HistoryExtra Home of Britain’s bestselling history magazine and award-winning podcast 2026-10-08T08:31:53.000Z https://www.historyextra.com/content-classification/video-explainer/feed/atom Lauren Good <![CDATA[I tried on THE dress from Pride and Prejudice. Here's how it felt]]> https://www.historyextra.com/membership/i-tried-on-the-dress-from-pride-and-prejudice-video/ 2026-10-08T08:31:53.000Z 2026-10-09T08:30:05.000Z What's it like to wear some of the most iconic dresses from period drama?
HistoryExtra's Lauren Good visits the costume house Cosprop in London, one of the world’s leading costumiers for the film, television and theatre industries, to try on some very special garments.
Dressed by women's specialist costumier Clara Drumez, Lauren hears the techniques and tricks behind your favourite period drama costumes, and how they're used to bring Austen's work and Regency-era history to life on screen.
Cosprop is currently holding an exhibition, Costume Couture: Sixty Years of Cosprop, at Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh, where you can see for yourself the most iconic costumes they've created. It runs until 16 January 2027.
View Green Video on the source website]]> Kev Lochun <![CDATA[Inside Pompeii with Tom Hiddleston: the hidden detail that most people miss]]> https://www.historyextra.com/membership/inside-pompeii-tom-hiddleston-video/ 2026-08-05T15:16:53.000Z 2026-08-05T15:16:53.000Z Tom Hiddleston, star of Loki and The Night Manager, wants to challenge what you think you know about Pompeii.
His National Geographic docudrama follows three real Romans from the historical record through the disaster to ask: could anyone survive?
Ahead of the launch, HistoryExtra’s Kev Lochun sat down with the Hollywood actor to find out how ancient history reaches through time, how we tell stories of the past without making them about ourselves, and how he would have reacted if he’d been in the Forum in AD 79 when Vesuvius erupted.
National Geographic’s Pompeii: Out of Time premiered in July and is available to stream on Disney+ now.
View Green Video on the source website
For more on ancient Pompeii, don't miss Kev's four-part podcast series with Dr Jess Venner, all episodes available now
]]> Danny Bird <![CDATA[Alan Turing's greatest achievement wasn't cracking Enigma]]> https://www.historyextra.com/membership/alan-turing-greatest-achievement-cracking-enigma-video/ 2026-07-17T09:04:04.000Z 2026-07-17T09:03:43.000Z After his vital work helped to shorten the Second World War, Alan Turing turned his attention to an even more extraordinary question: can machines think?
More than 70 years before today's explosion in artificial intelligence, Turing imagined computers that could learn from experience, proposed what became known as the 'Turing Test', and helped lay the foundations for the digital world we now live in.
In this video, HistoryExtra's Danny Bird explores the remarkable life of one of the 20th century's greatest scientific minds – from his groundbreaking work at Bletchley Park to his pioneering research into computing, machine intelligence and biology.
We also examine the tragic persecution he faced as a gay man in post-war Britain, and how his reputation was transformed after his death.
Listen to the full podcast interview with David Kenyon
View Green Video on the source website]]> HistoryExtra <![CDATA[Historian reacts to the most painful part of The Odyssey trailer]]> https://www.historyextra.com/membership/historian-daisy-dunn-reacts-odyssey-trailer-video/ 2026-07-13T14:54:12.000Z 2026-07-13T14:54:12.000Z How does the upcoming Odyssey adaptation represent the Trojan Horse, a plot concocted by the wily Odysseus (played by Matt Damon)? And how does director Nolan choose to depict Penelope (played by Anne Hathaway), a woman beleaguered by suitors in Odysseus's home of Ithaca? Here’s what we know.
In this video, Dunn breaks down the detail scene-by-scene, from the monsters’ appearances and the side characters that viewers can expect to see on screen, to a prop that harks back to a real Minoan palace – which seems in keeping with the real historical setting that inspired Homer.
Watch along to discover the myths, history and hidden details you may have missed, and don’t miss our four-part podcast series on The Odyssey, with HistoryExtra’s Kev Lochun in conversation with Daisy Dunn. It covers the mystery of Homer’s identity, why talking about the poem as a ‘written book’ is more problematic than you might think, and how The Odyssey – a work of historical fiction, even in Homer's time – is underpinned by real, much older historical influences.
View Green Video on the source website]]> Elinor Evans <![CDATA[Is the US celebrating independence on the ‘WRONG’ day?]]> https://www.historyextra.com/membership/is-us-celebrating-independence-on-the-wrong-day-video/ 2026-07-03T13:01:08.000Z 2026-07-03T13:01:08.000Z Every year, Americans mark the Fourth of July with fireworks, parades and celebrations.
But the vote to break away from Britain actually took place two days earlier, on 2 July 1776.
So why did one date become America's national holiday while the other faded into the background? In this episode, HistoryExtra’s Elinor Evans explores the dramatic story behind the United States Declaration of Independence, and asks why this document became far more important than the vote itself.
Featuring insights from historian and broadcaster Professor Adam IP Smith and historian George Goodwin, this episode examines how independence emerged from years of growing tensions between Britain and its American colonies, and why the Declaration continues to resonate nearly 250 years later.
Don't miss all episodes in our American Revolution podcast series.
View Green Video on the source website]]> Charlotte Vosper <![CDATA[The woman who invented Marilyn Monroe]]> https://www.historyextra.com/membership/who-invented-marilyn-monroe-video/ 2026-06-19T08:47:03.000Z 2026-06-19T08:46:57.000Z For decades, Marilyn Monroe has been remembered as the ultimate blonde bombshell.
But behind the famous white dress, platinum hair and breathy voice was a fiercely ambitious woman who spent years carefully constructing the image that made her into a global icon.
In this episode, HistoryExtra's Charlotte Vosper draws on a podcast interview with Lucy Bolton, tracing Marilyn's extraordinary journey from a childhood marked by poverty, instability and foster homes, to international superstardom. We explore how Norma Jeane Mortenson reinvented herself as Marilyn Monroe, challenging the Hollywood studio system and working relentlessly to shape her own career.
View Green Video on the source website]]> Elinor Evans <![CDATA[The real history behind your favourite William Morris designs]]> https://www.historyextra.com/membership/history-behind-william-morris-designs-video/ 2026-06-12T08:18:04.000Z 2026-06-12T08:17:29.000Z At a time in the 19th century when factories were reshaping society, William Morris and his contemporaries believed mass production was damaging not only the lives of workers, but also the beauty and meaning of everyday objects.
HistoryExtra's Elinor Evans shares the hidden meaning behind some of the prints, including Strawberry Thief, many of which remain popular today.
You'll hear excerpts from a HistoryExtra podcast interview with author and curator Dr Suzanne Fagence Cooper, who has written extensively on the Pre-Raphaelites and Victorian women, and William and Jane Morris – her books include How We Might Live: At Home with Jane and William Morris (Quercus, 2022).
View Green Video on the source website]]> HistoryExtra <![CDATA[Why did Hitler believe D-Day was a trick?]]> https://www.historyextra.com/membership/why-did-hitler-believe-d-day-was-trick-video/ 2026-06-05T09:26:04.000Z 2026-06-05T09:25:56.000Z D-Day, 6 June 1944 saw the launch of the Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe. Delayed by stormy weather, the high-stakes decision by General Eisenhower to go ahead in a fleeting 36-hour weather window marked one of WW2's most important turning points. His now-famous words – "Let's go" – set in motion the largest amphibious invasion in history.
Join historian and broadcaster Taylor Downing as he explains the landings across the five Normandy beaches: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword.
Find out how, from the German perspective, poor weather forecasts, disrupted communications, and Hitler's late awakening caused paralysis and confusion. By the time reinforcements were mobilised, the Allies had already secured strong positions.
Discover rare insights into Allied heroism, German mistakes, and the true cost of the longest day, in Downing’s expert analysis for this D-Day HistoryExtra Academy series.
View Green Video on the source website]]> Charlotte Vosper <![CDATA[The man who saved D-Day: the real history behind Pressure]]> https://www.historyextra.com/membership/the-man-who-saved-d-day-the-real-history-behind-pressure/ 2026-05-27T10:24:23.000Z 2026-05-29T08:20:07.000Z New film Pressure, starring Andrew Scott, Brendan Fraser and Kerry Condon, is set to arrive in US cinemas on 29 May 2026 and is released in the UK on 9 September 2026.
It tells the story of a crucial decision in WW2, one that could have changed the outcome of the conflict: the date the Allies' invasion of Normandy, known as D-Day.
In this video, HistoryExtra's Charlotte Vosper explores the real history, travelling to the UK Met Office to get closer to some of the original sources. You'll see a personal diary from Group Captain James Stagg, the meteorologist (played in the film by Andrew Scott) who was tasked with providing crucial weather charts that helped make the final decision.
What were the other factors playing into Dwight D Eisenhower's decision-making? What was Exercise Tiger in the preparations for D-Day, and why did it go so wrong? And why didn't the Germans see the invasion coming? Hear more in this explanation of the real events, and how they translate into the high-stakes action on screen in Pressure, written for the screen by David Haig and Anthony Maras.
View Green Video on the source website ]]> Isabel King <![CDATA[Do secret societies really rule the world?]]> https://www.historyextra.com/membership/do-secret-societies-rule-world-video/ 2026-05-08T09:40:04.000Z 2026-05-08T09:39:29.000Z Discover the history behind three shadowy organisations. Without clear evidence, people are free to imagine all sorts of covert operations, secret brotherhoods, and powerful alliances. So what's the real history behind the world's most secret societies, including the Illuminati?
HistoryExtra's Isabel King explores whether some of the most infamous truly hold sway over global events. She covers their mysterious origins and the conspiracy theories surrounding them.