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

39:11

The Rise of Cicero

25 March 2021

Cicero is often considered to be one of the greatest orators of Ancient Rome. But how did he reach prominence in Roman politics? Why are his speeches...

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31:31

Istanbul: A Tale of Three Cities with Bettany Hughes

24 March 2021

In this episode from the back catalogue, Dr Bettany Hughes joins Dan to talk about her history of Istanbul which sits at the crossroads of Europe and...

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1:02:39

Heinrich Himmler: My Great-Uncle

24 March 2021

Katrin Himmler's great-uncle was Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS, and one of the principle architects of the Holocaust. Katrin has confronted her...

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23:16

One Normal Family, 300 Years of History

23 March 2021

Every family has a history and delving into the history of one ordinary French family over three centuries provides a remarkable picture of deep...

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20:50

French Resistance Super Spy

22 March 2021

Today's podcast is about French Resistance spies! Dan is joined by the author Roland Phillips who has uncovered the story of Mathilde Carré who was...

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30:15

WW2: The Danish Resistance

22 March 2021

Despite declaring itself neutral at the outset of the Second World War, Denmark’s experience of the war years is identifiable by its internal...

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23:36

Boudica: Through Roman Eyes

21 March 2021

The Iceni warrior who led a revolt against the Roman Empire around 60 AD often stands alone in our memory of ancient queens in Britain, but in this...

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25:58

Napoleon: Captive on Saint Helena

21 March 2021

Saint Helena is one of the most remote inhabited islands in the world. Nearly a thousand mile from the nearest piece of land, this recently created...

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21:37

The Census

20 March 2021

Here in the UK, it's census time! Today, I'm joined on the podcast by one of the nations favourite family historians Dr Michala Hulme who certainly...

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42:53

The War in the East: Part 1 with Bill Frankland

19 March 2021

In this episode taken from our archive, I talk to Dr Bill Frankland (19 March 1912 – 2 April 2020), a veteran of World War Two who lived through...

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30:28

The American Way of War: A History

19 March 2021

From Ancient Greece, through the Enlightenment, the Napoleonic Wars, The First World War, then the Second, and all the way through to modern drone...

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42:06

Another History of Ideas with David Runciman

18 March 2021

Today, I am joined once again by Professor David Runciman to talk about the second series of his brilliant History of Ideas podcast. The series looks...

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26:59

Petra: The Rose City

18 March 2021

A city of caves, temples and tombs, Petra gains its nickname from the pink sandstone from which it was carved. In this second part of his...

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24:07

St Patrick's Day

17 March 2021

We all have a story about St Patrick's Day and our guest on the podcast today, Adrian Mulligan has a few. Adrian is an Associate Professor of...

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57:14

Montgomery: Britain’s Best Known Field Marshall

17 March 2021

From fighting on the front line as a Junior Officer in the first days of the First World War, to commanding Allied ground forces on D-Day, the...

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31:32

The My Lai Massacre

16 March 2021

On the 16th March 1968, the My Lai Massacre occurred in South Vietnam. 350-500 men, women, children and babies were brutally killed by US troops...

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47:56

The Ides of March

15 March 2021

Today's podcast is an episode taken from our sibling podcast The Ancients. In 4 BC, the Ides of March took on a new significance. Previously...

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32:28

The Enigma of Dieppe

15 March 2021

Almost 80 years after the raid on Dieppe on 19 August 1942, David O’Keefe has uncovered the secret mission to pinch Enigma related material...

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47:29

The Ides of March

14 March 2021

In 44 BC, the Ides of March took on a new significance. Previously observed as the first full moon of the new year, the 15 March is today...

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29:29

Written Constitutions with Linda Colley

14 March 2021

On the podcast today we have the legendary Linda Colley to talk all about her new book examining the phenomenon of written constitutions. From...

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22:51

Vikings in America

12 March 2021

The Vikings were one of the great exploring peoples of the past. They travelled east along the rivers to the Silk Road, they explored west across the...

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