This is one of my my go-to podcasts What I like most about it in general is the open-minded view of history as a growing and changing discipline. Great stuff! One thing, though, for us foreign language speakers: please, please, please do your homework and learn to pronounce foreign words correctly. Not to do so is off-putting and unprofessional.

Whenever the host talked it was unbearable to listen. Its a shame such great conversations are being distracted because of such bad sound quality from the hosts.

love the show - five stars. But yes. the sound is bad sometimes. better sound engineering is needed.

The espresso doesn’t come from anything to do with rapidity, but from the verb esprimere, whose past participle is espresso, and which means to press, to ex-tract the juice or the essence of a fruit or a berry. There were other mistakes of historical nature, such as the first coffee house in Europe was in Belgrade Serbia, under the Ottomans (1522), and in Italy in 1632 in Livorno and in 1640 in Venice, by Jewish merchants. So, no, it wasn’t in London that the first coffee house in Europe was opened.

This is one of my go-to podcasts, and has been for years. Excellent quality and variety of material. It’s not easy to put out a 45 min episode every day and still have interesting things to talk about. This podcast manages that feat with quality and depth. Are there ads? Yes. Just skip them. Are there occasional duds or left-leaning topics? Yes. Just ignore those episodes if you so choose. There will be another good one literally the next day. Special mention to David Musgrove’s fun multi-parters. Creative and comical while still being fascinating.

Way to many Ads no thank you

This podcast is as fascinating as it is relaxing. Perfect for a knitting session or a walk, and honestly, with the lighter more fun episodes at least, a great pod to fall asleep to (although I re-listen to whatever I missed!)

I truly enjoy the show, so much more interesting than reading a history book! I must give a small critical comment though. The May 27 episode about Galileo was very difficult to listen to. The way Dr. Hannam’s voice started strong but trailed off to almost a whisper in every sentence, it was frustrating to try to hear everything he said. Not sure if a sound engineer could have done something to render the sound level more even, but I hope that future episodes won’t suffer from the same effect. An excellent show, nonetheless!

Interesting high quality content. Thank you BBC

I can always count on BBC History Extra for great stories from the people in the know, expert historians and authors who have done their due diligence. Stories I never would see otherwise and makes me hungry for more about the subject at hand. In a world of never ending crisis-driven news, its a welcome reprieve to look into the past and have something else riveting, rather than depressing, to listen to.

Always interesting!

Why was the guest on the Byron show laughing all through it? I wish you explained why every aspect of Byron’s life and work was worthy of giggles .

This is one of the best history podcasts around. There’s a variety of topics so there’s something for everyone. I really look forward to this every week.

This is a well informed podcast and very easy to listen to.

I look forward to each episode. Just the right length. Give this podcast a try!

I say this as a high compliment! I struggle to fall asleep, and there’s something about these well-told and well-timed stories that helps me relax and fall asleep.

Keep up the great work!

Love this podcast. It's great to learn so many new things about topics I often wouldn't seek out myself, but I find fascinating.

Love this podcast. Start everyday with it.

Ms Kelley was very annoying in her critique and delivery. Couldn’t get thru the podcast

I’ve listened to a lot of history podcasts and this is the only one that gives everything. This is the best commute history that usually revolves around the subject of a book and it’s cool to hear the voice of the authors of familiar books. All in all, just the best and I’m thankful for the quantity of content. Would love to hear a podcast of welsh mythology!

Seems ridiculous to not have this in a format that allows for disagreements. Would love for this to have been 2 scholars of differing opinions instead of 1 agreeing with himself. Not gonna bother with the rest of this series.

Lovely soft music, cultured British accents, interesting topics discussed by knowledgeable historians BUT THOSE ADS! I’ve been a listener for years, but I m afraid I cant take the new screaming ads. They destroy the dreaminess of the show. I can afford the 3 bucks or whatever but I hate these dinky charges on the cc that will be impossible to get rid of later. Sorry, but, bye-bye.

To mention Sherlock Holmes without mentioning Jeremy Brett is an affront to God.

Consuelo was the daughter of William and Alva Vanderbilt. Not Cornelius. She was the great granddaughter of the founder of the family fortune: Cornelius. Some might credit Mark Twain for coining the term the Gilded Age, co- author of a novel titled as such

We can’t even celebrate Thanksgiving without be scolded with uneducated idiocy surrounding the first feast.

Professor McDonough neglected to discuss the watershed moment which was the elevation of the German-Jewish industrialist, Walter Rathenau to Foreign Minister, and his subsequent assassination by a far-right group. Rathenau’s story was symbolic of the rise and prosperity of the German Jews, from the Enlightenment, to the ultimate tragedy of the 20th Century. Instead of making a quick passing reference to the prejudices against “Eastern Jews” residing in Germany at that period, he should have been more accurate and detailed as to the success and assimilation of the German Jews…especially since they were so central to Weimar culture in Berlin and elsewhere.

I’m so pleased with the breadth and depth of this podcast. A must for history buffs.

