Dan Snow's History Hit

It's the 13th of December, 1642, and Parliamentarian soldiers have just stormed the city of Winchester. They burst into the city's grand cathedral on horseback, and begin tearing it apart. The soldiers smash windows, burn tables and tapestries and steal anything of value. Stashed away in ornate wooden chests, they stumble across something unique - inside are the sanctified bones of English kings and queens, diligently collected over hundreds of years. But they are of no material interest to the rampaging soldiers, who turn the chests inside out and shatter many of the bones to dust.Nearly four hundred years later, Dan is joined by historian and bioarchaeologist Cat Jarman, to talk about her new book, The Bone Chests. Cat picks up this intriguing tale, and explains what the remaining fragments can tell us about the world of England's Anglo-Saxon forebears.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.PLEASE VOTE NOW! for Dan Snow's History Hit in the British Podcast Awards Listener's Choice category here. Every vote counts, thank you!We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the story of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn as you've never heard it before. From their childhoods and courtship through to their union and Anne's brutal execution, we'll peel back layers of historical myth to find out how this marriage changed England forever.Dan is joined by the Tudor historians John and Julia guy, authors of Hunting the Falcon: Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and the Marriage That Shook Europe, to examine one of the most famous and consequential marriages in history.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Ella Blaxill.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.PLEASE VOTE NOW! for Dan Snow's History Hit in the British Podcast Awards Listener's Choice category here. Every vote counts, thank you!We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, so how did it work out when he became the leader of this nation that he was so instrumental in founding?For the third episode in American History Hit's special series about the Presidents, we're exploring Jefferson's presidency. What challenges did he face during his time as President, and how did he mould the early years of the nation?Don is joined for this episode by Professor Frank Cogliano, direct from Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. Frank is a Professor of American History at the University of Edinburgh.Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Siobhan Dale. The senior Producer was Charlotte Long.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.PLEASE VOTE NOW! for Dan Snow's History Hit in the British Podcast Awards Listener's Choice category here. Every vote counts, thank you!We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dan explores his great-grandfather's part in the First World War. Lieutenant-General Thomas Snow was a senior officer in the British Army who commanded troops on the first day of the Somme. It was a disaster; thousands of men died for almost no strategic gains, and his legacy would be tarnished forever. But Snow's record is more complicated than that, having proved himself a competent defensive commander earlier in the conflict. So how should we remember the men who presided over catastrophes like the Somme? Were these disasters due to a lack of preparation, failures in leadership, or both?Dan speaks to Paul Reed, a leading historian of the First World War, to find out more about his great-granddad's wartime service and his complex legacy.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The popes of Rome emerged from the humblest of beginnings. The first was a fisherman, charged with spreading the word of God under the watchful eye of a pagan Roman Empire. But just a few centuries later, the papacy had flourished into one of the wealthiest, most powerful institutions on the planet. Surviving the rise and fall of great empires, including that of Rome, the Vicars of Christ became crucial arbitrators on the world stage.So what can the lives of the popes tell us about the history of Rome? And how is it that the leaders of a minority cult came to be more powerful than the Emperors themselves? Dan is joined by Jessica Wärnberg, a historian of the early modern world and author of City of Echoes: A New History of Rome, Its Popes, and Its People to answer these questions and more.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.PLEASE VOTE NOW! for Dan Snow's History Hit in the British Podcast Awards Listener's Choice category here. Every vote counts, thank you!We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s one of the most dramatic stories you might never have heard. Featuring a seaborne assassination, a vengeful manhunt and London Bridge in flames, the rebellion of Jack Cade in 1450 shook the English Crown to its very core and lit the spark that began the Wars of the Roses.In today’s episode of Gone Medieval Matt responds to a listener suggestion from Brett Fancy, unpacking and explaining how Cade went from an ordinary man to the leader of a 47,000-strong popular uprising. It is a thrilling and intriguing tale about a man who set not just London, but all of England on fire.This episode was produced by Elena Guthrie and mixed by Joseph Knightweekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.PLEASE VOTE NOW! for Dan Snow's History Hit in the British Podcast Awards Listener's Choice category here. Every vote counts, thank you!We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the spring of 1782, it wasn't the American Revolutionary War that had Londoners worried. The city and nearby countryside had been covered in ominous, mysterious webs, filled with untold numbers of caterpillars and their eggs. The city responded with panic, and rumours of plague and pestilence spread like wildfire. It seems far-fetched that an insect like the brown-tail moth could begin a citywide crisis; so why were Londoners so concerned? And how did the caterpillars become scapegoats for the city's recent tensions?Dan is joined by John Lidwell-Durnin, a lecturer in the History of Science at Exeter University, to delve into the bizarre history of the 1782 caterpillar outbreak.