Podcasts by Dan Snows History Hit

The Last Invasion of Britain from 2022-02-21T00:30

Popular knowledge may claim Hastings as the site of the last invasion of mainland Britain by Norman forces in 1066. True, this was the last successful invasion however in 1797 there was a much less...

Section 28 and Britain's Battle for LGBT+ Education from 2022-02-20T00:30

Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 was a controversial amendment to the UK's Local Government Act 1986, enacted on 24 May 1988 and repealed on 21 June 2000 in Scotland, and on 18 November ...

ENDURANCE22: Dan's Diary #03 from 2022-02-17T18:10:04

The Endurance22 crew have made it to the Weddell Sea and the point where they believe Shackleton’s ship sunk! It’s a rocky start as they begin the search using the AUV drones that scan the seafloor...

River Kings: Fascinating Stories of the Viking Age from 2022-02-17T00:30

To mark the US release of our very own Dr Cat Jarman’s incredible book River Kings: A New History of the Vikings from Scandinavia to the Silk Roads, sit back and relax as she takes us a whistle-sto...

ENDURANCE22: Arrival in Antarctica from 2022-02-16T00:30

Icebergs, albatrosses and growlers- the team have crossed the Antarctic circle! In the first of our episodes recorded from Antarctica, Dan takes you on a tour of the ship and brings you updates wit...

The Fall of Singapore: 80th Anniversary from 2022-02-15T00:30

The Fall of Singapore to the Japanese Army took place in the South-East Asian theatre of the Pacific War, with fighting in Singapore lasting through 8 to 15 February 1942. Nicknamed the “Gibraltar ...

Endurance22: Dan's Diary #02 from 2022-02-14T17:00

Dan gives a quick update on the expedition's progress towards Antarctica from a rather wet and windy deck as the crew prepare for a storm to hit.


If you'd like to learn more, we have ...

Dear John, The Wartime Breakup Letter from 2022-02-14T00:30

Writing letters to a spouse or sweetheart deployed overseas was portrayed as a patriotic duty, a means to boost the morale of the fighting man. But what of the letter that broke off an engagement, ...

Rival Queens: Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots from 2022-02-13T00:30

Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots were cousins who never met - but their fates were intertwined. As their nations were engulfed in religious turmoil and civil wars raged on the continent, these ...

Endurance22: Dan's Diary #01 from 2022-02-11T00:30

A little update from Dan on where he is and how the journey to Antarctica is going!


If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiob...

ENDURANCE22: The Man Who Filmed the Expedition from 2022-02-10T00:30

The extraordinary story of Shackleton's doomed Trans-Antarctic expedition has captured audiences for over 100 years. It's not just because it's a dramatic tale of survival, but because there's visu...

ENDURANCE22: A Story of Antarctic Survival Part 3 from 2022-02-09T00:30

In late 1914, the charismatic and brilliant explorer Ernest Shackleton led 27 men on a voyage to cross Antarctica from one side to the other. But what should have been a successful expedition turne...

ENDURANCE22: A Story of Antarctic Survival Part 2 from 2022-02-08T00:30

In late 1914, the charismatic and brilliant explorer Ernest Shackleton led 27 men on a voyage to cross Antarctica from one side to the other. But what should have been a successful expedition turne...

ENDURANCE22: A Story of Antarctic Survival Part 1 from 2022-02-07T00:30

In late 1914, the charismatic and brilliant explorer Ernest Shackleton led 27 men on a voyage to cross Antarctica from one side to the other. But what should have been a successful expedition turne...

Alexander's Successors at War: The Spartan Adventurer from 2022-02-06T00:30

Tristan of The Ancients podcasts has published his first book, Alexander’s Successors at War: The Perdiccas Years. Focussing in on 323 – 320 BC, the book tells the story of the tumultuous even...

ENDURANCE22: Dan Sets Sail for Antarctica! from 2022-02-04T00:29

The expedition has begun and Dan is here to answer your questions about all things Endurance22, the expedition to find Shackleton’s lost shipwreck! For the first time, Dan is the subject of hi...

Russia's Threat to Invade Ukraine from 2022-02-03T00:30

Amid Moscow’s increasing build-up of troops along the Ukrainian border and the preparation of infrastructure for a possible invasion, tensions between Ukraine and Russia continue to mount. Dating b...

The Troubles: How It Started from 2022-02-02T00:30

With Kenneth Branagh film, Belfast, hitting cinemas - we run down the historical background of the early years of the decades-long conflict in Northern Ireland.


Dan is joined by Tim M...

The Forgotten Einstein from 2022-02-01T00:30

John von Neumann is one of the most influential scientists to have ever lived, a man who was in his day as well-known as Einstein and considered smarter. Von Neumann was instrumental in the Manhatt...

Introducing: On Jimmy's Farm from 2022-01-31T15:00

Join celebrity farmer, ecologist and conservationist, Jimmy Doherty, on his farm as he talks to eco-experts and well-known faces about trying to live a greener life.


From bug burgers ...

The Execution of Charles I from 2022-01-31T00:30

On the 30th January, 372 years ago, Charles I, king of Great Britain and Ireland, stepped out of the Banqueting House in Whitehall, to be beheaded in front of a huge London crowd. It was a deeply s...

After Nuremberg from 2022-01-30T00:30

The 1950s in West Germany saw a sharp decline in Nazi war crimes investigations and trials. Instead, there were campaigns for amnesties and reductions of earlier sentences, many led by former high-...

Nuremberg: The Trial of Major War Criminals from 2022-01-28T00:30

Carried out in Nuremberg, Germany, between 1945 and 1949, the Nuremberg trials were held for the purpose of bringing Nazi war criminals to justice. The most widely-known of those trials was the Tri...

The Boy Who Survived Auschwitz from 2022-01-27T00:30

Thomas Geve was just 15 years old when he was liberated from Buchenwald concentration camp on 11 April 1945. It was the third concentration camp he had survived. During the 22 months he was impriso...

Endurance22: The Search for Shackleton's Shipwreck - New Season Coming to Dan Snow's History Hit!! from 2022-01-26T16:30

Have you heard? History Hit is going to the Antarctic!


Dan is joining an incredible expedition to locate the missing shipwreck of Ernest Shackleton’s vessel that was crushed by the ic...

Munich - The Edge of War: Reappraising Chamberlain from 2022-01-26T00:30

Join James from the Warfare Podcast, as he chats to the writer and cast of the new film 'Munich - the Edge of War'. Set in 1938, the movie follows Chamberlain's attempts to appease Hitler, desperat...

The Gilded Age from 2022-01-25T00:30

The Gilded Age was a time in American history when the economy grew at its fastest rate in history. This had wide-reaching cultural and social effects, including a broadening tier of self-made mill...

1942: Churchill's Real Darkest Hour from 2022-01-23T00:30

Most people think that Britain's worst moment of the war was in 1940 when the nation stood up against the threat of German invasion. Yet, eighty years ago, Britain stood at the brink of defeat. In ...

Roe v. Wade: America's Landmark Ruling from 2022-01-21T00:30

On January 22, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Texas law banning abortion, effectively legalising the procedure nationwide. The court held that a woman’s right to an abortion was implici...

Who Was Joan of Arc? from 2022-01-20T00:30

Joan of Arc is a name that’s instantly recognisable to most. A controversial figure in her own day, she has remained so ever since, often being adopted as a talisman of French nationalism.

Listen

The Child Soldiers of WWI from 2022-01-19T00:30

After the outbreak of the First World War, boys as young as twelve were caught up in a national wave of patriotism and, in huge numbers, volunteered to serve. The press, recruiting offices and the ...

Korean War: The Veterans Of Imjin River from 2022-01-17T00:30

Fought between the 22nd-25th of April 1951, the battle of Imjin River was part of a Chinese counter-offensive after United Nations forces had recaptured Seoul in March 1951. The assault on ‘Gloster...

Eugenics with Adam Rutherford from 2022-01-16T00:30

Eugenics has been used in attempts throughout history, and across continents, to gain power and assert control.


In this episode, we trace Eugenics from its intellectual origins in Vic...

Tudor True Crime from 2022-01-14T00:30

The true-crime genre - stories of actual murders and other crimes that are then fictionalised - is not a new phenomenon. More than four centuries ago, a series of plays based on real life case...

George Washington: The First President from 2022-01-13T00:30

George. Where did it all go wrong? George Washington could have had a comfortable career as a loyal member of His Majesty's Virginia militia and colonial grandee. But no, he had to go and roll the ...

The Rule of Laws from 2022-01-12T00:30

The laws now enforced throughout the world are almost all modelled on systems developed in Europe in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. During two hundred years of colonial rule, Europeans ex...

Digging for Britain with Professor Alice Roberts from 2022-01-11T00:30

2021 was a bumper year for archaeological discoveries across Britain. In this episode, we go on a whistlestop tour of some of the most notable finds — from an immaculately preserved Roman mosaic fo...

Was the League of Nations Doomed to Fail? from 2022-01-10T00:30

102 years ago on the 10th of January 1920, the League of Nations was formed out of the Treaty of Versailles. Its aim was to maintain peace after the First World War. With 58 member states by the 19...

Obama and Merkel: The Extraordinary Partnership from 2022-01-09T00:30

U.S. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are two of the world’s most influential leaders, together at the centre of some of the biggest controversies and most impressive adva...

1921 Census: Revealed from 2022-01-07T00:30

For the first time, the 1921 Census of England & Wales is now publicly available, only online at the family history website, Findmypast. More detailed than any previous British census taken up to t...

Democratic Decline from 2022-01-06T00:30

The 6th of January marks one year since the United States Capitol attack of 2021, whereby a mob of supporters of Republican President Donald J. Trump stormed the Capitol Building. On today’s annive...

Sitting Bull: the Life and Death of a Native American Chief from 2022-01-05T00:30

Sitting Bull, best known for his initiative and victory at the Battle of Little Bighorn, is a greatly revered Native American Chief. But he was more than a fierce leader of his people. Bestowed the...

Treasures of Ancient Egypt from 2022-01-04T00:30

Ramesses the Great, ego in the ancient world and Tutankhamun's sacred underwear. These are all covered in today's episode with Dr Campbell Price about the treasures that will be housed in the new G...

Tutankhamun: Life, Legacy and Discovery from 2022-01-03T00:30

Tutankhamun's tomb was discovered by Howard Carter almost 100 years ago, and two years later they opened up the stone sarcophagus that held the golden coffin containing the mummy of Tutankhamun. In...

Climate Catastrophe in the 17th century from 2022-01-02T00:30

Revolutions, droughts, famines, invasions, wars, regicides - the calamities of the mid-seventeenth century were both unprecedented and widespread. A global crisis extended from England to Japan, an...

Sex in the Middle Ages from 2021-12-31T00:30

Please note that this episode contains conversation about sex that you might not want to listen to in the presence of children.


What did medieval people really think about sex, and we...

Inside The Great Cathedrals of Europe from 2021-12-30T00:30

A trip to Paris wouldn't be the same without taking a moment to gaze up at the great looming towers of the Gothic Notre Dame Cathedral with its watchful gargoyles on every corner. Today, celebrated...

The Origins Of Scotland from 2021-12-29T00:30

The Medieval period saw the advancement of many countries, evolving to the provinces in Europe that we know today; Scotland is no different. In this episode, Cat Jarman from the Gone Medieval podca...

Storytime with the Snows: Boudica from 2021-12-25T00:30

In a special episode of the podcast, Dan's children join him for a lively retelling of Boudica and the violent uprising that tore Roman Britain apart- a classic bedtime story in the Snow household....

Christmas Carols: A Musical History from 2021-12-24T00:30

Traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas holiday season, it is thought that carols existed to keep up people’s spirits, along with dances, plays and feasts since b...

Dan Explores Dickensian London! from 2021-12-23T00:30

Just as Scrooge wandered London's streets on a cold Christmas night, Dan Snow follows the ghosts of Charles Dickens' past to discover the city that inspired his greatest works. With London-born tou...

King Herod from 2021-12-22T00:30

Thanks largely to his feature in the Gospel of Matthew, King Herod ‘the Great’ of Judaea is one of the infamous figures from the whole of history. So what do we know about this ancient near eastern...

The Parthenon Marbles from 2021-12-21T00:30

The permanent home of the Parthenon Marbles, also known as the Elgin Marbles, has been the subject of a heated, decades-long debate. Currently housed in the British Museum, Greece has been proactiv...

God's Changing Body Through History from 2021-12-20T00:30

While many traditions regard God to be incorporeal, some three thousand years ago in the Southwest Asian lands, a group of people worshipped a complex pantheon of deities, led by a father god calle...

The Battle of Agincourt Explained from 2021-12-19T00:30

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

Listen

The Unlikely Fate of the Wright Brothers from 2021-12-17T00:30

On a winter day in 1903, in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, two unknown brothers from Ohio changed history. The Wright Brothers took the world's first engine-powered flight. It didn't take ...

Black Tudors: England's Other Countrymen from 2021-12-16T00:30

Our image of the Tudor era remains overwhelmingly white. But the black presence in England was much greater than has previously been recognised, and Tudor conceptions of race were far more complex ...

Uncovered: South America's Biggest Slave Uprising from 2021-12-15T00:30

On February 27 1763, thousands of enslaved people in the Dutch colony of Berbice—in present-day Guyana—launched a huge uprising against their oppressors. Surrounded by jungle and savannah, the revo...

Inside Downing Street with Gavin Barwell from 2021-12-14T00:30

British politician Gavin Barwell served as Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Theresa May from June 2017 to July 2019, one of the most turbulent periods in recent British political history.

...

Hitler's American Gamble from 2021-12-13T00:30

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7 1941 remains etched in public memory as the turning point of WW2. But in fact, it was Hitler’s declaration of war on the United States – four days ...

The Secrets of WW2's Women Soldiers from 2021-12-12T00:30

The Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) was the women's branch of the British Army during the Second World War. Formed in 1938 it saw many thousands of women take on a huge range of vital roles in ...

Battle of Austerlitz: Napoleon's Greatest Victory from 2021-12-10T00:30

2 December is a special date for those fascinated by Napoleon Bonaparte. Not only is this the date he crowned himself Emperor of France in 1804, but also the date of his greatest victory a year lat...

Moscow 1941: Hitler's Nemesis with Jonathan Dimbleby from 2021-12-09T00:30

While the allies reeled from the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour and Hitler's declaration of war on the United States, a ferocious battle was also raging across the icy steppes of Russia in early ...

Inside North Korea from 2021-12-08T00:30

With closed borders, a totalitarian regime, electricity blackouts and widespread poverty, North Korea is a brutal place to survive; even looking at a foreign media outlet can get a North Korea...

Pearl Harbor: 80th Anniversary from 2021-12-07T00:30

On December 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service launched a surprise military strike upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii. Just ...

Barbados: The World's Newest Republic from 2021-12-06T00:30

November 30 2021, Bridgetown, fifty-five years since Barbados’ 1966 Independence, the Royal Standard flag representing the Queen was lowered and Dame Sandra Mason was sworn in as the president of B...

Band of Brothers from 2021-12-05T00:30

HBO's Band of Brothers remains one of the greatest mini-series ever made. 20 years after the award-winning series debuted, Dan speaks to Robin Laing who played Edward 'Babe' Heffron about...

The Hundred Years' War from 2021-12-03T00:30

Over 100 years of conflict, two warring nations, five monarchs on either side and countless casualties in a dispute over claims to the throne: in this episode, Gone Medieval's Matt Lewis unravels t...

Discovered! Rare Celtic Coins in the New Forest from 2021-12-02T00:30

In a special episode of the podcast, Dan and his team hit the road after receiving a call about the discovery of a hoard of rare Iron Age coins, at a secret location in the New Forest. At the St Ba...

Ridley Scott on Gucci, Gladiator and the Blitz from 2021-12-01T00:30

Please note that this episode contains the use of explicit language right from the very beginning.  


Ridley Scott, a prolific director and producer, is responsible for some ...

Arnold Schwarzenegger on Churchill's Birthday from 2021-11-30T00:30

Actor and former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger joins Dan in conversation on today's podcast about Winston Churchill, who was born on this day in 1874. They talk about Arnie's admirat...

The Complicated Legacy of F W de Klerk from 2021-11-28T00:30

The result of his complicated legacy, the death of South Africa's last apartheid president, F W de Klerk, on November 11 2021 generated a flood of differing assessments. De Klerk wrote himself into...

The Rise of the Praetorian Guard from 2021-11-26T00:30

From Gladiator to Rome Total War to Star Wars, today the Praetorians are one of the most distinctive military units of Imperial Rome. It was their job to protect the Roman Emperor and his household...

The British Spy who Saved Jews from Hitler from 2021-11-25T00:30

Thomas Kendrick was at the very centre of British Intelligence operations throughout the first half of the twentieth century. He combined a public face of an English gentleman whilst privately mast...

From the Punjab to the Western Front from 2021-11-24T00:30

Over a million Indian soldiers served during the First World War, but many of the records of the soldiers who fought valiantly for the Allied cause had been lost - hiding their stories from history...

The British Monarchy from 2021-11-23T00:30

The British Monarchy is a thread that has run throughout the history of Britain but over the centuries it has been a constantly evolving institution. From the warrior kings of early England steeped...

The Assassination of JFK: Explained from 2021-11-22T00:30

Everyone who was alive at the time remembers the day President John F. Kennedy was shot dead in Dallas, Texas on the 22 November 1963. On this anniversary Dan gives a moment-by-moment account of th...

Greg Jenner: Ask a Historian from 2021-11-21T00:30

When and why did we start keeping hamsters as pets? When was sign language first used in the UK? If you were planning a bank heist, which historical figures would you call on? These are just some o...

Searching for the Lost of World War One from 2021-11-19T00:30

At the end of the World War One, around one million citizens of the British Empire had been lost, and the whereabouts of about half of these was unknown. Families could be waiting weeks, months or ...

The Magic Circle & Hoaxes in History from 2021-11-18T00:30

Hoaxes and magic were widespread in 18th century Britain. From a woman who claimed to birth rabbits, to a man who said he’d climb into a bottle in front of a live audience, many of the claims sound...

When the World's Armies Came to Salisbury Plain from 2021-11-17T00:30

During World War One, Britain and its empire mobilised soldiers on a hitherto unprecedented scale. That required a huge logistical effort to feed, equip, house and train them. No place reflects the...

We Didn't Start the Fire: Dien Bien Phu from 2021-11-16T00:30

This episode of the podcast comes from a show called ‘We Didn’t Start The Fire’ which is a modern history podcast inspired by the lyrics of the legend that is Billy Joel. In this episode, Dan chats...

Our Love Affair with History from 2021-11-15T00:30

From the great battles such as Dunkirk, historical titans such Alexander the Great and historical oddities such as Henry VIII's enemas Dan speaks to author and historian Dominic Sandbrook about wha...

Stories of War with Max Hastings from 2021-11-14T00:30

As the country remembers the sacrifice made by those men and women who have given their lives and health in serving the nation Dan is joined by Sir Max Hastings to examine the ever-changing face of...

How Catherine of Aragon Learnt to be Queen from 2021-11-12T00:30

The Spanish infanta Catalina of Aragon was raised to be a Queen, betrothed at the age of three to the heir apparent of the English throne, Arthur Prince of Wales. Eight years after Arthur's death, ...

WW1 and its Aftermath with Sebastian Faulks from 2021-11-11T00:30

Sebastian Faulks is a novelist who really needs no introduction, perhaps most famous for his novel Birdsong, he has written powerfully and poignantly about the impact of war on the human spirit. In...

