Podcasts by How and Why History
History Hit's How and Why History is a lively and accessible introduction to history. Historians and writers explore the big questions about history's most significant events and personalities, from the ancient world to recent times.
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Introducing: On Jimmy's Farm from 2022-02-01T09:03:34
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 a...
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King David from 2020-10-02T16:00
One of the Old Testament’s most compelling figures, David was anointed as king of a united Israel, conquering Jerusalem and bringing the Ark of the Covenant into the city. First renowned for his mu...
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Alfred the Great from 2020-09-30T16:19:45
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 defended his...
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The South African Boer War from 2020-09-25T16:00
From 1899 to 1902, a bloody war was fought between the British Empire and two independent Boer states – the Republic of Transvaal and the Orange Free State – over the Empire's influence in South Af...
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The Great Fire of London from 2020-09-22T16:00
In September 1666, the Great Fire of London destroyed more than 13,000 houses, 87 Parish churches as well as St Pauls Cathedral, and uprooted hundreds of thousands of Londoners. But how did the fir...
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The United Nations at 75 from 2020-09-18T16:00
In the aftermath of the Second World War, 850 delegates from 50 nations gathered in San Fransisco, determined to establish an organization which would preserve peace and help build a better worl...
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The Battle of Britain from 2020-09-15T16:00
In a moment of great danger to national survival, the Royal Air Force defended the United Kingdom against large scale attacks by the Luftwaffe. So how did the Battle of Britain play out? What ...
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The Black Death from 2020-09-11T16:00
Between 75 million and 200 million people died in the Black Death, or Plague, which caused social, economic and religious upheavals that had a profound effect on the course of European history. How...
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Joan of Arc from 2020-09-04T16:00
In the early 15th century, a French village girl became a heroine for her role in the French victory during the Lancastrian phase of the 100 Years War. But it took 600 years before Joan of Arc...
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The Gunpowder Plot from 2020-09-01T16:00
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...
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The Philosophers of Ancient Greece from 2020-09-01T15:00:34
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...
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Genghis Khan from 2020-08-28T16:00
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...
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Oliver Cromwell from 2020-08-25T16:00
Having led the parliament of England’s armies against King Charles I, and seen to it that the king was executed, Oliver Cromwell went on to rule the British Isles as Lord Protector from 1653 to 165...
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How World War Two Shaped The Modern World from 2020-08-24T11:10:55
With the end of the Second World War 75 years ago, the task of rebuilding shattered nations had to begin. But the years that followed saw the coming of the Nuclear Age, the Cold War, decolonialism ...
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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...
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The Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall from 2020-08-14T15:26:33
In the aftermath of the Second World War, Germany was divided and, as the Cold War escalated, a concrete barrier physically and ideologically divided Berlin. But how did Berlin come to be split by ...
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Europe's Witch Craze from 2020-08-11T16:00:24
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. But why was there a witch craze ...
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America, Japan and the Atomic Bomb from 2020-08-04T16:00:51
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...
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The Red Scare from 2020-07-31T16:00
In the 1950s, Senator Joseph McCarthy was the public face of a period in which Cold War tensions fuelled fears in the United States of widespread Communist subversion. McCarthy believed Soviet spie...
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Charlemagne from 2020-07-28T16:00:12
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...
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The Rise of the Monasteries from 2020-07-27T14:00
In the Middle Ages, Christian monasteries played an integral role in the generation and spread of knowledge. Scholarship flourished behind monastery walls and monks became experts in a wide range o...
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The Troubles in Northern Ireland from 2020-07-24T16:00
On 10 April 1998 – Good Friday – the UK’s Prime Minister Tony Blair and the Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, signed an agreement that signalled the end of 30 years of violence and bitter sectarian con...
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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...
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America's Entry into the World Wars from 2020-07-17T16:00
When World War I broke out in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the United States would remain neutral. The U.S.A. only officially entered the conflict three years later. It took the Japane...
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The Spread of Christianity from 2020-07-14T16:00:08
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 ...
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The Wall Street Crash from 2020-07-10T16:00
When share prices on the New York Stock Exchange collapsed, it was the most devastating stock market crash in the history of the United States, signaling the beginning of the Great Depression. To f...
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The Birth of Scotland from 2020-07-07T16:00
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 ...
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The Vietnam War from 2020-07-03T16:00:11
By 1964 America was deeply embroiled in a conflict in Vietnam that would, over the next decade, claim millions of lives including almost 60,000 US servicemen. But how did the war come about? Who we...
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William the Conqueror from 2020-06-30T16:00
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...
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Rome and the Mediterranean from 2020-06-26T16:00:49
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...
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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...
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The Renaissance from 2020-06-19T16:00
Spreading throughout the length and breadth of Europe, the Renaissance made an enduring impact on art and architecture, science, politics and law. How did the Renaissance put an end to the Middle A...
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The Battle of Waterloo from 2020-06-16T16:00
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...
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Pearl Harbor from 2020-06-10T11:54:19
On Sunday 7 December 1941, Japanese aircraft attacked the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The US Pacific Fleet was devastated and 2403 Americans were killed. But it was not t...
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Attila the Hun from 2020-06-10T11:53:51
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 becam...
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