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
54:06
Alexander the Great
24 January 2024This is everything you need to know about the famed conqueror Alexander the Great. Alongside Dan Snow, host of Dan Snow's History Hit, Tristan and...
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43:25
One Life: The 'British Schindler' Nicky Winton & The Kindertransport
24 January 2024Nicholas Winton masterminded an effort that saved the lives of 669 Jewish Children from Czechoslovakia on the eve of World War Two. There's a new...
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29:31
The Taj Mahal
23 January 2024The Taj Mahal is one of the most iconic and romanticised buildings on earth. Commissioned by a Mughal ruler to mark the passing of his beloved...
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42:08
William the Conqueror
22 January 2024When his cousin King Edward the Confessor died childless, Duke William of Normandy saw the throne of England as his birthright. But one man stood...
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44:44
Murder in the Stuart Court
22 January 2024The public fascination with true crime is nothing new. Four centuries ago, the sensational story of the death in the Tower of London of...
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45:37
Robert Burns' Sex Life
22 January 2024How did an 18th century working class farm labourer climb the social ladder to become the most beloved poet Scotland has produced?
By the...
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36:46
The Life and Death of Vladimir Lenin
22 January 2024Vladimir Lenin died just over 100 years ago, on the 21st of February, 1924. The Russian revolutionary leader fought in no battles, spent much of...
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45:01
The Watergate Scandal
21 January 2024Wiretapping, White House tapes and the possibility of impeachment. On June 17, 1972, a break-in at the Watergate Hotel triggered a chain of events...
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43:59
The Real Dick Turpin
21 January 2024"Your money or your life!"
Those are the immortal words ascribed to this famous outlaw. Terror of the rich. Hero to the poor. Charmer of...
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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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