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
40:39
Colours: from Cave Paint to Nanotube Black
28 May 2023There's a theory that the invention of paint had something to do with the dawn of humanity. We are on a never-ending quest to create brighter,...
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34:10
The Giggling Granny serial killer
26 May 2023Picture a serial killer in your mind’s eye. What do you see? More often than not it will be a man.
Statistically that’s accurate, but it...
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29:48
Julian of Norwich: England's First Woman Writer?
26 May 2023The writings of Julian of Norwich are the earliest surviving English language works by a woman and the only surviving English language...
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46:02
Battle of Aden
26 May 2023In March 2015, a ten-nation coalition of Gulf states launched an attack against Houthi insurgents in Aden. With Iran seeking to dominate the...
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1:05:40
5. Story of England: Modern Warfare
25 May 2023From the First World War to the Cold War, conflict in the 20th century has been crucial in shaping England as we know it. This is the final...
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33:25
The Birth of the American Flag
25 May 202313 equal horizontal stripes in red and white, with a navy blue square in the top left bearing 50 small white five pointed stars. It's recognisable...
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50:55
Tudors in Ireland
25 May 2023King Henry VII and his Tudor heirs knew very little about Ireland, over which they ruled in name at least. During the 118 years of Tudor rule, not...
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57:59
The Cyrus Cylinder
25 May 2023An ancient clay artefact that dates back to the 6th century BCE, the Cyrus Cylinder is often considered one of the most important documents in...
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58:42
4. Story of England: Industrial Revolution
24 May 2023Modern England as we know it started in the industrial heart of Ironbridge in Shropshire- now a verdant gorge that once was black with smog, fire...
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37:02
Inventing Disneyland: The First Themepark
24 May 2023Giant mouse ears at the ready, we're off to Disneyland! Hop on board and travel with us inside Walt Disney's mind (for better or for worse). We...
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52:04
3. Story of England: Tudor Feuds, Explorers and Fanatics
23 May 2023The Tudors were the dynasty that had it all- power, family feuds, sex and scandal. Dan couldn't do a history of England without a hearty helping...
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45:34
The Real Queen Charlotte
23 May 2023Queen Charlotte is back in the spotlight, thanks to the new Bridgerton spin-off series looking into her life and marriage to King George...
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27:42
How the Mediterranean Created Wealth
23 May 2023What does archaeology tell us about how regions in the Mediterranean built their wealth between the 10th and 12th centuries? How did...
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59:51
2. Story of England: Medieval Invaders
22 May 2023Great Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, bloodshed at the battle of Hastings, Bubonic Plague and Roland the celebrity flatulist. As dawn breaks, Dan walks the...
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35:06
America Prepares for War: FDR & WW2
22 May 2023Was the USA already a superpower when it joined the Second World War? How did it turn from an isolationist nation to a force ready for...
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40:27
Obscene Jokes in the Early Modern Period
22 May 2023In the 16th Century, rude jokes and scatological humour were just as much a feature of life as they are today. Between 1529 and 1539, a Swiss...
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1:08:47
WW2: Last Letters of Resistance Fighters
22 May 2023It's 1943, you're part of the French resistance, and you've been sentenced to death. You're allowed to write one last letter before you're shot by...
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50:40
1. Story of England: Stone Age to Roman Days
21 May 2023Dan begins his ultimate historical road trip at the mysterious plinths at Stonehenge in the South-West of England. Dan uncovers how the stones...
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35:08
Rise and Fall of Encyclopedias
21 May 2023The 15th edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, published in 1974, cost $32 million to create. The largest investment in publishing history. And...
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55:41
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
21 May 2023A legendary, ancient architectural wonder, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon are one of the most famed wonders of the Ancient world. Described as...
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30:55
Sudan: Why Is There A Conflict?
19 May 2023Fighting has broken out in Sudan following years of power struggle between the country's military leadership: General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head...
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