HistoryExtra Long Reads
Today: #188 in History, United Kingdom on our combined chart.
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Latest episodes
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Did King Harold cause the 1066 Norman invasion?
October 26, 2026 · 20 minIn 1066 the last Anglo-Saxon king was ousted. But how, asks this Long Read written by historian Tom Licence, had Harold, an earl without royal blood, managed to take the English crown in the first place? Today's feature originally…
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Bloody queens and hairdresser kings: Lucy Worsley rethinks Britain's monarchs
October 18, 2026 · 21 minIf Lucy Worsley has learned one thing in her 30 years as a historian, it’s that what we think we know about Britain’s kings and queens is often wrong. In today's Long Read, the historian, writer and broadcaster looks again at five royals…
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Storm warnings: five weather moments that altered history
October 11, 2026 · 22 minRecent film Pressure dramatises the attempts of meteorologists to predict the weather on D-Day – and in this Long Read written by Catherine Ross, we chart five moments when weather forecasts (or the lack of them) changed the course of…
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Ale, terror and a martyr’s death: what not to miss on the Bayeux Tapestry
October 4, 2026 · 24 minDavid Musgrove and Michael Lewis offer the essential spotter's guide to the iconic medieval embroidery Heading to the British Museum to see the Bayeux Tapestry for yourself? This Long Read, written by David Musgrove and Michael Lewis…
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The Spitfire: love at first flight?
September 27, 2026 · 22 minIt’s been hailed as the plane that won the Battle of Britain – but does the Spitfire deserve its all-conquering reputation? Ninety years after this nimble fighter took its maiden flight, this Long Read written by Hattie Hearn explores how…
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A beginner’s guide to medieval farming
September 20, 2026 · 19 minFrom famine to fines, the life of the medieval farmer was often far from straightforward. In this Long Read, Christopher Dyer offers six tips for those seeking success in running a smallholding in the 13th and 14th centuries. Today’s…
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History repeating?
September 13, 2026 · 23 minIt’s human nature to believe that history repeats itself – but might our instinct to look for echoes of the past in the present be misguided, and even dangerous? This Long Read, written by Robert Blackmore, explores why such comparisons…
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The Magdalene laundries: Ireland’s secret shame
September 6, 2026 · 21 minIn Ireland, many thousands condemned as ‘fallen women’ were detained indefinitely in Magdalene laundries, forced to toil in harsh conditions. This Long Read written by Louise Brangan – author of The Fallen – reveals how church and state…
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The troubled birth of England
August 30, 2026 · 21 minThe collapse of Roman rule in Britain, followed by the emergence of kingdoms established by Germanic tribes, marks one of the most turbulent periods in Britain’s history. But what factors drove this dramatic transformation? This Long Read…
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Cultural dreams v political nightmares: life in interwar Weimar
August 23, 2026 · 25 minIn the 1920s and 1930s, Weimar was rife with contradictions, embracing both utopian modernism and Nazism. This German town’s interwar story reveals how democratic dreams can die in the face of economic ills and polarising politics, as this…
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Athens v Sparta: a Greek tragedy
August 16, 2026 · 22 minIn 480 BC, Athens and Sparta joined forces to repel one of the greatest invasion forces the world had seen. Yet just a few decades later, they faced off against each other – with dire results for the people of Greece. This Long Read…
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Sex, secrecy and social ambition: inside a Georgian masquerade
August 9, 2026 · 22 minEver wondered what it was like to step into a world where a mask could loosen the rules of rank, reputation and restraint? This Long Read written by Meghan Kobza takes us inside the 18th-century masquerade, where sex, wealth and power…

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