I’m an American and this chick stinks. Please for love of God get rid of her, it’s not the American it’s the woke inclination, it makes the podcast lose credibility. She’s awful, the fake laughing is the worst

Why does the recent Franco episode interrupt itself and restart around 26:00?!

Herbert Hoover

I love this podcast. Always featuring well-informed and passionate guest. The long form series’ are my favorite. Estelle from the Catherine Parr episode of 6 wives is a particular stand out for me. She has an infectious enthusiasm.

Why can’t the host, produced before or during the recording tell the guest to slow their speech. Heather Jones was particularly horrible - it was as if the recording has been sped up. It would be comical we’re it not so frustrating. Does anyone involved with producing this podcast listen to it? Also, the questions asked by the host add to the impression that no one is listening to the guest. Preprepared, read aloud questions that are out of context, not at all integrated with whatever subject the speed talker is saying. Increasingly amateurish pod.

I’ve been listening to this podcast for a little over a year now and I always feel like I learn something new. Love the storytelling, poignant questions, and femme focused storylines. I would say that they need to learn how to pronounce “Medici” correctly, as well as other words that aren’t of English origin.

The Wager story, great host, great guest

I love this podcast so much, but it seems that at least half of the episodes are "temporarily unavailable." It seems to always be the ones that look super interesting. Can this be fixed?

This is an excellent podcast. The episodes are always engaging and I like the choice in topics. I listen to several history podcasts and this is one of my favorites. Also, I saw a particular recent review (and more with the same sentiment) complaining about how it would be oh so nice “if for once it wasn’t brought up about how white men were oppressing others” & things of that nature. It’s an unfortunate reality that oppression is a commonality throughout history. It’s deeply entrenched in all of world history. To me, that was just such a strange thing to complain about. Whether someone likes it or not, white men in positions of power have historically been oppressive to people of color and women. You’re going to hear about this in many historical podcasts. I think it’s extremely disingenuous, and glossing over history, to leave that out of a history podcast.

I don’t listen as much as I used to because of all the advertising.

Used to love this podcast, it was entertaining and insightful lessons from our past. However, sadly, they now inject modern politics into every episode. If I wanted to hear a pundit’s opinion I would listen to the usual suspects on the left or right. What was once an oasis away from the madness has now become infected by it. Today is the day I unsubscribe after 4+ years of loyal listening and become a history hit member. It’s not what this show was but at least they keep their politics out of the content.

I’m not an ultra-conservative, misogynistic anti-woke person by any means, but more and more this show focuses on the same old tired themes over and over again about how mistreated women and non-white peoples have been throughout history. It is a well-known fact that women throughout history have indeed been overshadowed, patronized, and otherwise mistreated in many cultures. It is also well-known that white European settlers brutally conquered land and peoples throughout the world. But it sure would be nice to turn on an episode every once in a while that deals with a topic that wasn’t hand-picked to illustrate how evil white males have oppressed and burned and pillaged their way throughout world history. It seems that no matter the topic, it somehow always steers toward the fact that we need to raise awareness about this sad fact of history, and apparently several times per week as this podcast is released. There is a whole lot of history that has happened in this world. Must this show always focus on the culture war stuff that is so prevalent in the news and social media? To me, this is just lazy content creation. History should teach us lessons, but I don’t need to learn the same one over and over several times per week. I also look to great stories from history as an escape, and I just can’t get that from this show, which always seems to preach at me about the lessons I should be learning. Most people are good people who know right from wrong, and we don’t need a history podcast to teach us very basic life lessons over and over again.

This was a delightful discovery. It helps me process how we got where we are today. It’s fun and it helps ligh my imagination. It’s a great podcast for a thoughtful walk.

Dr Eleanor Janega is the best! Love listening to her!

Really enjoy the conversations and information on this pod. Well researched and well produced! Bayeux Tapestry series was excellent!

Just got done listening to the episode on Greek marble statues and their significance. What I did learn was that the academic that they interviewed was a butt hurt feminist. I am so tired of this woke virtue signaling on this podcast. How about just giving the facts of history and leaving your brand of activism at the front door.

This is the best overall history podcast out there (besides The Ancients!). For reviewers criticizing the guests, I don’t think that’s fair. This is one of the few podcasts with extremely knowledgeable hosts questioning contemporary historians as well as other experts in their fields asking insightful questions and getting insightful answers. To hold these academics to an entertainment standard of how well they talk or present the information is missing the point. They are all not going to be the most “entertaining” interviewees, but they are experts offering invaluable information to the public. And actually a lot of them are amazingly eloquent.

Please please bring the original music back!!! It helps me sleep!!!

I enjoy the show aside from the fact that subscription episodes just sit there in the feed. It’s hard to actually see which episode are available to listen to for free. This used to be my go-to commute show but not anymore… I can’t safely drive and look to see what I can listen to. Content wise: some of the presenter biases can be hard to ignore but that’s what you get these days I suppose. If you can look past that and keep an open mind, there is a lot of really neat content once you actually get into it.

One of my favorite podcasts. Every topic is presented in context with often vivid details. Enormously entertaining and a great resource. I’ve bought so many of the guests’ books.

Interesting material, well researched and clearly presented. Well worth a listen!

Ah