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
25:46
Warrior Queens & Revolutionaries
5 January 2023The first author in history, the inventor of the dishwasher and the lawyer who refused to be kicked out of the room the Oxford law school; when it...
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27:34
Open Plan Office
4 January 2023The Open Plan Office. A little bit of you might die inside every time you hear those words. But we promise you the history of how they came to be...
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21:12
Harry Houdini
4 January 2023Harry Houdini is perhaps the most famous entertainer to have ever lived. He wowed his audiences with sensational feats of physical endurance and...
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38:34
Vikings in Poland
3 January 2023Poland is not normally thought of as an important part of the Viking world. But as a key geographical location on the Baltic Sea, it was in fact a...
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20:21
Birdwatching: How Four Prisoners of War Survived Captivity
3 January 2023This episode tells the incredible story of four Second World War British POWs who overcame the trials and tribulations of internment through a...
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30:00
Life in Hitler's Germany
2 January 2023A warning that this episode contains descriptions of genocide and terms for groups which were classified that way at the time.
Personal...
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28:16
Birth of the Gregorian calendar
2 January 2023Many of us are seeing in a new year, but of course there are, even today, several different ways of marking dates and years in various parts of...
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18:07
Budapest: Between East and West
2 January 2023Almost at the centre of Europe, Budapest, is at the crossroads of geographical regions and of civilizations, at the intersection of ancient trade...
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1:00:21
The World's Biggest Nuclear Bomb
30 December 2022In the early hours of 30 October 1961, a bomber took off from an airstrip in northern Russia and began its flight through cloudy skies over...
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37:29
Paganism & Festive Traditions
30 December 2022The darkest nights of the year have long been the time for celebrations, from Yule and Mother Night, to Christmas and New Year's Eve. But where...
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42:59
Dan Snow's History Hit Quiz!
30 December 2022Fingers on buzzers for a very special History Hit end-of-year treat.
Tricky expert questions, history in the headlines, historical fact or...
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27:38
Downton Abbey
29 December 2022It’s December 1912 and we’re joining in with the festivities at Highclere Castle, in London England. The prime minister is Herbert H. Asquith...
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49:07
Spartacus
29 December 2022‘I’m Spartacus!’ In the field of epic film making, the 1960 historical drama ‘Spartacus’, is legendary. Directed by Stanley Kibrick,...
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51:42
A Happy Tudor New Year
29 December 2022This week we're sharing again a fascinating podcast first released at this time last Christmas.
For the Tudors, Christmas Day was not...
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42:53
Hunting Stolen Nazi Art
29 December 2022As the Nazi war machine rampaged across Europe it did not just take territory and resources from its conquests but also many thousands of pieces...
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24:29
Timekeeping
28 December 2022Today we’re bringing you an episode from Dan Snow’s History Hit. Normal Patented service will resume in the New Year.
Accurate...
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35:43
Richard III vs Henry VII
28 December 2022We all think we know the story of Richard III and Henry VII, or do we? Richard III is often portrayed as a child-murdering usurper whose reign was...
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34:34
Vikings: Surviving Winter
27 December 2022Vikings are often depicted as fearless warriors, but they were not immune to the harsh realities of northern weather. They not only survived in...
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24:56
Christmas Carols: A Musical History
27 December 2022Traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas holiday season, it is thought that carols existed to keep up people’s...
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22:39
Santaphilia: Sexual Attraction to Santa
23 December 2022How long have people been hoping for Santa to hurry down their chimneys for?
Whether it’s because he’s a bear, a dom or the ultimate...
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55:06
The CIA: Secret Drone Wars
23 December 2022Like most aspects of the organisation, the CIA drone programme is shrouded in secrecy. With covert bases located across the globe, all armed with...
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