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
27:25
Tocqueville: The Search for Liberty, Equality & Democracy
3 May 2023In 1831, the French aristocrat Alexis de Tocqueville left the troubled continent of Europe and set sail for America. Travelling in the shadow of...
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31:04
First King of England
3 May 2023Who was the first King of England? Who invented a place called 'England' anyway? And what on earth are the 'bracelets of sincerity'?
With...
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46:25
Lord Byron: Incest, Adultery & Daddy Issues
2 May 2023*WARNING there are adult words and themes in this episode*
How debaucherous do you have to be to be remembered as the original bad boy? How...
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39:57
Saxon Origins of London
2 May 2023From ghost town to ceremonial, ecclesiastical and economic hub - how did London develop in the Saxon era, and how is that crucial to what London...
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47:42
Incest
2 May 2023Incest. It’s not the lightest topic of conversation, we wouldn’t recommend bringing it up as an icebreaker on a date, or when you’re trying...
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31:55
J.R.R. Tolkien and the First World War
1 May 2023J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth is perhaps the most captivating fantasy world ever created. His mythology and folklore continues to influence the...
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20:17
Battle of Amiens
1 May 2023In August 1918, the battle of Amiens brought the German army's 'black day' and the beginning of the end of the First World War.
But what...
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51:10
Lady Jane Grey
1 May 2023On a cold February morning in 1554, Lady Jane Grey was beheaded for high treason. Named by King Edward VI as his successor, Queen Jane had reigned...
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35:27
WW2 Tanks with James Holland
1 May 2023Anything 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 2023The 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 2023How’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 2023Perhaps 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 2023This 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 2023This 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 2023What 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 2023Nearly 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 2023When 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 2023When 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 2023What 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 2023Fast 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 2023This 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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