History Podcasts
The History Hit network gives you access to a growing range of podcasts presented by and featuring historians at the forefront of research and debate.
Scroll down to listen to the most recent episodes from our network.
Dan Snow’s History Hit explores the deep history behind today’s headlines – giving you the context to understand what is going on today. Everything has a history, every challenge made easier by understanding its nature, its genesis. In a world of fast opinions, we put historians into the debate, women and men who bring real knowledge built over careers spent researching.
The Ancients, hosted by historian Tristan Hughes, is dedicated to discussing our distant past. Historians and archaeologists join Tristan to discuss specific themes from antiquity, from Neolithic Britain to the Fall of Rome.
Professor Suzannah Lipscomb presents Not Just the Tudors. Together with expert interviewees, she covers the sweeping range of the early modern period: everything from the Aztecs to witches, Velázquez to Shakespeare, Mughal India to the Mayflower.
Gone Medieval is hosted by historians Matt Lewis and Eleanor Janega, who shine a light on one of the most fascinating yet misunderstood periods of history: the Middle Ages. In each episode, experts lead listeners beneath the skin of captivating stories to uncover new insights.
In Betwixt the Sheets join historian, Kate Lister as she unashamedly roots around the topics which seem to have been skipped in history class. Everything from landmark LGBTQ+ court cases, to political scandal, to downright bizarre medieval cures for impotence.
In American History Hit, join Don Wildman twice a week for your hit of American history, as he explores the past to help us understand the United States of today. We’ll hear how codebreakers uncovered secret Japanese plans for the Battle of Midway, visit Chief Powhatan as he prepares for war with the British, see Walt Disney accuse his former colleagues of being communists, and uncover the dark history that lies beneath Central Park.
After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal joined History Hit’s award-winning podcast network in October 2023, hosted by actor, writer and historian Anthony Delaney and writer, broadcaster, historian Maddy Pelling. Together, the duo unpick history’s spookiest, strangest and most sinister stories – from the disappearance of HMS Terror to the origins of Halloween.
War historian and broadcaster James Rogers hosts our Warfare podcast, which opens up fascinating new perspectives on how conflict has shaped and changed our world. James teams up with fellow historians, veterans, and experts to reveal astonishing new histories of inspirational leadership, breakthrough technologies, and era defining battles.
Patented, hosted by Dallas Campbell, dives into stories of flukey discoveries, erased individuals and murky marketing ploys with the help of experts, scientists and historians.
Click on any of the listings below to listen to the most recent episodes from our network.
All Podcasts
37:21
How to Survive a Medieval Crusade
7 January 2025What would it have been like to go on a medieval crusade? What dangers would you have faced on the gruelling journey to the Holy Land, and what...
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40:16
Ancient Eroticism, Pagan Workouts & Body Ideals: History of the Gym
7 January 2025It's January and (reluctant) thoughts turn to gym memberships, but what are the ancient origins of this phenomena?
From the naked workouts...
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38:09
The Real Lady Macbeth with Val McDermid
7 January 2025Lady Macbeth is best known to us as Shakespeare’s scheming, sleepwalking villain. But, as with most of his so-called history plays,...
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35:00
The First 12 Days of the Civil War
6 January 2025In April 1861, Union forces having lost the first battle of the Civil War, attention turned to the Confederacy's likely next target - Washington...
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42:31
Hagia Sophia: Where Worlds Collide
6 January 2025The Hagia Sophia is a landmark that has stood for 1500 years, and that players can clamber all over in Assassin’s Creed Revelations. It is...
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46:26
Machiavelli
6 January 2025Niccolo Machiavelli’s name has become synonymous with cunning, deceit and a lack of morality to achieve one's goals in politics or business. He...
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40:22
Great Fire of London: Who started it?
6 January 2025(1/2) London's Burning! London's Burning! Disaster strikes in 1666 as the dense, mostly wooden, city of London begins to burn. Who started the...
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57:47
Rome's Greatest Humiliation: Roman Empire vs Germanic Tribes
5 January 2025In 9 AD, the rebel chieftain Arminius and his confederation of Germanic tribes ambushed three Roman legions in the Teutoburg Forest. For days the...
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35:27
Atlantis
5 January 2025The story of Atlantis is one of history's enduring legends. So what’s the actual, ancient tale of Atlantis? Where does it come from? Was...
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56:10
Edward the Confessor & New Year Saints
3 January 2025Ever wondered why the medieval world was so captivated by saints?
Matt Lewis welcomes in the new year with Amy Jeffs, author of 'Saints, A...
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46:04
Medieval Sex Myths
3 January 2025From medieval d*ck pics to sex with monks, how did people in medieval times think about sex and sexuality?
It was a period that spanned...
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54:24
The Battle of the Bulge
3 January 2025In the dead of winter, 1944, the frozen forest of Ardennes erupted in chaos. In a desperate, last-ditch attempt to turn the tide of the war,...
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42:06
President Herbert Hoover: Did He Cause the Great Depression?
2 January 2025President Herbert Hoover is synonymous with failure. As the Great Depression hit, shanty town across America were nicknamed 'Hoovervilles' in...
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1:29:18
Six Wives: Katherine Howard & Kateryn Parr
2 January 2025Across the holiday season, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb has been diving deep into the captivating stories of the six wives of Henry VIII...
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53:22
Who Was the Real King Arthur?
2 January 2025Was King Arthur a real historical figure or merely a mythical hero?
Tristan Hughes and Dr. Miles Russell delve into the myth and mystery of...
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41:55
Final Days of Rasputin
2 January 2025Grigori Rasputin, Russian mystic, survived multiple assassination attempts on the same night. He was poisoned, he was shot, he was drowned in a...
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28:45
The Great Fire of London
1 January 2025In the early hours of September 2, 1666, a small fire broke out on the ground floor of a baker's house in Pudding Lane. In five days that small...
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42:19
Midwinter Medieval Traditions
31 December 2024Ever wondered how Christmas was celebrated in Medieval times? Dr. Eleanor Janega and Matt Lewis explore the fascinating world of Medieval festive...
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1:03:52
Remembering Jimmy Carter: Life & Legacy
30 December 2024In this special episode, Don Wildman is joined by experts Jonathan Alter and Jefferson Cowie to delve into the remarkable life of the 39th...
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51:15
Japanese in America
30 December 2024When the US turned to Japan for workers in the late 19th Century, they probably never foresaw that one day soon they would imprison those who...
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35:42
Sir Christopher Wren
30 December 2024Celebrate the 350th anniversary of Sir Christopher Wren's masterworks with Professor Suzannah Lipscomb as she and Professor Adrian Tinniswood OBE...
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