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

33:15

Hitler’s North African Genocide

27 September 2021

When we think of the Holocaust, we tend to think about Europe and Germany. However, during World War II, Hitler's antisemitic race laws also...

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46:27

Sir Ranulph Fiennes on Shackleton

26 September 2021

Sir Ranulph Fiennes is possibly the most famous living explorer but he believes that the greatest ever polar explorer is Sir Ernest Shackleton....

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44:52

Roman Weapons

26 September 2021

Legendary leaders and notorious battles, we imagine the sound of clinking armour. But what did the Romans take with them into battle? In the...

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23:44

Duke of Windsor: The Nazi King?

25 September 2021

When Edward VIII abdicated the throne in December 1936 his desire to marry the American divorcee Wallis Simpson was cited as the main cause but did...

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37:26

What is a Pilgrimage?

25 September 2021

People of a multitude of cultures, religions, and cultures around the world have long traveled vast distances as forms of pilgrimage. But why would...

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1:05:57

The Rise of Hannibal

24 September 2021

He was one of the greatest enemies the Romans ever faced. An excellent general and a larger-than-life figure, he led an army across the alps and...

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52:07

Duke of Wellington

24 September 2021

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, was a soldier, statesman, and prominent political figure who served the United Kingdom twice as Prime...

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44:36

Holbein and the Tudor Court

23 September 2021

In the early 1530s, the painter Hans Holbein the Younger returns to London. His patronage by Anne Boleyn and the influential Thomas Cromwell leads...

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26:53

Child Survivors of the Holocaust

23 September 2021

The Holocaust was perhaps the most infamous and traumatic event of the Twentieth century and it seared itself into the consciousness of the world but...

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41:44

Werewolves and Strix-Witches

23 September 2021

It’s werewolf time on the Ancients! In this episode Exeter University’s Professor Daniel Ogden highlights how these mythical creatures have...

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32:12

A History of Sex for Sale

22 September 2021

Sometimes referred to as the world's oldest profession sex workers have been part of human society for as long as recorded history, but how have...

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24:24

WW2: Britain's Most Decorated Spy

22 September 2021

Odette Sansom, was the most highly decorated woman, and the most decorated spy of any gender during World War II. She was awarded both the George...

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24:34

History of the Taliban

21 September 2021

In August 2021 the Taliban swept to power in Afghanistan for the second time capturing Kabul and ousting the American backed regime, but where do...

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43:20

The Saxon Origins of London

21 September 2021

From ghost town to ceremonial, ecclesiastical and economic hub: how did London develop in the Saxon era, and how is that crucial to what London has...

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54:35

Fortress Cilicia: Megastructures in the Near East

21 September 2021

In the aftermath of Alexander the Great’s death, his empire became the subject of a series of titanic clashes: the Wars of the Successors. In...

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42:50

Hans Holbein's Early Years

20 September 2021

Hans Holbein the Younger is celebrated for his hyper-realistic, iconic portraits of Henry VIII, Thomas More, Thomas Cromwell, Anne of Cleves, Jane...

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51:15

Twelve Caesars with Mary Beard

20 September 2021

The title of Caesar has echoed down the ages as the pinnacle of absolute power and perhaps even tyranny. A single man at the head of a nation or...

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27:20

WW2: Women & Work

20 September 2021

From munitions factories and the cabinet war rooms, to flying aircraft and even shaking hands with Joseph Stalin; during the Second World War...

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25:40

The Harlem Hellfighters of World War One

19 September 2021

During World War One the 369th Infantry Regiment of the US Army gained a fearsome reputation. One of the most effective fighting units they spent...

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46:10

Clodius: Best Villain of the Roman Republic?

19 September 2021

Historian and author Dr. Emma Southon returns to the Ancients to shine a light on the life - and murder - of Publius Claudius Pulcher (aka...

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26:33

The Frontiers of Science & History with A.C. Grayling

18 September 2021

A. C. Grayling is one of the foremost minds of his generation and his new book explores some of the biggest questions that face humanity. What do we...

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