A short history of running
Why do people run marathons in their thousands these days? Carl Morris, in conversation with Dave Musgrove, traces the origins of running as a sport back to the heyday of 19th-century pedestrianism. T...
23 Apr 35min
Mary Beard on why the classics still matter
What's the role of the classical past in the modern day? In this episode of the HistoryExtra podcast, internationally renowned classicist Mary Beard reflects on her long career, and discusses the ongo...
21 Apr 41min
Elizabeth II: life of the week
This April marks the centenary of the birth of Elizabeth II. In this special episode of our Life of the Week series, historian Kate Williams guides Charlotte Vosper through the late Queen’s life, pick...
20 Apr 49min
Retracing Eleanor of Castile's final journey
At the end of the 13th century, England was gripped by grief as news of the queen's death shook the nation. Eleanor of Castile's funeral procession from Lincoln to London would become one of the most ...
19 Apr 39min
How Alfred the Great saved the Anglo-Saxons from the Vikings
As the Viking Great Heathen Army advanced to the borders of Wessex, the conquest of Anglo-Saxon England appeared all but complete. In the third episode of our Sunday Series on the Viking invasion of A...
18 Apr 33min
How to find a billion-dollar shipwreck
In 1708, the Spanish galleon San José was sunk by a British warship off the coast of Colombia, vanishing beneath the waves with a treasure trove of unimaginable riches. The wreck's exact location rema...
16 Apr 36min
A fantastical history of fairies
When picturing a fairy, you might imagine a childlike creature with wings. But this is a far more modern image than we might think. In this episode, Matthias Egeler tells Lauren Good about the ways in...
14 Apr 29min
Aud the Deep-Minded: life of the week
It was the Vikings of northern Europe who first settled the harsh landscapes of Iceland in the ninth century. Most of the figures leading this movement were men – powerful chieftains who claimed vast ...
13 Apr 43min
