HistoryExtra https://www.historyextra.com/content-classification/podcast-episode Wed, 21 Oct 2026 14:12:36 GMT en hourly 1 America's anti-Chinese laws: a forgotten history https://www.historyextra.com/membership/americas-anti-chinese-laws-forgotten-history-podcast/ Wed, 21 Oct 2026 14:12:36 GMT https://www.historyextra.com/membership/americas-anti-chinese-laws-forgotten-history-podcast/ Historian Beth Lew-Williams explains her work uncovering legislation that contained and controlled the lives of Chinese people in the USA in the 19th century From the middle of the 19th century, Chinese people in the United States found themselves increasingly policed, as legislation was introduced that contained and controlled their economic and cultural lives.

Historian Beth Lew-Williams tells Elinor Evans about her work uncovering this wide-reaching set of laws for her book John Doe Chinaman, and reveals how Chinese people resisted and avoided discrimination.

Beth’s book is a finalist for the 2026 Cundill History Prize – you can find more details at cundillprize.com.

Find out more about the Chinese Exclusion Act.

]]> An African king in the Roman empire https://www.historyextra.com/membership/an-african-king-in-roman-empire-podcast/ Tue, 20 Oct 2026 11:44:23 GMT https://www.historyextra.com/membership/an-african-king-in-roman-empire-podcast/ Andrew Kenrick unravels the amazing life of a young North African prince who went on to marry a daughter of Antony and Cleopatra, and rule an African kingdom He was barely a toddler when he was paraded as a captive in a Roman triumph in 46 BC, but young North African prince Juba went on to marry a daughter of Antony and Cleopatra, and rule an African kingdom. Andrew Kenrick, author of Rex Juba: 15 Glimpses of an African King, unravels his amazing life, in conversation with David Musgrove.

]]> Everyday life in a slave trading town https://www.historyextra.com/membership/everyday-life-in-a-slave-trading-town/ Mon, 19 Oct 2026 08:04:52 GMT https://www.historyextra.com/membership/everyday-life-in-a-slave-trading-town/ Toby Green talks about the arrest of Crispina Peres, a powerful slave trader in the west African port of Cacheu, that provides a remarkable window into everyday life in 17th-century west Africa In 1665 the Portuguese Inquisition arrested Crispina Peres, a powerful slave trader in the west African port of Cacheu. The records of her case provide a remarkable window into everyday life in 17th-century west Africa, and form the basis of Toby Green's latest book, The Heretic of Cacheu.

In this episode he is joined by Rob Attar to explore the story of Crispina and the lost world she inhabited.

]]> From plague 'searchers' to strawberry birthmarks: a history of women's bodies https://www.historyextra.com/membership/from-plague-searchers-to-strawberry-birthmarks-a-history-of-womens-bodies/ Fri, 16 Oct 2026 16:00:07 GMT https://www.historyextra.com/membership/from-plague-searchers-to-strawberry-birthmarks-a-history-of-womens-bodies/ Erin Maglaque explores the history of the female body – and society's longstanding beliefs about it. What was 'nidgeting'? How did women know they were pregnant before modern tests? And what did people in the past believe a mother’s imagination could do to her unborn child?

In this episode, Lauren Good speaks to historian Erin Maglaque about her book Presence, which explores the history of the female body – and society's longstanding beliefs about it.

]]> The country house at war https://www.historyextra.com/membership/the-country-house-at-war/ Wed, 14 Oct 2026 10:53:16 GMT https://www.historyextra.com/membership/the-country-house-at-war/ From the conscription of upper-class women to stories of great loss, Judith S Lewis charts the roles that country houses and their occupants really played in the WW2 war effort It might be assumed that the owners of Britain's country houses weren't hugely affected by the Second World War, and that they continued to live in luxury in their vast estates. However, as Judith S Lewis explains to Lauren Good, that wasn't the case. From the conscription of upper-class women to stories of great loss, she charts the roles that country houses and their occupants really played in the war effort.

