Elizabeth I is one of history's most iconic monarchs, but her path to the throne was anything but secure. In this first episode of our four-part Sunday Series on the 16th-century royal, Rachel Dinning is joined by historian Nicola Tallis to explore Elizabeth’s turbulent early years – from the execution of her mother, Anne Boleyn, to the political and personal dangers she faced as she navigated childhood, illegitimacy, and the treacherous Tudor succession. Together, they uncover how these formative experiences helped shape the woman who would become a formidable queen.

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Want to know more about Elizabeth I and her remarkable reign? Rachel Dinning rounds up essential reading from the HistoryExtra archive that explores Elizabeth's early life, rise to power, and the legacy that made her one of England’s most iconic monarchs: https://bit.ly/4qfjCiO

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How can you do justice to the story of 1,300 years of English history? Through verse, according to cultural historian Catherine Clarke – whose latest book is A History of England in 25 Poems. She takes Lauren Good on a poetic journey through time, exploring how it could be used for spiritual uplift and social change – and how it can offer uniquely human insights into key moments in history.

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Mount Rushmore is one of the most iconic images in US history – but its story is far more complex and controversial than that of a simple sculpture. In this episode, historian Matthew Davis joins Elinor Evans to discuss his latest book, A Biography of a Mountain, which delves into the layers of myth and meaning behind the granite. Davis explains how the Black Hills – sacred to the Lakota Nation – were seized in violation of treaties, and how sculptor Gutzon Borglum, a man with ties to the Ku Klux Klan, came to carve the faces of four presidents on to a mountainside.

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She led “a life that really, in many ways, shouldn't have been possible”. So says historian Paul Gillingham of Juana Inés de la Cruz. This 17th-century polymath and nun challenged a host of social conventions – earning, through her extraordinary books and poems, a place in the pantheon of great Mexican literary figures. Here, in conversation with Spencer Mizen, Paul discusses the life of a woman he describes as "the Spanish Shakespeare".

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If you'd like to learn more about the people who have shaped Mexico over the past 500 years, then why not listen to Spencer Mizen's conversation with Paul Gillingham on the history of Mexico – from the conquistadors to the cartels. You'll find that in our archive: https://bit.ly/4rv6R4H

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While the crusades raged across the Holy Land in the southern Levant, the kingdoms of central and northern Europe were engaged in their own battle to extend Christendom. Speaking to James Osborne, Aleks Pluskowski details how and when the Baltic crusades – or Northern crusades – began, and examines their links to the broader crusading culture of the Middle Ages.

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To learn more about the medieval history of central and eastern Europe, listen to our episode on the role of the Rus people in the formation of the lands that are now Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia: https://bit.ly/4k7dF68

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Politicians invoke it, activists wield it, and legal thinkers debate what it can offer the modern world. But what does Magna Carta really mean today? In this fourth and final episode of HistoryExtra's Sunday Series on the charter, Emily Briffett and historian Nicholas Vincent consider its long afterlife, tracing how a narrow medieval settlement morphed into a document that still speaks to ongoing struggles about power, justice and freedom.

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If you’re curious to learn more about Magna Carta and the world in which it originated, Emily Briffett has put together some essential reading, listening and viewing from the HistoryExtra archive to help deepen your understanding: https://bit.ly/3ZMTReR

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Slavery in the Islamic world has a diverse and controversial history. Speaking to Emily Briffett, historian and journalist Justin Marozzi explores some of the stories at the heart of his latest book Captives and Companions, tracing networks of enslavement that stretched from sub-Saharan Africa to Central Asia. He reveals how people who were enslaved became soldiers, labourers, concubines and courtiers, and considers what this complex history tells us about power, faith and human experience across the centuries.

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To find out more about the history of slavery, catch up with this episode of the HistoryExtra podcast in which historian Claire Taylor explores the realities of slave trading along the medieval Silk Road: https://bit.ly/40itSfu

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National icons aren’t born – they’re engineered. But how were historical figures such as Joan of Arc and Isabella of Castile transformed into political symbols, their real lives lost beneath centuries of myth-making? In this episode of the HistoryExtra podcast, Janina Ramirez tells Danny Bird about some of the women – from Byzantine empresses to religious fanatics and revolutionary martyrs – that have been elevated to such pedestals, and how these legends are created, re-created and repurposed for nationalist mythologies.

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Widely remembered as the ultimate American inventor, Edison’s greatest talent may have been for self-promotion. In this episode, historian Iwan Morus speaks to Elinor Evans about how Edison built a brand around invention, clashed with rivals including Nikola Tesla, and exploited the press to secure his legacy – even when the science involved wasn’t all his own.

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To find out more about the ‘current war’ between Edison, Tesla and Westinghouse, head to: https://bit.ly/4q3xUTB. And to listen to Iwan's interview about Nikola Tesla, visit: https://bit.ly/45yU7S3

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Captured in Libya, imprisoned in Italy, and twice an escapee: historian Malcolm Gaskill's great-uncle Ralph's experiences of the Second World War were certainly dramatic. Yet he left behind little more than a few photos, a wartime memoir, and a few stories filtered through family legend. But through years of research, travel and a unique partnership with an Italian historian, Gaskill has pieced together a story of quiet courage and unexpected connections. Here, in conversation with Elinor Evans, he discusses the resulting book, The Glass Mountain, and the challenges of telling such histories.

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As King John was poised to press his seal into the wax of a document whose impact would reverberate for centuries, did he understand the ramifications it would have? And what were the chances he would keep his word? In this penultimate episode of HistoryExtra's Sunday Series on Magna Carta, Emily Briffett and historian Nicholas Vincent follow the tumultuous events of the years immediately after 1215, from war to negotiation.

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If you’re curious to learn more about Magna Carta and the world in which it originated, Emily Briffett has put together some essential reading, listening and viewing from the HistoryExtra archive to help deepen your understanding: https://bit.ly/3ZMTReR

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