Medieval torture: everything you wanted to know

What makes a great historical movie? An accurate portrayal of a period, a nostalgic look back at the past, or simply a ripping yarn? Well, on our website HistoryExtra.com, we've been running a poll to crown the greatest historical movies of all time – nominated by historians and then voted for by you. The results are in, and in this episode, Kev Lochun speaks to historians and cinephiles Roger Luckhurst and Alex Von Tunzelmann to get their take on it all – from why Bill & Ted is a historical movie but Sense & Sensibility isn't, to whether the winning movie deserves the top spot. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nell Gwyn epitomised the wild spirit of the Restoration era. An orange-seller turned actress, turned royal mistress of King Charles II, she hustled her way to the very top with charm, wisecracks and withering putdowns. Sophie Shorland tells Ellie Cawthorne more about Gwyn's rags-to-riches story in this 'life of the week' episode. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

They attacked children. They exhumed dead bodies. They were even thought to be in league with the devil. And yet, despite this long list of misdemeanours, pigs were an indispensable part of urban life in the Middle Ages. Speaking to Spencer Mizen, Dolly Jørgensen reveals why medieval city-dwellers were so dependent on swine – and explains what city authorities did to prevent rogue pigs from running riot. (Ad) Dolly Jørgensen is the author of The Medieval Pig (Boydell Press, 2024). Buy it now from Amazon:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Medieval-Pig-Nature-Environment-Middle/dp/183765168X/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty. Listen to an audio version of Dolly's BBC History Magazine article on medieval pigs here: https://link.chtbl.com/OUgQYYSL. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Hanseatic League was often compared to a crocodile, because it was a shadowy, somewhat sinister entity that kept its true intentions concealed. Here, in conversation with Spencer Mizen, Professor Sheilagh Ogilvie answers listener questions on this medieval trading federation. She considers whether it was a precursor to the European Union, what tactics it employed to intimidate nation states and how it helped King Edward III secure the English throne. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What was it like to undergo an operation in a world with no anaesthetic? How was the stethoscope invented? And when did surgeons first operate on a human heart? Talking to Lauren Good, Dr Carol Cooper explores the history of medicine through 12 pivotal objects – from the bone saw to the heart-lung machine. (Ad) Carol Cooper is the author of The History of Medicine in Twelve Objects (Quarto Publishing PLC, 2024). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/History-Medicine-Twelve-Objects/dp/0711294623#:~:text=An%20award%2Dwinning%20non%2Dfiction,Carol%20is%20also%20a%20novelist./?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

They spanned a continent, offered a conduit for soldiers and pilgrims alike – and may not have been as straight as legend suggests. Roman roads played a formative role in Europe's development for centuries, and have inspired its leaders right up to the present day. Catherine Fletcher, author of The Roads to Rome tells Matt Elton more about the long-lasting influence of these ancient highways. (Ad) Catherine Fletcher is the author of The Roads To Rome: A History (The Bodley Head, 2024). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Roads-Rome-History-Catherine-Fletcher/dp/184792803X/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty. Hear Catherine Fletcher discuss the history of Florence, and offer her tips on Renaissance sites to visit in the city here: https://link.chtbl.com/I4AXl_kl. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

History is often told through the epic struggles of famous personalities or grand movements. Yet sometimes the voices of ordinary people break through. In this episode, Maurice J Casey speaks to Danny Bird about his new book, Hotel Lux, which follows three connected families through the upheavals of the 20th century. Bound by idealism, friendship and love, their journey begins in 1920s Moscow, inside a hotel that was once a sanctuary for international revolutionaries drawn to the Soviet Union’s bold vision for a better world. (Ad) Maurice J Casey is the author of Hotel Lux: An Intimate History of Communism's Forgotten Radicals (Footnote Press, 2024). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hotel-Lux-Intimate-Communisms-Forgotten/dp/180444099X/?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

Poisoned sweets. Criminal misdeeds. And a sex scandal involving… the prime-minister. Listen to HistoryExtra's new podcast History’s Greatest Scandals, delving into the murky underworld of The Victorians. Ellie Cawthorne and historian Professor Rosalind Crone take a journey through the backstreets of 19th-century Britain to explore the darker side of Victorian life. Sneaking into private parlours, descending into candlelit mines, frequenting grim workhouses and paying a visit to an unscrupulous confectioner, uncovering some of the biggest scandals of the day – and explore what they can reveal about Victorian age. Series 1 launches today, 7 Jan 2025. Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40kQYTz Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/33plhOIkO9rtli5btfziHE Listen everywhere else by searching: History's Greatest Conspiracy Theories You can listen ad-free, access episodes early and more by subscribing to HistoryExtra Plus here: https://apple.co/4fgRA1d. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The name Susan B Anthony is inextricable from any history of the American movement for women's suffrage. Yet the life of the woman herself can be obscured by her status as a campaigner and figurehead. Speaking Elinor Evans, Susan Ware answers questions on the American social reformer and women's rights activist. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why did early Islamic cartographers place south at the top of their maps? Who invented the magnetic compass? And why has 'the west' become an intensely political term, as well as a geographical one? Here, in conversation with Spencer Mizen, Jerry Brotton answers the most intriguing questions on the history of the four cardinal points: north, east, south and west. (Ad) Jerry Brotton is the author of The Four Points of the Compass: The Unexpected History of Direction (Allen Lane, 2024). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Four-Points-Compass-Unexpected-Direction/dp/0241556872/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty. Hear more from Jerry Brotton on the life and legacy of extraordinary cartographer Marie Tharp: https://link.chtbl.com/ZbHzAbh8. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices