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

21:07

Medieval New Year

1 January 2022

In the medieval world, January 1 wasn’t actually New Year’s Day (that was March 25), but the anniversary of Jesus’s circumcision (according...

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1:00:11

The World's Biggest Nuclear Bomb

31 December 2021

In the early hours of 30 October 1961, a bomber took off from an airstrip in northern Russia and began its flight through cloudy skies over...

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23:34

Sex in the Middle Ages

31 December 2021

Please note that this episode contains conversation about sex that you might not want to listen to in the presence of children.

What did...

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51:42

A Happy Tudor New Year

30 December 2021

For the Tudors, Christmas Day was not traditionally the date when gifts were given. The Twelve Days of Christmas begin on 25 December and end...

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46:04

How Julius Caesar Changed Time

30 December 2021

We’re finishing off 2021 with what is perhaps Julius Caesar’s greatest legacy. It’s not a military victory or battle, but one of the many...

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22:39

Inside The Great Cathedrals of Europe

30 December 2021

A trip to Paris wouldn't be the same without taking a moment to gaze up at the great looming towers of the Gothic Notre Dame Cathedral with its...

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10:45

The Great Escape with Air Commodore Charles Clarke

29 December 2021

What was it like in Stalag Luft III? In this episode from the History Hit archives, Dan Snow speaks with Air Commodore Charles Clarke, a...

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41:27

The Origins Of Scotland

29 December 2021

The Medieval period saw the advancement of many countries, evolving to the provinces in Europe that we know today; Scotland is no different. In...

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36:50

Vikings: Surviving Winter

28 December 2021

Vikings are often depicted as fearless warriors, but they were not immune to the harsh realities of northern weather. They not only survived in...

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47:22

The 1914 Christmas Truce (Part 2)

28 December 2021

Part Two of our episodes on the famous Christmas Truce. On Christmas Eve 1914 many sectors of the Western Front in France and Belgium fell silent....

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41:26

Biggest Tudor Discoveries 2021

27 December 2021

In this special end of the year edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb takes a look back at 2021 and the major events and...

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42:02

Creating the United Nations

27 December 2021

The search for Peace on Earth has spanned centuries, and involved the creation and dissolution of numerous treaties and organisations. So how does...

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38:34

The 1914 Christmas Truce (Part 1)

27 December 2021

On Christmas Eve 1914 many sectors of the Western Front in France and Belgium fell silent. Troops from all sides put down their weapons and sang...

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1:00:11

Race & Identity in the Ancient Greek Novel

26 December 2021

For the first 4 centuries AD/CE, the ancient Greek novel was the most popular literary form in the Roman Empire and at the heart of these popular...

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33:06

Medieval Christmas

25 December 2021

Ever wondered why we call Christmas, ‘Christmas’? And why it’s celebrated on the 25th December? Or maybe where the Christmas tree came from,...

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35:40

Storytime with the Snows: Boudica

25 December 2021

In a special episode of the podcast, Dan's children join him for a lively retelling of Boudica and the violent uprising that tore Roman Britain...

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30:57

HMS Belfast & the Arctic Convoy

24 December 2021

Moored on the Thames, HMS Belfast has become a permanent fixture in the landscape of London, but since her initial launch over 80 years ago she...

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24:44

Christmas Carols: A Musical History

24 December 2021

Traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas holiday season, it is thought that carols existed to keep up people’s...

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54:48

Tudor Ghosts and Angels

23 December 2021

To this day, the presence of angels is synonymous with the Christmas story and the momentous events associated with the Nativity. For the...

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42:07

Hannibal's Winter War

23 December 2021

It’s fair to say that winter battles weren’t commonplace in the ancient Mediterranean world. There is, however, one striking exception. A...

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48:48

Dan Explores Dickensian London!

23 December 2021

Just as Scrooge wandered London's streets on a cold Christmas night, Dan Snow follows the ghosts of Charles Dickens' past to discover the city...

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