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
28:51
The Northman: How to Put Vikings On Screen
19 April 2022The Northman now showing in UK cinemas is an action-filled epic that follows a young Viking prince on his quest to avenge his father's...
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42:56
Medieval Sex
19 April 2022*WARNING this episode includes explicit language and adult themes*
What were your medieval ancestors getting up to in the bedroom? Join sex...
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21:21
Josephine Baker: Entertainer and Spy
18 April 2022On November 30th, 2021, Josephine Baker, the French-American performer, second world war resistance hero, and activist became the first Black...
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47:04
How Tudor England Treated Outsiders
18 April 2022The recently released film Lapwing is set during the Tudor period, one year after the Egyptian Act of 1554 effectively criminalised Romani people...
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36:17
Hidden Treasures: Britain's Art in WW2
18 April 2022As Europe prepared for the Second World War, a challenge presented itself to the men and women of Britain’s museums, galleries and archives: how...
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26:50
A Short History of Pirates
17 April 2022Swashbuckling, murder and robbery on the high seas! We're bringing back the fan favourite episode on Dr Rebecca Simon's 'Pirate Queens: The Lives...
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29:51
The First Motion Picture: Conspiracy, Murder, and Movies
17 April 2022In 1890, the man who shot the first ever motion picture boarded a train in Paris — and was never seen again.
Shortly after his...
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39:26
Mary Magdalene
17 April 2022Who was Mary Magdalene? Jesus' confidant, a devout follower, or a sex worker?
In this Easter special, Tristan is joined by Professors Helen...
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16:47
Origins of Easter
16 April 2022Easter today is marked by chocolate eggs and two Bank Holidays - in the Medieval world it had a deeply spiritual significance.
But it...
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36:27
The Falklands War: A British Veteran's Perspective
15 April 2022The role of successful and strategic intelligence operations is a vital part of determining the outcomes of battles and wars. But with every...
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28:40
TITANIC: Survivors and Lost Souls
14 April 2022Part 3/3. News of Titanic's fate sent shockwaves around the world; stories and illustrations of that fateful night splashed across newspaper...
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42:35
Weapons of the Terracotta Army
14 April 2022When someone says the Terracotta Army, you’d be forgiven for instantly thinking of rows upon rows of life size warriors, arranged in three pits...
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41:41
The House of Dudley
14 April 2022The Dudleys were the most brilliant, bold and manipulative of power-hungry Tudor families. Every Tudor monarch made their name either with a...
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41:23
Eating & Drinking with Matt Tebbutt & Olly Smith
14 April 2022Saturday Kitchen's Matt Tebbutt and Olly Smith are On Jimmy's Farm today to talk food and drink trends over the last few...
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34:27
TITANIC: A Night to Remember
13 April 2022Depicted countless times in art, television and film, the night of the 14th of April 1912 has haunted and fascinated us for over a century. This...
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37:26
The Invention of Military Drones
13 April 2022Today, James is the guest on our NEW sister podcast Patented, hosted by Dallas Campbell. Together, they talk us through the century-long history...
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24:54
The Treadmill
13 April 2022Before they found their way into gyms, treadmills had a much darker history. In the 19th Century, they could most commonly be found in...
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34:32
TITANIC: The Unsinkable Ship
12 April 2022On April 10th, 1912, RMS Titanic cast off from Southampton, England, on her maiden voyage. The largest of its kind, full of grandeur and the most...
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24:53
Forgotten Women of the Crusades
12 April 2022Little has been known up until now about the involvement and power of women during the Crusader period. When Saladin's armies besieged Jerusalem...
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40:57
How to Party like an Ancient Greek
11 April 2022In Ancient Greece, the symposium was no ordinary after-dinner drinking party, but one in which the Hellenic men of society got together to wine,...
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39:00
Francesca Caccini: Composer to the Medicis
11 April 2022Francesca Caccini (1587-c.1641) is one of the forgotten women of classical music. She was an exceptional singer and instrumentalist, but above...
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