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
Palmer the Poisoner: Victorian England's Doctor of Death
18 December 2023In a century of poisoners, William Palmer stands out as the prince of them all. Charles Dickens called him "the greatest villain that ever stood...
Listen NowMedieval Humour at Christmas
18 December 2023Just like us, medieval people loved a bit of entertainment at Christmas. But what did they consider funny? How did humorous stories...
Listen NowHow the Elizabethan World Shaped Shakespeare
18 December 2023We think of Shakespeare as a man out of time. His stories and characters, his capturing of human nature, and his exquisite use of language,...
Listen NowFighting Hitler's U-Boats
18 December 2023The Second World War is remembered for its colossal battles in the air, on land and at sea. But perhaps the most terrifying were those waged UNDER...
Listen NowSparta vs Athens: The Greek World War
16 December 2023Marked by shifting alliances, chaotic power struggles, and devastating consequences - the Peloponnesian War was a conflict for the ages. Fought...
Listen Now17th Century Sci-Fi Writer & 'It Girl': Margaret Cavendish
15 December 2023Margaret Cavendish was extraordinary for any time, let alone the 17th century.
She was a trailblazer in fiction, writing and publishing what...
Listen NowTea, Tax & Revolution: Boston Tea Party Aftermath
14 December 2023Why did the Boston Tea Party happen? Why Boston? And how did the events of December 1773 fit in to the American Revolution?
In this episode,...
Listen NowOrigins of Pantomime
14 December 2023Have you ever wondered how and where our Christmas tradition of pantomime originated?
In this edition of Not Just the Tudors,...
Listen NowRichard I's Consort: Berengaria of Navarre
14 December 2023Berengaria of Navarre is mainly remembered for just one thing: being a Queen of England who never set foot in England, at least not as...
Listen NowThe Boston Tea Party
14 December 2023On December 16th, 1773, a band of American patriots quietly boarded three ships in Boston Harbour, under the cover of night. Armed with axes and...
Listen NowWhy Do People Kill at Christmas?
13 December 2023Why do people kill in the season of goodwill? Why are we fascinated when they do? And what does it say about us?
Professor David...
Listen NowJesus of Nazareth
13 December 2023Jesus of Nazareth is one of the most famous figures in history. Believed to be the Son of God in Christianity, he is the central figure in one of...
Listen NowSara Forbes Bonetta: Queen Victoria's African God-Daughter
12 December 2023By the age of just 7, Sara Forbes Bonetta had survived a West African war, lost her parents, been enslaved and finally, exchanged as a gift for a...
Listen Now5 Medieval Christmas Traditions
11 December 2023In this episode of Gone Medieval, our co-hosts Dr. Eleanor Janega and Matt Lewis get together to revive some of the Christmas traditions that were...
Listen NowJFK Special 5. | The Kennedy Curse
11 December 2023What was it about the Kennedy's that attracted so much tragedy, that many believed them to be cursed?
From plane disasters in World War 2,...
Listen NowHow the Reformation Changed Music
11 December 2023The Coventry Carol and In Dulci Jubilo are songs that are still sung at this time of the year. Curiously, despite their medieval roots,...
Listen NowKing Herod
11 December 2023Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of sexual behaviour which may not be suitable for children.
Appointed by the Romans as...
Listen NowThe Tower of London's Most Notorious Prisoners
11 December 2023From Ann Boleyn and Walter Raleigh to Rudolf Hess and the Kray twins, London's iconic Tower of London has held some of history's most notorious...
Listen NowThe Boston Tea Party Explained
10 December 2023On December 16th 1773, Bostonian colonists took a stand against the British Crown in the Boston Tea Party.
In this episode, we dive deep...
Listen NowGhost That Solved Its Own Murder: Red Barn Murder
10 December 2023The Red Barn Murder in 1827 was ground zero for true crime podcasts. It become one of the first cases to explode in the media and caused a...
Listen NowThe Spartan Warrior
9 December 2023One of the most famed classes of soldiers from antiquity, the Spartan warrior has been immortalised in media today. Characterised as super...
Listen Now