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History's Greatest Dishes: Dumplings
History’s Greatest Dishes is back – and in this first episode of season 2, Emily Briffett and food historian Annie Gray tell the story of a humble British favourite: toast.
Enter the zone of terror: the truth about the Bermuda Triangle is going to shock you
You won’t find it on a map, but it may be one of the most notorious parts of the world where ships and planes completely disappear. Jonny Wilkes delves into the mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle
Think you know the Victorian era? These 31 facts will prove you wrong
Historian and broadcaster Ruth Goodman answers HistoryExtra fans’ most curious questions about 19th-century life. From daily routines shaped by gaslight and factory whistles to the challenges of corsets, hunger and hard labour, she reveals the realities behind the era’s myths
The scandalous real history behind The Gilded Age
How much of The Gilded Age period drama is real? HistoryExtra's Elinor Evans reveals an ambitious millionaire whose real life story mirrors Bertha Russell's ruthless social climbing
Would Franz Ferdinand really have prevented the First World War?
Was Archduke Franz Ferdinand truly a tragic ‘prince of peace’? Should Gavrilo Princip be remembered as a reckless killer? More than a century after these two men were united by one Earth-shattering event on the streets of Sarajevo, Annika Mombauer asks if it’s time we reassess their reputations
The 'real' Bertha and George Russell: inside the high-society divorce that shocked the Gilded Age
Julian Fellowes, the creator behind HBO’s The Gilded Age, has taken plenty of cues from real history for the characters of Bertha and George Russell, seemingly turning to the lives of Alva and William K Vanderbilt in plotting much of their story. Discover the real history, and what this could mean…
How Nero made Sporus his ‘wife’: what does this tragic story reveal about ancient Rome?
Eunuch, ‘empress’ and ultimately victim of abuse: Sporus is a lesser-known character in the story of the brutal Roman emperor Nero. But his life, and the messages it reveals, are the things of outlandish drama. Hilary Mitchell takes up Sporus’s story
The WW2 nurses who saved lives in the skies
Leah Garrett discusses the unseen work of so-called 'flight nurses' at Iwo Jima and Okinawa during the Second World War
History crossword: 30 October
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Why are some croissants straighter than others? The shapeshifting story of a French icon
The typically French pastry did not originate in France and the reason for its shape is a matter of legend – it turns out there are many layers to the croissant
14 famous inventors: the technological pioneers who reshaped the world
From Archimedes to Tim Berners-Lee, meet the people whose big ideas changed how we live, work and communicate
Is British history too woke? This historian certainly thinks so
Critics like to cast Britain as a global villain. Yet a truly honest, rational assessment of the facts can only lead to a more positive conclusion, writes Robert Tombs
What can you do with a medieval ass? Here are 9 uses that are bound to surprise you
In the Middle Ages, the ass became synonymous with human idiocy – a comic figure representing foolish peasants, students too dull to learn, and their asinine teachers. But, says Dr Kathryn Smithies, the ass paradoxically also came to represent ‘the good Christian’ and could help you win an argument…
The 10 most famous witch trials from British history
What happened when someone was charged with conversing with the Devil or practising sorcery on the king? Owen Davies lifts the lid on 10 of Britain's most infamous witch trials
Can a US president run for a third term? The unexpected history of the two-term limit
The 22nd Amendment was ratified in 1951 to limit any US president to two elected terms in office. The rule began as a tradition set by George Washington, was broken by Franklin D Roosevelt’s four-term presidency, and remains one of the defining checks on presidential power today
I directed The Uprising – and this is why Wat Tyler is my hero
Film director and scriptwriter Paul Greengrass chooses Wat Tyler (d1381) as his history hero
King Harold: tragic hero of the English
Historian Tom Licence draws on his new biography of the Anglo-Saxon king to explore Harold’s military experience
Downton Abbey's wardrobe: inside the costume house that clothes your favourite period dramas
How do costume makers create an authentic historical silhouette? Why do they deliberately age brand-new clothes? In a behind-the-scenes tour, HistoryExtra's Lauren Good meets Mia Walldén, Cosprop's Operations Director, and they explore the vast costume warehouse
Ancient goddesses: love, violence and ecstatic experiences
Historian Ronald Hutton argues that some of the ancient world’s most powerful female deities were united by a potent combination of sex, violence and ecstatic experience
In 1845, Texas wanted to join the United States – so why was it rejected?
In between throwing off the rule of Mexico and joining the United States, the Lone Star State had a brief run as the Lone Star Nation
In the directory since 25 Sept 2026 · last checked 9 Nov 2026 · RSS