Did Immigration Really Cause the Fall of Rome? from 2021-11-10T00:30

Boris Johnson recently stated that the fall of Rome was caused by 'uncontrolled migration' and the image of a mighty empire bought to its knees by hordes of barbarians from the east is certainly a ...

The Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall from 2021-11-09T00:30

The Berlin Wall was an icon of the Cold War and a physical embodiment of the divide between East and West. Its rise and fall was a microcosm of the conflict and its fall marked the beginning of a n...

Colonel Gaddafi and Libya from 2021-11-08T00:30

Even after his overthrow and bloody death in 2011, Colonel Gaddafi still looms large over Libya but there is much more to the history of this important and often misunderstood country. It is the 16...

Bar Kokhba: Hadrian's Worst Nightmare from 2021-11-07T00:30

In AD132 began the bloody struggle over who would rule a nation. The clash of two ancient cultures was fought between two strong-willed leaders, Hadrian, the cosmopolitan ruler of the vast Roman Em...

The Vikings Who Beat Columbus to America from 2021-11-04T00:30

Five centuries before Christopher Columbus set foot in America, the Vikings had already crossed the Atlantic. Using new dating techniques, scientists studying timber buildings at L’Anse aux Meadows...

WWII's Battle for London from 2021-11-03T00:30

At the start of the Second World War London was one of the largest and most important cities in the world, a centre of industry, finance and the heart of Britain's empire. It was also an irresistib...

The History of Money from 2021-11-02T00:30

It is said that money makes the world goes round and has done for millennia, but what exactly is money and where does it come from? To find out Dan is joined by Jacob Goldstein, American journalist...

Why We're Wrong About George III from 2021-11-01T00:30

George III ruled through an extraordinary period of revolutionary change, political upheaval, gigantic war and scientific, industrial and technological revolution. However, he is now most famous fo...

Ghost Stories: The History from 2021-10-30T23:30

Ghosts have inspired, fascinated and frightened us for centuries. The belief in the existence of an afterlife, as well as manifestations of the spirits of the dead, is widespread, dating all the wa...

The Lost Tomb of Alexander the Great from 2021-10-28T23:30

In his lifetime King Alexander III of Macedon, better known as Alexander the Great, forged one of the largest empires in ancient history. But it was what happened to Alexander following his demise ...

The Truth About Hollywood Cowboys from 2021-10-27T23:30

At the end of the American Civil War, thousands of African Americans ventured west to the frontier in a bid to achieve freedom and escape the prejudice they faced. Many of these frontiersmen became...

Tank Standoff at Checkpoint Charlie from 2021-10-26T23:30

For 16 hours between the 27 to 28 October 1961, the world held its breath as Soviet and US tanks faced each other down at Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin and came very close to turning the Cold War ho...

Richard III vs Henry VII from 2021-10-25T23:30

We 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 brought to a bloody end by Henry VII at the Battle...

Sharpe is Back! Bernard Cornwell from 2021-10-24T23:30

Watch out loyal servants of Napoleon, Sharpe is back! In this episode, Dan sits down with legendary author Bernard Cornwell to discuss the return of his most famous and loved character. Dan asks Be...

Tuskegee Airmen: A WW2 Pilot's Story from 2021-10-23T23:30

The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African-American military aviators in American military history. They faced discrimination and segregation at home but in the skies of Europe, they became one of ...

Britain's Overlooked Hero: From the Trenches to the Blitz from 2021-10-21T23:30

Serving on the front lines of the First World War, the homefront of the Second World War and as a community leader throughout his life, George Arthur Roberts was a truly inspirational figure. Yet, ...

The Battle of Trafalgar from 2021-10-20T23:30

On 21 October 1805, A British fleet commanded by Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson met the combined might of the French and Spanish fleets off the coast of Spain. Outnumbered, Nelson used innovative tact...

How Brutish Were Our Ancestors? from 2021-10-19T23:30

Was life for our ancient ancestors brutish and short or did they exist as noble savages free and living in harmony with nature and each other? Many of our assumptions about ancient societies stem f...

How Alcohol Built the British Empire from 2021-10-18T23:30

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as the British Empire expanded across the globe an almost ubiquitous but often underappreciated commodity went with it; alcohol. The distillation, sal...

Dresden Survivor: Remembering Victor Gregg from 2021-10-17T23:30

On 12 October 2021 World War Two veteran Victor Gregg passed away peacefully in his sleep just before his 102 birthday. He was part of a unique generation that with the passing of the years is sadl...

Operation Barbarossa: The Lost Diaries from 2021-10-16T23:30

Operation Barbarossa saw a clash of arms between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union of unprecedented scale and savagery, but what was it really like to serve on the front lines of the Eastern Front?...

The Haitian Revolution from 2021-10-14T23:30

In 1791 the slaves of the French colony of Sant-Domingue rose up against their colonial masters and after a long and bloody struggle, defeated them to found the state of Haiti. Led by charismatic l...

The Battle of Hastings from 2021-10-13T23:30

On 14 October 1066 the armies of William, the Duke of Normandy, and the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson clashed near Hastings in one of the most famous battles in history and one that would decid...

Lady Jane Grey from 2021-10-12T23:30

On a cold February morning in 1554, Lady Jane Grey was beheaded for high treason. Named as King Edward VI as his successor, Queen Jane had reigned for just 13 tumultuous days before being imprisone...

Maurice Hilleman: Vaccine Creator from 2021-10-11T23:30

Dr Maurice Hilleman was a leading American microbiologist who specialised in vaccinology and immunology. He discovered nine vaccines that are routinely recommended for children today, rendering for...

Jack the Ripper Retold from 2021-10-10T23:30

In 1888 a series of brutal killings took place in Whitechapel, London which might be the most famous unsolved murders of all time. The case and the killer attracted a worldwide media frenzy like ne...

Operation Jubilee: Disaster at Dieppe from 2021-10-09T23:30

In August 1942 the Allies launched a daring raid across the Channel to capture the port town of Dieppe and hold it for 24 hours. It ended in disaster and death with nearly two-thirds of the attacke...

Gangsters, Pimps & Prostitutes: London's West End from 2021-10-07T23:30

London's West End attracts people from across the world to its many theatres, restaurants and famous nightlife but how did this centre of pleasure come to be? Originally on the fringe of London fro...

Al Qaeda from 2021-10-06T23:30

Their attacks of 11 September 2001 sparked a War on Terror which echoes loudly to this day, but where did Al Qaeda come from, how did their ideologies form and what role do they play in the world t...

Britain and the Slave Trade from 2021-10-05T23:30

Between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, Britain was a key player in the transportation of millions of enslaved Africans to the colonies. Their labour in often brutal conditions was a vital ...

The Winter of Discontent from 2021-10-04T23:30

In the bitter winter of 1978-1979 petrol ran short, panic buying was rife, rubbish piled up in the streets and bodies went unburied as a wave of industrial action swept the UK; but what lessons mig...

William Wallace from 2021-10-03T23:30

William Wallace is a legendary figure in Scottish history as one of the leaders of the First War of Scottish Independence. He led the Scots to a famous victory at the Battle of Stirling Bridge befo...

James Holland on The Sherwood Rangers: Legendary Tank Regiment from 2021-10-02T23:30

Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry was one of the best tank regiments of the Second World War and was at the speartip of the British Army from the North Africa campaign to Northern Europe right up to the fa...

Æthelred the Unready from 2021-09-30T23:30

His 38 years as king make him one of the longest-ruling monarchs in English history, and yet he is remembered as unsuccessful, naive and overly harsh on his opponents. In this episode from our sibl...

Bond, The Secret Service & Exporting Britain's Influence from 2021-09-29T23:30

James Bond is a character that has come to define a certain kind of Britishness but what, if any, role does 007 play in the real world of intelligence? Professor Christopher Andrew, the official hi...

James Bond from 2021-09-28T23:30

James Bond is one of the most successful films and book franchises of all time and with the arrival of a new addition to the canon it seemed the perfect time to explore the history of this iconic c...

The Last Witches of England from 2021-09-27T23:30

In 1682 three women, Temperance Lloyd, Mary Trembles and Susannah Edwards, from the town of Bideford were tried and hanged as witches. They were convicted on flimsy evidence, including an incident ...

Sir Ranulph Fiennes on Shackleton from 2021-09-26T23:30

Sir Ranulph Fiennes is possibly the most famous living explorer but he believes that the greatest ever polar explorer is Sir Ernest Shackleton. Although Shackleton's expeditions largely ended in fa...

Duke of Windsor: The Nazi King? from 2021-09-25T23:30

When Edward VIII abdicated the throne in December 1936 his desire to marry the American divorcee Wallis Simpson was cited as the main cause but did his sympathy with Nazi Germany also play its part...

The Rise of Hannibal from 2021-09-24T03:00

He was one of the greatest enemies the Romans ever faced. An excellent general and a larger-than-life figure, he led an army across the alps and dealt a series of crushing defeats upon the Romans o...

Child Survivors of the Holocaust from 2021-09-23T03:00

The Holocaust was perhaps the most infamous and traumatic event of the Twentieth century and it seared itself into the consciousness of the world but some survivors find themselves in the strange p...

A History of Sex for Sale from 2021-09-22T03:00

Sometimes referred to as the world's oldest profession sex workers have been part of human society for as long as recorded history, but how have societies viewed them through the ages? In the episo...

History of the Taliban from 2021-09-21T03:00

In August 2021 the Taliban swept to power in Afghanistan for the second time capturing Kabul and ousting the American backed regime, but where do they come from and what does their return to power ...

Twelve Caesars with Mary Beard from 2021-09-20T03:00

The title of Caesar has echoed down the ages as the pinnacle of absolute power and perhaps even tyranny. A single man at the head of a nation or empire with untouchable power. But how powerful were...

The Harlem Hellfighters of World War One from 2021-09-19T03:00

During World War One the 369th Infantry Regiment of the US Army gained a fearsome reputation. One of the most effective fighting units they spent more time in the frontline and suffered more casual...

The Frontiers of Science & History with A.C. Grayling from 2021-09-18T03:00

A. C. Grayling is one of the foremost minds of his generation and his new book explores some of the biggest questions that face humanity. What do we know, how do we know it and what is left to find...

Henry VIII's Break with Rome from 2021-09-17T03:00

King Henry VIII was deeply religious and started out as a staunch supporter of the Pope and the Roman Catholic church. But everything changed when Henry's need to produce a male successor led to hi...

Hunting Stolen Nazi Art from 2021-09-16T03:00

As the Nazi war machine rampaged across Europe it did not just take territory and resources from its conquests but also many thousands of pieces of art and other antiquities. Stolen from both galle...

The Battle of Britain from 2021-09-15T03:00

15 September marks Battle of Britain Day when the Luftwaffe sought a final decisive final battle over the skies of Britain with the RAF. In a day of costly fighting, nearly 60 German aircraft were ...

The Last Hanging in Cardiff Prison from 2021-09-14T03:00

In September 1952 Mahmood Hussein Mattan became the last to be hanged at Cardiff Prison, but Mahmood had in fact been framed by the police and 45 years later his conviction was quashed. Mahmood had...

Viking Legend: Ragnar Lothbrok from 2021-09-13T03:00

Ragnor Lothbrook is a legendary Viking figure who straddled the line between myth and reality. His adventures and deeds appear in the Viking sagas, but there is little hard evidence for his existen...

9/11: The Legacy from 2021-09-12T03:00

The tragic events of 9/11 left thousands dead and injured and the impact of that loss is still being felt twenty years later by the families. It was also a day of extraordinary escapes as thousands...

9/11: The Fire Commissioner at Ground Zero from 2021-09-11T03:00

On the morning of September 11th, 2001 terrorists flew planes into both the World Trade Centre towers in New York and the Pentagon in Washington with a further plane crashing in Pennsylvania as the...

The Blitz: An Alternative History from 2021-09-10T03:00

Between September 1940 and May 1941, the German Luftwaffe relentlessly pounded British cities with bombs in an attempt to force the British to surrender. Ultimately whilst killing thousands and cau...

America's Secret President from 2021-09-09T03:00

In October 1919 President Woodrow Wilson suffered a massive stroke leaving him paralyzed and partially blind. In the face of this crisis of leadership the First Lady, Edith Wilson stepped in to con...

Trident: Does the Nuclear Deterrent Work? from 2021-09-08T03:00

With the release of the nuclear submarine TV series, Vigil, Dr Nick Ritchie, Senior Lecturer at the University of York and the UK’s leading expert on Trident, joins James for this episode of our si...

The Normans from 2021-09-07T03:00

The Norman conquest of England in 1066 was one of the great milestones of English history but there were in fact many Norman invasions and their influence reached from Northern Europe through the M...

A New History of the Middle Ages with Dan Jones from 2021-09-06T03:00

Do the 21st Century and the Middle Ages really share that much in common? Climate change, pandemics, technological disruption, interconnected global trade and networks may all seem like modern phen...

Winston Churchill: From Failures to Finest Hour from 2021-09-05T03:00

Churchill is one of the great figures of history and this totemic figure is often cited as one of the greatest British figures of all time. However, whilst his achievement during the dark days of t...

The Unheard Tapes of Bomber Command from 2021-09-04T03:00

Over 55,500 men died flying with Bomber Command during World War Two; more than the number who serve in the Royal Air Force today. Flying at night over occupied Europe and battling German night fig...

The Start of WWII from 2021-09-03T03:00

On September 1 1939 Nazi Germany invaded Poland followed two days later by France and the United Kingdom declaring war on Germany and beginning the Second World War. This was the opening act in wha...

Digging Medieval Battlefields from 2021-09-02T03:00

How different is battlefield archaeology compared to other disciplines? Do local legends ever help track down evidence in a field? And why are potato fields in particular sometimes problematic for ...

Are Mandatory Vaccines New? from 2021-09-01T03:00

Vaccines have become a subject of great controversy in recent months but the requirement to have them is far from new. Almost since the earliest examples of inoculation and vaccination, they have b...

John Simpson: Six Decades of Warzones from 2021-08-31T03:00

Over six decades John Simpson has been on the frontline of reporting bringing news from some of the most dangerous places on the planet to the television screens of millions of people. His work has...

The Secret History of the SBS from 2021-08-30T03:00

The SBS was formed out of the Commandos during the Second World War to help counter Nazi domination of Europe. This small unit made up of regulars as well as maverick volunteers took on some of the...

Britain's Economy: How We Got Here from 2021-08-29T03:00

The industrial revolution began in Britain and became one of the most extraordinary economic miracles in human history but the next two centuries have seen many booms and busts and have been more t...

Martin Luther King Jr from 2021-08-28T03:00

On 28 August 1963 Martin Luther King Jr delivered his 'I have a dream' speech stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. to an audience of hundreds of thousands of people. The speech...

The Invasion of Poland in World War Two from 2021-08-27T03:00

In this episode from the archive, Roger Moorhouse discusses the Polish campaign of 1939 comprehensively, separating the myths from reality and outlining the abject horrors that the Poles suffered u...

The Shortest War in History from 2021-08-26T03:00

On 27 August 1896, the British Empire went to war with the Zanzibar Sultanate for approximately 38 minutes! It is the shortest war in history. It came about after the death of the pro-British Sulta...

WW2: The Great Imperial War from 2021-08-25T03:00

Most consider the Second World War to have been fought between 1939-1945 but, as you'll hear in this podcast, Richard Overy believes that the conflict was much broader than this. The Second World W...

Ancient Afghanistan: The Land of a Thousand Cities from 2021-08-24T03:00

Stretched along the north of the Hindu Kush mountain range and the south of the Oxus river, the history of the ancient region of Bactria envelops some of the most intriguing periods of the ancient ...

The Fall of the Soviet Union from 2021-08-23T03:00

In August 1991 there was an attempted coup in the Soviet Union as communist hard-liners sought to re-establish the dominance of Soviet rule in Russia and its satellite states. The coup attempt coll...

National Security in Trump's White House from 2021-08-22T03:00

H. R. McMaster is both a soldier and a scholar and has served at the highest level in government as National Security Advisor to President Trump. He served in the US Army for more than 30 years ach...

The Witches of Lorraine from 2021-08-21T03:00

Between 1570 and 1630, there was intense persecution and thousands of executions of suspected witches in Lorraine, a small duchy on the borders of France and the Holy Roman Empire. In some cases, s...

80th Anniversary of the First Arctic Convoy from 2021-08-20T03:00

As the Soviet Union reeled from the shock of the German invasion in 1941 it asked for aid from Britain and its allies and the arctic convoys was a key part of the response. Desperate to keep the So...

What Went Wrong in Afghanistan? from 2021-08-19T03:00

History is vital for contextualising current events but as Professor Paul Miller argues in today's episode of the podcast it cannot tell us all we need to know about the present especially in the c...

Afghanistan: History Repeating Itself? from 2021-08-18T04:00

The collapse of the Afghan army and government and takeover by the Taliban has evoked many historical comparisons, but how valid are they? To find out Dan is joined by author, historian and friend ...

The Rise of Oliver Cromwell from 2021-08-17T04:00

Oliver Cromwell is the only English commoner to become head of state and is one of the most remarkable and controversial figures in history. Energised by his Puritan beliefs he came to dominate the...

Bonnie Prince Charlie from 2021-08-16T04:00

In August 1745 Bonnie Prince Charlie led a rebellion that brought the Jacobite cause closer to seizing the throne than almost any other. He had landed with only a handful of his most trusted suppor...

The Jewish Commandos Who Helped Defeat the Nazis from 2021-08-15T04:00

During the Second World War, a special commando unit was formed in Britain from Jewish refugees from Germany, Austria and other parts of occupied Europe. Many of the men who joined this unit had lo...

The Fall of the Aztec Empire from 2021-08-14T04:00

In August 1521 after a last stand on the steps of their temple buildings, the Aztec defenders of Tenochtitlan surrendered to the Spanish forces of Hernán Cortés and his Mesoamerican allies. In the ...

Escaping the Berlin Wall from 2021-08-13T04:00

There were many attempts to escape over and under the Berlin Wall but Tunnel 29 was highly unusual for tunnelling into East Berlin rather than out to the West. Led by Joachim Rudolph, who had himse...

Gallipoli: What Led to Britain's WW1 Disaster? from 2021-08-12T04:00

What does the price of wheat and global food supplies have to do with one of the greatest disasters in the history of warfare? Why was the decision made to send thousands of Allied troops in an att...

England's Great Viking Battle from 2021-08-11T04:00

On 11 August 991 one of the most important anglo-Viking battles took place near Maldon in Essex. This clash was immortalised in one of the finest examples of early English poetry that tells the sto...

Royal Mistresses from 2021-08-10T04:00

The role of the royal mistress may, on the face of it, seem a simple position but in reality, there was a lot more to being a royal mistress than it might seem. Throughout the courts of Europe, the...

The Bombing of Nagasaki from 2021-08-09T04:00

The second atomic strike on the city of Nagasaki is less well known than the one a few days earlier on Hiroshima, but was it more influential in forcing the Japanese to surrender? To find out who e...

The Ultimate Cold War Spy Story from 2021-08-07T23:00

A Soviet double agent at the top of his game, a deadly game of cat and mouse with the KGB and one of the most daring escapes of the Cold War from the very heart of Moscow. In this archive episode, ...

The Origins of English from 2021-08-07T04:00

Approximately 1.35 billion people use it, either as a first or second language, so English and the way that we speak it has a daily impact on huge numbers of people. But how did the English languag...

The Birth of the Internet from 2021-08-06T04:00

In the last 30 years, the internet has utterly changed the world in which we live and is now as vital as electricity in our daily lives. August 6, 1991, is the date given when the first website wen...

