HistoryExtra https://www.historyextra.com/author/spencermizen Fri, 25 Sep 2026 14:36:53 GMT en hourly 1 The Soviet spy who couldn't love https://www.historyextra.com/membership/the-soviet-spy-who-couldnt-love/ Fri, 25 Sep 2026 14:36:53 GMT https://www.historyextra.com/membership/the-soviet-spy-who-couldnt-love/ Ben Macintyre introduces an extraordinary agent with a sexual secret – a secret that changed the course of Iranian history and may, just may, have averted nuclear war In 1981, a Soviet spy walked into MI6 HQ in Tehran and offered to defect to Britain – if, in return, Britain could help him improve his performance in bed.
In this episode, Ben Macintyre introduces Spencer Mizen to an extraordinary agent with a sexual secret – a secret that changed the course of Iranian history and may, just may, have averted nuclear war.
]]> How WW2 transformed Asia https://www.historyextra.com/membership/how-ww2-transformed-asia/ Mon, 17 Aug 2026 11:31:16 GMT https://www.historyextra.com/membership/how-ww2-transformed-asia/ Historian Hans van de Ven explains how he set out to reset the focus of WW2, exploring the conflict's story from an Asian perspective 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
]]> How Christianity conquered the Roman empire https://www.historyextra.com/membership/how-christianity-conquered-roman-empire-podcast/ Mon, 10 Aug 2026 14:50:50 GMT https://www.historyextra.com/membership/how-christianity-conquered-roman-empire-podcast/ Tim Whitmarsh discusses the rise of Christianity in the fist century AD – and why it flourished when other religious cults did not The Roman empire was home to a multitude of religious cults in the first century AD. However, only one – Christianity – rose to global domination. But why?
That's a question that Tim Whitmarsh sets out to answer in his latest book, Rome's Age of Revolution. In this episode, Tim talks Spencer Mizen through a story that encompasses Christian entrepreneurs, Greek intellectuals and the surprising parallels between Jesus and the Emperor Augustus.
]]> Bess of Hardwick: life of the week https://www.historyextra.com/membership/bess-of-hardwick-life-of-the-week-podcast/ Tue, 21 Jul 2026 15:28:30 GMT https://www.historyextra.com/membership/bess-of-hardwick-life-of-the-week-podcast/ Tracy Borman tells the remarkable story of a Tudor social climber whose thirst for power rattled Queen Elizabeth I Bess of Hardwick fell out spectacularly with Mary, Queen of Scots and was dumped in the Tower of London by Elizabeth I. Yet nothing could get in the way of this extraordinary social climber.
In this episode, Tracy Borman tells Spencer Mizen about a woman who accrued vast wealth, repeatedly rattled the Tudor court and ultimately earned the grudging respect of the Virgin Queen.
]]> When football became a weapon of the Cold War https://www.historyextra.com/membership/when-football-became-a-weapon-of-the-cold-war/ Mon, 06 Jul 2026 16:02:31 GMT https://www.historyextra.com/membership/when-football-became-a-weapon-of-the-cold-war/ Tony Shaw and Alan McDougall reveal how the great ideological battle between east and west was waged on the football pitch The Cold War cast a shadow over all aspects of life – including the world's favourite sport. All sides of the ideological divide used football to score political goals.
Tony Shaw and Alan McDougall talk Spencer Mizen through some of the most explosive Cold War footballing clashes in a story that takes in Pele, Eusebio, North Korean upsets and a galloping major.
]]> Cannibalism, heartbreak and Madame Guillotine: George Forster's extraordinary life https://www.historyextra.com/membership/cannibalism-heartbreak-and-madame-guillotine-george-forsters-extraordinary-life-podcast/ Fri, 26 Jun 2026 08:18:30 GMT https://www.historyextra.com/membership/cannibalism-heartbreak-and-madame-guillotine-george-forsters-extraordinary-life-podcast/ Andrea Wulf explores the extraordinary escapades of George Forster, the 18th-century traveller, botanist and revolutionary He sailed to Antarctica with Captain Cook, rubbed shoulders with Benjamin Franklin and helped found a revolutionary republic.
