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

49:36

300 years of British Prime Ministers: Part 3

18 April 2021

In the third episode of our series chronicling the history of British Prime Ministers we travel from one of the Most famous occupants of the office,...

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48:16

The Legacy of Thermopylae

18 April 2021

Ever since its occurence in 480 BC, the Battle of Thermopylae has been the stuff of legend. Echoes of this battle, reportedly fought between a seven...

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27:46

Irish Independence

16 April 2021

On 18th April 1949, the Republic of Ireland Act came into effect which saw Ireland become a republic and leave the Commonwealth. 2021 also marks the...

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25:48

JFK's Darkest Hour: The Cuban Missile Crisis

16 April 2021

In October 1962 the world came very close to annihilation during the Cuban Missile Crisis. During the autumn of 1962, a U2 reconnaissance aircraft...

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45:34

Battle of Okinawa

16 April 2021

The last major confrontation of the Second World War, and the largest amphibious assault of the Pacific theatre, the Battle of Okinawa ended in...

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32:01

Life and Death in Medieval England

15 April 2021

We often hear about the kings and queens of medieval England, but what was life like for the ordinary person? From knights to peasants to barbers,...

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22:44

Edges of Empire: Chesters Roman Fort

15 April 2021

Described as one of the most complete cavalry forts that survives in Britain, Chesters Roman Fort is also home to the best preserved military baths...

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41:15

British Seapower in the 1900s

14 April 2021

During the changes and troubles of the 20th century, officials in Britain faced a huge question: how could they maintain imperial power? Dr Louis...

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23:21

Outbreak of WW2 & The British People

14 April 2021

Our traditional understanding of the beginning of the Second World War in 1939 hinges on studies of Chamberlain and his fellow statesmen, but what...

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20:18

The End of Sex Disqualification?

13 April 2021

The First World War saw unprecedented numbers of women enter the workplace and help pave the way for women to be given greater rights and...

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29:22

Yuri Gagarin: The First Human to Leave Our Planet

12 April 2021

On April 12th 1961 the Soviet Union shocked the world by launching the first man into space; Yuri Gagarin. Strapped to the top of a gigantic ICBM...

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57:03

300 years of British Prime Ministers: Part 2

11 April 2021

Continuing our series looking at British Prime Ministers this episode tackles the period following the Battle of Waterloo all the way up to...

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32:16

Lessons from the Antonine Plague

11 April 2021

A plague which affects people from across society, mass exodus from city centres and numerous opinions on how best to stay well ... all familiar to...

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35:38

Prince Philip's Military Service

11 April 2021

During almost a century of life, Prince Philip dedicated seven decades to the service of Great Britain as the partner of Queen Elizabeth II. But...

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31:45

Prince Philip

9 April 2021

Abandoned by his parents, exiled from his home, a veteran of Second World War battles, an author, the founder of the World Wide Fund for Nature...

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36:29

The Xiongnu: History's First Nomadic Empire?

9 April 2021

Between the 3rd century BC and the 1st century AD, the Xiongnu inhabited the area surrounding Mongolia. They influenced the later Hun Empire, and had...

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28:43

WW2: The Secret British Resistance

9 April 2021

What if the Battle of Britain had not been a success for the British? What was the plan had the Nazis successfully crossed the channel? Chris...

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27:36

What Britain Did to Nigeria

8 April 2021

When we think of the British Empire we often think of India, Pakistan, Singapore, Burma or perhaps South Africa but an often underrepresented part of...

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53:50

Persia's Untapped Source: The Persepolis Fortification Texts

8 April 2021

The Persepolis Fortification Tablets / Texts are the who’s who of the Ancient Achaemenid Empire, a unique insight into the administrative...

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33:31

Catherine the Great

7 April 2021

Catherine the Great came from minor German nobility to become Empress of Russia and one of the most extraordinary women of the eighteenth century....

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21:13

Boer War: Kipling, Kingsley and Conan Doyle

7 April 2021

In early 1900, Rudyard Kipling, Mary Kingsley and Arthur Conan Doyle crossed paths in South Africa during the Anglo-Boer War. Motivated in various...

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