Sex and sensationalism: a history of the tabloids

Why are we so spooked – and yet so fascinated – by things that go bump in the night? And can science really prove that ghouls exist? Alice Vernon talks to Jon Bauckham about the evolution of ghost-hunting over the past 200 years, and how tales of pesky poltergeists and ectoplasm-filled séances have turned even some of the hardest sceptics into true believers. (Ad) Alice Vernon is the author of Ghosted: A History of Ghost Hunting and Why We Keep Looking (Bloomsbury, 2025). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fghosted%2Falice-vernon%2F9781399418706. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the autumn of 1605, Catholic conspirators believed they were about to strike a blow to the heart of the English state – but then a mysterious letter exposed their plan. In this second episode of our four-part series on the plot, Danny Bird speaks to historian John Cooper about the Gunpowder Plot’s dramatic collapse. They examine Fawkes’s arrest and forced confession, the grisly public trials and executions that followed, and how James VI & I turned the plot's failure into political dynamite – consolidating power and turning treason into an abiding warning to posterity. ––––– GO BEYOND THE PODCAST Want to know more about the Gunpowder Plot? Danny Bird has curated a selection of essential reading from the HistoryExtra and BBC History Magazine archive to help you explore the religious tensions, political intrigue and lasting impact of this infamous act of treason: https://bit.ly/3WDunPw. ––––– (Ad) John Cooper is the author of The Lost Chapel of Westminster: How a Royal Chapel Became the House of Commons (Apollo, 2024). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lost-Chapel-Westminster-John-Cooper/dp/1801104514#:~:text=debate....-,John%20Cooper's%20The%20Lost%20Chapel%20of%20Westminster%20is%20a%20meticulously,beating%20heart%20of%20parliamentary%20debate/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tabloid journalists often get a bad press. From publishing libellous headlines to hacking celebrities’ phones, recent years have not exactly done much to enhance Fleet Street’s reputation. But where did tabloid journalism originally come from? And have media barons always had such a profound influence on current affairs? Journalism lecturer Terry Kirby talks to Jon Bauckham about the evolution of the popular press, covering everything from Georgian gossip sheets to the rise of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire. (Ad) Tery Kirby is the author of The Newsmongers: A History of Tabloid Journalism (Reaktion Books, 2024). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Newsmongers-History-Tabloid-Journalism/dp/178914941X/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When we think of Europe in the 11th century, one date stands out: 1066. However, as Professor Charles West explains, this was a century of great change, and great events, across all of Europe. In conversation with David Musgrove, Charles talks about why we should perhaps be more concerned with the battle of Manzikert than the battle of Hastings, and why the 11th century is a story of cities and popes as much as it is of conquest and the Normans. (Ad) Charles West is the author of Europe in the Eleventh Century: Beyond Revolution and Reform (Oxford University Press, 2025). Buy it now from Amazon: http://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=3041&awinaffid=489797&p=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FEurope-Eleventh-Century-Revolution-Medieval%2Fdp%2F0198860234%2F%3F_encoding%3DUTF8%26pd_rd_w%3DnAZG5%26content-id%3Damzn1.sym.a7785aa2-ac28-4769-b3eb-cff7b9738627%26pf_rd_p%3Da7785aa2-ac28-4769-b3eb-cff7b9738627%26pf_rd_r%3D130-4414563-4593041%26pd_rd_wg%3DfXSDe%26pd_rd_r%3D5b153ec9-1b16-4286-8ae5-7ff403b76e63&clickref=historyextra-social-histboty. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

William Shakespeare is one of history’s most famous names – but how much do we really know about the man himself? And how did his family, education and marriage shape his works and influence his worldview? Speaking to Emily Briffett, Dr Paul Edmondson charts Shakespeare’s story, from humble beginnings to global cultural afterlife. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What did ordinary Tudors eat and drink on a daily basis? How did they keep themselves clean without baths and showers? And what surprising beliefs did they hold about sex, religion and childhood? Social historian Ruth Goodman – presenter of a new HistoryExtra Academy on Tudor life – reveals the often surprising realities of everyday existence in the era in conversation with Rachel Dinning. Don’t miss Ruth’s new HistoryExtra Academy video series on Tudor Life. The seven episodes, filmed on location at Plas Mawr in Conwy, cover everything you need to know about daily life in the Tudor era – from childhood and marriage to food and religion. Download the HistoryExtra app to access the latest episodes, ad-free: https://bit.ly/4n2t0oo. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the autumn of 1605, Robert Catesby and Guy Fawkes led a desperate band of Catholic gentlemen in one of history's most daring conspiracies. Having smuggled 36 barrels of gunpowder beneath the Palace of Westminster, their plan was to blow up James VI & I, along with the majority of England’s Protestant elite, paving the way for the restoration of Catholicism. In this first episode of our four-part series on the plot, Danny Bird speaks to historian John Cooper to uncover a world of persecution, espionage and faith-driven extremism. They unfurl the conspirators’ bold plan and interrogate the powerful spy networks of late Elizabethan and early Jacobean England that set the scene for an explosive act of treason. ––––– GO BEYOND THE PODCAST Want to know more about the Gunpowder Plot? Danny Bird has curated a selection of essential reading from the HistoryExtra and BBC History Magazine archive to help you explore the religious tensions, political intrigue and lasting impact of this infamous act of treason: https://bit.ly/3WDunPw. ––––– (Ad) John Cooper is the author of The Lost Chapel of Westminster: How a Royal Chapel Became the House of Commons (Apollo, 2024). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lost-Chapel-Westminster-John-Cooper/dp/1801104514#:~:text=debate....-,John%20Cooper's%20The%20Lost%20Chapel%20of%20Westminster%20is%20a%20meticulously,beating%20heart%20of%20parliamentary%20debate/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The phrase 'Make America Great Again' is indelibly associated with President Trump – yet a very similar version of the slogan – 'Let's Make America Great Again' – was in fact used by his predecessor Ronald Reagan. What can this parallel tell us about the United States of the 1980s? And does drawing such comparisons reveal anything about the US today? Speaking to Matt Elton, author and documentarian Phil Tinline offers his take. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From armed uprisings in the Caribbean to the hidden power of ritual, song and solidarity, the story of enslaved people’s resistance is far richer and more radical than has often been told. In this episode, Sudhir Hazareesingh speaks to Danny Bird about his new book Daring to be Free, which draws on fragmentary archives and oral traditions to highlight the forgotten people who resisted their enslavers, explores the global reverberations of the Haitian Revolution, and reveals the central role of women in shaping struggles for freedom. (Ad) Sudhir Hazareesingh is the author of Daring to be Free: Rebellion and Resistance of the Enslaved in the Atlantic World (Allen Lane, 2025). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Daring-Free-Rebellion-Resistance-Enslaved/dp/0241606500/ref=sr_1_2?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.b6yN3LvCqOXHnbafxbsRtFVXi1MIfRs1ljt6Ar5Io28.-VyNROFt1yj3lPJ-vTK5dfBMlgWatp58lQMUrAJTHgM&dib_tag=se&qid=1757509896&refinements=p_lbr_books_authors_browse-bin%3ASudhir+Hazareesingh&s=books&sr=1-2&tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Aneurin Bevan's commitment to social justice led to the creation of the National Health Service in 1948 – one of the most ambitious social reforms in British history. He was an MP who stuck to his principles in the face of serious opposition, but was not without criticism in both his professional and personal life. Speaking to Lauren Good, Nye Davies charts Bevan's journey from the coalfields of South Wales to the corridors of Westminster. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices