History Extra podcast When was the best time in English history to be alive?
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Dec 22, 2025 
Ian Mortimer, a British historian known for his 'Time Traveller's Guides', offers fascinating insights into four pivotal periods of English history. He reveals that Elizabethans were renowned for their kissing prowess, and discusses an amusing tale of Northampton drinkers dousing fires with beer. Mortimer critiques the romanticization of history, opting to focus on the lives of ordinary people rather than idealized eras. He emphasizes how immersive storytelling can connect us with the past, inspiring future generations to embrace history.
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Immersive History Reveals Meaning
- Ian Mortimer uses immersive, A-to-Z talks to make history feel immediate and meaningful.
- He argues this approach reveals how the past shaped modern identity and responses to crises.
Tell Fewer, Stronger Historical Facts
- Prefer concise, narrative-focused history rather than overloaded academic detail.
- Use one striking fact and contextualise it to engage wider audiences effectively.
Nurture Explains Cultural Differences
- People in past eras had very different sensibilities, yet humans adapt across contexts if raised within them.
- Mortimer stresses nurture shapes behaviour more than immutable differences.