History Podcasts | History Hit

 

 

History Hit 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

30:45

Vikings In the Frankish Kingdom

11 January 2022

The Kingdom of the Franks was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe, ruled by the Franks during Late Antiquity and the Early...

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26:55

Digging for Britain with Professor Alice Roberts

11 January 2022

2021 was a bumper year for archaeological discoveries across Britain. In this episode, we go on a whistlestop tour of some of the most notable...

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33:21

1492: The Year the Spanish Monarchy Changed the World

10 January 2022

2022 marks the 530th anniversary of 1492 - the year in which Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castille ended centuries of Muslim rule in Spain,...

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41:51

Crisis in Ukraine: From the 18th Century to Today

10 January 2022

Since late 2013, Ukraine has been in crisis. But the problems there go much further back. To examine the history of the conflict in Ukraine, we...

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20:38

Was the League of Nations Doomed to Fail?

10 January 2022

102 years ago on the 10th of January 1920, the League of Nations was formed out of the Treaty of Versailles. Its aim was to maintain peace after...

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1:07:45

Spinning in the Roman World

9 January 2022

Spinning held an important place in ancient society, and no, we're not talking about ancient exercise classes. A task for women and slaves, it was...

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25:34

Obama and Merkel: The Extraordinary Partnership

9 January 2022

U.S. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are two of the world’s most influential leaders, together at the centre of some...

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48:19

Joan of Arc

8 January 2022

Joan of Arc is a name that’s instantly recognisable to most. A controversial figure in her own day, she has remained so ever since, often being...

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35:58

B17s and Bullet holes: A US Airforce Bomber

7 January 2022

Chuck Richardson is a former member of the United States Airforce, serving across Europe in his B17 bomber during World War 2. He, and co-author...

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28:58

1921 Census: Revealed

7 January 2022

For the first time, the 1921 Census of England & Wales is now publicly available, only online at the family history website, Findmypast. More...

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34:19

Franz Hals: Painter of The Laughing Cavalier

6 January 2022

One of the most famous paintings in London is The Laughing Cavalier of 1624 by Franz Hals, the great portrait artist of the Dutch Golden Age whose...

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49:53

Cannibalism

6 January 2022

It’s a macabre topic to discuss, but also one that has fascinated people for generations. So what has archaeology revealed about cannibalism...

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36:32

Democratic Decline

6 January 2022

The 6th of January marks one year since the United States Capitol attack of 2021, whereby a mob of supporters of Republican President Donald J....

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22:37

The 'Forgotten Bastards' of the Eastern Front

5 January 2022

During the Second World War, from 1941 onwards, Stalin's Soviet Union was joined in a close but awkward coalition with the Western allies....

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51:09

Sitting Bull: the Life and Death of a Native American Chief

5 January 2022

Sitting Bull, best known for his initiative and victory at the Battle of Little Bighorn, is a greatly revered Native American Chief. But he was...

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27:12

Leprosy

4 January 2022

Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae. It’s a condition that can have a...

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21:45

Treasures of Ancient Egypt

4 January 2022

Ramesses the Great, ego in the ancient world and Tutankhamun's sacred underwear. These are all covered in today's episode with Dr Campbell Price...

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51:15

2022: A Year of Major Anniversaries

3 January 2022

Happy New Year from Not Just the Tudors! But what, looking back, can we look forward to in 2022? Our first episode of the year...

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36:15

The Cuban Missile Crisis

3 January 2022

A 13-day political and military standoff took place in October 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Just 90 miles off the coast of Florida, the...

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29:32

Tutankhamun: Life, Legacy and Discovery

3 January 2022

Tutankhamun's tomb was discovered by Howard Carter almost 100 years ago, and two years later they opened up the stone sarcophagus that held the...

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45:08

Alexander The Great vs Julius Caesar

2 January 2022

They’ve both been described as the greatest military commander in the ancient world, but who really takes the title (if either of them)?...

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