Episodes

  • Women of the Greco-Persian Wars

    Women of the Greco-Persian Wars
    Sep 1 2024
    For so long, women have been excluded from ancient tales of extraordinary world-changing events. Writing them back into the narrative, this Long Read, written by classicist Daisy Dunn, tells the story of the Greco-Persian Wars through the deeds of the extraordinary female figures who shaped them. HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the July 2024 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    22 mins
  • Oradour-sur-Glane: one of WW2's most infamous massacres

    Oradour-sur-Glane: one of WW2's most infamous massacres
    Aug 25 2024
    On the morning of the 10 June 1944, the residents of Oradour-sur-Glane were going about their lives as normally as was possible in occupied France. Cooking, washing, shopping, playing. Little did they know that they were about to become the victims of one of the most infamous massacres of the Second World War. In this Long Read written by Robert Pike, we record that fateful day eighty years ago. HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the July 2024 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    21 mins
  • From Tudor to Stuart: a brand new era?

    From Tudor to Stuart: a brand new era?
    Aug 18 2024
    The passing of the English crown from Elizabeth I to James VI and I was welcomed by a nation hungry for change. But, as historian Susan Doran argues in today's Long Read, it wasn't long before tensions began to rise between the incoming king and his new subjects. HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the July 2024 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    20 mins
  • The madcap Paris Olympics: how chaos nearly derailed the 1900 Games

    The madcap Paris Olympics: how chaos nearly derailed the 1900 Games
    Aug 11 2024
    With the 2024 Summer Olympics taking place in Paris, this Long Read, written by David Goldblatt, describes how the 1900 Games, the first held in the French capital, almost defeated the Olympic ideal before it was even out of the starting blocks. HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the August 2024 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    21 mins
  • The West Africa Squadron: Britain's war on slave ships

    The West Africa Squadron: Britain's war on slave ships
    Aug 4 2024
    In the early 19th century, a Royal Navy squadron was sent to West Africa to hunt down ships carrying enslaved people to the Americas. The operation was hailed as an act of pure, unselfish philanthropy. Yet, argues this Long Read written by Mary Wills, the reality was far more tangled. HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the July 2024 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    19 mins
  • Club AD 130: a Roman holiday

    Club AD 130: a Roman holiday
    Jul 28 2024
    From cruising down the Nile to carving names into historical monuments, ancient leisure habits don't seem too far from our own. This Long Read, written by Mary Beard, describes what happened when a party of elite Roman holidaymakers – led by the emperor Hadrian – descended on ancient Egypt’s tourist hotspots in AD 130. HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the June 2024 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    16 mins
  • Airborne assault: the spearhead of the D-Day invasion

    Airborne assault: the spearhead of the D-Day invasion
    Jul 21 2024
    Hours before the assault on Normandy’s beaches got under way on 6 June 1944, British airborne troops launched an attack on targets in the French countryside. And as Saul David writes in this Long Read marking the 80th anniversary of this pivotal moment, the success of the entire D-Day landings was at stake. HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the June 2024 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    22 mins
  • The women behind Henry VIII's queens

    The women behind Henry VIII's queens
    Jul 14 2024
    Banished. Exiled. Died. Widowed. Berated. Survived. The ladies-in-waiting to Henry VIII’s wives were serious political operators with unparalleled access to the royal inner sanctum. In this Long Read written by Nicola Clark, we reveal how six of the most influential navigated the vipers’ nest that was the Tudor court. HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the June 2024 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    23 mins