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
40:19
Marshal Pétain: Hero or Traitor?
11 May 2024Marshal Pétain emerged from the First World War as a French national hero. His defence of Verdun had set him on course to become one of France's...
Listen Now
47:09
The Cleopatras: A Dynasty of Rule Breakers
11 May 2024Cleopatra. It is one of the most recognisable names in ancient history, made famous by the exploits of Egypt’s controversial pharaoh queen. But...
Listen Now
32:21
The Viking Age: What Discoveries Reveal
10 May 2024The Vikings continue to fascinate us because their compelling stories connect with universal human desires for exploration and adventure. But...
Listen Now
46:58
Menopause: History, ‘Hysteria’ & Hormone Revolutions
10 May 2024When you look into the history of menopause it’s steeped in misogyny, fear and demonising women’s bodies.
But what is the truth...
Listen Now
51:46
Forbidden Desire in Early Modern Europe
9 May 2024**This episode contains conversation about sexual behaviour**
In early modern Europe, acting upon same-sex desires was forbidden. We only...
Listen Now
42:03
President James A. Garfield: Sex Cults & Assassination
8 May 2024This may have been the second shortest Presidency in the history of the United States, but the term of James Garfield is definitely not one to...
Listen Now
53:53
Nineveh
8 May 2024Nineveh was one of the great cities of ancient Mesopotamia. Situated on the eastern bank of the River Tigris, it rivalled cities like Babylon and...
Listen Now
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...
Listen Now
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...
Listen Now
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...
Listen Now
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...
Listen Now
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...
Listen Now
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...
Listen Now
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,...
Listen Now
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...
Listen Now
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...
Listen Now
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...
Listen Now
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...
Listen Now
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...
Listen Now
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...
Listen Now
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...
Listen Now