History Hit Podcasts

America's War Against Pirates

Just twenty years after independence, the United States fought a lesser-known war against the Barbary States of North Africa... some use the term...

The Doctor Who Shocked Victorian Britain

What lurks behind the door of Dr. Kahn's Grand Anatomical Museum in Victorian London?

Step inside and find out what shocked the public (and...

The Battle of Brunanburh

Dan explains the Battle of Brunanburh, an epic clash that decided the fate of the British Isles. On one side, the forces of King Æthelstan,...

Prehistoric Greenland

What can a frozen island reveal about the people who thrived there for thousands of years? Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr. Asta Mønsted to...

Battle of the Eras: Medieval v. Early Modern

What if the medieval world did not end with a bang, but with a messy argument over who gets to define history itself? Professor Suzannah Lipscomb...

The Merovingian Dynasty: France's First Kings

Long-haired rulers, dynastic bloodshed, secret letters, and a kingdom built in the aftermath of empire; Dr. Eleanor Janega and Dr. James Palmer...

The Elusive Female Orgasm with Dan Snow

There will be giggling and gasping galore! And that's just when you listen to this episode!

Dan Snow quizzes Kate on all things female...

King Phillip's War

This is one of the deadliest conflicts in North American History. But who was King Philip? What started the war? And how did it change...

The Rise and Fall of Venice

Venice was the impossible city that rose from mudflats to become a medieval superpower. Venice dominated Mediterranean trade through its vast...

Inside the Egyptian Underworld

For the Ancient Egyptians, death marked the beginning of a new chapter: a journey through a shadowy realm of trials, monsters, and divine...

Royal Favourites: Queen Anne & Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough

How did Sarah Churchill become the most powerful woman in Queen Anne’s court? What happens when a royal friendship turns into a political...

The Other Humans: Why We Survived?

For most of human history, we were not alone. Human evolution was shaped by multiple human species living side by side, from Neanderthals in...

After Agincourt: Henry V's French Campaigns

What happened after the Battle of Agincourt? How did Henry V's victory turn into a seven-year struggle of sieges, diplomacy, ambition, murder and...

How to Get Cancelled as a Medieval Mistress

What do you have to do wrong to be specifically named in a law? In the 14th Century, one of the mistresses of King Edward III found out. So who...

What If Alexander Fought Rome?

Rome vs Alexander. It's a counterfactual of suitably epic proportions, fit for movie theatres and sprawling strategy video games. What would've...

400 Year Old Artist's Dark Revenge

Artemisia Gentileschi's paintings personify female rage against men. She paints women beheading men, hammering nails into their skulls,...

Louis XIV: Sun King and Propagandist

How did Louis XIV use his day-to-day life, especially his marriage, to help create the mythology of the Sun King as semi-divine, radiant and...

The Seven Deadly Sins

Greed, Lust, Pride, Sloth, Gluttony, Envy, Wrath! You might be surprised to learn the true history of the Seven Deadly Sins doesn't start in the...

Annexation of Alaska

In 1867, the United States purchased Alaska from Russia in a deal that reshaped the map of North America... but what did that moment mean for the...

BONUS: Hear a chapter of Maddy's new book, Hoax

Hear a chapter of Maddy's new book, "Hoax: Truth and Lies in the Age of Enlightenment". It's out now! It's the story of three women and their...

A History of Homophobia

Has there ever been a time when homophobia did not exist? And what causes it to rise and fall?

Kate is joined by Dr. Harry Tanner, author of...