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
24:49
Cleopatra
26 June 2022Cleopatra VII was part of a dynasty of Macedonian rulers founded by Ptolemy, who served as general under Alexander the Great during his conquest...
Listen Now
1:03:36
The First Americans
26 June 2022Modern humans thrived in the Americas for thousands of years before the first European colonists arrived, but how and when did they get...
Listen Now
31:11
Warships with Dan Snow
26 June 2022Today we are talking warships: from the revolutionary Tudor ships to modern aircraft carriers, and all the innovations along the...
Listen Now
33:53
Shakespeare's Richard III
25 June 2022Richard III is one of Shakespeare’s most controversial plays, often cited as the basis for the King’s reputation as a scheming murderer. But...
Listen Now
35:16
When the US 'Invaded' Northern Ireland
24 June 2022With 300,000 US troops stationed in Northern Ireland between 1942 and 1945 - Northern Ireland soon became overrun. Known as the 'Friendly...
Listen Now
30:08
The Museum of Sex Objects
24 June 2022We’re used to exhibits in museums detailing our ancestors’ home lives and work lives, but what about their sex lives?
On a sunny day in...
Listen Now
20:20
A Short History of Nomads
23 June 2022The roots of the word ‘Nomad’ dates back to an extremely early Indo-European word, ‘nomos’. After towns and cities are built and more...
Listen Now
36:04
How to Crown a Tudor Queen
23 June 2022Four women were crowned in England between 1509 and 1559: two Queens consort - Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn - and England’s first two...
Listen Now
54:30
The Rise of Mammals
23 June 2022They survived extinction level events and record high global temperatures - how did mammals adapt and thrive in a dramatically changing world? In...
Listen Now
33:57
Allotments with Emma Bailey
23 June 2022To cope with the grief after losing her nan to cancer in 2017, Emma Bailey did something she’d never considered before. She started...
Listen Now
22:06
Al Capone
22 June 2022Born in Brooklyn, New York in January 1899, Alphonse Gabriel Capone would go on to become perhaps the most infamous gangster in American history....
Listen Now
35:13
Special Effects
22 June 2022The history of Special Effects — from stop motion to motion capture.
In just over a century, we special effects have been subject to rapid...
Listen Now
22:26
Inside the Royal Marines
21 June 2022The Royal Marines are the UK's Commando Force and the Royal Navy's own amphibious troops. The Commandos have become a byword for elite raiding...
Listen Now
39:28
Anglo-Saxon Treasures at Norwich Castle
21 June 2022Norwich Castle was designed by William the Conqueror to be a royal palace. But no Norman kings ever lived in it. Instead it became a gaol and then...
Listen Now
41:56
Fanny and Stella: The Men Who Shocked Victorian Society
21 June 2022In 1870, two young women were arrested after leaving a theatre in London. These women, so-called Fanny and Stella, were in fact Ernest Boulton and...
Listen Now
25:55
Nuclear Disasters
20 June 2022In 2011, a 43-foot-high tsunami crashed into a nuclear power plant in Fukushima, Japan. In the following days, explosions would rip buildings...
Listen Now
41:35
Isabel Clara Eugenia: Early Modern Europe's Most Powerful Woman
20 June 2022Isabel Clara Eugenia was the heir to the kingdoms of Spain and Portugal, but she was never crowned Queen. But despite this, her life provides a...
Listen Now
39:09
The Cold War in West Africa
20 June 2022The Cold War wasn’t just limited to nuclear tensions and competition between the great powers.
What’s often overlooked is that...
Listen Now
1:05:06
HS2: Digging up the 'Dark Ages'
19 June 2022An extraordinary discovery has been unearthed by archaeologists working alongside the HS2 rail project. The find, made at an undisclosed location...
Listen Now
51:03
The Image of God
19 June 2022Often pictured with a flowing white beard, looking down from Heaven - why is God always seen as an old man? In today's episode, Professor...
Listen Now
23:34
The Invention of Sex Toys
19 June 2022_CW: This episode is a bit saucier than normal with explicit sexual references and some swearing. If that isn’t your cup of tea or are listening...
Listen Now