain's transition from dictatorship to democracy in the late 1970s surely counts as one of modern Europe’s most remarkable stories. On the 50th anniversary of General Franco’s death, this Long Read w...Show More
3) Beyond Jane Austen
Jane Austen was a brilliant observer of Georgian Britain – but she couldn’t speak for everyone. The author’s books depict an evocative slice of early 19th-century life, but many aspects of the Regency...Show More
4) Santa Claus vs Father Christmas
The true identity of the white-bearded, red-robed figure who fills children’s stockings at Christmas has long been debated. This Long Read written by Thomas Ruys Smith sizes up the merry contenders. ...Show More
5) WW2's U-boat war: a theatre of hate?
Did German U-boats conduct a ‘clean’ campaign during the Second World War? Or were they guilty of routinely murdering survivors in the water? In this Long Read, written by Roger Moorhouse, we weigh up...Show More
6) Doctor, doctor: remarkable medieval medical cures
What did medieval physicians prescribe for stomach ache? Could weasels’ testicles really help you conceive? In this Long Read. written by James Freeman, we delve into the sources to find eight curious...Show More
7) Spectral beasts and hounds from hell
From infernal black dogs attacking churches to ravening, red-eyed brutes on remote roads, Britain has long been haunted by fearsome canine phantoms. This Long Read, written by Karen R Jones, explores ...Show More
8) The slippery truth of the Dreyfus Affair
The wrongful conviction for treason of a Jewish army captain in France in the late 19th century exposed antisemitism and virulent nationalism – and also, as this Long Read written by Mike Rapport reve...Show More
9) 1066: who was the rightful king?
Which of four main contenders for the English throne in 1066 had the strongest claim? Was it the Anglo-Saxon strongman, the Norman duke, the ‘Thunderbolt of the North’ or a callow teenager? This Long ...Show More
10) Carthage: the making of Rome's monster
In the second century BC, Roman troops razed the city of Carthage and obliterated its civilisation. So why, asks this Long Read written by Eve MacDonald, did the victors remain obsessed by their conqu...Show More