History 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
41:31
Harry Potter Monsters: The Ancient Origins
8 May 2024***Spoiler Alert: this episode contains spoilers for the Harry Potter books and films***
Giant snakes, winged horses and hooded demons. The...
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30:10
Merlin, The Occult and British Politics
7 May 2024Who was the real Merlin? Dr Francis Young says the closest is John Dee, Elizabeth I's occultist advisor who gave her the idea for a British...
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35:20
Women Crusaders
7 May 2024The image we usually associate with a Crusader - of a dashing nobleman on a mighty steed heading out for Holy War - often obscures all of the...
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46:54
Sex & Scandal in Charles II's Court
7 May 2024There are many privileges that come with being a royal, but where do mistresses lay amongst these? If you'll excuse the pun.
Charles II was...
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37:22
The Dynasty That Made Medieval France
6 May 2024From Hugh Capet to Eleanor of Aquitaine, the Capetian dynasty considered itself divinely chosen to fulfil a great destiny. From an insecure...
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37:35
The Real Hamilton: Lover, Adulterer, Family Man?
6 May 2024Founding Father, first Secretary of the Treasury and focus of one of the world's first political sex scandals - we couldn't do a series about...
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25:12
Walter Raleigh’s Quest for El Dorado
6 May 2024Sir Walter Raleigh remains one of the most famous men of the Elizabethan era. He was a true Renaissance man - a statesman, soldier, writer,...
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49:14
Why Are We Drawn to Dictators?
5 May 2024Is liberal democracy facing an existential crisis? A 2023 poll conducted by the Open Society Barometer found that faith in democracy among young...
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43:41
True Story of the Mutiny on the Bounty (Part 1)
5 May 2024Violence, sex, betrayal, death and ... SHIPS! This is the story of how a voyage that began with scientific aims and a regimented daily routine...
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29:28
The Atomic Bomb & Civil War Cigars: Greatest 'What Ifs' from History
4 May 2024We think of history as a neat chain of predictable events; but what if the truth is far wilder than that? Today, we're talking about the pivotal...
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43:04
Origins of the Silk Road
4 May 2024The Silk Road was a pivotal ancient exchange network that connected the grassy steppes of Asia and the Middle East with the western world. The...
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28:25
Genghis Khan to Tamerlane: Mongol Empire Reborn
3 May 2024The Mongol Empire that rose in the early 13th century was fractured and in crisis by the mid-14th. But then a new warlord arose who sought to...
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42:27
History of Geishas
3 May 2024What does it mean to be a geisha? How does someone become one? And how do they differ from sex workers?
The geisha world is famously very...
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33:28
Teddy Roosevelt: The Making of the Rough Rider President
2 May 2024Theodore Roosevelt is arguably the most masculine president in American history. So how was he influenced by the women around him? And how was he...
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46:51
The Roman Auxiliary
2 May 2024Auxiliaries were some of the most important troops in the all-conquering Roman Army. Unlike legionaries, their more heavily-armoured and widely...
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43:42
Origins of the Normans
1 May 2024Because of William the Conqueror’s victory at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, the Normans have remained a familiar and important name in British...
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39:01
Execution of Charles I
1 May 2024In 1649, Charles I had his head chopped off for treason. It's a unique, divisive moment in English history. Was Charles a tyrant or a martyr? Was...
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43:21
From Tudor to Stuart: Regime Change
1 May 2024In 1603, Queen Elizabeth I died and King James VI of Scotland, became King James I of England. Elizabeth was a hard act to follow for the...
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27:32
The Battle of Okinawa
30 April 2024Please note, this episode contains discussion of suicide.
On 1 April 1945, as the Second World War in Europe was reaching its end, one of...
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44:59
Drunk Victorians: Moral Panic & Meat Wine
30 April 2024Glass of meat wine, anyone? That's right, the Victorians loved a glass of meaty wine.
They loved drinking so much that it became a moral...
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29:44
The Original Kamikaze: The Mongol Invasions of Japan
29 April 2024At the height of the Mongol Empire, Kublai Khan set his sights on the island of Japan. He launched two enormous invasions of that nation in 1274...
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