History Extra podcast Immediate Media

Edith Hall explores Plato’s legend of Atlantis and considers why the tale continues to endure 2,500 years on


Classicist Edith Hall, an expert on ancient Greek literature, explores Plato’s lost city of Atlantis. She considers our enduring fascination with the tale 2,500 years on and asks whether there ever was, in fact, a real Atlantis.
 
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Professor Zainab Bahrani tackles popular internet search queries, and questions submitted by listeners, about the Mesopotamian city, which was one of the jewels of the ancient world. Topics range from religion, food and kings to the Hanging Gardens and the myth of the Tower of Babel.
 
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Are there any treasures left to be excavated in Egypt? Chris Naunton gives a lecture on some of the most fascinating ancient figures whose tombs are yet to be discovered


In a lecture he delivered at our 2019 Chester History Weekend, Chris Naunton discusses his book, Searching for the Lost Tombs of Egypt. He talks about some of the most fascinating ancient figures whose tombs are yet to be discovered, including Alexander the Great, Nefertiti and Cleopatra, and asks, will their burial places ever be found?
 
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Robert Harris discusses V2, his new Second World War thriller inspired by the German missile campaign in 1944


Best-selling historical novelist Robert Harris discusses his latest thriller, V2, inspired by the German missile campaign in 1944. He explains why he is obsessed by the Second World War, and shares some of the secrets of writing great historical fiction.
 
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From debates about colonialism to lessons from previous pandemics, a panel of historians discuss how the past has shaped 2020 – and how the events of this momentous year should change our understanding of the past


From debates about colonialism to lessons from previous pandemics, history has repeatedly made the headlines this year. We invited historians Kerri Greenidge, Tom Holland, Suzannah Lipscomb and Michael Wood to discuss how the past has shaped 2020 – and how the events of this momentous year should change our understanding of the past.
 
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Natalie Haynes discusses the varied portrayals of women in Greek mythology, uncovering the multi-layered figures who emerge from different retellings


Writer and classicist Natalie Haynes discusses her latest book Pandora’s Jar, which revisits the varied portrayals of women in Greek mythology, finding that the figures who emerge from different retellings and translations are less familiar than we might think.
 
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