HistoryExtra podcast

For decades, the history of the Second World War has been told through predominately western eyes. That, writes historian Hans van de Ven, simply has to change. Hans's new book, Blood Dawn, sets out to reset the focus, exploring the conflict's story from an Asian perspective. In this episode, Hans tells Spencer Mizen how WW2 supercharged the fight for independence from European domination across India, China and Indonesia – and, in doing so, transformed a continent

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 If you'd like to delve further into why the Second World War in Asia is often overlooked, then check out a podcast we ran with the broadcaster Kavita Puri in 2025: https://bit.ly/4nRYOOS
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As recent years attest, royal scandals have a habit of coming to light. But what if the mother of all royal scandals is still waiting to be revealed? Could it be that an heir to the British throne, Prince Albert Victor, lived a double life as a serial killer? Today on the HistoryExtra podcast, we’re bringing you a taste of the first episode of our new series, History’s Greatest Conspiracy Theories, in which crime historian Dr Drew Gray tells Rob Attar about the explosive suggestion that a British prince got away with multiple murders in the 19th century.

To listen on, search for History’s Greatest Conspiracy Theories or find the full episodes and follow the feed here: https://play.megaphone.fm/4xo_fufltzut49cj60jcla
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Opium has been a painkiller, a vice and the fuel for at least two wars. But what makes it such a powerful global commodity? Benjamin Robert Siegel takes Isabel King through this complex history, exploring how opium shaped capitalism, medicine and global power from ancient poppy fields to the modern opioid crisis.

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Want to know why Britain went to war with China in the 19th century to protect the interests of drug dealers? To find out more, check out our 'Everything you wanted to know' episode on the Opium Wars: https://bit.ly/4wPh4eM
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For hundreds of years, people have gathered after dark to drink, dance and escape the pressures of everyday life. But how did 'going out' become a habit across the world? Jon Bauckham chats to Imogen Willetts about the hedonistic history of partying, journeying from 17th-century Japan to Weimar Germany, Cold War Las Vegas and beyond.

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To learn more Berlin, including its role in shaping nightlife, don't miss this episode of our History's Greatest Cities series: https://bit.ly/4hb5Gp1
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Yuri Gagarin’s journey from a Nazi-occupied Soviet village into outer space make him one of the most famous people on Earth. In this episode, historian Asif Siddiqi tells Danny Bird about the life behind the legend, revealing how Gagarin came to embody the USSR’s postwar ambitions and why his winning smile still evokes the optimism of humanity’s first steps into the cosmos.

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Two television shows – For All Mankind and Star City – imagine an alternative universe in which Soviet cosmonauts completed the first moon landing in 1969 ahead of US astronauts. But how might global history have unfolded if the space race had taken a different course? This article by Matthew Trask explores that question: https://bit.ly/4vBKywv
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