Our top 15 Everything You Wanted To Know About HistoryExtra podcast episodes

To mark 150 episodes of our Everything You Wanted To Know About podcast series, giving you to ask experts historians questions on the biggest topics in history, we’ve picked out the 15 most popular episodes in our archive – just in time for the bank holiday weekend

By Emily Briffett

Published: Thursday, 04 May 2023 at 12:00 am

From Espionage to the Egyptians, and from D-Day to the Normans, the HistoryExtra podcast’s Everything You Wanted To Know About series is your chance to ask leading experts in the field the questions you want to know about biggest topics in history.

In celebration of the popular weekly series reaching a landmark 150 episodes, we delved back into the archive to pull out our top 15 most-downloaded episodes…

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Nazi Germany: everything you wanted to know

Richard J Evans responds to listener queries and popular search enquiries about the Third Reich, from its initial origins and popular support, to whether people living under the regime knew about the atrocities taking place at concentration camps.

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Canadian history: everything you wanted to know

Donald Wright answers listener questions on the history of Canada, from the country’s indigenous population to the story behind the maple leaf flag and the reasons why Canada didn’t join the American Revolution.

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The Enlightenment: everything you wanted to know

Ritchie Robertson responds to listener questions on the intellectual and philosophical movement that swept Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries.

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Pompeii: everything you wanted to know

Sophie Hay answers listener questions on the Roman city that was destroyed by a volcanic eruption in AD 79.

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The Vietnam War: everything you wanted to know

Mark Atwood Lawrence responds to readers’ questions about the United States’ failure to stem the advance of communism in Vietnam.

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Egyptian pharaohs: everything you wanted to know

Joyce Tyldesley answers your top search queries on ancient Egypt’s royal rulers, from a pharaoh’s day-to-day dress to what it was like living a life of absolute power.

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The Ottoman empire: everything you wanted to know

Eugene Rogan answers listener questions on one of history’s most powerful and long-lasting empires, from their domination of vast swathes of land to their sack on Constantinople in 1453 and their foundering after the First World War.

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Apartheid: everything you wanted to know

Wayne Dooling answers listener questions on South Africa’s Apartheid regime, including the everyday experience of racial segregation, internal and international resistance, and the regime’s legacy on the country today.

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The Irish famine: everything you wanted to know

Christine Kinealy answers listener questions on the causes and consequences of the devastating famine that struck Ireland in the mid-19th century.

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Greek myths: everything you wanted to know

Classicist Natalie Haynes tackles listener questions on Greek myths, from ancient origins to modern reinterpretations.

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The Borgias: everything you wanted to know

Professor Jill Burke tackles listener questions on the Borgias, the Renaissance family associated with rumours of depravity and immorality.

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The Titanic: everything you wanted to know

Tim Maltin answers listener questions about the sinking of RMS Titanic in 1912, from the rumours that the band played as the ship sank to busting myths about how the liner could have stayed afloat.

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Hadrian’s Wall: everything you wanted to know

To celebrate the 1900th anniversary of the building of Hadrian’s Wall, Rob Collins answers listener questions on Britain’s most famous Roman fortification.

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The Boer War: everything you wanted to know

Saul Dubow responds to listener questions on Victorian Britain’s bitter imperial conflict with two southern African republics.

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Medieval Wales: everything you wanted to know

Matthew Stevens tackles listener questions on the history of the Welsh regions during the Middle Ages, from the Norman invasion and Edward I’s conquest to the Welsh roots of the Tudor dynasty.

We publish a new episode in our Everything You Wanted To Know series every sunday, plus five more episodes of the HistoryExtra podcast every week. And if you are looking for a longer listen, check out our multi-episode podcast miniseries.