Canada Confronts Its Past from 2021-08-05T04:00

The discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves at former Canadian residential schools have has led to a crisis of identity for the country as it comes to terms with the trauma of the past. For many, ...

How WWI Began from 2021-08-04T04:00

On August 4, 1914, Britain declared war on Germany and entered the First World War. This was a conflict of unparalleled savagery with industrialized slaughter on a scale that the world had never se...

Britain's Forgotten Olympic Heroes from 2021-08-03T04:00

The Olympics are a sporting event like no other and in this episode, we celebrate two great British Olympians of the past Anita Neil and Hugh 'Jumbo' Edwards. These are two very different athletes ...

The Fall and Rise of India's Royal Families from 2021-08-02T04:00

One aspect of India's independence that is often overlooked is the role of India's princely states; the Maharajas. During the Raj, these states had been semi-autonomous and not actually part of the...

The Spanish Armada from 2021-08-01T04:00

In 1588 the English Navy defeated one of the greatest fleets ever assembled; the Spanish Armada. A week of running battles in the English Channel culminated in a major clash off the coast of the to...

Decoding the Roman Dead from 2021-07-31T04:00

Often known as ‘Britain’s first town’, Colchester is a city rich in ancient history and on 24 July 2021, a new exhibition will open at the Colchester Museum revealing more about some of its earlies...

Liverpool's Historic Docks from 2021-07-30T04:00

Just 17 years after Liverpool’s historic waterfront was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, the city was stripped of its prestigious status.
The UN's heritage body said it made the decision...

England and Spain's Battle for Global Supremacy from 2021-07-29T04:00

This week in 1588 the Spanish Armada fought running battles in the Channel with the English Navy. It was sent by King Phillip of Spain who ruled half the world to crush Elizabeth Tudor the woman wh...

The Fight to Save Archaeology from 2021-07-27T04:00

Archaeology is not just about digging, it’s about understanding the human experience of existence. 
In the space of a few weeks there have been many sad developments in archaeology in the ...

Pathfinders: Bomber Command's Elite from 2021-07-26T04:00

The Pathfinders were ordinary men and women who transformed the efficiency of the Allies' air campaign over mainland Europe and helped deliver victory over Nazi Germany. Journalist and bestselling ...

What is Going on With Democracy? from 2021-07-25T04:00

Democracy is in crisis around the world. Dr Robert Saunders, from Queen Mary University of London, is back on the podcast to discuss why it is under threat. From the changing media landscape, to te...

The Woman Who Flew Spitfires in WW2 from 2021-07-24T04:00

Mary Ellis was a pioneering and courageous aviator who flew hundreds of fighters and bombers to Britain’s frontline airfields. She was one of the first women to fly Spitfires, heavy bombers and jet...

The Olympic Games from 2021-07-23T04:00

The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games are finally here, after being delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. From Ancient Greece to when it was reborn in 1896, the tournament has nearly 3,000 years of hist...

Rival Queens: Elizabeth I and Catherine de' Medici from 2021-07-22T04:00

The relationship between Elizabeth I and Catherine de' Medici - the two most powerful Queens of their time - is one of the most intriguing and captivating stories of the 16th century. 
Listen

The Rise of Stalin from 2021-07-21T04:00:54

How did a young boy from Georgia become a merciless politician who shaped the Soviet Empire in his own brutal image? Historian and bestselling author, Simon Sebag Montifiore, is back on the podcast...

How Timekeeping Changed the World from 2021-07-20T04:00

Accurate timekeeping is at the very root of all of the technological advances in the modern world, but how did it all begin? From Roman sundials to medieval water-clocks, people of all cultures hav...

Dancing Mania from 2021-07-19T04:00

In the summer of 1518, one of the most bizarre afflictions in history struck the city of Strasburg; dancing mania. This epidemic of dancing spread, almost like a plague, through the population with...

Robin Hood from 2021-07-18T04:00

Robin Hood is one of the most famous legends of British history, but did he exist and if so who was he? Gareth Morgan, Learning Development Officer at Nottingham Castle, is just the man to help sep...

Saladin and the Crusades from 2021-07-17T04:00

Saladin was one of the greatest Sultans of the middle ages, and the first sultan of Egypt and Syria. He famously defeated the Crusader army at the Battle of Hattin, and recaptured Jerusalem. The Ch...

Why the Statues Are Coming Down from 2021-07-16T04:00

Recent years have seen a spate of statue removals from the toppling of Confederate statues in the United States, the tearing down of the Edward Colston statue in Bristol and recently the removal of...

Mythbusting Medieval Buildings from 2021-07-15T04:00

From spiral stairs to tunnels leading to pubs and brothels, to witch markings; join us as we find out the truth about medieval buildings. Matt Lewis, from our sibling podcast Gone Medieval, is acco...

The Peasants' Revolt from 2021-07-14T04:00

In 1381 England was rocked by one of the most widespread popular uprisings of the medieval period; the Peasants' Revolt. Beginning in Essex in response to the overreaching demands of a local govern...

World War Two Showdown in the Mediterranean from 2021-07-13T04:00

By the summer of 1942 Malta had been under siege by Axis forces for over a year and the situation on the island was bleak with food and fuel almost exhausted. This vital allied foothold in the Medi...

Captain Cook 250 Years On from 2021-07-12T04:00

250 years ago today Captain James arrived back from one of the most remarkable voyages of exploration in the history of the world. The expedition took Cook and his crew through the Pacific making c...

A History of Tennis from 2021-07-10T04:00

In this archive episode, David Berry joined Dan on the pod to discuss the history of tennis. From the birth of modern tennis in Victorian Britain to the present day, they talk about struggles aroun...

How Coffee and Tobacco Captivated Britain from 2021-07-09T04:00

When tobacco arrived in Britain in the 1560s, it was hailed as a "holy herb", a miracle cure to improve health and a catalyst for wit and creativity. The coming of coffee - "black as hell, strong a...

England and Italy. The History. from 2021-07-08T04:00

The history of Italy and England stretches back thousands of years well before Italy and England even existed as nations. As the two will meet in the European Championship final this Sunday it seem...

The Japanese Americans Who Fought in WWII from 2021-07-07T04:00

After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in December 1941, Japanese Americans were put in a terrible position in the USA. Many tens of thousands of Japanese Americans were interned in cruel condi...

Assyria and the Birth of Writing from 2021-07-06T04:00

It is often the case that it is assumed that it was in ancient Greece and the eastern Mediterranean that was host to the foundation of European politics, culture, economics and engineering. But in ...

Ethel Rosenberg: Super Spy or Innocent Victim? from 2021-07-05T04:00

In June 1953 Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, an American married couple with two young sons, were executed having been found guilty of conspiracy to commit espionage for the Soviet Union. Julius was un...

D. H. Lawrence and the Lady Chatterley Trial from 2021-07-04T04:00

D.H. Lawrence is best known for his work Lady Chatterley's Lover and the obscenity trial relating to the book's publication in the early 1960s. But Lawrence is in fact one of the most important Bri...

The Truth About King Arthur from 2021-07-03T04:00

The legend of King Arthur has been reworked many times, but is there any historical truth behind the tales? Dr Miles Russell believes there is and in this episode, from our sibling podcast The Anci...

The Battle of the Somme from 2021-07-02T04:00

105 years ago the battle of the Somme raged on into its second day. 60,000 British casualties we recorded on its first day and by its close in November 1916 over a million men had been killed or wo...

100 years of the Chinese Communist Party from 2021-07-01T04:00

100 years ago the Chinese Communist Party was founded and across the span of that century has become one of the most powerful organisations on the planet. Today, it is an economic powerhouse and a ...

The Voyage That Changed the Way We Eat from 2021-06-30T04:00

In February 1882 the SS Dunedin departed New Zealand on a voyage that would revolutionise the way we eat and kickstart the globalisation of the world's food supply chain. Aboard were thousands of m...

Marginalised in the Middle Ages with Eleanor Janega from 2021-06-29T04:00

Much of Medieval history focuses on the kings, queens, bishops, and the nobility of the period, but what do we know about those people on the margins of society? Like today the elite made up only a...

Sarajevo 1914: Assassination of the Archduke from 2021-06-28T04:00

Europe in 1914 was a tinderbox of imperial tensions and the spark that would light the conflagration would be the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. But there is much more to this story tha...

Berlin and the Dawn of the Cold War from 2021-06-27T04:00

In the aftermath of World War II, amongst the shattered ruins of Berlin a new conflict was born, the Cold War. With the common purpose of defeating Nazi Germany gone the allied powers were soon no ...

From Airman to Attorney General: RAF Navigator Johnny Smythe from 2021-06-26T04:00

Beginning with his birth in 1915 in Sierra Leone, the life of John Henry Smythe OBE MBE is almost unbelievable. From becoming a navigator in the RAF during the Second World War, to being held capti...

Hunting the Viking Great Heathen Army from 2021-06-25T04:00

In 865 AD Britain was invaded by the Great Heathen Army an alliance of Scandanavian warriors determined to conquer the kingdoms of East Anglia, Northumbria, Merica and Wessex. Over the next few yea...

History of Freemasonry from 2021-06-24T04:00

John Dickie joins Dan from the History Hit Archive to discuss the international story of an organisation that now has 6 million members across the globe. Tracing the origins from local fraternities...

The World According to Obama Official Ben Rhodes from 2021-06-23T04:00

Ben Rhodes has served at the very pinnacle of politics in his role as deputy national security adviser in Barack Obama's Whitehouse and seen what it takes to run a democracy and take the tough deci...

Operation Barbarossa from 2021-06-22T04:00

On 22 June 1941 Hitler unleashed Operation Barbarossa the biggest military operation in human history. More than 3 million men of the Axis poured into the Soviet Union beginning a conflict, that ev...

Tragedy at the Scottish Crannog Centre from 2021-06-21T04:00

From the Neolithic period to the early 18th century Crannogs were a feature of Scottish, Welsh and Irish lakes and estuaries enabling a unique way of life. These unusual dwellings consisted of an a...

Black American Struggle: Riot or Revolution? from 2021-06-20T04:00

The 1960s and early 1970s saw civil unrest and violence in the United States on a scale not seen since the civil war between black residents and the police but was this simply rioting or a revoluti...

Mary, Queen of Scots from 2021-06-19T04:00

Mary, Queen of Scots, returned to the news headlines when the rosary she carried to her execution in 1587, was recently stolen from Arundel Castle. It's the latest chapter in the enduring story of ...

Churchill's Daughters: The Privilege and the Pain from 2021-06-17T04:00

Winston Churchill's daughters Diana, Sarah, Marigold and Mary are often overshadowed by their father's extraordinary fame but they also lived fascinating lives and were often present at many of the...

The Curious History of Postcards from 2021-06-16T04:00

For many people sending a postcard is an enjoyable part of any seaside trip but rather than just being a novelty they were once a vital form of communication and often the quickest way to contact y...

Everything You Need to Know about the Anglo-Saxons from 2021-06-15T04:00

The Anglo-Saxon period is vital for the formation of England and the UK as we know it but is a difficult era to fully understand. The departure of the Romans left a power vacuum that was filled by ...

The Heiress, the Kidnap, and the Making of London from 2021-06-14T04:00

After the Great Plague of 1665 and the Great Fire of London in 1666 London was on its knees with its population decimated and the heart of the city burnt out, but from the ashes, it would rise phoe...

Gordon Brown on How To Save the World from 2021-06-13T04:00

Gordon Brown stood at the pinnacle of UK politics for 13 years first as Chancellor of the Exchequer and the as Prime Minister but it is as a private citizen that he now seeks to set out and help so...

The Euros from 2021-06-12T04:00

England holds the slightly unwanted title for the most appearances in the Euros without ever reaching a final, so why the excitement when it comes back around every four years?


Footba...

Alexander the Great’s Corpse and the Greatest Heist in History from 2021-06-11T04:00

Alexander the Great is one of the most famous generals and empire builders in history, but the story of his death is almost as remarkable as his life. Tristan Hughes host of the History Hit podcast...

The Mary Rose and Her Ethnically Diverse Crew from 2021-06-10T04:00

The Mary Rose, a Tudor warship in Henry VIII's navy, sank in the Solent on 19 July 1545 with the loss of most of her 415 strong crew. Recent developments in marine archaeology have enabled research...

Stalin's War from 2021-06-08T04:00

The Second World War is often depicted as a straight battle between good and evil but it was perhaps less straightforward than that. Whilst the Nazi regime was undoubtedly barbarous and deserved it...

The History of Head Transplants from 2021-06-07T04:00

The superpower rivalry of the Cold War had many different fronts, space, the rice paddy fields of south-east Asia and even the operating theatre. The desire to push the envelope of human ingenuity ...

New D-Day Shipwrecks Discovered from 2021-06-06T04:00

D-Day on 6 June 1944 saw the largest amphibious landing in history take place as more than 150,000 allied troops stormed five assault beaches in Normandy, attempting to break through Hitler's Atlan...

The Profumo Affair from 2021-06-05T04:00

It was the scandal that shook the British political world to its core leading to ministerial resignations and helping to bring down a prime minister and cause the defeat of the Conservative party a...

The Beauty and Violence of the Renaissance from 2021-06-04T04:00

The Renaissance was a time of radical change in Europe with an explosion in the production of art, new methods of waging war, Europeans discovering the new world, the printing press and religious s...

Disaster Before D-Day: Exercise Tiger from 2021-06-03T04:00

The D-Day landings of June 6 1944 were the largest amphibious landing in the history of warfare, and are famed as a major turning point towards Allied victory. But they weren’t without planning and...

The Bank That Sacked Its Customers from 2021-06-02T04:00

When we think of investment banking we think of high-risk trades, profit at any cost and big bonuses but there is an institution that sees it differently; Brown Brothers Harriman. Brown Brothers wa...

Democracy from 2021-06-01T04:00

In this episode taken from our back catalogue Professor Paul Cartledge the concept which is the foundation stone of our political culture: democracy. Paul Cartledge is Professor of Greek Culture Em...

Tulsa Race Massacre from 2021-05-31T04:00

On May 31 1921 Tulsa, Oklahoma, was torn apart by one of the worst instances of racialised violence in American history. In a period of great racial tension, the white population in Tulsa went on a...

Joan of Arc from 2021-05-30T04:00

On May 30, 1431, Joan of Arc was burned at the stake at the age of 19. It is safe to say that few teenagers have had as big an impact on Anglo-French history as Joan of Arc. Joining the podcast to ...

Israel and Palestine: An Israeli Perspective with Benny Morris from 2021-05-29T04:00

The conflict between Israeli's and Palestinians is one that inflames strong emotions and opinions on all sides, but can a solution be found or is it an intractable one? In this episode of our serie...

The Mystery of the Ninth Legion from 2021-05-28T04:00

The legions of Rome were the nucleus of Rome’s military might for centuries. From campaigning in northern Scotland to the Persian Gulf, these devastating battalions extended and cemented Roman powe...

Sinking the Bismarck from 2021-05-27T04:00

In May 1941 Nazi Germany's most powerful warship and pride of the Kriegsmarine the Bismarck slipped out of harbour and made its way to hunt Allied merchant shipping in the Atlantic. Operation Rhein...

Mary Anning: Palaeontology's Forgotten Pioneer from 2021-05-26T04:00

Born in Lyme Regis in 1799, Mary Anning was a pioneering palaeontologist and fossil collector whose story continues to inspire so many scientists to this day. The Jurassic Coast on the south coast ...

The UK’s Top Diplomat on the State of the World from 2021-05-24T04:00

Sir Jeremy Greenstock served as a diplomat from the 1960s to the well into the 21st century and is someone who has been in the room when some of the most momentous events of recent history have occ...

Martin Luther: Scourge of the Papacy from 2021-05-23T04:00

Martin Luther is one of the most extraordinary and consequential men of the last 500 years but was also a man keenly aware of his image and went to considerable efforts to craft how the world saw h...

Eurovision from 2021-05-22T04:00

Eurovision is an annual extravaganza of European music and culture but what is its history and what role does it play? To help explore this subject Dan is joined by two men steeped in Eurviosion; T...

Israel and Palestine: A Jewish Perspective with Daniel Finkelstein from 2021-05-21T04:00

As part of our season of programmes looking at the Arab-Israeli conflict Lord Daniel Finklestein joins the podcast to discuss his perspective as a member of the Jewish diaspora. Daniel is a journal...

The Amelia Earhart Mystery with Amelia Rose Earhart from 2021-05-20T04:00

On the morning of May 20, 1932, 34-year-old Earhart set off from Newfoundland, Canada in her bid to become the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. 15 hours later she landed in terribl...

Anne Boleyn Special Part 1: Life and Afterlives from 2021-05-19T04:00

In the first of two special podcasts, from our sibling podcast Not Just the Tudors, to mark the 485th anniversary of Anne Boleyn's death, Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by a panel of experts to discus...

Gone Medieval from 2021-05-18T04:00

Dan is joined by the wonderful Cat Jarman who, along with Matt Lewis, will be presenting History Hit's brand new podcast Gone Medieval. They discuss the medieval period, the new podcast, Dan and Ca...

The Western Front from 2021-05-17T05:00

The Western Front in the First World War is a story of aristocratic generals sending ordinary men over the top to their deaths in futile frontal attacks against entrenched positions. Or is it? In t...

Israel and Palestine: A Palestinian View with Yara Hawari from 2021-05-16T05:00

History is essential to understanding the world around us and this couldn't be more true than in the case of the Israel-Palestine conflict. The recent flare-up of violence in Israel-Palestine has s...

Malcolm Gladwell from 2021-05-15T05:00

Malcolm Gladwell has sold millions of books and more recently become a podcasting titan and he joins Dan to talk about his most recent project The Bomber Mafia. The Bomber Mafia is about a group of...

War Crimes and Innocence in Iraq from 2021-05-14T05:00

Following the toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003 British troops in Basra were confronted with a chaotic situation as looting and rioting took hold of the city and society collapsed. As the...

Ian Fleming & The Birth of Bond from 2021-05-13T05:00

A suave secret agent and fictional character turned household name and multi-billion dollar franchise: we all know James Bond. But what about the man behind him? In this episode, from. our sibling ...

Motherhood, Working and Pandemics from 2021-05-12T05:00

Being a working mother is now an entirely normal part of life but this was certainly not always the case and was often seen as a social ill in the past. Helen McCarthy, author of Double Lives: A Hi...

Ken Burns and Lynn Novick on Hemmingway from 2021-05-11T05:00

Ken Burns and Lynn Novick are two of the most talented and inspiring history filmmakers on earth. Their works include the seminal The Civil War, Baseball and The Vietnam War all of which have been ...

Napoleon Bonaparte: Rise to Power from 2021-05-10T05:00

In this archive episode, Dan talks to Adam Zamoyski, a historian who has written a biography of Napoleon, about the early life and rise to power of one of the most remarkable men in history. &...

Greatest Heist in History: The Crown Jewels and Thomas Blood from 2021-05-09T05:00

On the 9 May 1671, Thomas Blood led his co-conspirators in a daring bid to steal the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London. Through a combination of trickery, guile and violence he was able to make...

The Sinking of the Lusitania from 2021-05-07T05:00

On 7 May 1915, the ocean liner RMS Lusitania was sunk by a German U-boat off the coast of Ireland with more than half the passengers and crew being killed. Some of those lost were Americans and the...

Roman Prisoners of War from 2021-05-06T05:00

We know all about the battles of the Roman Empire: the opposing sides, their weapons and incentives. But if history is written by the winners, what happened if you lost? In this episode, Dr Jo Ball...

A Scandalous Duchess from 2021-05-05T05:00

Elizabeth Chudleigh, Duchess of Kingston was a duchess who attracted scandal, a duchess who divided opinion, a duchess who refused to give up agency or accept her place in 18th century society and ...

Pre-historic Britain in Seven Burials with Alice Roberts from 2021-05-04T05:00

How much can a burial really tell us about our ancient past? Professor Alice Roberts is today's guest and, as her new book Ancestors demonstrates, old bones can speak to us across the centuries. Us...

Amend: The Fight for America from 2021-05-02T05:00

Take a deep dive into the remaking of the American Constitution and the 14th amendment created in the wake of the American Civil War. The 14th amendment formed a key part of addressing citizenship ...

Captain Cook: The Aboriginal Perspective from 2021-04-30T05:00

Captain Cook has been celebrated, wrongly, as the first European to discover Australia but many now believe it is time to reappraise his legacy particularly in light of the devastating effect it ha...

Not Just the Tudors from 2021-04-29T05:00

When thinking about the 16th century the Tudor dynasty often comes to the fore, but the was so much more to this extraordinary period to be explored. In celebration of the launch of her new History...

Blood and Iron: The German Empire from 2021-04-27T05:00

German unification in 1871 immediately altered the balance of power in Europe and across the world, but what did its existence and expansion in the 19th and early 20th-century really mean? Katja Ho...

Chernobyl: Memories of a Survivor from 2021-04-26T05:00

On April 26th 1986 reactor No. 4 at the Chernobyl nuclear plant exploded sending a vast plume of radioactive material into the atmosphere, but what was it like for ordinary people nearby? It was th...

The Last Nuremberg Prosecutor from 2021-04-25T05:00

Ben Ferencz at 102 years old is the last surviving prosecutor from the Nuremberg trials and a direct witness to the horrors of the Nazi death camps. Ben was born in Transylvania before emigrating t...

Cellini: Bad Boy of the Renaissance from 2021-04-24T05:00

Benvenuto Cellini was the bad boy of the Renaissance! His life was a story of murders, violence, war, the sack of cities, sodomy, imprisonment, religious conversion, prodigious artistic talent and ...

Football, Money and the European Super League from 2021-04-23T05:00

The attempt to create a new European Super League might have been short-lived with the attempt to form a breakaway competition collapsing in the face of widespread protests and denunciations from f...

Shakespeare's Shoreditch Theatre with Heather Knight from 2021-04-22T05:00

In this archive episode, Dan visits the site of The Theatre, the 16th-century playhouse where some of Shakespeare's works were first performed, to investigate the archaeology with Heather Knight, S...

Lessons from the Antonine Plague from 2021-04-21T05:00

A plague which affects people from across society, the mass exodus from city centres and numerous opinions on how best to stay well ... all familiar to people today, but also to the people of the 2...

Lady Mary and the First Inoculation from 2021-04-20T05:00

In the 18th century, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu was an aristocrat, courtier, brilliant beauty, intellectual, wife to the ambassador to the Ottoman Empire and a sufferer from smallpox. It was during ...

Prisoners of Geography from 2021-04-19T05:00

Five years ago Tim Marshall wrote the international best selling book Prisoners of Geography which examined how our politics, demographics, our economies and societies are determined by geography. ...

300 years of British Prime Ministers: Part 3 from 2021-04-18T05:00

In the third episode of our series chronicling the history of British Prime Ministers we travel from one of the Most famous occupants of the office, Winston Churchill, right through to the current ...

Irish Independence from 2021-04-16T23:00

On 18th April 1949, the Republic of Ireland Act came into effect which saw Ireland become a republic and leave the Commonwealth. 2021 also marks the 100th anniversary of the end of the Irish War of...

JFK's Darkest Hour: The Cuban Missile Crisis from 2021-04-16T05:00

In October 1962 the world came very close to annihilation during the Cuban Missile Crisis. During the autumn of 1962, a U2 reconnaissance aircraft produced clear evidence that the Soviet Union and ...

Life and Death in Medieval England from 2021-04-15T05:00

We often hear about the kings and queens of medieval England, but what was life like for the ordinary person? From knights to peasants to barbers, Dan Snow joins Dr Eleanor Janega to explore the ma...

British Seapower in the 1900s from 2021-04-14T05:00

During the changes and troubles of the 20th century, officials in Britain faced a huge question: how could they maintain imperial power? Dr Louis Halewood has been researching the troubles faced by...

The End of Sex Disqualification? from 2021-04-13T05:00

The First World War saw unprecedented numbers of women enter the workplace and help pave the way for women to be given greater rights and responsibilities in their careers, or did it? The Sex Disqu...

Yuri Gagarin: The First Human to Leave Our Planet from 2021-04-12T05:00

On April 12th 1961 the Soviet Union shocked the world by launching the first man into space; Yuri Gagarin. Strapped to the top of a gigantic ICBM Gagarin was blasted into space as the result of a h...

300 years of British Prime Ministers: Part 2 from 2021-04-11T05:00

Continuing our series looking at British Prime Ministers this episode tackles the period following the Battle of Waterloo all the way up to Winston Churchill. The brilliant Robert Saunders joins us...

Prince Philip from 2021-04-09T17:00

Abandoned by his parents, exiled from his home, a veteran of Second World War battles, an author, the founder of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), this is the story of Prince Philip as you have...

The Xiongnu: History's First Nomadic Empire? from 2021-04-09T05:00

Between the 3rd century BC and the 1st century AD, the Xiongnu inhabited the area surrounding Mongolia. They influenced the later Hun Empire, and had connections with Ancient China and Persia, but ...

What Britain Did to Nigeria from 2021-04-08T05:00

When we think of the British Empire we often think of India, Pakistan, Singapore, Burma or perhaps South Africa but an often underrepresented part of the colonial picture is that of west Africa and...

Catherine the Great from 2021-04-07T05:00

Catherine the Great came from minor German nobility to become Empress of Russia and one of the most extraordinary women of the eighteenth century. Dan is joined today on the podcast by Hilde Hoogen...

30 Years since the Kurdish Uprising from 2021-04-06T05:00

In the aftermath of the First Gulf War, groups rose up against Saddam Hussein's regime in a bid to win independence from Baghdad with devastating results for those involved and in particular for th...

Will This Be the New Roaring 20s? from 2021-04-05T05:00

Our impressions of the Roaring 20s are a time of economic growth, social change and in some cases wild debauchery, but were the Roaring 20s really a thing and what were they really like? As lockdow...

300 years of British Prime Ministers: Part 1 from 2021-04-04T05:00

We're heading back to the Eighteenth century as 300 years ago Sir Robert Walpole became the first prime minister. In this first episode of our Prime Minister's season, Dan is Joined by Dr Hannah Gr...

Violence Against Women in Victorian London from 2021-04-03T05:00

In the 1880s and 1890s Whitechapel, in London, become notorious for its violence especially towards women but what lessons can be drawn from this period for today? In this thought-provoking episode...

The Truth About Easter from 2021-04-02T05:00

In one of the most popular episodes from our archive, Dan is joined by Francesca Stavrakopoulou to discuss the history and myths that surround Easter. Francesca Stavrakopoulou is Professor of Hebre...

Hitler's Atlantic Wall from 2021-04-01T16:00

The Atlantic Wall is one of the biggest construction projects in history a line of formidable defences stretching from the Pyrenees to the Norwegian Arctic but how effective was it? Dan speaks to J...

Music and Humans from 2021-03-31T16:00

Today we take music for granted but humans have a unique relationship with the musical form which reaches back far into our ancient past. In this episode Dan is joined by Michael Spitzer, Professor...

Operation Jubilee: A Pinch Raid at Dieppe? from 2021-03-30T16:00

On 19 August 1942, a six thousand strong combined Allied landing force took part in a raid on Dieppe, Northern France. Sixty-seven percent of these became casualties. The raid has gone down in hist...

The Man Who Dropped the First Bomb on Iraq from 2021-03-29T16:00

30 years ago Maj. Gen. Greg "the beast" Feest dropped a bomb from his F-117 stealth bomber destroying an Iraqi command bunker which began the air war that would lead to the allied victory in the Fi...

Boudica: Britain's Warrior Queen from 2021-03-28T03:00

This episode from our sibling podcast The Ancients is all about that hero of British folklore; Boudica. Her leadership of the Iceni in an uprising against the forces of the Roman Empire in around 6...

Icelandic Volcanoes and Us from 2021-03-27T03:00

This explosive episode is all about the effects of Icelandic volcanoes on us all. In 1783 a massive eruption of Lakagígar volcano nearly forced the abandonment of Iceland as 15 cubic kilometres of ...

The Suez Canal from 2021-03-26T00:00

The creation of the Suez Canal was the culmination of a dream stretching back to the pharaohs of connecting the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, but why is it so important? Right now with the canal is...

Greek War of Independence from 2021-03-25T17:00

200 years ago the banner was raised which marked the beginning of the Greek War of Independence that would lead to their freedom from the Ottoman Empire. It was also a globally significant war as i...

Istanbul: A Tale of Three Cities with Bettany Hughes from 2021-03-24T17:00

In this episode from the back catalogue, Dr Bettany Hughes joins Dan to talk about her history of Istanbul which sits at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. Dr. Bettany Hughes is an award-winning hi...

One Normal Family, 300 Years of History from 2021-03-23T17:00

Every family has a history and delving into the history of one ordinary French family over three centuries provides a remarkable picture of deep social and economic changes. Accounts of the li...

French Resistance Super Spy from 2021-03-22T17:00

Today's podcast is about French Resistance spies! Dan is joined by the author Roland Phillips who has uncovered the story of Mathilde Carré who was codenamed agent Victoire and nicknamed La Chatte ...

Napoleon: Captive on Saint Helena from 2021-03-21T03:00

Saint Helena is one of the most remote inhabited islands in the world. Nearly a thousand mile from the nearest piece of land, this recently created volcanic effusion is a wonder of geography and bi...

The Census from 2021-03-20T03:00

Here in the UK, it's census time! Today, I'm joined on the podcast by one of the nations favourite family historians Dr Michala Hulme who certainly knows her way around a historical census. The fir...

The War in the East: Part 1 with Bill Frankland from 2021-03-19T17:00

In this episode taken from our archive, I talk to Dr Bill Frankland (19 March 1912 – 2 April 2020), a veteran of World War Two who lived through a Japanese prisoner of war camp and who also made im...

Another History of Ideas with David Runciman from 2021-03-18T17:00

Today, I am joined once again by Professor David Runciman to talk about the second series of his brilliant History of Ideas podcast. The series looks at some of the most important political thinker...

St Patrick's Day from 2021-03-17T17:00

We all have a story about St Patrick's Day and our guest on the podcast today, Adrian Mulligan has a few. Adrian is an Associate Professor of Geography at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania. We ha...

The My Lai Massacre from 2021-03-16T17:00

On the 16th March 1968, the My Lai Massacre occurred in South Vietnam. 350-500 men, women, children and babies were brutally killed by US troops during a counterinsurgency operation. It was the wor...

The Ides of March from 2021-03-15T17:00

Today's podcast is an episode taken from our sibling podcast The Ancients. In 4 BC, the Ides of March took on a new significance. Previously observed as the first full moon of the new year, the 15 ...

Written Constitutions with Linda Colley from 2021-03-14T03:00

On the podcast today we have the legendary Linda Colley to talk all about her new book examining the phenomenon of written constitutions. From Corsica in 1755 onwards via the United States and into...

Vikings in America from 2021-03-12T17:00

The Vikings were one of the great exploring peoples of the past. They travelled east along the rivers to the Silk Road, they explored west across the seas to the United Kingdom, they settled Icelan...

History of Homelessness from 2021-03-11T17:00

Throughout history homelessness has been given many names vagrancy, vagabonding, tramping. Indeed, homeless people have been seen in different lights. Sometimes portrayed as romantic heroes maintai...

When We Nearly Nuked the Moon from 2021-03-10T17:00

Vince Houghton joins me on the podcast today to talk about some of the weirdest and craziest ideas put forward during the twentieth century. We're talking exploding bats, sonic cats, aircraft carri...

Michael Palin: Erebus and Terror from 2021-03-09T17:00:12

In this archive episode, Dan Snow wrangles with a Python! He talks to comedy legend Michael Palin about his book, Erebus The Story of a Ship. The book tells the devastating true story of the Frankl...

On This Day She from 2021-03-08T13:00

To help celebrate International Women's Day I am joined on the podcast by Tania Hershman, Ailsa Holland and Jo Bell founders of On This Day She. Women have often been deliberately written out of hi...

Eddie the Eagle from 2021-03-07T03:00

I am joined by an absolute legend on the podcast today; Eddie the Eagle. He became an overnight sensation during the 1988 Winter Olympics as the first person to represent Great Britain in ski jumpi...

The British Landscape: 12,000 years of history from 2021-03-06T03:00

Nicholas Crane is a geographer, explorer, writer and broadcaster. He has written and presented four notable television series for BBC Two: Coast, Great British Journeys, Map Man and Town. The Makin...

The Renaissance from 2021-03-05T17:00

Today on the podcast we're going to talk all about the Renaissance. We have all heard of it as a reawakening, a rebirth of European culture but what truly was it and why was it so important and are...

What's Going on in Myanmar? from 2021-03-04T17:00

Myanmar is currently experiencing one of its worst-ever periods of violence and civil unrest as the population protests against the recent military coup. Many protesters have been killed and injure...

Cheddar Man: Science and the Skeleton from 2021-03-03T17:00

Today's episode is from our brilliant sibling podcast The Ancients. Cheddar Man is the oldest almost complete skeleton of a Homo sapien ever found in Britain and, for this fantastic episode, Trista...

French Resistance Heroine Heading to the Oscars from 2021-03-02T18:00

Joining me on the podcast today are Alice Doyard and Anthony Giacchino to discuss their film Colette: The french resistance fighter confronting fascism which has been shortlisted for the Oscars 202...

Queens of Jerusalem from 2021-03-01T17:00

In today's episode of the podcast, I am joined by Katherine Pangonis a historian specialising in the medieval world of the Mediterranean and Middle East. She has recently written a fantastic book a...

The Gulf War: 30 Years On from 2021-02-28T03:00

On this day thirty years ago a ceasefire was declared bringing ground operations in the first Gulf War to an end. An overwhelmingly powerful coalition force had stormed across the desert driving Sa...

The War Widow: Women of World War Two from 2021-02-27T04:00

Today's episode is from our brilliant sibling podcast, The World Wars. Author, presenter and human right advocate Tara Moss joins James to discuss the role of women during and after the Second Worl...

Lockdown Learning: The 19th Century Medical Revolution from 2021-02-26T17:00

The 19th century saw the world in the grip of the industrial revolution, a firepower revolution on the battlefield and a communications revolution with the telegram. But there was another revolutio...

The Doolittle Raid from 2021-02-25T17:00

Today, we're talking about one of the great stories of American military history; The Doolittle Raid. In 1942 after the humiliation assault on Pearl Harbour and determined to show that America stil...

Anti-government Violence in America from 2021-02-24T17:00

Leah Sottile joins me today to talk all about domestic terrorism and anti-government groups in the USA. In particular, we talk about the armed standoff between law enforcement and a group of ranche...

Remembering the Alamo with W. F. Strong from 2021-02-23T17:00

In this episode taken from our archive, I headed out to Texas in 2016 to discuss the Battle of the Alamo and what its legacy means for modern Texas. I met with W. F. Strong, a famed historian of Te...

John of Gaunt: THE Royal Ancestor from 2021-02-22T17:00

Helen Carr joins me today to discuss John of Gaunt: son of Edward III, younger brother to the Black Prince, uncle of Richard II and father of Henry IV. Not only was he the key intersecting ancestor...

In Conversation with David Baddiel from 2021-02-21T03:00

In this episode taken from our archive, David Baddiel talks to Dan about the Second World War, Trump's Mussolini-isms, and why Jim Callaghan makes comedy difficult.  

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Hitler and Stalin from 2021-02-15T17:00

I am joined by Laurence Rees, the best selling author, who has met more people that had direct contact with both Hitler and Stalin than any other historian. In this episode, we delve into the diffe...

Fallout: The Secret History of Nuclear Testing from 2021-02-14T04:00

How do you test a weapon of mass destruction? A weapon whose potential you can only estimate. Since 1945, countries with nuclear capabilities have been coming up with solutions to this problem, but...

Living Through the Dresden Firebombing with Victor Gregg from 2021-02-13T03:00

Victor Gregg is a veteran of World War Two and the Dresden Bombings, and travelled with Dan to visit Dresden a couple of years ago for a documentary. In this episode, taken from our archive, Victor...

Lockdown Learning: The Rise of USA from 2021-02-12T17:00

For Lockdown Learning this week I am joined by Dr Fabian Hilfrich, head of American History at Edinburgh University. He takes us through from the late 19th Century to the beginning of the 20th cent...

The 18th Century Precedent for Trump's Impeachment from 2021-02-11T17:00

As the impeachment trial of Donald Trump got underway in the USA the 18th-century case of Warren Hastings, the former Governor-General of Bengal was cited as a precedent for someone being impeached...

Empire with Sathnam Sanghera from 2021-02-10T17:00

Journalist and author Sathnam Sanghera joins me on the podcast to talk about his latest book Empireland which examines how much of what we think of as Britain and British is owed to our imperial pa...

Historical Novels with Ken Follett from 2021-02-09T17:00

Today, I am joined by best-selling author Ken Follett to discuss his latest book The Evening and the Morning. We also talk about his love of history and the historical research involved with writin...

China 1949: Year of Revolution from 2021-02-08T17:00

In 1949 Mao Zedong led the Chinese Communist Party to victory in the long and bloody Chinese Civil War. The impact of this victory was felt not just within China itself, but globally throughout the...

Sutton Hoo from 2021-02-07T03:00

The release of The Dig has brought the story of the Sutton Hoo dig to the forefront of people’s minds of late. The real hero of that story though is not the people involved but rather the stunning ...

Emily Davison with Kate Willoughby from 2021-02-06T03:00

In this episode, originally released in 2018, Dan talks to actor, activist, and "part-time suffragette" Kate Willoughby about Emily Davison, the centenary of the Representation of the People Act, a...

Lockdown Learning: Interwar Europe from 2021-02-05T17:00

For this episode of Lockdown Learning Professor Richard Toye joined me on the podcast to talk about the interwar period and answer the key questions of what caused the Second World War. We spo...

The History of Social Media with Kara Swisher from 2021-02-04T17:00:04

Facebook was founded on the 4th of February 2004 and began as a tool to stay in touch with friends and family, but has ended up being a place where you can plan insurrectionist movements and anti-v...

The AIDS pandemic from 2021-02-03T17:00

In this episode of the podcast, I’m joined by Tash Walker and Adam Zmith, hosts of The Log Books podcast, to discuss the Aids pandemic of the 1980s and 1990s and the lessons that might be drawn for...

Edges of Empire: Rome's Northernmost Town from 2021-02-02T17:00

Roughly two miles south of Hadrian’s Wall lie the remains of Roman Corbridge, the northernmost town of the Roman Empire. The site’s archaeology is unique. The remains highlight what was once a bust...

How the Establishment Resisted the Abolition of Slavery from 2021-02-01T18:15

Historian Michael Taylor joined me on the podcast to discuss the resistance of the British establishment to the ending of the slave trade.  

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The Anglo-Zulu War from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Saul David - historian, broadcaster and author of several critically-acclaimed works of fiction and non-fiction - comes on the show to discuss the most brutal and controversial British imperial con...

