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

25:41

A History of Tennis

10 July 2021

In this archive episode, David Berry joined Dan on the pod to discuss the history of tennis. From the birth of modern tennis in Victorian Britain to...

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40:17

Battlefield Archaeology

10 July 2021

How different is battlefield archaeology compared to other disciplines? Do local legends ever help track down evidence in a field? And why are potato...

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41:05

How Coffee and Tobacco Captivated Britain

9 July 2021

When tobacco arrived in Britain in the 1560s, it was hailed as a "holy herb", a miracle cure to improve health and a catalyst for wit and...

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28:17

Spitfires: The Kids Who Built Them

9 July 2021

81 years after the beginning of the Battle of Britain in July 1940, we are looking at the people behind one of the iconic machines which helped the...

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41:24

The Death of Anne Boleyn

8 July 2021

The Story of the Death of Anne Boleyn is a long narrative poem written by the secretary to the French ambassador in London within two weeks of the...

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42:10

England and Italy. The History.

8 July 2021

The history of Italy and England stretches back thousands of years well before Italy and England even existed as nations. As the two will meet in the...

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40:33

Begram: Crossroads of the Ancient World

8 July 2021

Bagram, also known as Begram, has been in the news a lot recently. Over the past couple of days, the last US and NATO troops have withdrawn from...

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21:51

The Japanese Americans Who Fought in WWII

7 July 2021

After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in December 1941, Japanese Americans were put in a terrible position in the USA. Many tens of thousands of...

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22:17

WW2: Spying on Nazis

7 July 2021

When captured Nazi generals found themselves in Britain in the Second World War, they were probably surprised to be brought to a beautiful country...

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28:07

Assyria and the Birth of Writing

6 July 2021

It is often the case that it is assumed that it was in ancient Greece and the eastern Mediterranean that was host to the foundation of European...

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41:25

Between a Rock and a Hard Place: The Strait of Messina

6 July 2021

Dividing Sicily from Italy, the Strait of Messina is a small stretch of water with an incredible history that stretches back to ancient times. It was...

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22:55

Bunions in the Middle Ages

6 July 2021

Fashionable footwear in the Middles Ages was not just uncomfortable, but downright dangerous. It turns out fashionable people paid the price for...

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51:31

10 Treasures from the National Trust

5 July 2021

Dr Tarnya Cooper is the Curatorial and Collections Director at the National Trust. For her recent book, 125 Treasures from the Collections of the...

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29:55

Ethel Rosenberg: Super Spy or Innocent Victim?

5 July 2021

In June 1953 Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, an American married couple with two young sons, were executed having been found guilty of conspiracy to...

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57:28

WW2: Churchill's Forgotten Field Marshal Alan Brooke

5 July 2021

In the shadows of Montgomery, Alexander and Eisenhower, Field Marshal Alan Brooke’s extraordinary contributions as a strategist and leader have...

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21:51

D. H. Lawrence and the Lady Chatterley Trial

4 July 2021

D.H. Lawrence is best known for his work Lady Chatterley's Lover and the obscenity trial relating to the book's publication in the early 1960s. But...

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48:44

Persepolis: Jewel of Persia

4 July 2021

It is one of the most remarkable ancient sites in the World. Situated east of the Zagros Mountains in modern day Iran, Persepolis was an important...

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53:27

The Truth About King Arthur

3 July 2021

The legend of King Arthur has been reworked many times, but is there any historical truth behind the tales? Dr Miles Russell believes there is and in...

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36:55

Northampton: The Heart of Medieval England?

3 July 2021

When we think of the heart of England, we often think of the city of London. But in Medieval times, Northampton held this title and it solidified...

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30:33

The Battle of the Somme

2 July 2021

105 years ago the battle of the Somme raged on into its second day. 60,000 British casualties we recorded on its first day and by its close in...

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41:02

Battle of Gettysburg

2 July 2021

158 years ago, the Unionist and Confederate armies were on their second day of fighting at the town of Gettysburg. The battle was arguably the...

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