Episodes

  • The self-made Marilyn Monroe

    The self-made Marilyn Monroe
    May 31 2026
    Marilyn Monroe is synonymous with glamour, beauty and stardom – but scratching the surface of her public image reveals another story. Author and professor of film philosophy Lucy Bolton reveals the career-driven and consistently ambitious side to Monroe that fuelled the creation of her star image. Speaking to Charlotte Vosper, Lucy guides us through Monroe's personal and professional life, unveiling the hard-working woman behind the glamorous facade. ----- GO BEYOND THE PODCAST If you'd like to find out more about women such as Marilyn who fought back against the exploitative studio system, check out this brilliant podcast episode with Helen O'Hara about the women who challenged Hollywood: https://bit.ly/4eCn9FE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    49 mins
  • Cleopatra’s bloody rise to power

    Cleopatra’s bloody rise to power
    May 30 2026
    From formidable overseas leaders to vicious internecine conflict, Cleopatra’s rise to the top was bloody and brutal. So what personal qualities did she draw upon to navigate these shifting sands? And should her success mean we see her in a new light? In the second episode of our four-part Sunday Series on the ancient queen’s life and world, Islam Issa – professor of public humanities at Birmingham City University – tells Matt Elton about the truth behind the myth. ----- GO BEYOND THE PODCAST Captivated by Cleopatra? Matt Elton has curated a collection of essential reading, listening and viewing from the HistoryExtra vaults to help bring the ancient queen to life: https://bit.ly/3Pgs3hv And don’t miss our HistoryExtra Academy, Royal Women with Professor Kate Williams, for more on some of the past’s most powerful female leaders – from Cleopatra to Elizabeth II: https://bit.ly/3PRpwue Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    30 mins
  • Gullible Georgians: hoaxes in the Enlightenment period

    Gullible Georgians: hoaxes in the Enlightenment period
    May 28 2026
    The 18th century was an age of industrialisation, scientific exploration and ‘progress’, but what happened when those rational foundations were shaken? Cultural and art historian Madeleine Pelling – whose latest book is Hoax: Truth and Lies in the Age of Enlightenment – speaks to Isabel King about the fascinating world of hoaxes in the period, from the dangerous to the downright bizarre. ----- GO BEYOND THE PODCAST To explore another famous historical hoax, check out this story, where one man created a fake version of Paris during the First World War: https://bit.ly/4n3Vjo2 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    50 mins
  • Spies, radicals and deportees: one hotel in wartime Paris

    Spies, radicals and deportees: one hotel in wartime Paris
    May 26 2026
    The Hotel Lutetia in central Paris lived several lives in the tortured times of the 1930s and 1940s. Before the war, it was the hub of dissenting activity from anti-Nazi German exiles. During the war, it was the HQ for German military intelligence – and after the war, it was a deportee relocation centre. Jane Rogoyska, author of Hotel Exile, talks to David Musgrove about what we can learn about the remarkable story of the this ever-evolving building. ----- GO BEYOND THE PODCAST Don't miss our six-part HistoryExtra Academy course with Laurence Rees on Nazi Germany: https://bit.ly/4aB46ba Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    41 mins
  • Timur: life of the week

    Timur: life of the week
    May 25 2026
    Timur – sometimes known as Tamerlane – carved out one of history’s largest empires through sweeping military campaigns and ruthless violence. Emily Briffett and Justin Marozzi explore Timur’s rise from the Central Asian steppe, his extensive conquests from Delhi to Damascus, and the complicated legacy of a ruler remembered both as a cultural patron and a bloodthirsty, tyrannical conqueror. ----- GO BEYOND THE PODCAST Slavery in the Islamic world has a diverse and controversial history. In this episode of the HistoryExtra podcast, Justin Marozzi traces the networks of enslavement that stretched from sub-Saharan Africa to Central Asia: https://bit.ly/4uPbQim Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    38 mins
  • How Orkney became the centre of Viking Age violence

    How Orkney became the centre of Viking Age violence
    May 24 2026
    For much of the Viking Age, the Orkney archipelago served as a vibrant hub of Norse activity. But these islands were also plagued by violence, not least between the Earls of Orkney themselves, as they vied for control. Speaking to James Osborne about her new translation of the Saga of the Earls of Orkney, Judith Jesch traces these centuries of conflict, and shares her insights into what they tell us about the Norse peoples who lived there. ----- GO BEYOND THE PODCAST For more stories from the Vikings, listen to our episode with Jackson Crawford, speaking about his translation of the Poetic Edda: https://bit.ly/4mOHZDS Or check out our episode with Emily Lethbridge, reflecting on the life of Aud the Deep-Minded: https://bit.ly/41Ro9y9 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    42 mins
  • Young Cleopatra: the making of a queen

    Young Cleopatra: the making of a queen
    May 23 2026
    Thousands of years ago, a woman emerged on to the world stage whose name would echo down through the centuries: Cleopatra. But what we do we know about her youth? How did the geography, politics and society of her early life shape her personality? And why would you not want to get on the wrong side of her family? In this first instalment of our four-part Sunday Series chronicling Cleopatra’s life and cultural afterlife, Islam Issa – professor of public humanities at Birmingham City University – tells Matt Elton about the queen’s formative years. ----- GO BEYOND THE PODCAST Captivated by Cleopatra? Matt Elton has curated a collection of essential reading, listening and viewing from the HistoryExtra vaults to help bring the ancient queen to life: https://bit.ly/3Pgs3hv And don’t miss our HistoryExtra Academy, Royal Women with Professor Kate Williams, for more on some of the past’s most powerful female leaders – from Cleopatra to Elizabeth II: https://bit.ly/3PRpwue Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    29 mins
  • A history of Christian sacrifice

    A history of Christian sacrifice
    May 21 2026
    What's the role that sacrifice has played in the history of Christianity? It's a history that might be more complex, and more surprising, than we think. Jonathan Sheehan's latest book is On the Altar: A History of Sacrifice from the Sacred to the Secular, and in this episode he tells Charlotte Vosper about how sacrifice has sat at the centre of Christianity from its very beginnings. ----- GO BEYOND THE PODCAST If you’d like to find out more about sacrifice beyond Christian Europe, then check out this HistoryExtra Q&A with Caroline Dodds Pennock about how and why Aztecs practiced human sacrifice: https://bit.ly/3MlQ31g Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    36 mins