Hunting the Bismarck from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

In May 1941, the Royal Navy pursued Nazi Germany's largest battleship, the Bismarck, in the greatest chase story in the history of naval warfare. Bismarck represented the single most important thre...

'Seducing and Killing Nazis' from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

During the Second World War the Netherlands fell to advancing German forces in just a few hours. The Dutch found themselves under Nazi occupation. Many men and women resisted, which took many diffe...

Nero from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Shusma Malik joined me on the podcast to discuss the infamous Emperor Nero. He ruled nearly 2000 years ago, after taking over from his stepfather Claudius. Nero was a despotic ruler, enamoured in h...

How Humans Evolved from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Award winning broadcaster, journalist and author Gaia Vince talks to Dan about why humans evolved. Not just biologically but in terms of our language, culture and relationships. This is a big, wide...

ANARCHY! with Ruth Kinna from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

There is no more misunderstood doctrine than anarchism. Dan sets off to tackle his own lack of understanding by talking to Ruth Kinna, a Professor of Political Theory at Loughborough University, ab...

The Remarkable Life and Mysterious Death of Germanicus Julius Caesar with Lindsay Powell from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Germanicus was one of the most popular and successful generals of the early Roman Principate. Step grandson of the Roman emperor Augustus, he died 2,000 years ago this month. His death has always b...

The Rise of the East India Company with William Dalrymple from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

William Dalrymple charts the rise of the East India Company, from the decline of the Mughals to alliance with powerful Indian bankers, as well as weighing in on some of the most important questions...

Lincoln with Sidney Blumenthal from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Sidney Blumenthal joined me on the podcast to talk about the political life of Abraham Lincoln and what his legacy means today.  

Se...

Magic and Witchcraft from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Suzannah Lipscomb joined me on the pod to discuss the history of magic, witchcraft and the occult. Examining the beliefs and suspicions from the ancient era to the modern world, we discussed everyt...

Freemasonry from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

John Dickie joined me on the pod to discuss the international story of an organisation which now has 6 million members across the globe. Tracing the origins from local fraternities of stonemasons a...

Chinese Philosophy from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Michael Puett is Professor of Chinese History at Harvard and has lectured widely at the world's leading universities. His course in Chinese philosophy is among the most popular at Harvard and in 20...

The Korean War: An American Perspective from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

I was thrilled to be joined by H. W. Brands. He's authored 30 books on American history and his works have twice been selected as finalists for the Pulitzer Prize. On the 70 year anniversary since ...

Nagasaki from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

The second atomic strike on the city of Nagasaki is less well known than the one a few days earlier on Hiroshima, but was it more influential in forcing the Japanese to surrender? To find out who e...

Simon de Montfort, England's First Parliamentarian with Dr Sophie Therese Ambler from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Simon de Montfort was a member of the English peerage, who led opposition to King Henry III. He played a major role in the constitutional development of the country and remains an important figure ...

Circe and Greek Myths with Madeleine Miller from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Dan and bestselling author Madeleine Miller chat Greek myths and the Odyssey. They talk about Virgil, the Aenead, Patroclus and Agamemnon, and whether Dan should sacrifice his daughter to ensure pr...

Pertinax. Son of a Slave to Emperor of Rome. from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

The son of a former slave, Pertinax was the Roman Emperor who proved that no matter how lowly your birth, you could rise to the very top through hard work, grit and determination.This previously un...

The Road to 1914: Myths of Nationalism from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

This week in 1914 saw the outbreak of the First World War. In this special episode from the archive, Margaret MacMillan talks to her nephew Dan about her seminal book 'The War That Ended Peace: The...

Rape as a Weapon of War from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Christina Lamb is Chief Foreign Correspondent at The Sunday Times and one of Britain’s leading foreign journalists. As well as working in combat zones for over thirty years, Christina's also a best...

How and Why History: Charlemagne from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Charlemagne was one of history’s most ruthless and ambitious warriors – King of the Franks, then King of the Lombards, conqueror of the Saxons, leading to the Pope crowning him Roman Emperor. But p...

Lucy Worsley on Queen Victoria at Kensington Palace from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

This Friday sees the 200th anniversary of Queen Victoria's birth. BAFTA winning historian and Joint Chief Curator of Historic Royal Palaces Lucy Worsley takes Dan on a tour of Kensington Palace, on...

History Hit Presents 'The Christmas Truce' from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

The Christmas Truce was one of the most miraculous episodes in the history of warfare, and History Hit have a major new podcast and film dropping next week. Watch this space…   Subscrib...

Bomb Disposal with Peter Gurney from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Peter Gurney had a prolific career as a bomb disposal expert, from defusing bombs during the Troubles, to addressing bomb scares outside Downing Street. He tells Dan his best stories, explains how ...

A Tour of Alnwick Castle with Ralph Percy, the Duke of Northumberland from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Ralph Percy takes Dan on a walking tour of Alnwick Castle, exploring its sumptuous collections of art and furniture, as well as talking Dan through his family's turbulent and frequently violent his...

Charles Dickens from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

In today's episode, I was joined by John Mullan, Lord Northcliffe Professor of Modern English Literature at University College London. He has published extensively on eighteenth- and nineteenth-cen...

How and Why History: The Birth of Scotland from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

The recorded story of Scotland begins with the arrival of the Romans in the 1st century, when the province of Britannia reached as far north as the Antonine Wall. But how much further back can the ...

Machiavelli from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Since the release of Alexander Lee's masterly new work on Niccolò Machiavelli, I just had to get him on the pod to hear about this infamous man directly from the expert. Alex revealed the man behin...

Shakespeare and Love with Dr Chris Laoutaris from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Dr Chris Laoutaris talked to Dan about Shakespeare and love at our History Hit Live event at the British academy. Their discussion doesn't just limit itself to love in the upstart crow's plays, but...

Politics of the Potato from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Rebecca Earle joined me on the pod to talk about spuds. She took me through the story of this starchy tuber's dramatic career, which has been at the heart of the development of the world we live in...

Kohima: Britain's Greatest Battle with Akiko MacDonald and Richard Greenwood from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

The Battle of Kohima was a critical part of the war fought between Britain and Japan during World War II. It acted as a turning point on the eastern front more generally, and Dan talks to Akiko Mac...

Voices of Waterloo from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

205 years ago today, 60,000 men were slaughtered in the Battle of Waterloo. Napoleon Bonaparte's French army was finally defeated by an almighty coalition of troops from the United Kingdom, the Net...

Introducing: Hidden Histories with Helen Carr from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

In this episode, Helen Carr talks to Lindsey Fitzharris about Joseph Lister and the development of germ theory. The new show on the History Hit network, Hidden Histories, sees Helen Carr explorin...

Nelson's Statue from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Afua Hirsch is a writer, broadcaster, barrister and human rights development worker. She has previously worked as Social Affairs and Education Editor for Sky News and was also a correspondent for T...

Why Study History? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

My guests this week were Marcus Collins and Peter Stearns. They've just released a wonderful new book, 'Why Study History?' - a guide for prospective students and parents to enthuse the reader and ...

Sex and Socialism with Professor Kristen Ghodsee from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Did people have better sex under socialism? The answer is probably yes, and Dan talks to Kristen Ghodsee to find out why, also discussing why young people are having less sex and the Soviet approac...

V2 with Robert Harris from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Robert Harris joined me on the podcast to talk about Nazi Germany and the story of the V2 rocket. Subscribe to History Hit and you'll get access to hundreds of history documentaries, as well as e...

Battle of Britain: What were the Germans thinking? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Victoria Taylor is an aviation historian who is just completing her PhD in the Luftwaffe and its politicisation under the Nazis. She talked to me about how the Germans approached the Battle of Brit...

Napoleon with Adam Zamoyski from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Dan talks to Adam Zamoyski, a historian who has recently written a new biography of Napoleon. Discover more history interviews and documentaries at History Hit TV. Producer: Natt T...

The Black Sea Shipwrecks with Dr Helen Farr from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Dr Helen Farr is leading a team looking at prehistoric wrecks in the Black Sea. Dan chats to her about how the Black Sea's anaerobic waters have preserved ancient ships for many centuries, inc...

Spitfire with John Nichol from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

John Nichol is a former RAF Tornado Navigator who flew in the Gulf War. He was shot down and became a prisoner of war, and he is now an author. Dan talks to him on his new bestseller about the...

Coffee from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Coffee. Most of us are addicted. We need it on Monday mornings, post nights out, during nights out, in fact every morning. And afternoons. Augustine Sedgewick teaches history at the City Unive...

Mudlarking from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Lara Maiklem has scoured banks of the Thames for over 15 years in pursuit of the objects that the fast moving river water unearths. The Thames is one of the longest and most varied archaeological s...

Working Motherhood from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Dr Helen McCarthy, lecturer in modern British history at the University of Cambridge, joins Dan to discuss the complicated past of working motherhood. They consider how women have been excluded fro...

Battle of Britain 'What Ifs' from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Dr. Jamie Wood and Professor Niall Mackay at the University of York are mathematicians who love history. Sensible dudes. They released a paper which sent the rest of the history world into a meltdo...

A Strange Bit of History from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

We were delighted to have comedy royalty on the podcast. Omid Djalili talked to me about one of his earliest stage creations, first performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1993. Over the next...

The Real Thomas Cromwell from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Everyone is Thomas Cromwell obsessed at the moment. The man who rose to be the most powerful member of Henry VIII's court, his Lord Privy Seal, Principal Secretary and Chancellor. He was a driving ...

History's Greatest Speeches with Simon Sebag Montefiore from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Simon Sebag Montefiore joined me on the podcast to talk about history's greatest speeches. From Martin Luther King Jr. to John Boyega, from Churchill to Trump, we also discuss British institutions ...

Small Men on the Wrong Side of History from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Dan chats with journalist and author Ed West about Ed's conservative views, which make him an anomaly among his peers. They explore why conservatives have lost almost every political argument since...

How to Fight anti-Semitism from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

In this episode, Dan meets New York Times journalist and writer Bari Weiss, who grew up near and attended the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsberg, Pensylvania. In 2018 this synagogue was the site o...

Coronavirus - Lessons from History from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Professor John Oxford is a virologist. He is one of the world's leading experts on influenza. He is a leader in the study of the great Influenza outbreak of 100 years ago that killed upwards of 5...

The Strongman from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

Ruth Ben-Ghiat joined me on the podcast to discuss what modern authoritarian leaders have in common and how they can be stopped. We discussed the strongman playbook from Mussolini to Putin, Johnson...

The First President from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

George. Where did it all go wrong? George Washington could have had a comfortable career as a loyal member of HIs Majesty's Virginia militia and colonial grandee. But no, he had to go and roll th...

Dresden. 75 years on. from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393

75 years ago this week Dresden, in Saxony, known as the ‘jewel box’ because of its stunning architecture was obliterated by British and American bombers. The flames reached almost a mile high....

Elvis: Destined to Die Young from 2021-01-31T03:00

Sally Hoedel joined me on the podcast to talk about the turbulent life and career of Elvis Presley, King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.  

Se...

Persecuted Under the Nazis: Black and Roma Peoples from 2021-01-30T04:00

For International Holocaust Memorial Day 2021, James spoke to Professor Eve Rosenhaft about the experiences of Black and Roma peoples during the Third Reich. Eve is a historian at the University of...

Lockdown Learning: Russian Revolution from 2021-01-29T17:00:41

Helen Rappaport, a specialist in Russian history, joined me on the podcast for the third episode of our lockdown learning series to talk about the Russian Revolution. We run through some key moment...

Pirates from 2021-01-28T17:00

Rebecca Simon joined me on the podcast to talk about the Golden Age of Piracy within the British-Atlantic world.  

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Liberalism with Ian Dunt from 2021-01-25T17:00

In this episode, I was joined by journalist Ian Dunt, a well known a commentator on politics and on Brexit. Ian is host of the 'Oh God What Now' podcast and editor of politics.co.uk. We discuss his...

Cold War Submarine Warrior from 2021-01-24T03:00

Eric Thompson has had his finger literally on the nuclear button. He joined the Royal Navy submarine service in the early days of the Cold War. He served on WW2 era ships and submarine before endin...

Lucy Worsley on Queen Victoria from 2021-01-23T03:00

BAFTA winning historian and Joint Chief Curator of Historic Royal Palaces Lucy Worsley takes Dan on a tour of Kensington Palace, one of the principle royal residences since 1689, and the childhood ...

Lockdown Learning: The Middle Ages from 2021-01-22T17:00

In this week's Lockdown Learning episode, I was delighted to be joined by medieval historian Marc Morris. We discuss broad themes relating to the Middle Ages - what were they and which periods did ...

Rediscovering Amazon Civilisations from 2021-01-21T17:00

Ella Al-Shamahi, explorer, paleoanthropologist, evolutionary biologist and stand-up comic, joined me on the podcast to talk about Amazon Civilisations.  

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Toxic: A History of Nerve Agents from 2021-01-16T04:00

In 2018, the British city of Salisbury crashed into newspaper headlines worldwide when former Russian military officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were poisoned with nerve agents there....

Lockdown Learning: The Tudors from 2021-01-15T17:00

We're very pleased to bring you this special 'Lockdown Learning' episode of the podcast, featuring the brilliant Dr Anna Whitelock on the Tudor period. Anna is Director of the London Centre for Pub...

Treason in America from 2021-01-14T17:00:56

Constitutional law and legal history scholar Carlton Larson talked to Dan during Christmas about treason in the American legal system. How is it defined in the US constitution and how has it been u...

LGBTQ+ History: With the team from the Logbooks Podcast from 2021-01-13T17:00:50

Tash Walker and Adam Zmith join me to talk about The Log Books Podcast, a history of LGBTQ+ life in the UK.  

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Goose Green: A Veteran Remembers from 2021-01-10T03:00

John Geddes joined the Parachute Regiment as a teenager in the late 1970s. Within a couple of years he was plunged into the Falklands War and the bloodiest battle the British Army had fought since ...

2008 Financial Crash with Adam Tooze from 2021-01-09T03:00

Dan speaks to economic historian Adam Tooze for the tenth anniversary of Lehman Brothers' collapse in this special podcast.


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Insurrection in America from 2021-01-08T17:00

As an armed mob broke into the US Capitol, Dan talked long into the night to his friend and star blogger known only as the Angry Staff Officer. He is a serving officer in the US military and is una...

How Ancient Egypt Stayed Egyptian from 2021-01-07T18:44:13

The length of time between the rule of Cleopatra and the erection of the Pyramids is the same as that between now and the birth of Jesus Christ. With that in mind, it is perhaps no surprise that so...

The Inquisition from 2021-01-06T17:00

Jessica Dalton joined me on the podcast to talk about the history of the Inquisition. We discussed the Roman Inquisition, the Spanish Inquisition, and how religion and politics have clashed and int...

The Partition of Ireland from 2021-01-05T17:00:14

Patricia Clavin, Niamh Gallagher and Caoimhe Nic Dháibhéid joined me on the pod to discuss the history of the partition of Ireland.


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The Tudor Crown Discovered in a Field? from 2021-01-04T17:00

Metal detectorist Kevin Duckett made a remarkable discovery in a field in Northamptonshire. At first he thought it was a bit of squashed tin foil. In fact it was a two-and-a-half inch jewel which e...

History Legends: Mary Beard from 2021-01-03T03:00

This episode is the third of our History Legends podcasts, featuring Mary Beard.


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History of Gaming from 2021-01-02T03:00

Tristan Donovan joined me on the podcast to talk about the history of gaming.


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Andy McNab on the SAS from 2021-01-01T17:00

From the day he was found in a carrier bag on the steps of Guy's Hospital in London, Andy McNab has led an extraordinary life. As a teenage delinquent, Andy McNab kicked against society. As a young...

Best of 2020 Part Two from 2020-12-31T17:00

Part Two: a compilation of the best podcasts of 2020.


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A Faustian Bargain? The Nazi-Soviet Partnership from 2020-12-30T18:00

On 23 August 1939, German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop and Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov signed a pact in Moscow. This pact was perplexing to many at the time, and remains t...

St Paul's, the Blitz and THAT photo from 2020-12-29T17:00

80 years ago today the Second Great Fire of London was unleashed by sustained German bombing during one of the fiercest nights of the Blitz. On this podcast Dan goes on a tour around the City of Lo...

History Legends: Eric Foner from 2020-12-28T17:00

Eric Foner joined me on the podcast to talk about Reconstruction, the attempt to reimagine the American Republic following the Civil War.


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Dan's Dickensian Christmas from 2020-12-27T03:00

Dan Snow is treated to a range of Dickensian Christmas delights courtesy of historian Pen Vogler, from mince pies to Charles Dickens' favourite punch.


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History Legends: Michael Wood from 2020-12-26T03:00

Michael Wood joined me on the podcast to talk about his career as a historian.


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Best of 2020 Part One from 2020-12-25T17:00

A compilation of the best podcasts of 2020. Part one highlights historians talking about history.


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The 1914 Christmas Truce (part 2) from 2020-12-24T17:00

Part Two of our special podcast mini series on the famous Christmas Truce. On Christmas Eve 1914 many sectors of the Western Front in France and Belgium fell silent. Troops from all sides put down ...

The 1914 Christmas Truce (part 1) from 2020-12-23T17:00

On Christmas Eve 1914 many sectors of the Western Front in France and Belgium fell silent. Troops from all sides put down their weapons and sang carols, exchanged gifts and buried their dead in No ...

When Parliament Cancelled Christmas from 2020-12-22T17:00:04

On 19 December 1644 the English Parliament banned Christmas. EXACTLY 376 years later to the day, Boris Johnson announced that this year the celebration of Christmas would be radically curtailed due...

Hannibal: Crossing the Alps from 2020-12-21T17:00

In 218 BCE, Hannibal Barca's Carthaginian army, accompanied by horses and elephants, completed one of the most audacious military marches of ancient Mediterranean history. Setting off from southeas...

Soviet Spy in the Cotswolds with Ben Macintyre from 2020-12-20T03:00

Ben Macintyre joined me on the podcast to talk about Ursula Kuczynski, one of the greatest spies of the 20th Century.


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Britain's Black Power Movement from 2020-12-19T03:00

Leila Hassan Howe and Amanda Kirton joined me on the podcast to talk about the history of the Black Power movement in Britain.


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The Violence of the Suffragettes from 2020-12-18T17:00

Today we remember the suffragettes as a peaceful movement, but in the years before the First World War, the WSPU launched one of the most shocking terrorist campaigns the British mainland has ever ...

Sicily '43 from 2020-12-17T17:00

James Holland joined me on the podcast to discuss the allied invasion of Sicily on the 10th July 1943.


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Ethiopia: All You Need to Know from 2020-12-16T17:00

Richard Reid joined me on the podcast to talk about the history of Ethiopia.


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Soviet Spy Masters from 2020-12-15T18:00

Espionage. The word brings to mind the Cold War - Stasi informants and surveillance bugging in East Berlin. Or today’s media promoted anxieties about Chinese infiltration. But for this episode, Cal...

How Dogs Became Man's Best Friend from 2020-12-14T17:00

Mike Loades joined me on the podcast to talk about the history of dogs, and they are intertwined with human history.


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Adolf Hitler: The War Years from 2020-12-13T03:00

At the beginning of 1940 Germany was at the pinnacle of its power. By May 1945 Hitler was dead and Germany had suffered a disastrous defeat. Hitler had failed to achieve his aim of making Germany a...

How Slavery Built Modern Britain from 2020-12-12T16:02:11

Padraic Scanlan joined me on the podcast to talk about how Britain rose to global power on the backs of enslaved workers. Modern Britain has inherited the legacies and contradictions of a liberal e...

