HistoryExtra Long Reads

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Oradour-sur-Glane: one of WW2's most infamous massacres Aug 25, 2024

Show notes

On the morning of the 10 June 1944, the residents of Oradour-sur-Glane were going about their lives as normally as was possible in occupied France. Cooking, washing, shopping, playing. Little did they know that they were about to become the victims of one of the most infamous massacres of the Second World War. In this Long Read written by Robert Pike, we record that fateful day eighty years ago.

HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the July 2024 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB.

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From Tudor to Stuart: a brand new era? Aug 18, 2024

Show notes

The passing of the English crown from Elizabeth I to James VI and I was welcomed by a nation hungry for change. But, as historian Susan Doran argues in today's Long Read, it wasn't long before tensions began to rise between the incoming king and his new subjects.

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The madcap Paris Olympics: how chaos nearly derailed the 1900 Games Aug 11, 2024

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With the 2024 Summer Olympics taking place in Paris, this Long Read, written by David Goldblatt, describes how the 1900 Games, the first held in the French capital, almost defeated the Olympic ideal before it was even out of the starting blocks.

HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the August 2024 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB.

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The West Africa Squadron: Britain's war on slave ships Aug 04, 2024

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In the early 19th century, a Royal Navy squadron was sent to West Africa to hunt down ships carrying enslaved people to the Americas. The operation was hailed as an act of pure, unselfish philanthropy. Yet, argues this Long Read written by Mary Wills, the reality was far more tangled.

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Club AD 130: a Roman holiday Jul 28, 2024

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From cruising down the Nile to carving names into historical monuments, ancient leisure habits don't seem too far from our own. This Long Read, written by Mary Beard, describes what happened when a party of elite Roman holidaymakers – led by the emperor Hadrian – descended on ancient Egypt’s tourist hotspots in AD 130.

HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the June 2024 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB.

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Airborne assault: the spearhead of the D-Day invasion Jul 21, 2024

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Hours before the assault on Normandy’s beaches got under way on 6 June 1944, British airborne troops launched an attack on targets in the French countryside. And as Saul David writes in this Long Read marking the 80th anniversary of this pivotal moment, the success of the entire D-Day landings was at stake.

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The women behind Henry VIII's queens Jul 14, 2024

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Banished. Exiled. Died. Widowed. Berated. Survived. The ladies-in-waiting to Henry VIII’s wives were serious political operators with unparalleled access to the royal inner sanctum. In this Long Read written by Nicola Clark, we reveal how six of the most influential navigated the vipers’ nest that was the Tudor court.

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The Normandy campaign's forgotten naval heroes Jul 07, 2024

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Ferrying troops to the beaches wasn’t the only contribution sailors made during the Allied invasion of Normandy. In this special Long Read written by Nick Hewitt, we mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day by revealing how the Allied navies played a pivotal – and often overlooked – role in the Normandy invasion.

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Victorian scandals: sex, sadism & sugared death Jun 30, 2024

Show notes

Breaking news coverage of outrageous, taboo-busting or immoral behaviour has horrified - and captivated - societies for centuries. And the Victorians were no different. In this Long Read written by historian Rosalind Crone, we investigate eight scandals that shocked Victorian Britain, from widespread panic about a "killer sweet" to an adultery trial that threatened to bring down the prime minister.

HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the May 2024 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB.

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Roman slaves: the hidden lives of the empire's invisible labour force Jun 23, 2024

Show notes

Rome’s slaves were brutalised, mocked, exploited – or simply ignored. Yet, writes Guy de la Bédoyère in this Long Read, the Roman empire could hardly have functioned without the labours of this captive population.

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