History Podcasts | History Hit

 

 

History Hit 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

35:27

WW2 Tanks with James Holland

1 May 2023

Anything that James Holland doesn't know about tanks isn't worth knowing. And in this episode from the archives, the greats are warring against...

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31:21

The Battle of Agincourt

30 April 2023

The Battle of Agincourt looms large in the English historical and cultural imagination, this explainer wades through the mythology to help...

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29:35

Electric Motors & Michael Faraday

30 April 2023

How’s this for a CV? 1821 - invented the Electric Motor. 1831 - invented the Electric Generator. Oh, and I also created the first Electric...

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50:57

Lilith: Mesopotamian Demoness

30 April 2023

Perhaps a name better known for recent appearances in horror films - Lilith is a woman who's origins go far beyond that of the Hollywood screens....

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29:30

Waco & the Origins of Right-Wing Extremism

28 April 2023

This year marks 30 years since the 1993 siege at Waco. Lasting 51 days, it took the lives of 76 people, including 25 children and has gone down as...

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35:05

The Knights Templar

28 April 2023

This is a special episode from a series we made in collaboration with Ubisoft, the makers of Assassin's Creed.

In Assassins vs Templars,...

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42:58

Pop's Golden Era: Success & Scandal

28 April 2023

What made the decade between 1996 and 2006 a pop breeding ground? And what was this time like for the pop stars involved?

From the Spice...

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42:35

Cahokia: The Medieval Mississippian City

27 April 2023

Nearly a thousand years ago, America's first city appeared in the Mississippi flood plain. Don finds out about a day in the life of Cahokia, what...

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1:05:46

Athens: Birthplace of Democracy?

27 April 2023

When we think of democracy in the ancient Greek world, our minds often go straight to Athens, the purported birthplace of democracy. But was...

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53:22

England’s First Ambassador to India: Thomas Roe

27 April 2023

When Thomas Roe arrived in India in 1616 as James I's first ambassador to the Mughal Empire, the English barely had a toehold in the subcontinent....

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32:48

Mary, Queen of Scots on Film: The Historians’ Verdict

26 April 2023

What do you get when you bring together five top historians to debate Mary, Queen of Scots on film? History with the gloves off - our second...

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33:56

Inventing Bond: Cars

26 April 2023

Fast and sleek with a satisfying rumble in the engine. What else could you want from a car?

Well, for James Bond, the answer to this...

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37:05

Assassins vs Templars: The Crusades

25 April 2023

This is the first episode of a special series that we made in collaboration with Ubisoft, the developers of the Assassins's Creed franchise. In...

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39:36

Human Emotion

25 April 2023

Happiness, sadness, anger, surprise, disgust, fear... we all know what these emotions feel like, right?

But what is emotion? Do we all feel...

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30:17

Medieval Coronations: Jewels & After Parties

25 April 2023

All this month, Gone Medieval has been your perfect companion to the forthcoming coronation of King Charles III. 

In this final special...

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29:26

Commando Training in Scotland

24 April 2023

The commandos have become a byword for elite raiding and cutting-edge military operations. They were set up during the Second World War in June...

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25:18

How Horses Conquered America (Twice)

24 April 2023

Horses have been a bulwark of American culture and society for centuries. Think of cowboys in the Mid-West or Native Americans riding bareback on...

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35:56

Mary Rose: Henry VIII’s Foreign Crew

24 April 2023

In the 16th century, “strangers” was the name used in England for people who were born in territories not controlled by the Tudor monarchy....

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32:22

War in Space with Tim Marshall

24 April 2023

From spy satellites orbiting the moon, to space metals worth more than most countries' GDP, and the imminent possibility of humans inhabiting Mars...

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35:27

The History of Coronations

23 April 2023

As preparations for the Coronation of King Charles III get underway, you're going to see words everywhere like...

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50:28

Knossos

23 April 2023

The legend of the Minotaur and its labyrinth has captivated us for centuries, but is there any evidence of it really existing?

In this...

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