Disinformation and the White Helmets in Syria from 2020-12-11T17:00:18

Chloe Hadjimatheou joined me on the podcast to talk about the death of James Le Mesurier, the man who co-founded the White Helmets, a Syrian civil defence force who filmed themselves pulling surviv...

Spartacus: Life or Legend? from 2020-12-10T17:01:40

‘I’m Spartacus!’ In the field of epic film making, the 1960 historical drama ‘Spartacus’, is legendary. Directed by Stanley Kibrick, adapted from the Howard Fast novel by Red Scare blacklisted scre...

Big Data and History from 2020-12-09T17:00:34

Dan Hoyer and Peter Turchin joined me on the podcast to talk about the new transdisciplinary field of Cliodynamics, which uses the tools of complexity science and cultural evolution to study the dy...

Mary Queen of Scots with Kate Williams from 2020-12-08T17:04:20

Dan Snow and Kate Williams talk about the rise and fall of Mary Queen of Scots.


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Diary of an MP's Wife from 2020-12-07T17:00:04

Sasha Swire joined me on the podcast to talk about her diary, written during the Cameron years. Her husband was an MP and junior minister at the time.


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'Cheese Eating Surrender Monkeys'? French Defeat in World War Two from 2020-12-05T04:00

It's the common recollection of French efforts to repel German invasion. But with 100,000 troops lost in the Battle of France, how true is the depiction of the French surrendering without a fight? ...

Ghost Hunter! from 2020-12-04T17:40:51

Kate Summerscale has written one of the Sunday Time books of the year exploring the world of poltergeists and ghosts in the build up to the Second World War. She came on the podcast to tell us all ...

Sylvia Pankhurst from 2020-12-03T17:00

Rachel Holmes joined me on the podcast to discuss the life of British suffragette and socialist Sylvia Pankhurst. Sylvia found her voice fighting militantly for votes for women. The vote was just t...

The Nuremberg Trials: 75th Anniversary from 2020-12-02T17:00

Tom Bower joined me on the podcast to discuss the history and legacy of the Nuremberg Trials.


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Rebel Anthropologists Who Challenged Everything from 2020-12-01T17:00

Charles King joined me on the podcast to talk about a group of cultural anthropologist who fundamentally transformed conceptions of 'normality' in the early twentieth century. We talked in particul...

Was Winston Churchill Racist? from 2020-11-30T17:00:22

The former Prime Minister has faced a renewed controversy as people are calling for his statues to be removed due to his racist views. We are joined by Professor Richard Toye and Dr Warren Dockter ...

The Gay Men Who Took on Hitler from 2020-11-29T03:00

Chris Bryant joined me on the podcast to tell the story of the gay British politicians who were among the very first to warn Britain about the danger of Hitler’s rise to power and the most vocal in...

Pompeii and the Eruption of Mount Vesuvius from 2020-11-28T03:00

Pompeii is back in the news. An extraordinary new, touching discovery, found during the Great Pompeii Project of Professor Massimo Osanna and his team. Roughly 700 metres northwest of Pompeii, in t...

Elizabeth I with Helen Castor from 2020-11-27T17:00

Dan talks to Helen Castor about her book on Elizabeth I and the way she governed.


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The First Thanksgiving from 2020-11-26T17:00:40

Sarah Churchwell and Kathryn Gray joined me on the podcast to discuss the first Thanksgiving of 1621. They critique mythologies of Thanksgiving that have arisen from 19th century ideologues, to Rea...

Rebel Women from 2020-11-25T17:00

Sarah Lonsdale joined me on the podcast to tell the stories of radical women who challenged the status quo in the interwar years.


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Food, Class and Baking from 2020-11-24T17:00

Pen Vogler joined me on the pod to discuss the origins of our eating habits and reveals how they are loaded with centuries of class prejudice.


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Vaccine Roll Outs: Tragedy and Triumph from 2020-11-23T18:17:13

Paul Offit is on the US Food and Drug Administration's advisory panel on vaccines. He talked Dan through the history of massive public vaccination programmes in the US, starting with the unpreceden...

In Conversation with Astronaut Al Worden from 2020-11-22T03:00

Al Worden was an American astronaut and engineer who was the Command Module Pilot for the Apollo 15 lunar mission in 1971. He is one of only 24 people to have flown to the Moon.


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Bloody Sunday 100 Years On from 2020-11-21T03:00

Diarmaid Ferriter joined me on the podcast to talk about the events of Bloody Sunday on 21st November 1920, which marked a decisive turning-point in Irish history.


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From Dynamite to Drones: How Terrorist Technologies Impacted the Start of the First World War from 2020-11-20T18:00

Professor Audrey Cronin is the world's leading expert in Terrorism and Technology. She has released a new book, Power to the People, and spoke with James about the development of materials used in ...

Abraham Lincoln with Sidney Blumenthal from 2020-11-19T18:30:37

Sidney Blumenthal joined me on the podcast to talk about the political life of Abraham Lincoln and what his legacy means today.  

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The Pioneers of Egyptology from 2020-11-18T17:10:46

Chris Naunton joined me on the podcast to talk about the work of the many people who contributed to our understanding of ancient Egypt.


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How Deep History Swung the US Election from 2020-11-17T17:00

Lewis Dartnell joined me on the podcast to talk about a theory that links the outcome of the US election to geology.


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I’m a Celeb Special: Gwrych Castle from 2020-11-16T17:30:44

Gwrych Castle dominates the road into North Wales. A sprawling Victorian ruin on land that belonged to the same family for over 500 years. It is now famous in the UK as the Covid convenient set for...

SAS: Band of Brothers from 2020-11-15T03:00

June 1944: the SAS parachute deep into occupied France, to wreak havoc and bloody mayhem. In a country crawling with the enemy, their mission is to prevent Hitler from rushing his Panzer divisions ...

Coventry's Blitz from 2020-11-14T03:00

David McGrory joined me on the podcast to discuss Coventry’s Blitz. On the night of 14 November 1940, a Luftwaffe air raid devastated the city of Coventry.


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The History of Beer with Pete Brown from 2020-11-13T17:00

Pete Brown used to advertise lager for a living, until he realised that writing books about beer was even more fun, and entailed drinking even more beer. He appears regularly on television as a bee...

One Family, 600 Years of Farming in England's Lake District from 2020-11-12T17:30

James Rebanks joined me on the podcast to tell the history of his family farm in the Lake District hills. This was part of an ancient agricultural landscape: a patchwork of crops and meadows, of pa...

The Unknown Warrior from 2020-11-11T17:00

100 years ago today, the Unknown Warrior, a common soldier and an unidentified casualty of war, was buried in Westminster Abbey with all the pomp and ceremony of an empire at its zenith. King Georg...

WW2's Special Ops Sisters from 2020-11-10T17:00:42

Jean and Patricia Owtram were teenagers when the Second World War broke out. They both served in secret roles, one on the coast intercepting German naval signals, the other running intelligence age...

Why We Remember from 2020-11-09T18:00

Ash Alexander-Cooper OBE is a former specialist military unit colonel in the British Armed Forces, world-championship athlete and award-winning international musician. Now a member of the Army Rese...

Remembrance Sunday: In Search of My Father from 2020-11-08T03:00

John Watts never knew his father. He was conceived days before his father, Wing Commander Joseph Watts, was killed on a bombing mission over occupied Europe. He never knew that a bomber from his fa...

The US Cabinet from 2020-11-07T03:00:48

Lindsay Chervinsky joined me on the podcast to discuss the history of the US Cabinet. We also discussed the electoral college system and the Constitution.


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The Forgotten Hero of Everest from 2020-11-06T17:00

Ed Caesar joined me on the podcast to tell the story of World War I veteran Maurice Wilson, Britain's most mysterious mountaineering legend.


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Philip and Alexander: Kings and Conquerors from 2020-11-05T17:00:23

Alexander the Great. One of the most recognisable names in history. In his short lifetime he conquered the mighty Persian Empire and marched his army as far as the Indus River Valley. But it is imp...

The Electoral College from 2020-11-04T12:30:26

Fabian Hilfrich joined me on the podcast to talk about the US electoral college.


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Trump, Putin, Bolsanaro: The Return of The Strongman from 2020-11-03T17:00

Ruth Ben-Ghiat joined me on the podcast to discuss what modern authoritarian leaders have in common and how they can be stopped. We discussed the strongman playbook from Mussolini to Putin, Johnson...

Hong Kong Flu from 2020-11-02T17:00

Professor George Dehner is a world environmental historian who examines the intersection of humans and disease in the modern era. We talked about the great flu pandemics of the later 20th Century, ...

America's Contested Election from 2020-11-02T08:02:20

1876 was a great pivot in US history. In the presidential election that year a record turn out and chaotic vote counts, particularly in Florida (!), saw a contested result. Civil war, so recently c...

WW2 Heroine Christian Lamb Turns 100 from 2020-11-01T09:00:31

Christian Lamb has had a remarkable life. The daughter of an admiral, she served in the navy during the war and went on to become an expert in horticultural history. Dan visited her the day after h...

Margaret Beaufort: Mother of the Tudors from 2020-10-30T17:00:05

Nicola Tallis comes on the show to talk about the extraordinary Margaret Beaufort: 'Mother of the Tudors' and the ancestor of all subsequent royals.  

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Toussaint Louverture and the Haitian Revolution from 2020-10-26T17:00:31

Sudhir Hazareesingh joined me to discuss the life of Toussaint Louverture, a revolutionary leader who confronted the forces of slavery, settler colonialism, imperialism and racial hierarchy. The Ha...

Trump and Presidential History from 2020-10-25T03:00

Two weeks before the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Richard Brookhiser joined me on the podcast to discuss Trump and presidential history.  

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The Battle of Philippi: Death of the Roman Republic from 2020-10-23T16:00:57

In October 42 BC the Roman Republic committed suicide. Near the town of Philippi in northern Greece the forces of Brutus and Cassius, the famous assassins of Julius Caesar and the last surviving ch...

Britain's Oldest Laws from 2020-10-22T16:00:31

Joanna McCunn joined me on the podcast to discuss the history of some of Britain's oldest and strangest laws. From shooting Welshmen with longbows, to Oliver Cromwell banning mince pies, we also di...

Time's Monster with Priya Satia from 2020-10-21T16:00:45

Priya Satia joined me on the podcast to discuss the dramatic consequences of writing history today as much as in the past. Against the backdrop of enduring global inequalities and debates about rep...

Nelson and the Slave Trade from 2020-10-20T16:00:35

Vice Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson died at Trafalgar on 21 October 1805. Recently there has been considerable interest in Nelson's views on the slave trade and the plantation economy of the West Indi...

The Conquistadores from 2020-10-19T16:00:13

Fernando Cervantes joined me on the podcast to reframe the story of the Spanish conquest of the New World, set against the political and intellectual landscape from which its main actors emerged. &...

The Expulsion of Native Americans from 2020-10-18T02:00:27

Claudio Saunt joined me on the podcast to discuss the United States' expulsion of Native Americans from the East to territories west of the Mississippi River. Justified as a humanitarian enterprise...

Saving Bletchley Park with Sue Black from 2020-10-17T02:00

Dr Sue Black is a British computer scientist, academic and social entrepreneur. She has been instrumental in saving Bletchley Park, the World War II codebreaking site. Her book documenting this vit...

African Europeans with Olivette Otele from 2020-10-16T16:00:01

Olivette Otele joined me on the podcast to discuss the long African European heritage through the lives of individuals.


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1066: Year of Invasions from 2020-10-13T16:00:03

Emily Ward and Pragya Vohra talk about the history of the Viking invasion of 1066.  

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On the Battlefield of Hastings with Marc Morris from 2020-10-13T02:00:48

Marc Morris shows me around the Battlefield of Hastings.  

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Queer History from 2020-10-12T16:00:42

Sacha Coward joined me on the podcast to discuss queer history. We talked about Luisa Casati, Queen Anne, the Gay Liberation Front, and other stories of non-heteronormative relationships.

...

Underland with Robert Macfarlane from 2020-10-10T02:00

Robert Macfarlane joined me on the podcast to talk about his new book, Underland. We talked about cave communities in Cappadocia, underground bunkerism, the catacombs in Paris, and the worlds benea...

How and Why History: King David from 2020-10-08T16:00:40

One of the Old Testament’s most compelling figures, King David was anointed as king of a united Israel, conquering Jerusalem and bringing the Ark of the Covenant into the city. First renowned for h...

In Conversation with Sir David Attenborough from 2020-10-08T16:00

Sir David Attenborough is an English veteran broadcaster and naturalist. He is best known for writing and presenting the nine Life series, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit, which co...

Ireland's Great Famine: Counterpoint from 2020-10-07T16:00:51

Christine Kinealy joined me on this podcast to discuss the British government’s adverse policies during the Great Famine, and the effects these had on the Irish people.


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A President Incapacitated: Woodrow Wilson's Stroke from 2020-10-06T16:00

101 years ago this week, President Woodrow Wilson suffered a serious stroke which left him prone to "disorders of emotion, impaired impulse control, and defective judgment." As President Trump conf...

Asylum on Saint Helena from 2020-10-05T16:00

Annina Van Neel showed me around Saint Helena, a small scrap of land in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. This island is the most significant physical trace of the Transatlantic slave trade middle ...

War with Margaret MacMillan from 2020-10-04T02:00:46

Margaret MacMillan joined me on the podcast to discuss the ways in which war has influenced human society. We discussed how, in turn, changes in political organisation, technology, or ideologies ha...

MI9: The Secret Service for Escape and Evasion from 2020-10-03T02:00:05

Helen Fry joined me on the podcast to talk about the thrilling history of MI9. The WWII organisation engineered the escape of Allied forces from behind enemy lines.  

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The Hunt For The Killers Of Julius Caesar from 2020-10-01T16:00:13

Peter Stothard joined me on the podcast to discuss the assassination of Julius Caesar. Many men killed Julius Caesar. Only one man was determined to kill the killers. From the spring of 44 BC throu...

History of China with Michael Wood from 2020-09-30T16:00:53

Michael Wood joined me on the podcast to talk about his new history of China. He takes a fresh look at Chinese history in the light of the current massive changes inside the country, and how its pe...

How and Why History: Rome and the Mediterranean from 2020-09-29T16:00:52

By the first century BC, the nuisance of piracy had become a plague in the Mediterranean. The Romans dispatched Pompey who freed the way for the expansion of commerce and the Empire. But why was th...

Joking About Stalin from 2020-09-28T16:00:40

Jonathan Waterlow joined me on the podcast to explore how ordinary people used political jokes to cope with and make sense of their lives under Stalinism in the 1930s.


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The Simulmatics Corporation from 2020-09-27T02:00:21

Jill Lepore joined me on the podcast to discuss The Simulmatics Corporation. Founded in 1959, it mined data, targeted voters, accelerated news, manipulated consumers, destabilized politics, and dis...

Greek Myths from 2020-09-26T02:00:44

Natalie Haynes joined me on the podcast to retell the stories of remarkable women at the heart of Greek myths, from Medusa, Penelope, and Pandora, to the Amazons.


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The Great Famine from 2020-09-25T16:00:27

Charles Read joined me on the podcast to discuss the economic and political causes of the Great Famine. We discuss the British government’s economic policies that transferred responsibility onto Ir...

The Viking History of the Lofoten Archipelago from 2020-09-24T16:00:25

Dan Snow explores the Viking history of Lofoten, an archipelago and a traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Lofoten is known for a distinctive scenery with dramatic mountains and ...

Krystyna Skarbek from 2020-09-23T16:00:45

Clare Mulley joined me on the podcast to talk about the extraordinary story of Krystyna Skarbek, who worked as a spy for the British Special Operations Executive during the Second World War.
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How and Why History: Alfred the Great from 2020-09-22T16:00

Ever since his reign in the 9th century, Alfred the Great has been celebrated as one of the most accomplished of our kings. A learned and religious man who encouraged education, Alfred defende...

The Light Ages from 2020-09-20T02:00:22

Seb Falk joined me to discuss the science in the Middle Ages, or, according to his new book, 'The Light Ages'. They gave us the first universities, the first eyeglasses and the first mechanical clo...

The History of Unbelief from 2020-09-18T14:00:30

Dan delves into the history of unbelief - or rather, past people who didn't believe in God(s). He talks to Professor Tim Whitmarsh about Greek atheists (and indeed, about the creation of the term '...

Arnhem, Satire, Bartending and Drums from 2020-09-17T14:00:18

Comedian, historian, broadcaster Al Murray joins me on the podcast to discuss Arnhem. The British-Polish allied defeat at Arnhem took place in autumn 1944, 76 years ago this week.  
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How and Why History: The United Nations at 75 from 2020-09-16T02:00:14

In the aftermath of the Second World War, 850 delegates from 50 nations gathered in San Fransisco, determined to establish an organisation which would preserve peace and help build a better world.&...

Battle of Britain: Why the RAF Won from 2020-09-15T11:05:52

80 years ago, in 15 September 1940, the Luftwaffe made a gigantic aerial assault on London in the belief that the Royal Air Force was down to its last few fighters. This, they hoped, would be the d...

Mayflower 400 from 2020-09-14T15:45:02

I am joined on the podcast by a series of historians, writers and storytellers, to talk about the 400th anniversary of the journey of the Mayflower. Travelling from Southern England to North Americ...

A Medieval Education from 2020-09-13T02:00

Eleanor Janega joined me on the pod to discuss the educational institutions of the medieval period. We talk about student riots in Paris, the role of the clergy in universities, and the spaces of e...

The Sikh Empire from 2020-09-12T02:00

Priya Atwal joined me on the pod to discuss the Sikh Empire, which stretched throughout northwestern India into Afghanistan and Tibet. We discuss the story of this empire’s spectacular rise and fal...

The Forgotten Ally: Canada from 2020-09-11T16:00:07

Tim Cook joined me on the pod to discuss how Canadian contributions are frequently overlooked or diminished in discussions of the War. Most major war histories are written by British or American au...

Castillo de San Marcos from 2020-09-10T16:00:06

Allen Arnold joined me on the pod to discuss the Castillo de San Marcos, the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States. Located on the western shore of Matanzas Bay in the city of St. Au...

When Fidel came to Harlem from 2020-09-09T16:00:07

Simon Hall joined me on the pod to talk about Fidel Castro’s trip to New York in September 1960. Based at Harlem’s Theresa Hotel, Castro met with a succession of political and cultural luminaries, ...

How and Why History: Genghis Khan from 2020-09-08T16:00

Genghis Khan was one of the most feared and most famous warrior kings in history. But how did he rise to power to become the Emperor of the Mongol Empire? How did he unite many of the nomadic tribu...

John F. Kennedy from 2020-09-07T16:00:01

Fredrik Logevall joined me on the pod to discuss the life and legacy of John F. Kennedy. By the time of his assassination in 1963, John F. Kennedy stood at the helm of the greatest power the world ...

The Fens from 2020-09-06T02:00

James Boyce joins me on the pod to discuss the indigenous population of the Fens of eastern England. Between the English Civil Wars and the mid-Victorian period, the Fens fought to preserve their h...

The White Ship from 2020-09-05T02:00:52

Charles Spencer joined me on the pod to discuss the sinking of the White Ship on the 25th November 1120. It is one of the greatest disasters that England has ever suffered. Its repercussions change...

Selma Van De Perre from 2020-09-04T16:00:12

Selma Van De Perre joined me on the pod to talk about her life as a Dutch Jewish Resistance fighter during the Second World War. She joined the resistance under the pseudonym Margareta van der...

