- Home
- James Osborne
James Osborne
I’m James, a senior content producer at HistoryExtra. Working with leading historians, I research, write and edit features that answer the questions readers are genuinely curious about, and I’m always looking for engaging ways to help readers keep pace with the latest expert insights and discoveries from the history they’re interested in. As well as writing, I’m a host on the HistoryExtra podcast, where you’ll find me speaking with historians about some of my favourite historical topics; namely ancient history and the Viking Age! I also work behind the scenes on our videos, curate our medieval-focused newsletter for 15,000 subscribers, and write a monthly historical game review for our print magazine. I’m a qualified archaeologist with a BSc in Bioarchaeology from the University of York, specialising in archaeological science. I’ve worked in digital journalism for more than five years, covering culture and entertainment for a wide range of publications — and at one point I even ran my own website dedicated to prehistoric animals and extinction. Before joining HistoryExtra, I was a staff writer at Network N Media, reporting on film, TV and gaming, writing reviews and interviewing industry figures. As a freelance culture journalist, I’ve also contributed to outlets including Vulture, The AV Club, Radio Times, Digital Spy and GamesRadar.
After 1066, a medieval millionaire buried his fortune underground – why did he never reclaim it?
On ancient battlefields, the world's oldest civilisations turned beloved pets into weapons of war
Step inside the covert WW2 spy network that trained women to kill with their bare hands
The CIA’s most unlikely Cold War weapon? A secret smuggling operation that terrified Soviet censors
Think James Bond's pure fantasy? His creator's real WW2 missions were more outrageous than you'd believe
Are you healthier than a Roman? These ancient secrets for longevity are still shockingly relevant
Were ancient Ireland’s ‘incestuous elites’ just a myth? A tomb older than Stonehenge has new answers
The first mafia? How an early medieval kingdom perfected the art of deadly diplomacy
Meet the blood-soaked African queen who killed her own people in the face of colonialism
Long before the Bible, an ancient Mesopotamian civilisation predicted one of its most famous stories
You probably eat these foods every day, so why did the ancient Romans think they were disgusting poison?
A Bronze Age Brexit: why did these Britons mysteriously cut themselves off from Europe?
Winston and the platypus: how a bizarre WW2 diplomacy mission to influence Churchill ended in death and tragedy
Would Nikola Tesla have approved of Elon Musk? A historian’s verdict might surprise you
From Operation Snuffles to Killer Kleenex: the forgotten history of the secret Cold War experiments in Antarctica has just been uncovered
Behold his nightmarish nether regions: this ancient Mesopotamian demon was secretly a divine hero
She exposed the horrors of Britain’s secret concentration camps – so why was she demonised?
Meet the people the ancient Romans and Greeks desperately tried to hide
Priceless medieval artefact auctioned for just $27 is centuries-old original, experts reveal
Is this the most despicable home furnishing trend in British history?
WW2’s ‘Blackout Ripper’: how a respected war hero manipulated the Blitz and became a serial killer
How the Romans “reversed circumcision” and 5 other shocking medical realities from the ancient empire
Simon Schama on British history if Hitler had beaten Churchill: "The Holocaust would have happened here"
“A monster of egotism”: Dominic Sandbrook reveals the secret to Admiral Nelson’s unstoppable success
This forgotten 18th-century sex scandal almost overturned the British Army’s hierarchy
Was Henry III the worst king in medieval history? Our expert uncovers one of England's most disastrous reigns
The shockingly simple question historian Tom Holland would ask Julius Caesar
Why reporting a murder in medieval England could destroy your life
You're currently on page 7