HistoryExtra Long Reads

Featuring Cyclopes, Lotus-Eaters and goddesses that turn men into pigs, the Odyssey reads like a fantastical adventure story. Yet, argues this Long Read written by Daisy Dunn, Homer’s epic poem – now a Hollywood blockbuster – offers a fascinating lens onto the reality of life in ...  Show more

What happens when football becomes far more than a game? As the 2026 World Cup unfolds, this Long Read written by Tony Shaw and Alan McDougall revisits four matches played during the Cold War that turned the beautiful game into a battleground of ideology, identity and state power ...  Show more

Take a deep dive into the past as we bring you the very best of BBC History Magazine, Britain’s bestselling history magazine. With a new episode released every Monday, enjoy fascinating and enlightening articles from leading historical experts, covering a broad sweep of the centu ...  Show more

The latest instalment of our monthly series sees Hannah Skoda and Rana Mitter explore the long history behind the Post Office Scandal, the historical precedents behind recent developments in US politics and more Our new monthly series explores the history hitting the headlines – ...  Show more

In the latest episode of our monthly series charting the past behind the present, historians Rana Mitter and Hannah Skoda explore the ways the Second World War continues to shape the world of today. Plus the medieval manuscripts hitting the headlines, and an express history of ra ...  Show more

Each week, Short History Of... gives you a front-row seat as history’s most extraordinary moments play out right before you. You’ll be up close with the gladiators and the Mongols, unearthing the Terracotta Army, setting sail in Blackbeard’s pirate ship, watching on as the Cold W ...  Show more