The Real Great Escape with Commander Steve Foster from 2020-09-03T16:00:01

Commander Steve Foster relates the extraordinary story of one of the most audacious escape attempts of the Second World War.


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A People's History of Tennis from 2020-09-02T16:00:16

David Berry joined me on the pod to discuss a people’s history of tennis. From the birth of modern tennis in Victorian Britain to the present day, we talked about struggles around sexuality, gender...

The Gunpowder Plot from 2020-09-01T16:00:09

On 5 November 1605, a planned assassination attempt on King James I was thwarted. While a group of English Catholics planned to blow up the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament, th...

The Restaurant from 2020-08-31T16:00:35

William Sitwell joined me on the pod to discuss the history of the restaurant. Tracing its earliest incarnations in the city of Pompeii, we discuss the events that shape the way we eat today.
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The Bible from 2020-08-30T02:00:37

John Barton joined me on the pod to discuss the history of the Bible. Tracing its dissemination, translation and interpretation in Judaism and Christianity from Antiquity to the rise of modern bibl...

Pirates of the Chesapeake Bay from 2020-08-29T02:00

Jamie L.H. Goodall joined me on the pod to discuss pirates of the Chesapeake Bay. The story of Chesapeake pirates and patriots begins with a land dispute and ends with the untimely death of an oyst...

The Civil Rights Movement from 2020-08-28T16:00

In this episode Dan Snow is joined by Chris Wilson, Director of Experience Design at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Chris specialises in the Civil Rights Movement and has wr...

The Soviets at Nuremberg from 2020-08-27T16:00

Francine Hirsch joined me on the pod to discuss the full story of the Nuremberg Trials, one in which the Soviet Union was a defining player.


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Cecil Rhodes from 2020-08-26T16:00:30

Duncan Clarke joined me on the pod to discuss Cecil Rhodes and the historiography of Zambesia from the San forward to the establishment of the Rhodesian state.


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How and Why History: The Philosophers of Ancient Greece from 2020-08-25T16:00:36

From the 6th century BCE, philosophy was used to make sense of the world – including astronomy, mathematics, politics, ethics, metaphysics and aesthetics. But why did philosophy flourish in Greek c...

The Neanderthals from 2020-08-25T11:37:27

Rebecca Wragg Sykes joined me on the pod to discuss our perception of the Neanderthals, which has undergone a metamorphosis since their discovery 150 years ago, from the losers of the human family ...

Assassination and Coverups in The Cold War Congo from 2020-08-23T08:44:32

I was joined by an award-winning investigative journalist, Ravi Somaiya, to discuss the mysterious death in 1961 of UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld. Although Dag Hammarskjöld was called ‘the ...

Charles I Reconsidered from 2020-08-21T16:43:27

On 22nd August 1642, Charles I raised his standard at Nottingham marking the start of the English Civil War. It was the result of years of ongoing tensions which could no longer be resolved with di...

The Spartans from 2020-08-20T17:25:40

I was thrilled to be joined by Andrew Bayliss, a Senior Lecturer in Greek History at the University of Birmingham. He's an expert on Sparta and Ancient Greece, and he joined me on the pod to mark t...

How and Why History: Pilgrimage in the Middle Ages from 2020-08-18T16:00

In the Middle Ages, the Holy Land, as well as sites in Europe and around Britain became popular sites for pilgrimage. It was believed that praying at shrines or in front of holy relics could absolv...

Stealing from the Saracens: Islam and European Architecture from 2020-08-17T16:41:16

From Notre-Dame Cathedral to the Houses of Parliament, European architecture is indebted to the Muslim world. Diana Darke joined me on the pod to discuss how medieval crusaders, pilgrims and mercha...

Britain in The Great War from 2020-08-16T02:00

I was thrilled to be joined by Simon Heffer, author of biographies on the historian and essayist Thomas Carlyle, the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams and of the British politician Enoch Powell. He's...

VJ Day: 75 Years from 2020-08-15T02:00:19

75 years ago today, on 15 August 1945, Victory over Japan Day marked the end of one of the most devastating episodes in British military history, and the final end of the Second World War. It's est...

Vindolanda from 2020-08-12T15:34:19

Dan finds out what's going on with recent excavations at Vindolanda, one of the largest Roman forts near Hadrian's Wall. All manner of discoveries have been made, including the largest collection o...

How and Why History: Europe's Witch Craze from 2020-08-11T16:00

In 1597, King James VI of Scotland published a compendium on witchcraft called Daemonologie that laid down the kind of trial and punishment these practices merited.  B...

History's Documents from 2020-08-10T15:56:57

In this pod I was joined by two people who have played quite an important part in my life: my mum and dad (known to the rest of the world as Peter Snow and Ann MacMillan). Their latest book is a bo...

Refugees, Sexual Violence and the Fall of the Third Reich from 2020-08-08T08:00

In this episode, Dan speaks to award-winning political correspondent and commentator, Svenja O'Donnell, about her remarkable grandmother's personal story of migration, sexual violence and murder du...

How and Why History: America, Japan and the Atomic Bomb from 2020-08-06T16:00

On 6 August 1945, an American B29 bomber dropped the world's first deployed atomic bomb over Hiroshima. Three days later, Nagasaki was at the receiving end of a second American A-bomb. Why did Amer...

Rum, Sodomy and the Lash? from 2020-08-05T16:00

The common sailor was a crucial engine of British prosperity and expansion up until the Industrial Revolution. From exploring the South Seas with Cook to establishing the East India Company as a gl...

Gallipoli: the Endgame from 2020-08-03T16:00

In December 1915, some 135,000 allied troops, nearly 400 guns and 15,000 horses were collectively trapped in the bridgeheads at Anzac, Suvla and Helles. It was clear that the operation to seize&nbs...

Conan Doyle, Kipling and Kingsley in the Boer War from 2020-08-02T02:00:58

In early 1900, Rudyard Kipling, Mary Kingsley and Arthur Conan Doyle crossed paths in South Africa during the Anglo-Boer War. Motivated in various ways by notions of duty, service, patriotism and j...

Leading Germany's Resistance against The Nazis from 2020-08-01T02:00

Norman Ohler joined me on the pod to discuss two remarkable lovers who led Germany's resistance against the Nazis. Harro Schulze-Boysen and Libertas Haas-Heye led a complex network of antifascists,...

The Tudors from 2020-07-31T16:00

Jessie Childs is an award-winning author, historian and expert on the Tudors. She joined me on the podcast to discuss this notorious family. What did people think of them at the time? Do they deser...

The Tragedy of USS Indianapolis from 2020-07-30T17:11:09

Just after midnight on 30th 1945, the USS Indianapolis was sailing alone in the Philippine Sea when she was struck by two Japanese torpedoes, almost three hundred miles from land. She sank in 12 mi...

Churchill's Speeches from 2020-07-27T16:09:18

"Their finest hour", "we shall fight on the beaches", "never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few". These words of Winston Churchill are synonymous with our idea of ...

Saudi Arabia and Iran from 2020-07-26T02:00

Kim Ghattas joined me on the podcast to explore how Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran - who were once allies and the twin pillars of US strategy in the area - became mortal enemies after the revolut...

Monarchy from 2020-07-25T08:34:55

For hundreds of years, monarchy has reigned as the dominant political model in Europe. But how has this system - where political life was shaped by the births, marriages and deaths of the ruling fa...

SS Great Britain from 2020-07-24T16:00

SS Great Britain was the longest passenger ship in the world from 1845 to 1854, and now resides in Bristol as a museum. She was the brainchild of Isambard Kingdom Brunel for the Great Western Steam...

How Did Hitler Seize Supreme Power? from 2020-07-23T16:00

I was delighted to be joined by Nicholas O'Shaughnessy, who took me through the remarkable rise of Adolf Hitler. Starting with his experience of the First World War, Nicholas took me through the ev...

Transforming Our Understanding of The Battle of Kursk from 2020-07-22T16:00

The Battle of Prokhorovka was one of the largest tank battles in military history. Taking place on the Eastern Front, it was fought on 12 July 1943 as part of the wider Battle of Kursk. Two elite S...

How and Why History: The Genius of Shakespeare from 2020-07-21T16:00

Arguably the world’s greatest ever dramatist, after five and a half centuries William Shakespeare remains as popular as ever. But how did he became so famous? How did later authors boost his reputa...

How Democracy Dies from 2020-07-20T21:26:05

I was thrilled to be joined on the podcast by the Pulitzer Prize–winning historian, Anne Applebaum. Anne's written extensively on Marxism–Leninism, the development of civil society in Central and E...

Soldiers and Military History from 2020-07-19T13:53:45

I am very excited to be joined by Colonel Kevin W. Farrell, who spent over 30 years in uniform and commanded at the platoon, company, and battalion levels. He finished up in the army as the Chief o...

The Road to American Politics from 2020-07-18T08:35:44

10 years after the expulsion of the British, leading US figures including Washington, Hamilton and Jefferson came together to draw up plans for governing the world's newest country. But what should...

The Apollo Program from 2020-07-17T16:00

Getting to the moon was no easy feat, no matter how confident Kennedy may have sounded in his famous 1961 speech. NASA built a team from the ground up, and there were plenty of moments where it see...

The Yalta Conference from 2020-07-16T15:54

In the February 1945, the U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin met at an old Romanov palace in Crimea, which had once been e...

A History of Assassinations from 2020-07-15T17:08:21

Kenneth Baker is a British politician and a former Conservative MP who served in the cabinets of Margaret Thatcher and John Major as Environment Secretary, Education Secretary, and Home Secretary. ...

How and Why History: The Spread of Christianity from 2020-07-14T16:00

In the first century after his crucifixion, the teachings of Jesus quickly spread throughout the Greco-Roman world and his early followers often faced severe persecution. But how did people around ...

Britain's First All Women Military Hospital from 2020-07-13T16:00

When the First World War broke out, the suffragettes suspended their campaigning and joined the war effort. Flora Murray and Louisa Garrett Anderson headed out to France, setting up two small milit...

Henry III: The Pacific King from 2020-07-12T02:00

David Carpenter joined me on the podcast to examine one of England's most remarkable monarchs. Just nine years old when he came to the throne in 1216, David explains how Henry was pacific, concilia...

Anne Glenconner: Princess Margaret's Confidante from 2020-07-11T02:00

Anne Glenconner has been at the centre of the royal circle from childhood, when she met and befriended the future Queen Elizabeth II and her sister, the Princess Margaret. Anne spoke to me from the...

A New Discovery at Stonehenge from 2020-07-10T16:00

I was delighted to be joined by one of the most important people in the history world at the moment: Professor Vincent Gaffney. He is the leading archaeologist behind the recent discovery of a vast...

The Roman Navy in Britain from 2020-07-09T16:00

I was thrilled to be joined on the podcast by the wonderful Simon Elliott. In this episode, Simon and I got to grips with the epic Roman Navy, and what it was doing on the shores of Britain. Enjoy!...

Mata Hari: The Truth Behind The Legend from 2020-07-08T15:58:44

More than 70 years after her death, Mata Hari is still a household name throughout the Western world. So who was this daughter of a Dutch hat-maker, who was executed for espionage after a secret tr...

Statues, History and How We Use The Past from 2020-07-06T15:55:15

I was joinded by Dr Charlotte Riley, a feminist historian of 20th century Britain. Whilst lecturing on the Labour Party, decolonization, and overseas aid and development programmes, Charlotte has b...

Assassination, Fascism and The Abdication Crisis from 2020-07-05T02:00:26

Alex Larman has struck gold. He discovered one of the rarest and most precious things in the history world: an unknown source which shines a bright new light on its subject. He uncovered brand new ...

Myths of the Titanic from 2020-07-04T02:00

If you want to know anything about RMS Titanic, Tim Maltin's your man. He is one of the world’s leading experts on the Titanic and has an encyclopaedic knowledge of every nut and bolt secured in pl...

Hitler's Titanic from 2020-07-02T16:00

Roger Moorhouse is an historian of the Third Reich and WW2, author of The Devils' Alliance, Killing Hitler & Berlin at War. He joined me on the podcast to discuss the worst maritime disaster in his...

History's Deadliest Influenza Pandemic from 2020-07-01T16:09:23

Germans soldiers called it Blitzkatarrh, British soldiers called it Flanders Grippe, but the 1918 pandemic was most commonly known as 'Spanish Flu'. Catherine Arnold is the author of 'Pandemic 1918...

How and Why History: William the Conqueror from 2020-06-30T16:00:54

On 14 October 1066, Norman invaders led by Duke William of Normandy won a decisive victory over the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson. But why did William have a claim on the English throne? How di...

Disease and the Victorians from 2020-06-29T16:00:55

Dr Emma Liggins is an expert on Victorian Gothic literature. She joined me on the pod to examine how great female writers of the 19th century - such as Elizabeth Gaskell and the Brontes - responded...

Western Europe’s Age of Democracy from 2020-06-28T02:00

In the second half of the twentieth century, western Europe was shaped by a revolutionary political force: democracy. Or at least that's what Professor Martin Conway has argued in his major new his...

28 Years on Death Row from 2020-06-27T02:00

Anthony Ray Hinton was held on death row for 28 years. He was incorrectly convicted of the murders of two restaurant managers, John Davidson and Thomas Wayne Vasona, in 1985. He was released in 201...

Forgotten Women of the Civil Rights Movement from 2020-06-26T13:46:22

I was delighted to be joined by Keisha Blain, an Associate Professor at the University of Pittsburgh. She took me far into the past - years before Martin Luther King or Rosa Parks - to the roots of...

Veterans of the Korean War from 2020-06-25T16:00:48

70 years ago today, on 25th June 1950, North Korean forces invaded South Korea. The three-year conflict which followed took the lives of four million people including nearly 100,000 British troops....

How and Why History: Operation Barbarossa from 2020-06-23T16:00

In June 1941, Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa, opening up the Eastern Front in World War II – a campaign to which more forces were committed than in any other theatre of war in history. But wh...

Family History from 2020-06-22T15:17:17

Simon Pearce, a genealogist from Ancestry.com, joined me on the podcast to reveal the secrets of uncovering family history. Delving into the records of my own grandfather, Simon explained the metho...

A New History of the Aztecs from 2020-06-21T02:00

In November 1519, Hernando Cortés approached the capital of the Aztec kingdom and came face to face with its ruler, Moctezuma. The story which follows has been told countless times following a...

The Lancaster Bomber from 2020-06-20T02:00

I was thrilled to be joined again by one of our most popular guests, John Nichol. John shot to international prominence when he served in the first Gulf War. When his Tornado was shot down in 1991 ...

Why is Jerusalem so Important? from 2020-06-19T16:00

Simon Sebag Montefiore joined me on the pod to discuss one of the most important cities in history. For the last 3000 years, its been hitting the headlines, and this pod was recorded just after Don...

How and Why History: The Battle of Waterloo from 2020-06-18T11:25:56

The Battle of Waterloo brought a generation of terrible warfare to a close, decisively ending the career of Napoleon Bonaparte. How did the Duke of Wellington defeat Napoleon? Why did Napoleon make...

Women of the Trojan War from 2020-06-17T16:00

I was thrilled to be joined by Natalie Haynes. Natalie is the is the author of 'A Thousand Ships', a retelling of the Trojan War from an all-female perspective. In this podcast we discussed the cla...

The Government and the Military in Times of Crisis from 2020-06-15T18:47:15

The Covid crisis has seen a huge deployment of UK armed forces personnel to assist the civilian government. Named Operation RESCRIPT it has seen soldiers, sailors and aviators fulfil a wide range o...

Nazi Generals in Britain from 2020-06-14T02:00

When captured Nazi generals found themselves in Britain in the Second World War, they were probably surprised to be brought to a beautiful country house where they were wined and dined by a senior ...

Putin's Rise to Power from 2020-06-13T02:00

Catherine Belton joined me on the pod to discuss the remarkable story of Vladimir Putin's rise to power. After working from 2007-2013 as the Moscow correspondent for the Financial Times, Catherine'...

Sex in Pandemics from 2020-06-12T16:00:34

I invited Kate Lister to join me after the enormous popularity of her last appearance on the pod. But this time we talked about how our sexual habits are both dulled and invigorated in unprecedente...

How and Why History: Attila the Hun from 2020-06-09T16:00:51

Known as the Scourge of God, Attila the Hun was one of the greatest Barbarian rulers in history. Renowned for his brutality, sacking and pillaging the lands and cities he conquered, Attila became o...

The Field of the Cloth of Gold from 2020-06-08T15:44:48

500 years ago this week marked the start of one of the most extraordinary diplomatic gatherings in history: The Field of the Cloth of Gold. In 1520, England and France - traditionally bitter rivals...

Political Thinkers in the Modern World from 2020-06-07T02:00

I was thrilled to be joined by David Runciman, Professor of Politics at Cambridge University and host of the widely acclaimed 'Talking Politics' podcast. Together we discussed how the great politic...

What Really Happened on D-Day from 2020-06-06T02:00

I was joined by Giles Milton to learn about D-Day and find out what his research has uncovered about the untold stories of this landmark event.


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Untold Stories of War from 2020-06-05T15:38:22

I was delighted to be joined by James Rogers - a war historian, fellow of the London School of Economics, and presenter of History Hit's Untold History series. One of James' films explores HM Facto...

Racial Injustice in America from 2020-06-04T15:37:37

The protests on the streets of America are a product of 400 years of violence, slavery, coercion and injustice. I took a crash course with Harvard's Professor Khalil Gibran Muhammad on the history ...

A Story of Slavery and Restitution from 2020-06-03T14:08:48

I was delighted to be joined by Caleb McDaniel, History professor and author of the Pulitzer prizewinning book, “Sweet Taste of Liberty: A True Story of Slavery and Restitution in America”. He told...

Sex and Scandal at the Court of Charles II from 2020-06-01T16:00:05

According to John Evelyn, the great diarist, Charles II was ‘addicted to women’. Charles' court is infamous for tales of licentiousness and promiscuity, and I was thrilled to be joined by Linda Por...

Fighting Nazism at the Grand Prix from 2020-05-31T02:00:15

Neal Bascomb joined me on the podcast to tell a remarkable story of the fight against Hitler - on the Grand Prix racetrack. We delved into the high-speed world of the American heiress Lucy Schell, ...

A History of Building Britain from 2020-05-30T16:00

I was thrilled to be joined by Andrew Ziminski, a stonemason living and working in Somerset. He's just released his first book documenting the fascinating stories from three decades of hands-on exp...

Dunkirk Veterans from 2020-05-29T16:00:36

Dan meets some of the surviving Dunkirk veterans on the famous Little Ships which helped to rescue them from the beaches. The Little Ships of Dunkirk were 700 private boats that sailed from Ramsgat...

The Fall of France from 2020-05-28T15:59:19

80 years ago this week, one of the most extraordinary evacuations in military history was under way: 'The Miracle of Dunkirk'. But how, and why, did the Allies find themselves in such a dire positi...

Muslim Soldiers of Dunkirk from 2020-05-27T16:00

May 28, 1940: Major Akbar Khan of the Royal Indian Army Service Corps marches at the head of 299 soldiers along the beach at Dunkirk - the only Indians in the BEF in France and the only ones at Dun...

Coronavirus: Intelligence Failure from 2020-05-26T16:09:51

The greatest threats we face are climate breakdown and pandemic disease. This was the assessment of security advisers before the Covid outbreak and the last few months have seen the stunning realit...

The Miracle of Dunkirk from 2020-05-25T16:00

80 years ago, ships were gathering in Kent to begin the rescue of the British Expeditionary Force. Britain faced the prospect of the worst defeat in British military history and the loss of her ent...

