The history of alcohol: everything you wanted to know

In 1217, crusaders launched an ambitious campaign to conquer Egypt, believing it held the key to reclaiming Jerusalem and securing the Holy Land. Historian and author Thomas Smith tells Emily Briffett...

2 Aug 45min

The Odyssey is a tale of impossible monsters, angsty gods and the unquiet dead – but does that mean it holds no truth? In this third episode of HistoryExtra's four-part series, Kev Lochun and classici...

1 Aug 43min

Long before the modern debates over gun control, Renaissance Italy was grappling with many of the same questions. As firearms became smaller and easier to conceal, guns spread rapidly through society:...

30 Jul 40min

How did the sign of the Red Vampire help British surgeons during the Second World War? Roderick Bailey, author of 'The Life Savers', explains to David Musgrove how Britain led the way in blood banks d...

28 Jul 35min

Ancient Athenian statesman Pericles was a remarkable figure, renowned for promoting democracy, championing the arts, and shaping the fate of the Athenian empire. Yet his legacy of military mistakes an...

27 Jul 49min

Winston Churchill was a passionate defender of Britain’s monarchy – but that didn’t mean he always saw eye to eye with the royals themselves. Jon Bauckham talks to Ted Powell about Churchill’s complex...

26 Jul 37min

Twenty years away from home: 10 of them spent fighting a war, and 10 more spent battling monsters, gods and his own worst instincts. In the second episode of HistoryExtra's four-part series on the Ody...

25 Jul 46min

From her defeat of the Spanish Armada to her iconic portraiture and status as the ‘Virgin Queen’, Elizabeth I is one of the past’s most famous figures – but what made her such an effective leader? Tod...

24 Jul 12min