Did Lucy Worsley have 'the best job in history'? And what did she do when she worked in it? In this episode, Lucy reflects on her career so far, her time as Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces and how the job has changed her perspective on some of our favourite monarchs from royal history...

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To find out more about Lucy Worsley's role in changing our understanding of royal history, then check out this feature which she wrote for HistoryExtra: https://bit.ly/4hNBgtr

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Before Rome's republic and the age of emperors, there were kings… or so the story goes. Beginning with Romulus, and ending with Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, these rulers loomed large in the Roman imagination – but is their narrative fact or fiction? In this episode, Emily Briffett is joined by ancient historian Christopher Smith, as they sift myth from memory, and uncover how seven legendary figures shaped Rome’s ideas of power and identity.

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King Philip Augustus of France was the Plantagenets’ ultimate enemy. A ruler with an iron fist and sharp political instincts, he consistently exploited the squabbles of the English dynasty, all while transforming France into a dominant power in Western Europe. Speaking to Emily Briffett, historian and author Catherine Hanley reveals the cunning and ruthless tactics he employed against the English kings to become medieval England’s most formidable foe.

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1217 is not one of the most famous years in English history. But with a major French invasion looming and a brutal war that wracked both towns and the countryside, this was a year that could have altered the nation's history beyond recognition. Hear from Catherine Hanley as she discusses Prince of Louis of France's invasion of England: https://bit.ly/4bQ8Yuk

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Laura Ingalls Wilder’s 'Little House' books have captivated generations with tales of family, hardship and survival on the American frontier. But how closely did Wilder’s fiction reflect her real childhood – and what should we make of its more controversial portrayals?

In this episode, Elinor Evans speaks to author and biographer Pamela Smith Hill about the tragedies that Wilder omitted from her stories, her complex collaboration with daughter Rose Wilder Lane, and the groundbreaking realism that helped to make her work a sensation.

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To find out more about the real history in Little House on the Prairie, don't miss our explainer to the series, available at https://bit.ly/3TYZ6bN

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America's Gilded Age is often remembered for rapid expansion and opportunity, but beneath the surface lay a brutal society in which it paid to be a bully.

In this episode, Elinor Evans speaks to historian Andrew Wender Cohen about his new book Gangster of New York: A Violent Life in Nineteenth-Century America. Following the remarkable career of Louis Bieral – a boxer, gambler, political enforcer and American Civil War veteran – Cohen uncovers how one man's life illuminates the brutal realities of the 19th-century US, from slavery and organised crime to political corruption and the struggle to establish the rule of law.

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To find out more about the craze for pedestrianism mentioned in this episode, listen to our podcast series The Tiger Tamer Who Went To Sea', which chronicles the remarkable life of Bob Carlisle, a Victorian-era showman, sailor, and early endurance athlete: https://bit.ly/4wNcMEw

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The Bayeux Tapestry is making headlines as it is loaned to the British Museum to be shown in England for the first time in almost a thousand years. It holds many mysteries, including the famous Aelfgyva scene, where an enigmatic woman is portrayed alongside a curious priest. David Musgrove is joined by Michael Lewis and Emily Winkler to investigate.

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'Keep calm and carry on' has long been held up as the defining spirit of wartime Britain. But was the nation really as united, stoic and unquestioning as popular memory suggests? In this episode, Steven Casey takes Isabel King through the often surprising reality of Britain's wartime morale.

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To find out more about the experience of evacuees during the Second World War, check out our 2025 'everything you wanted to know' episode with Joshua Levine: https://bit.ly/4bF3gvB

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How did the politically neutral Catholic church come to have dealings with the fascist regimes of Mussolini and Hitler? In this episode, Ambrogio Caiani tells Charlotte Vosper why the Curia was enticed by authoritarianism, and what these deals with dictators meant for ordinary Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

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The arresting gaze, the stark monobrow, the intricate ribbons woven through the dark hair – Frida Kahlo's unmistakable image is recognised around the world today. Yet the woman behind the vivid self-portraits was far more complex than the icon she became. In conversation with Danny Bird, historian Patience Schell explores how trauma, politics and extraordinary artistic vision transformed Kahlo into one of the most influential cultural figures of the modern age.

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What did Tudor England really gain from its early encounters with the Americas? In this episode, Elinor Evans speaks to historian Dr Lauren Working about her new book A Golden World, exploring the overlooked exchange of ideas, materials and knowledge between Indigenous peoples and Renaissance England. From brilliant red dyes made from insects, to tobacco, pearls and exotic animals, Working reveals how English society was profoundly shaped by American influences, challenging long-held assumptions about colonial history.

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How can the past help us live better, happier, healthier and more productive lives today? That's the question at the heart of our series Life Lessons from History, which is back for a new run – and today on the HistoryExtra podcast, we're bringing you a taste of what's on offer. In this episode, historian Peter Jones tells David Musgrove about why the seven deadly sins were more a guide to practical self-knowledge than a list of religious prohibitions – and how medieval thinkers anticipated many modern ideas about wellbeing.

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