William the Conqueror: life of the week

If you know anything about the Amazons of ancient legend, it's probably that they were fearsome female fighters, who bravely battled against male heroes of Greek legend. But, according to Professor David Braund, the Amazons were far more than just formidable warrior women – he explains why to David Musgrove. (Ad) David Braund is the author of Amazons: The History Behind the Legend (Cambridge University Press, 2025). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Amazons-History-Behind-David-Braund/dp/1108834493/?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 story of the Vikings who travelled to eastern Europe is just as thrilling as the story of those who headed west. It's also just as important – still being relevant today through deep rooted connections to the ongoing war in Ukraine. But what are those long-lasting links, exactly? Historian and author Martyn Whittock examines this complicated history in conversation with James Osborne. (Ad) Martyn Whittock is the author of Vikings in the East: From Vladimir the Great to Vladimir Putin – The Origins of a Contested Legacy in Russia and Ukraine (Biteback, 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%2Fvikings-in-the-east%2Fmartyn-whittock%2F9781785909054. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, crossed the Channel and changed English history forever. Known to some as a ruthless and ambitious conqueror and to others as a astute and innovative state-builder, his legacy is still debated today, almost a thousand years later. But how much do we know about the man behind this formidable reputation? As new BBC Drama King and Conqueror hits the screens, Emily Briffett speaks to Professor David Bates to chart William's dramatic rise to power and the brutal realities of Norman rule. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the threat of war began to loom in the 1930s, an elaborate system of fortifications sprung up in northeastern France. Known as the Maginot line, this string of defences was designed to protect the nation in the event of an invasion by Nazi Germany. So, when Hitler's forces did invade, how much blame should the Maginot Line shoulder for the fall of France in double-quick time? That's a question that's troubled historians ever since the traumatic events of 1940. In conversation with Spencer Mizen, Kevin Passmore explores why the line has become a symbol of a nation's collective failure to face the challenges of the modern world (Ad) Kevin Passmore is the author of The Maginot Line: A New History (Yale). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Maginot-Line-New-History/dp/0300277040/ref=sr_1_3?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.aVgiucnHhsw8GtAN2IzrEswaM0EX3Dy8QpYSeLwhTOy7Z6m9IAKx54zspipA7_H7bCgN_FQUJr_zpW6dysMfypNtq01K4XLgkRG5-oZ8lqxJoeQmvIW_BgycqfLfg1ElWJm_NSVviLxLMW9BcfqGHRT8r0y_2BRCo4y-9WYWcaCRwpna3Ug5BAHAF-WV-t4FhpkfSmn3JsV8yZ6UXNUxBU4o0-mYIcgtNirSGF4pM5s.EMrngOGJ3WE8YDMfngnbIDj3xMLcHYdUUBhmLYgf-g4&dib_tag=se&qid=1752843122&refinements=p_27%3AKevin+Passmore&s=books&sr=1-3&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

From Hercule Poirot to Sherlock Holmes, crime fiction has long been a popular genre. But what was the first crime novel? How has crime writing affected real-life cases? And what was the 'Detection Club'? In this 'everything you wanted to know' episode, Isabel King is joined by crime fiction author and researcher Martin Edwards to discuss the history of the influential genre. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What if the 'fall' of Rome wasn’t a collapse, but a rebrand? In this episode, Alice Roberts delves into the dramatic transformation of the Roman world and the rise of Christianity, from cliffside burials in Wales to imperial politics in Constantinople. Speaking to Danny Bird, she reveals how early Christianity wasn’t a grassroots movement of the poor, but a strategic shift embraced by elites, bishops and emperors. (Ad) Alice Roberts is the author of Domination: The Fall of the Roman Empire and the Rise of Christianity (Simon & Schuster, 2025). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Domination-Alice-Roberts/dp/1398510084/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0/?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

In 2010, the world was stunned when the United States exposed a covert Russian spy network operating on its soil. Seemingly all-American families living in white-picket-fenced suburbia were in fact deep undercover Russian agents. Many had been living under assumed identities for decades, lying even to their own children. In this episode, journalist Shaun Walker speaks to Danny Bird about Moscow’s longlasting ‘illegals’ programme – perhaps the most audacious chapter in the history of espionage. He reveals how the roots of the operation reached back more than a century to before the Bolshevik Revolution; how the Soviet Union deployed it against supposedly ‘friendly’ states; and how today’s Russia reveres these spies as patriotic heroes. (Ad) Shaun Walker is the author of The Illegals: Russia's Most Audacious Spies and the Plot to Infiltrate the West (Profile Books, 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%2Fthe-illegals%2Fshaun-walker%2F9781788167772. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Edward the Confessor, England’s penultimate Anglo-Saxon king, has long been remembered as a saintly, pious monarch – but was he really the weak ruler whose indecision paved the way for the Norman Conquest that some historical sources would have us think? And if not, how should we understand him? Emily Briffett spoke to historian Tom Licence to explore the life of this medieval monarch – from his early years in exile and his ambitions for the crown to the subsequent political challenges he faced that ultimately shaped the fate of England. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Histories of British involvement in the Caribbean tend to focus mainly on the period of plantation slavery but, in her new book Empire Without End, Imaobong Umoren argues that we need to take a broader view. It's only by taking the story back to the 16th century and forward until the present, she contends, that we can fully understand the intertwining themes of colonialism and racism in the region – and see how they connect to events in Britain. In this episode, Imaobong explores these ideas in conversation with Rob Attar. (Ad) Imaobong Umoren is the author of Empire Without End: A New History of Britain and the Caribbean (Fern Press, 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%2Fempire-without-end%2Fimaobong-umoren%2F%2F9781911717034%23%3A~%3Atext%3DEmpire%20Without%20End%20offers%20a%2Cthe%20longevity%20of%20systemic%20racism. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Human beings tend to identify with being in a group, and, historically, few groupings have been more potent than the idea of the nation. But when did people first embrace the idea of the nation state? Is nationalism predominantly a right-wing creed? And does it thrive during periods of crisis and uncertainty? In this Everything You Wanted To Know episode, Danny Bird puts these questions and others submitted by our listeners to John Hutchinson. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices