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
51:50
Lascaux Cave: Ice Age Art
21 January 2024Lascaux Cave is an Ice Age wonder. Its walls and ceilings are adorned with stunning depictions of bison, aurochs and deer painted by...
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36:08
Kamasutra: The Ancient Playboy Manual
19 January 2024Most people would assume that the Kamasutra is a book of hundreds of fantastical sex positions.
They would partly be right, but mostly...
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48:15
President Millard Fillmore: The Most Handsome President?
18 January 2024How did a president lose his entire cabinet so soon after taking office? What was his role in the Westward expansion of the United States? And...
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33:51
Harald Hardrada
18 January 2024In the second of Gone Medieval’s series looking at the road to the Battle of Hastings, Matt Lewis focuses on another claimant to the English...
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39:50
The Many Murders of Alexander the Great
18 January 2024Alexander the Great - conqueror, legend, murderer. After ascending to the throne at aged 20 in 336BCE, his rule started with mass executions and...
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34:44
Trading British Brides for American Tobacco
18 January 2024In 1621 the Virginia Company of London put out a call for young, handsome and honestly educated women to become wives for the planters in its new...
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36:39
Cicero
17 January 2024Marcus Tullius Cicero is one of the most famous orators in ancient history, and a central figure during the final years of the Roman...
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42:33
What if Hitler Had Invaded Britain?
17 January 2024How prepared was Britain for a Nazi invasion? The common perception is of a country woefully unprepared for war; hastily assembled defences manned...
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34:35
The Battle of Little Bighorn
17 January 2024Also known as Custer's Last Stand or the Battle of the Greasy Grass, the Battle of Little Bighorn was a pivotal moment in the story of the...
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42:09
The Real Outlander
16 January 2024How real to true events is the Outlander series?
The Jacobite uprising of the 18th century was led by Bonnie Prince Charlie to reclaim the...
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33:53
The Making of Martin Luther King Jr.
15 January 2024Who introduced Martin Luther King Jr. to activism? Why is the influence of mothers so often understated? And did you know about the other King...
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36:42
Ghost Ship: The Mary Celeste
15 January 2024In 1872 the ghost ship Mary Celeste is found sailing across the Atlantic without a single crew member left on board. Theories over what happened...
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38:44
King Arthur's Sex Life
15 January 2024The stories of King Arthur are among the great legends of British history. But behind the romance, chivalry and sorcery of it all, there were some...
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32:48
15th Century Puritan Fanatic, Savonarola
15 January 2024Girolamo Savonarola was a late 15th century Dominican friar who rose to become a preacher, prophet, and politician. He took on the corruption...
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46:44
Mike Sadler: The Last SAS Soldier
15 January 2024In this episode, we remember Mike Sadler the last of the original SAS men who recently died at the age of 103. Major Sadler was the navigator for...
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51:09
The Bronze Age Collapse
13 January 2024The Bronze Age Collapse was one of the most cataclysmic events in human history. Over just a few decades, civilisations across the Mediterranean...
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47:01
Alexander The Great Sex's Life
12 January 2024Was he as great in bed as he was at conquering the Persian empire?
Whether he even had time for it, is another question. In today's episode,...
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44:07
The Election That Changed Politics: 1968
11 January 2024Chaos, collusion and the Chennault Affair. What made the election of 1968 so unusual?
Luke Nichter joins Don to talk about the election race...
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25:59
Medieval Anatomy
11 January 2024How did medieval surgeons, doctors and monks understand the inner workings of the human body? Who performed the first scientific human...
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35:20
How to Survive in Tudor England
11 January 2024Life in Tudor England was risky. In addition to the outbreaks of plague, the threat of poverty and the dangers of childbirth, there were...
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31:49
Myths of King Arthur: Origins, Creepy Sex & Magic Swords
11 January 2024King Arthur. Merlin. The Knights of the Round Table and the Sword in the Stone. We think we know these stories but they've changed a lot since...
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