HistoryExtra Long Reads

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Live Aid at 40 Aug 03, 2025

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When Bob Geldof exhorted audiences to fill Wembley Stadium and empty their pockets for famine relief in Ethiopia, he changed the face of charity fundraising – and of live music. Forty years on, this Long Read written by David Hepworth – one of the BBC presenters on the day – explores the legacy of Live Aid.

HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the August 2025 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB.

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Inside the Luftwaffe during the battle of Britain Jul 27, 2025

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When the Battle of Britain erupted, many Luftwaffe pilots anticipated a swift victory. Yet soon that confidence had been replaced by chronic fatigue and a crippling fear of drowning in “dirty water”. This Long Read written by aviation historian Victoria Taylor charts the mental disintegration of Hitler’s flyers.

HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the July 2025 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB.

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Spiked drinks, counterfeit coins and the lodgers from hell Jul 20, 2025

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Drugging, fraud, even murder – women couldn’t really commit such heinous crimes, could they? Written by historian Rosalind Crone, this Long Read explores five audacious female-led felonies from the 18th and 19th centuries which bust misconceptions about women's lives in the past.

HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the June 2025 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB.

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The Ambassadors: painting on the precipice Jul 13, 2025

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Hans Holbein’s masterwork The Ambassadors is an exquisite portrait of two 16th-century diplomats. But, as well as being artistically impressive, the painting is also crammed with symbols and hidden messages. This Long Read written by historian Tracy Borman deciphers the clues hidden in Holbein's work that betray the turbulence of a fateful year.

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The women who shaped Malcolm X Jul 06, 2025

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Malcolm X became one of the most influential leaders in the US civil rights movement – thanks largely, explains this Long Read written by historian Ashley D Farmer, to the women who shaped his life and ideas.

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Spartacus: Rome's worst nightmare Jun 29, 2025

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When the Spartacus revolt erupted in 73 BC, it exposed a terrifying truth: that the cocksure Roman Republic was nowhere near as invincible as it liked to believe. This Long Read written by historian Guy de la Bédoyère takes up the story.

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Scotland's season of the witch Jun 22, 2025

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In 16th and 17th-century Scotland, many hundreds of ‘witches’ were put to death – 10 times the proportion executed in England. This Long Read written by Martha McGill asks what drove the killings.

HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the May 2025 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB.

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Why the Great Famine devastated Ireland Jun 15, 2025

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When blight began devastating potato crops across Ireland in 1845, British officials immediately recognised the dangers. And yet, within six years, the Great Famine had caused the deaths of at least 1 million people. This Long Read written by Padraic X Scanlan tells the story of how tangled Anglo-Irish relations and a profound devotion to market forces turned a crisis into a national catastrophe.

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Why the ancient Egyptians worshipped wine Jun 08, 2025

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For the ancient Egyptians, wine played a pivotal part in mythology, ritual and the natural processes that enabled their survival. This Long Read written by Islam Issa explores six key roles it fulfilled in their society over the millennia.

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Matchless monsters: female murderers in early modern Britain Jun 01, 2025

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Men committed the majority of violent crimes in Tudor and Stuart England. But when women murdered, the press had a field day. This Long Read, written by author and historian Blessin Adams, asks what drove society’s gleeful fascination with its “angels of death”.

HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the April 2025 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB.

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