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
27:38
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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31:29
Christmas Feasts Through The Ages!
23 December 2022Porpoises, beaver tails, boar's head and puffins: are just some of the exquisite dishes on medieval tables during the festive season. In this...
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1:04:16
The First Americans
22 December 2022Modern humans thrived in the Americas for thousands of years before the first European colonists arrived, but how and when did they get...
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57:18
The Biggest Discoveries of 2022
22 December 2022Professor Suzannah Lipscomb presents her annual review of the year, recommending the finest history books she has discovered, the best television...
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49:20
The First Britons
22 December 202267 million people currently inhabit the United Kingdom - but what do we know about the original, first Britons? It's no secret when looking back...
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23:51
The Real 'Good King' Wenceslas
22 December 2022Click here to vote for Gone Medieval at the Signal Awards.
At this time of year, many of us will find ourselves singing about a royal...
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22:41
Christmas Crackers
21 December 2022Ho ho ho! Come with us on a Christmas tale of invention as we talk to the world’s only Christmas Cracker historian, Peter Kimpton of...
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29:28
The Battle of the Bulge
21 December 2022Lasting six brutal weeks, from December 16, 1944, to January 25, 1945, the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes region of Belgium was Adolf...
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24:23
The Real 'Good King Wenceslas'
20 December 2022At this time of year, many of us will find ourselves singing about a royal personage who braves the snow on the Feast of Stephen –...
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43:01
Sex Advice in the 20th Century
20 December 2022What is ‘good’ sex? Why might you need to get your protractor out in the bedroom? And when was foreplay ‘invented’?
In this episode,...
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24:50
Toilets, Underpants & Pillows: Everyday Things with Greg Jenner
20 December 2022Why do grandmas wear bloomers? How did romans clean themselves after using the toilet? Pillows were originally made of stone?! These are all...
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22:54
The French & Indian War with Dan Snow
19 December 2022As the British and French colonies in North America expanded in the middle of the 18th century, they inevitably clashed. Fighting between the two...
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