It’s little wonder, then, that Andrea Wulf describes George Forster – the 18th-century traveller, botanist and champion of human rights – as “one of the most fascinating figures you've never heard of”.
In conversation with Spencer Mizen, Andrea explores a life that reads like an adventure story.
]]> Masters of disinformation: how British spies played dirty in the Cold War https://www.historyextra.com/membership/masters-disinformation-how-british-spies-played-dirty-cold-war-podcast/ Fri, 12 Jun 2026 10:41:43 GMT https://www.historyextra.com/membership/masters-disinformation-how-british-spies-played-dirty-cold-war-podcast/ Rory Cormac tells the story of the mavericks charged with running a black propaganda campaign to disrupt and discredit Britain's Cold War adversaries They 'haunted' an Indonesian general with a talking ghost and planted fake hippies in a Bulgarian youth festival. But did they change the course of the Cold War? Rory Cormac introduces Spencer Mizen to the comically absurd – and dangerously controversial – tactics deployed by a group of misfits and mavericks charged with raining down confusion on Britain's adversaries in the 1950s and 60s.
Hear more from Rory Cormac on the HistoryExtra podcast, listen to him discussing Queen Victoria's spy network here
]]> Churchill's toughest decision https://www.historyextra.com/membership/churchills-toughest-decision-podcast/ Wed, 10 Jun 2026 08:09:23 GMT https://www.historyextra.com/membership/churchills-toughest-decision-podcast/ Edward Abel Smith considers a devastating Royal Navy attack on the French fleet in the summer of 1940, and whether it was justifiable In the summer of 1940, the Royal Navy attacked a French fleet moored off the coast of north Africa, killing almost 1300 sailors. Winston Churchill described his decision to green-light the operation as the toughest he ever had to take. But was it the right decision? In this episode of the HistoryExtra podcast, Edward Abel Smith talks to Spencer Mizen about an episode that would shake Britain's wartime relations with both the French and the Americans.
To hear more from Edward Abel Smith, don't miss our podcast episode on the remarkable life of Nicholas Winton, the British Schindler, who helped hundreds of Jewish children escape Czechoslovakia on the eve of the Second World War
]]> Weimar's descent from democracy to barbarism https://www.historyextra.com/membership/weimars-descent-from-democracy-to-barbarism/ Wed, 03 Jun 2026 06:50:29 GMT https://www.historyextra.com/membership/weimars-descent-from-democracy-to-barbarism/ Katja Hoyer explores how the nexus of Germany's great social democratic experiment succumbed to Nazism Weimar is a small German city. Yet it looms large in European history. In the 1920s, it was synonymous with liberalism, internationalism and the fine arts. Yet, within a decade, many of its residents had embraced Nazism and Hitler was professing his love for the city. Here, in conversation with Spencer Mizen, historian and author Katja Hoyer reveals how the city that gave its name to Germany's great social democratic experiment succumbed to tyranny.
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If you'd like to hear more from Katja Hoyer talking about German history on the HistoryExtra podcast, then you can check out this Life of the Week episode on Otto von Bismarck
]]> Alan Turing: life of the week https://www.historyextra.com/membership/alan-turing-life-of-the-week/ Tue, 02 Jun 2026 09:43:08 GMT https://www.historyextra.com/membership/alan-turing-life-of-the-week/ David Kenyon tells the story of the brilliant computer scientist who helped crack Nazi codes in the Second World War Alan Turing is one of the most celebrated of all British scientists. His work in cracking Nazi codes at Bletchley Park and his role in the evolution of the computer has earned him worldwide acclaim. Yet he died at the age of just 41, two years after being prosecuted for committing homosexual acts. Here, in conversation with Spencer Mizen, David Kenyon, the research historian at Bletchley Park, explores a brilliant life marred by tragedy
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