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
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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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54:24
HMS Wager: Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder
7 April 2024Join Dan as he narrates the harrowing story of the HMS Wager and its crew's descent into mutiny and survival against all odds. Set against the...
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25:33
Nazis, the CIA & Psychedelics
6 April 2024This is the untold story of how Nazi experiments with psychedelics influenced CIA research and the War on Drugs. From covert mind control programs...
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53:25
How to Survive in Babylonia
6 April 2024Would you be able to survive in ancient Babylonia?
In this episode, Tristan is joined once again by Amanda Podany from California State...
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40:34
Viking Royalty: Nicknames, Love Poems & Victorian Myths
5 April 2024We think we know the Vikings, but how well do we really know them?
From the insignia we think they wear, to the names they call themselves...
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36:16
The Dynasty that Made Medieval France
5 April 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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29:53
NATO: 75 Years Deterring Armageddon
4 April 2024It comprises more than half of the world's defence spending, but what is the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation? How has the United States...
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