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
42:42
Murder in the Roman World
16 May 2023The Ancient Romans are often thought of as ahead of their time. They invented concrete, sophisticated road systems and even underfloor...
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44:29
Henry III vs. Simon de Montfort
16 May 2023After speaking to Gone Medieval in April 2022 about the first volume of his magisterial biography of Henry III, David Carpenter promised Matt...
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27:28
Nazi Codebreaking with Betty Webb
15 May 2023Betty Webb is the last known living veteran who worked on both German and Japanese codes at Bletchley Park and Dan got an invite to her 100th...
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41:28
LBJ's Legacy
15 May 2023The Vietnam War or the Great Society? Which event looms larger in the history of the United States?
The 36th President of the United...
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34:36
The Dambusters Raid with Max Hastings
15 May 202380 years ago, in the late hours of May 16th 1943, Wing Commander Guy Gibson fearlessly commanded the 617 Squadron of the Royal Air Force to...
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44:51
Enslaved Children in 16th Century Spain
15 May 2023Following the Second Granada War (1568-70), thousands of Moriscos in Spain were exiled, imprisoned or enslaved. Moriscos were former Muslims who...
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37:01
The Haitian Revolution and King Henri Christophe
14 May 2023In the summer of 1791, thousands of enslaved people in Saint Domingue, as Haiti was then known, cast aside their shackles and revolted against...
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38:05
Chicken Nuggets: A Bitesized History
14 May 2023The most famous chicken nugget of them all, the McDonald’s McNugget, turns 40 this year. So we’re asking, who invented the Chicken...
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41:45
Nebuchadnezzar
14 May 2023One of the most famous Babylonian Kings - Nebuchadnezzar II was a legendary ruler who appears in biblical stories, cuneiform texts, and was...
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26:27
The Rise & Fall of the de la Pole Family
12 May 2023The de la Pole dynasty played a central role in the Wars of the Roses. Theirs is a fascinating story of the rises and falls that plagued families...
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17:58
Hiding Anne Frank
12 May 2023In this episode of Warfare, host James Patton Rogers is joined by Tony Phelan and Susanna Fogel, creators of the new TV series A Small Light,...
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42:24
Witch Hunts of Scotland
12 May 2023In 1603, James VI & I became the first king of Scotland and England. But this isn’t the only reason he was remarkable. Because he also had a...
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19:11
The Rise of Buffalo Bill
11 May 2023He was the most famous man in the world at the turn of the 20th century, bringing the American frontier to the rest of the United States, the...
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57:18
Witches of St Osyth
11 May 2023In March 1582, a number of women from the small Essex village of St Osyth, were hanged for the crime of witchcraft. Several others, including one...
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39:11
Messalina: Empress of Rome
11 May 2023In this episode of The Ancients, host Tristan Hughes speaks with historian Honor Cargill-Martin about the notorious Empress Messalina, third wife...
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41:03
Dan Explains: The Dambusters Part 2
10 May 2023On the night of the 16th May, 1943, Operation Chastise commenced - 133 RAF airmen in their iconic Lancaster bombers took off from England, bound...
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30:55
Inventing Bond: Cocktails
10 May 2023It's Cocktail Hour! In honour of James Bond we ask who invented cocktails? Have they always been a cool thing to drink? And where do horses...
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40:31
Dan Explains: The Dambusters Part 1
9 May 2023On the night of the 16th of May, 1943, 133 RAF airmen in their iconic Lancaster bombers took off from England, and headed for Germany. Armed with...
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37:11
Origins of English
9 May 2023Approximately 1.35 billion people use it, either as a first or second language, so English and the way that we speak it has a daily impact on huge...
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36:28
Perfume
9 May 2023What did Napoleon smell like? How many pairs of scented gloves did Marie Antoinette get through a month? And how did the study of perfume become...
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22:39
Ruling as a Renaissance Queen
8 May 2023The 16th century in Europe was an age of great Queens. But just because they were in charge, didn't always mean they were powerful or safe; it was...
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