Getting Inside the Mind of Hitler from 2020-05-24T16:00

No man knew Adolf Hitler as intimately as his trusted physician, Theodoor Morell. As part of Hitler's inner social circle, he assisted the leader in virtually everything for the entire war years. H...

Akbar the Great from 2020-05-23T16:00

One of the greatest rulers of the 16th century was Akbar the Great, a man whose power and influence extended over much of the Indian subcontinent after he unified the vast Mughal state. But recentl...

The Shadow King: Henry VI from 2020-05-21T16:00

Henry VI came to the throne in exceptionally difficult circumstances. The untimely death of his warlike father, Henry V, placed the crown upon his head aged just 9 months. While England was in the ...

Celebrity from 2020-05-20T16:00

Greg Jenner has given my children so many hours of happiness as the historical brains behind the Horrible History tv shows and movie, not to mention the Homeschool History podcast that it would hav...

History and Human Nature from 2020-05-19T18:38:07

It's a belief which has dictated the writings of Machiavelli and Hobbes, Freud and Dawkins - that humans are fundamentally selfish and governed by self-interest. But Rutger Bregman has made a convi...

The Brontës and War from 2020-05-19T06:36:52

In this podcast I was joined by Emma Butcher, a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in English Literature at the University of Leicester. Emma took me on a fascinating journey through the Brontë sibling...

The Habsburgs from 2020-05-17T02:00

It was an honour to be joined by Martyn Rady to discuss one of history's most thrilling families, the Habsburgs. Ruling for almost a millennium, their imperial vision was perhaps best realised in E...

Winston Churchill from 2020-05-14T16:00:51

80 years ago this week, Winston Churchill became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom following the resignation of Neville Chamberlain and his calamitous handling of the Norway campaign. On the sam...

Pandemics: Science and History from 2020-05-12T15:56:38

I was thrilled to be joined by the legendary Peter Frankopan, Professor of Global History at Oxford University and bestselling author of 'The Silk Roads: A New History of the World'. In this podcas...

Migration in Medieval Europe from 2020-05-11T16:00

I was delighted to be joined by Miri Rubin of Queen Mary University, London. In a terrific new book, Miri has scooped up a seemingly modern topic - migration - and settled it into the bustling town...

Europe's Tragedy: The Thirty Years War from 2020-05-10T16:05:25

The Thirty Years War devastated seventeenth-century Europe. It killed nearly a quarter of all Germans and transformed the map of the modern world. Professor Peter Wilson of Oxford University took m...

VE Day: 75 Years from 2020-05-08T14:49:16

For most of us, VE Day conjures up black and white images of carefree servicemen and women dancing and beaming in Trafalgar Square, of Churchill greeted by jubilant crowds in Whitehall, and of cour...

How should we remember WW2? from 2020-05-07T16:04:12

The question of wars and how we remember them has always fascinated me. With WW1 we seem to remember the enormous, tragic loss of life - captured so beautifully by the likes of Wilfred Owen and Sie...

Pandemics through History from 2020-05-05T21:35:09

I have hooked up with the Timeline Channel on youtube to do History Hit Live three times a week. Sometimes I'll share the audio as a podcast on this feed. My chat with Clifford Williamson, lecturer...

One Family: 200 Years of Continuous Military Service from 2020-05-03T02:00

Paul John Darran joined the army 1980. He was ninth generation of his family to do so. The story begins with his ancestor John Carberry joined the Tyrone militia in Ireland in 1795. He later transf...

Moscow's Communist Dorm from 2020-04-29T18:15:25

In 1931, an enormous apartment building was completed in Moscow. Challenging the Kremlin for architectural supremacy on the Moskva River, it was the largest residential building in Europe, com...

Globalisation in 1000 AD from 2020-04-27T16:23:27

Globalisation. It's a word we often associate with the politics, society and economics of our own lifetimes. But Valerie Hansen, an esteemed professor of History at Yale, has argued that globalisat...

Florence Nightingale from 2020-04-26T16:00

For soldiers of the Crimean War, perhaps the greatest adversary they faced was the Selimiye Barracks in Scutari, a makeshift hospital for wounded men. A lack of hygiene, medicine and compassion mad...

Australia, Anzac and History from 2020-04-25T16:00:28

I was thrilled to have Mat McLachlan on the pod, one of Australia's foremost history presenters and writers. Using his encyclopaedic knowledge of Australian battlefields, Mat and I chatted about Au...

The Death of Hitler from 2020-04-24T16:00:35

Did Hitler shoot himself in the Führerbunker, or did he slip past the Soviets and escape to South America? There have been innumerable documentaries, newspaper articles and twitter threads written ...

The Black Death from 2020-04-22T16:00

In this podcast, Dan Snow is joined by Professor Mark Bailey, High Master of St Paul's School, London and Professor of Later Medieval History at the University of East Anglia to delve into the topi...

A Curious History of Sex from 2020-04-21T14:00

Sex. There's a lot of it about. We talk about war, chaos and atrocities on this podcast a lot although, thankfully, few of us have first hand experience of them. Yet we rarely talk sex. Which is od...

Criminal Subculture in the Gulag from 2020-04-19T02:00

I was thrilled to be joined by Mark Vincent, an expert in criminal subculture and prisoner society in Stalinist Labour camps. Mark has looked at thousands of journals, song collections, tattoo draw...

The Aftermath of WW1 from 2020-04-15T16:00:33

In this podcast I was joined by Margaret MacMillan, professor at St Antony's College, Oxford University and author of 'Peacemakers: The Paris Peace Conference of 1919 and Its Attempt to End War'. W...

British Ship Building from 2020-04-14T17:30

In this episode, Dan chats to British naval historian and maritime artist, Richard Endsor, about seventeenth century ship building. It was the developments of this period that would enable Britain ...

Apollo 13 from 2020-04-13T16:00

I was joined by Kevin Fong, who took me through one of the most extraordinary stories in the history of exploration. Apollo 13 was the seventh crewed mission on the Apollo space programme, and thei...

The House of Byron from 2020-04-12T01:00:56

Emily Brand has written a brilliant book about the Byrons. Not just the great romantic, poet and adventurer, George Gordon Byron, but his parents and grandparents who are equally as deser...

The Prime Minister Hospitalised: Lloyd George's Influenza from 2020-04-10T15:50:57

In September 1918 David Lloyd George, the charismatic wartime Prime Minister, visited the city of Manchester, attended a vast public gathering and then collapsed. He spent the next week and a half ...

How Pandemics Made the Modern World from 2020-04-09T16:00

Professor Frank Snowden is currently on lockdown in Rome, experiencing at first hand life in a pandemic. For years he has written about the great waves of disease that swept across the world in the...

Loot? Spoils? Artefacts? What to Do with Our Museums from 2020-04-08T16:00

Our museums are full of stuff taken, bought, stolen and gifted from foreign countries. It feels like we face a reckoning. What shall we do with it?


I talked to two authors of new book...

Death by Shakespeare from 2020-04-06T17:50:17

Poison, swordplay and bloodshed. Shakespeare’s characters met their ends in a plethora of gruesome ways. But how realistic were they? And did they even shock audiences who lived in a time of plague...

The Battle of Okinawa from 2020-04-03T16:00

The last great battle of the Second World War was fought on the island of Okinawa. After 83 blood-soaked days, almost a quarter of a million people lost their lives. The death toll included thousan...

Origins of the Spanish Flu from 2020-04-02T16:00

This episode features military historian Douglas Gill who has extensively researched the origins of the Spanish Influenza as it emerged in 1915 and 1916 in northern France. Douglas has worked along...

Valkyrie: The Warrior Women of the Viking World from 2020-04-01T16:00

I was thrilled to have Jóhanna Katrín Friðriksdóttir on the pod. We talked about Viking women, old Norse-Icelandic sagas, mythology and poetry. Who were these Viking women who were champions on the...

How AI is Safeguarding Maritime Heritage from 2020-03-26T17:00

There are more historic artefacts on our ocean floor than there are in every museum in the world put together. Over thousands of years ships carrying every conceivable cargo have sunk in the rivers...

Britain's Fightback from 2020-03-23T17:00

Daniel Todman is a Professor of Modern History at Queen Mary. He has just published his epic study of how during the Second World War Britain fought back from near disaster to triumph. It opens wit...

How the Earth Shaped Human History from 2020-03-22T03:00

Great leaders? Industrial change? Revolutions? If you thought these were the things that shaped history, think again. Back by popular demand, I was thrilled to be joined by bestselling author Lewis...

Mystery of the Alexander the Great Coin Hoard from 2020-03-19T20:23:41

Off the coast of the Gaza Strip fishermen have been discovering coins of extreme rarity and importance. They date from the brief reign of Alexander the Great in the Third Century BC.
Strangely,...

Jan Stangreciuk: Veteran. Hero. Guinea Pig. from 2020-03-15T03:00

Of all the clubs in the world, perhaps the most extraordinary is the Guinea Pig Club, a group of Second World War veterans that suffered terrible injuries and were then treated by pioneering surgeo...

Division. Corruption. Incompetence: A History of Spain from 2020-03-13T17:15:07

Professor Paul Preston doesn’t pull his punches. His magisterial new history of modern Spain is called 'A People Betrayed'. He is the greatest living authority on Spain and he is not a fan of how t...

The Human Tide from 2020-03-10T17:00

I was thrilled to chat to Paul Morland, a historian who uses population to explain almost all the major global shifts and events of the last two centuries. Using the power of sheer numbers, Paul ha...

Britain in the 1980s from 2020-03-08T03:00

Dominic Sandbrook is one of Britain’s most prolific historians, working his way through a series on Britain since the Second World War. His most recent book examines the pivotal early years of Marg...

Coronavirus is NOT the plague from 2020-03-05T16:30:32

It came from Asia via the Middle East and Italy. But, says 17th Century historian, Rebecca Rideal, the parallels with the Black Death, The Plague, are not helpful.
It was great to catch up with...

Champagne Riots from 2020-03-04T17:00

Rebecca Gibb is a Master of Wine. A ninja who can sniff out a Merlot from a Margaux at 50 paces. I know ABSOLUTELY nothing about wine other than I like drinking it. So we had a lot to talk about. Listen

The Discovery of the Universe from 2020-03-03T17:00

The universe has always been there, kind of, but it took intelligent life on earth billions of years to start to grapple with its nature. Carolyn Collins Peterson is a science writer who charts the...

The Bombing War from 2020-03-01T03:00

75 years ago this Spring, the aerial assault on Germany was reaching a crescendo as city after city was devastated by British and American bomber fleets. History Hit TV have just launched a major d...

The Irish War of Independence from 2020-02-27T17:00

Dan made a stupid comment on twitter. Irish history twitter melted down. So we did a pod on why. 


100 years ago the Irish War of Independence was being fought in Ireland as the U...

Guernsey: Voices of the Occupation from 2020-02-26T17:00

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Channel Islands. Dan went to meet four people who remember the war years on the islands and hear their experiences of occupation. ...

‘One of Our Greatest Living Historians’ from 2020-02-24T17:00

Natalie Zemon Davis is a legend. One of the most influential and versatile contemporary historians. A pathbreaking scholar of early modern European social and cultural history, she has also explore...

Churchill's Cook from 2020-02-23T03:00

Annie Gray is a wonderful historian and broadcaster. Her latest project is a biography of the woman who cooked for Churchill. Georgina Landemare was one of the few people able to cope with the dema...

Georgian Musings on Homosexuality from 2020-02-20T17:00

Eamonn O'Keeffe is a young Oxford Researcher in the midst of a PhD. He stopped off in Wakefield Library to look at a journal Yorkshire farmer Matthew Tomlinson to see if the author had any opinions...

The Boundless Sea from 2020-02-19T17:30

We are a land animal. But millions of us have taken to the sea to live, fight, travel, eat, escape and seek fame and fortune. I am obsessed with the sea. On how humans have built ever more efficien...

The Boy Who Followed His Father Into Auschwitz from 2020-02-17T17:15

This is the most remarkable father and son story I have ever come across.
We are still marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz here at History Hit and this time I am talking...

West Africa before the Europeans from 2020-02-16T03:00

Toby Green has been fascinated by the history of West Africa for decades after he visited as a student and heard whispers of history that didn’t appear in text books. Years later he wrote ‘Fistful ...

Suicide at the Fall of Nazi Germany from 2020-02-13T17:00

There is almost no end to the dark secrets that emerge from the smashed ruins of 1945 Europe. Dr Florian Huber has spent years researching the fascinating story of the epidemic of suicide that spre...

The Adventuress from 2020-02-12T17:15

In the 1930s Lady Lucy Houston was one of the richest women in England and a household name, notorious for her virulent criticisms of the government, but politics had been far from her mind when, a...

A Very Stable Genius from 2020-02-10T17:00

Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig are both Pulitzer Prize winning journalists at the Washington Post.


They've written a new book with yet more revelations from inside the Trump White Ho...

The British Republic from 2020-02-06T17:00

Paul Lay, editor of History Today, has written a great book about the rise and fall of Oliver Cromwell's Protectorate (1653–1659), England's sole experiment in republican government – and one of th...

Flu pandemics. Then and Now. from 2020-02-05T16:00

'We are very very vulnerable' says the brilliant science author and journalist Laura Spinney.


Her fantastic book 'Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How it Changed the World' is...

Night of the Bayonets from 2020-01-29T17:00

75 years ago this spring a fascinating but forgotten battle was fought in the dying days of the Second World War. A group of Georgians rose up against their German overlords on the Dutch island of ...

Max Eisen: Surviving Auschwitz from 2020-01-27T12:15

Max Eisen was only 15 when he and his family were taken from their Hungarian home to the infamous Auschwitz Concentration Camp during the Second World War. All of his relatives were killed; only Ma...

The Man Who Volunteered for Auschwitz from 2020-01-19T03:00

In 1940 the Polish resistance decided it needed to send an agent to Auschwitz concentration camp. They were desperate to find out what was going on in a place that even by that stage of the war had...

How History Inspires Environmental Activism from 2020-01-14T17:00

The world faces a unique environmental challenge. The scale of response to this looming catastrophe can be overwhelming. But economist and activist Andrew Simms believes that history provides us wi...

The Commando Raid that Changed the Course of WW2 from 2020-01-12T22:00:55

In October 1942 the British launched a small raid on the Channel Island of Sark. A cast of characters who gave their colleague Ian Fleming ideas for a new secret agent character, James Bond, crept ...

Sam Mendes on 1917 from 2020-01-09T17:00

In this podcast Dan talks to Golden Globe winning film maker Sam Mendes about his new World War One film 1917.


Based in part on an account told to Mendes by his paternal grandfather,&...

The Persian War from 2020-01-08T17:00

In the 5th century BC the world's first super power, the Persian Empire, went to war against a ragtag collection of cities and statelets on its western frontier. It was the start of the Persian War...

Interwar Germany’s Secret Ally: The USSR from 2020-01-06T17:00

After the First World War the German Army was in crisis. Limited in the size and its equipment by the Versailles Treaty which ended the war, it was a shadow of the mighty force it had been in 1914....

Ink: A History of Tattooing from 2020-01-05T03:00

Matt Lodder is the world's leading expert on the history of tattoos. He has found evidence of people using ink or charcoal on their bodies stretching back thousands of years. He explodes myths at e...

Geordies: A History from 2020-01-03T17:00

'Northumbrian patriot' Dan Jackson, who has just written a book on the history of Northeast England and its people, comes on the podcast to talk about his native Northumberland.  
Listen

The Crusaders' Last Battle for the Holy Land from 2020-01-01T03:00:07

Roger Crowley is the author of the new book, Accursed Tower: The Crusaders' Last Battle for the Holy Land.


The city of Acre, powerfully fortified and richly provisioned, was the last ...

Best of 2019 from 2019-12-31T11:55:54

Tony Blair, Julie McDowall the 'Atomic Hobo', Prof Mary Fulbrook, SAS veterans, Stephen Fry, Akala.... It has been a bumper year on the pod. We've heard why the British Army was doomed to failure i...

The Ultra Secret Mission that Changed the Course of WW2 from 2019-12-29T03:00

Damien Lewis tells us of the formation of the SAS.


In 1941 an alien-seeming object was captured in a death-defying dash by an RAF reconnaissance pilot flying a lone unarmed Spitfire a...

The Crown: History v Myth from 2019-12-26T12:00

'Fiction should help us to understand the truth, not pervert it.'
Hugo Vickers talks to Dan about the hit TV show - The Crown.


Hugo's main gripe against The Crown is that 'it purp...

Were the Victorians Happier than Us? from 2019-12-23T17:00

A recent study published in the science journal Nature tracked the emotional tone of books and newspapers over the past 200 years and suggested that Brits were happier in the 19th Century. This ran...

Vikings: A History of the Northmen from 2019-12-22T03:00

The Vikings have never lost their appeal to scholars and enthusiasts. Now Wayne Bartlett has written a great new survey of the Viking World from Newfoundland to Central Asia. Dan got him on the pod...

The Books that Made Britain from 2019-12-21T16:00

Christopher Tugendhat is a politician, journalist and businessman. For 50 years he has been collecting modern first editions of books, including many that he believes reflect and illuminate the Bri...

Women Warriors from 2019-12-19T17:00

In 2018, UK Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson announced that all roles in the military would now be open to women. Although this marks a historic shift, officially allowing British women into comb...

Eleanor of Aquitaine: England's Royal Matriarch from 2019-12-18T17:00

Eleanor of Aquitaine is at least as responsible for the vast empire of the Plantagenets as her more celebrated husband, Henry II. Sara Cockerill has written a wonderful biography of Eleanor, placin...

British Impeachment from 2019-12-17T17:00

The English invented impeachment. The Founding Fathers of the American Republic settled on the impeachment process for restraining the chief executive in their ideal constitution. The USA looks set...

The Real Peaky Blinders from 2019-12-15T03:00

Peaky Blinders: The Real Story


Dan talks to the well known social historian, broadcaster and author Professor Carl Chinn in this episode where the true history of Birmingham's most no...

A Short History of London from 2019-12-14T08:15

Dan talks to Sir Simon Jenkins about London, the settlement founded by the Romans, occupied by the Saxons, conquered by the Danes and ruled by the Normans. This changeful place became a medieval ma...

The 'Forgotten Bastards of the Eastern Front' from 2019-12-13T17:00

During the Second World War, from 1941 onwards, Stalin's Soviet Union was joined in a close but awkward coalition with the Western allies. Military aid and intelligence flowed to the Soviets but vi...

Crucible of our modern world from 2019-12-12T17:00

Charles Emmerson thinks the crucible of the modern world was not the 1960s but the tumultuous years at the end of the First World War and those that followed. This was when Communism and Fascism be...

General Election Special from 2019-12-11T17:00

Historian Robert Saunders from Queen Mary University of London talks about the elections in the past that he feels have most resonance and parallels today.  

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Austerlitz: Napoleon's Greatest Victory from 2019-12-02T17:00

Austerlitz is one of Napoleon's greatest victories. Late in the season, at the end of a long and vulnerable supply line, deep into eastern Europe, Napoleon tempted the allied armies of Austria and ...

The Rise of Hitler from 2019-12-01T03:00

Professor Frank McDonough has just written a monumental history of the Third Reich. He is a world leading expert on the domestic side of Hitler's Germany. In this podcast Dan asks Frank why and how...

The Women of Westminster from 2019-11-28T18:00

2019 marks 100 years since Nancy Astor, the first female MP in Britain, took her seat in the House of Commons. Rachel Reeves, long-serving Labour politician and author, speaks to Dan about the rema...