]]> The pioneering surgeon who stood up to Rasputin https://www.historyextra.com/membership/pioneering-surgeon-who-stood-up-to-rasputin-podcast/ Tue, 13 Oct 2026 10:03:42 GMT https://www.historyextra.com/membership/pioneering-surgeon-who-stood-up-to-rasputin-podcast/ Acclaimed biographer Miranda Seymour explains the remarkable life and accomplishments of pioneering surgeon Vera Gedroits – and why her story was erased She pioneered lifesaving battlefield surgery, challenged the medical establishment, stood up to Rasputin, and became the world's first female professor of surgery – yet today, few people have heard of Vera Gedroits.

In today's episode, acclaimed biographer Miranda Seymour tells Elinor Evans about Vera's remarkable life and accomplishments – and why her story was erased.

]]> The stolen Native Americans who shaped US history https://www.historyextra.com/membership/the-stolen-native-americans-who-shaped-us-history/ Mon, 12 Oct 2026 15:42:05 GMT https://www.historyextra.com/membership/the-stolen-native-americans-who-shaped-us-history/ Historian Linford D Fisher discusses the enslavement of as many as 600,000 Native Americans between 1492 and 1880, and the impact that it had on tribal communities Between 1492 and 1880, as many as 600,000 Native Americans were enslaved in the area that would become the United States. That’s the figure estimated by historian Linford D Fisher in his book Stealing America: The Hidden Story of Indigenous Slavery in US History – one of the books shortlisted for the 2026 Cundill History Prize. In today’s episode, he speaks to Matt Elton about the extent of this slavery, the impact that it had on tribal communities, and its legacy today.

]]> Being disabled in the medieval era https://www.historyextra.com/membership/being-disabled-in-the-medieval-era-podcast/ Fri, 09 Oct 2026 09:14:05 GMT https://www.historyextra.com/membership/being-disabled-in-the-medieval-era-podcast/ Rae Gillibrand highlights how bodily difference was understood in this pre-modern era Prosthetic legs, wheelbarrow wheelchairs and guide… children? Those were just some of the assistive technologies and body augmentations available to our medieval and early modern ancestors.

In this episode, Rae Gillibrand highlights how bodily difference was understood in this pre-modern era, and explores the medical marketplace and community support that was available. Speaking to Emily Briffett, Rae reveals a world of ingenuity, adaptation and care.

Beyond the podcast

To find out more about Tudor attitudes to disability – and why they may have been more compassionate than you might think – don’t miss this HistoryExtra article written by Phillipa Vincent-Connolly

]]> Vanilla: a far from ordinary history https://www.historyextra.com/membership/vanilla-far-from-ordinary-history-podcast/ Wed, 07 Oct 2026 15:55:08 GMT https://www.historyextra.com/membership/vanilla-far-from-ordinary-history-podcast/ Eric T Jennings explains the history of vanilla, and how piracy, espionage and cut-throat capitalism have shaped its story It's now often used as an adjective for anything standard, plain, and borderline boring – but the history of vanilla is anything but. Eric T Jennings – whose book Vanilla: The History of an Extraordinary Bean is among the titles shortlisted for the 2026 Cundill History Prize – tells Matt Elton about the ways in which piracy, espionage and cut-throat capitalism have shaped its story.

]]> Ancient explosives and the philosopher's stone: a history of alchemy https://www.historyextra.com/membership/ancient-explosives-and-the-philosophers-stone-a-history-of-alchemy/ Tue, 06 Oct 2026 10:29:23 GMT https://www.historyextra.com/membership/ancient-explosives-and-the-philosophers-stone-a-history-of-alchemy/ Kit Chapman guides Emily Briffett through a remarkable story of discovery that blurred the boundaries between science and mysticism Think of alchemy, and you likely imagine bubbling vials of strange potions and molten metals. But how close is this popular perception to the truth? That’s the question behind historian and adventurer Kit Chapman’s latest book, The Age of Alchemy, which was recently announced as winner of the 2026 Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize.

In this episode, Kit guides Emily Briffett through a remarkable story of discovery that blurred the boundaries between science and mysticism – and explains how alchemists pursued dreams of fortune and immortality that laid the foundations for modern science.

Beyond the podcast

An unlikely mix of scientist, scholar, engineer and magician, the 'magus' was a figure that sat at the heart of the transformative Renaissance period. Don’t miss this episode of the HistoryExtra podcast charting the careers of these men, seen as genius scholars by some and charlatans by others.

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