Assassins vs Templars
HistoryExtra podcast
12/05/25
•50m
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The Assassins and the Knights Templar are two of history’s most intriguing, enigmatic and legendary groups. While they may seem vastly different on the surface, their intertwined stories reveal a surprising number of parallels – from an almost fanatical strategy fuelled by the 'promise of death' to the nature of their downfall. Speaking to Emily Briffett, Dr Steve Tibble compares their stories, and reveals what these two organisations can tell us about medieval conflict, religion and power — and why they continue to captivate us today.
(Ad) Steve Tibble is the author of Assassins and Templars: A Battle in Myth and Blood (Yale University Press, 2025). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Assassins-Templars-Battle-Myth-Blood/dp/0300282125/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty
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Previous Episode
WW2's Tunisian campaign: the Stalingrad of Africa
December 3, 2025
•46m
For the Allies it was an enormous triumph and for Nazi Germany it was another Stalingrad. But 80 years on, the battle for Tunisia is barely mentioned in popular accounts of the Second World War, having been totally eclipsed by the iconic clashes in Europe and the Pacific. In his new book, Tunisgrad, military historian Saul David seeks to redress the balance, arguing that this north African campaign was one of the three biggest turning points of the entire war. In conversation with Rob Attar, he explains why.
(Ad) Saul David is the author of Tunisgrad: Victory in Africa (HarperCollins, 2025). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Ftunisgrad%2Fsaul-david%2F9780008653811.
The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
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Next Episode
“You can’t kill and maim with impunity”: the powerful legacy of Nuremberg
December 7, 2025
•36m
In the 80 years since Nazi leaders stood in the dock, how has the international community sought to deal with war criminals around the globe? For this concluding episode of our four-part series on the Nuremberg Trials, David Musgrove is joined by the lawyer and author Philippe Sands to chart the long, complex legacy of the events of 1945-46, and to consider whether those accused of war crimes in the present day might one day face international justice.
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GO BEYOND THE PODCAST
Want to delve further into the Nuremberg trials and the fall of the Nazi regime? HistoryExtra’s David Musgrove rounds up some essential reading, listening and viewing from the HistoryExtra and BBC History Magazine archive to help you navigate the campaign to bring the Third Reich’s criminals to justice
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