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
42:49
Rise of Wessex
16 April 2024In Gone Medieval’s special series exploring some of Anglo-Saxon Britain’s most influential kingdoms, we reach Wessex - the last kingdom left...
Listen Now
1:03:27
Fetishwear: A Kinky History
16 April 2024What is the origin of the word fetish? How did the war play a part in shaping fetishwear? And what are some of the styles that are most...
Listen Now
50:10
President Ulysses S. Grant: The Myth of the Butcher
15 April 2024How does a heroic general of the Civil War become one of the lowest rated Presidents (at least until recently)?
To discuss Grant's...
Listen Now
35:30
Bigfoot: the Origin Story
15 April 2024Our second episode examining the very real history of Bigfoot. This time we're looking at ancient Native American rock art and meeting the extinct...
Listen Now
37:36
Unusual Births and Disability in 17th Century England
15 April 2024**WARNING: This episode contains themes that some listeners might find distressing and commonly-used historic terminology that does not reflect...
Listen Now
44:55
The Trial of Charles I
14 April 2024In the mid-17th century, King Charles I of England was put on trial for treason against the sovereign state. Such a process involved a singular...
Listen Now
44:08
What is Zionism?
13 April 2024Dan delves into the complex history of Zionism, exploring its multifaceted origins and the various ideological strands that have shaped it over...
Listen Now
44:08
Looted Artefacts: Black Market of Archaeology
13 April 2024Have you ever wondered about the dark side of archeology? The illegal seizing of ancient artefacts? The looting of goods from age old historical...
Listen Now
40:26
Ulysses S. Grant & the Civil War
11 April 2024Strategic brilliance? Relentless determination? Unbeatable leadership and cooperation with Lincoln? How did Ulysses S. Grant distinguish himself...
Listen Now
42:12
The History of Drag Queens
11 April 2024The word drag is synonymous with flamboyant, fun performances. But where does the term come from and what does it mean?
This more...
Listen Now
41:56
Rise of Mercia
11 April 2024In Gone Medieval’s special series examining some of Anglo-Saxon Britain’s most significant kingdoms, we arrive at the kingdom of Mercia, which...
Listen Now
47:22
Seducing James I: Mary & George
11 April 2024The major new TV series, Mary & George tells the scandalous story of George Villiers, who rose - thanks to his mother Mary’s...
Listen Now
28:30
The First Europeans
11 April 2024Europe’s earliest known humans lived over 1.2 million years ago. After initially roaming the plains of Iberia in small groups, they spread...
Listen Now
39:31
Deadly Dancing Plague of 1518
10 April 2024When people think of Medieval diseases, hysterical dancing is not usually what first comes to mind. Yet in 14th and 15th century Germany, dozens...
Listen Now
21:36
Plagues
9 April 2024From a plague in Athens during the Peloponnesian War in 430 BCE, to another in 540 that wiped out half the population of the Roman empire, down...
Listen Now
45:57
Life on Crusade
9 April 2024Accounts of the Crusades were usually commissioned by wealthy and influential people about themselves, to make their piety and righteousness known...
Listen Now
25:28
Hollywood Spy: The British WW1 Hero Who Helped Japan Attack Pearl Harbour
8 April 2024Frederick Rutland was one of Britain's finest naval pilots and a celebrated hero of the First World War. And yet in the interwar period, he would...
Listen Now
50:34
The Rise & Fall of Al Capone
8 April 2024Al Capone is one of the most notorious gangsters in US history. His story of rags to riches, set against the backdrop of the prohibition era, is...
Listen Now
35:54
Erasmus: Renaissance Radical
8 April 2024In the 16th century, Erasmus of Rotterdam was about as famous as anybody could be, one of the greatest intellectuals of his age. To Martin...
Listen Now
36:51
Bigfoot: Hunt for the Truth
8 April 2024Does Bigfoot really walk among us? Today we start a three-part mini-series exploring the very real histories of Bigfoot and the Yeti.
We...
Listen Now
1:01:29
Sex & Scandal in King James' Court
8 April 2024King James I was a man whose sexuality was known by people in France, let alone (the newly formed) Britain of the early 17th century.
So it...
Listen Now