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.PLEASE VOTE NOW! for Dan Snow's History Hit in the British Podcast Awards Listener's Choice category here. Every vote counts, thank you!We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Few organisations in history have names as loaded with legend as the Knights Templar. Western culture is infused with the mythology of these pious warrior monks, who wielded magic and went on quests for legendary treasures. In reality, it was an elite fighting force that became a Middle Ages military and financial powerhouse. Its members moved in the same circles as kings and popes, their influence spanning from Portugal to the River Jordan. But as the Holy Land was lost, European leaders began to turn on the Order, and its final leaders would meet a violent end at the stake.In this Explainer episode, Dan takes us from their pious beginnings in the first Crusades through to the height of their power in the 13th century, and finally, to their abrupt end.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.PLEASE VOTE NOW! for Dan Snow's History Hit in the British Podcast Awards Listener's Choice category here. Every vote counts, thank you!We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What would it be like to discover that your grandfather was a Nazi? For decades, generations of Germans have been grappling with the legacies of relatives who were part of the Third Reich. These legacies inspire feelings of tremendous guilt but also present an opportunity to acknowledge and learn from the past. So why is it so important to address these stories head-on? And how can they be useful for later generations?On today's episode, Dan is joined by Lorenz Hemicker, who works at the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Lorenz takes us through his journey of discovery as he delves into the story of his grandfather, an SS engineer who played a crucial role in the Rumbula Massacre.Produced by James Hickmann and Mariana Des Forges, and edited by Dougal Patmore.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.PLEASE VOTE NOW! for Dan Snow's History Hit in the British Podcast Awards Listener's Choice category here. Every vote counts, thank you!We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1848, Europe was wracked by a series of revolutions that turned the established political order on its head. Across the continent populations erupted in revolt, and the shockwaves of these revolutions rippled across the globe. But these uprisings hold a strange place in European history - did they succeed, or fail? And why are they not better understood in the European consciousness?On today's episode, Dan is joined by Christopher Clark, author of Revolutionary Spring. In a remarkable reinterpretation of this crucial period, Christopher explains how and why these revolutions broke out, and what their legacy has been.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.PLEASE VOTE NOW! for Dan Snow's History Hit in the British Podcast Awards Listener's Choice category here. Every vote counts, thank you!We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of the new Seven Wonders of the World, Chichen Itza is home to monumental pyramids, temples, and is a treasure trove of archaeological findings. Built in the early 5th century by the Maya, it has provided invaluable insight into Maya civilisation; from discoveries of sporting arenas to ancient feathered serpents, it's allowed an image of Mayan daily life to be created. But what specifically does Chichen Itza tell us about Mayan society - and what can it tell us about the collapse of Mayan civilisation?In this episode, Tristan welcomes Annabeth Headrick back to the podcast to talk about this incredible site and to shine a light on recent discoveries that have been made there. Exploring the immense architecture and art, ancient religions, and precious gemstones and metals discovered - what can we learn about this impressive wonder of the world, and what does it tell us about the Maya?Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you!You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You may have heard the many myths about the life and exploits of Marco Polo- was he really the one who brought ice cream and spaghetti from his travels on the Silk Road from the court of Kublai Khan, where he served as a diplomat? Almost as soon as he wrote his memoir, people doubted the wild stories of his travels across Europe and Asia.His life and myth are unravelled on today's podcast with Laurence Bergreen, historian and author of 'Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu' who followed in the footsteps of Polo, travelling the old Silk Road all the way to China, to see for himself if the stories of the great Venetian merchant were true…Produced by Mariana Des Forges, sound design and editing by Dougal Patmore.PLEASE VOTE NOW! for Dan Snow's History Hit in the British Podcast Awards Listener's Choice category here. Every vote counts, thank you!Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you!You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rome has attracted aspiring conquerors and leaders for millennia, not just as a great metropolis, but as an idea. It has long been a symbol of military might and universal power, defined by political and religious authority as well as great feats of engineering that would leave indelible marks on the regions it conquered, and overshadow empire builders for centuries to come. Dan is joined by Simon Elliott, a historian, archaeologist and author of 'The Legacy of Rome', to discuss how the experience of being part of the Roman world is still felt in the modern day.This episode was produced by Beth Donaldson and edited by Dougal Patmore.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join Dan as he rollicks through the tumultuous life and rise to power of Henry Tudor, the man who would ultimately become King Henry VII of England. Step back to the late 15th century, a period marked by conflict, political manoeuvring and alliances as a young Henry Tudor, having spent much of his early life hiding out in France, honed his political skills and formed alliances, eventually rising from obscurity to challenge the might of the ruling Plantagenet dynasty.This explainer isn't just dates and battles; it's a lively exploration of the larger-than-life personalities, intricate plots, and the human drama that shaped the Tudor dynasty's rise to power.Written by Dan Snow and edited by Dougal Patmore.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1974, a pioneer of the SAS and master of military deception, Dudley Clarke, passed away. His death went almost entirely unnoticed by the British public, despite the fact that he carried out some of the most dramatic deception campaigns of World War Two. He waged a covert war of trickery and misdirection across Europe, which ended up getting him arrested by Spanish authorities while dressed as a woman. He also helped to found one of the world's preeminent special forces; the Special Air Service, or the SAS. His contribution is often overlooked, but without it, the SAS may well have never existed.So who was Dudley Clarke? What were some of the most audacious acts of subterfuge he carried out? And why is he not better known? Dan is joined by former SAS Troop Commander and author of Speed, Aggression, Surprise: The Secret Origins of the SAS, Tom Petch, to answer these questions and more.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.PLEASE VOTE NOW! for Dan Snow's History Hit in the British Podcast Awards Listener's Choice category here. Every vote counts, thank you!We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The name Ivan the Terrible is synonymous with brutality and ruthlessness. While Western scholars insist that the first crowned Tsar of all Russia did create a policy of mass repression and execution, others claim Ivan’s name has been tarnished by Western travellers and writers. How then should his complex and fascinating personality be understood?  In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb examines the evidence with Dr. Charles Halperin, one of the world's foremost historians of Ivan the Terrible.This episode was edited by Joseph Knight and produced by Rob Weinberg.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Golden Age of Hollywood was a place of pioneers, storytellers, ideas, westward expansion, money, politics and scandal- the story of Hollywood is the story of America itself. At the turn of the 20th century, Hollywood in Los Angeles was a dusty country hamlet, but soon bright young things came from across the country and even the Atlantic to seek fame and fortune. One of them was Charlie Chaplin who became famous for his iconic Little Tramp character with his baggy trousers, bending cane and toothbrush moustache. In a lot of ways The Tramp was a mirror of Chaplin’s own life- born into abject poverty in London, looking for something better, standing up for those without a voice. But Chaplin was of course a more complicated, darker character- his personal life was controversial and troubling- he had a number of relationships and marriages with teenagers whom he often met as children starring in his films. At the height of his fame, he was on the FBI's most wanted list under instruction from J Edgar Hoover and was eventually exiled from the USA, where he'd made his name.It’s a long and complicated life and to help Dan untangle it is Paul Duncan, author of ‘The Charlie Chaplin Archives’. He's one of very few whose ever been granted full access to the archives of the Chaplin estate in Paris and Switzerland...Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 from Renaissance theories about how society should be organised and what civilisation is. Dan is joined by David Wengrow, Professor of Comparative Archaeology at University College London and co-author of 'The Dawn of Everything' to challenge some of these assumptions and show that they were founded on critiques of European society. David shines a light on the great variety of ancient civilisations, the different models of society they offer and how that might influence us today.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you!You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

WWII Britain's Home Guard wasn't a bumbling dad's army but in fact included factions of highly trained silent killers and spies hiding out in secret bunkers, caves and safe houses all over the country. The Auxiliary Unit was given a deliberately boring name to disguise the top secret mission they'd been tasked with- if and when the Germans invaded the British Isles, they would have to stop the first waves of soldiers, taking them down as they moved inland, often in brutal and secretive ways. They were locals chosen from and posted around coastal areas who knew the land particularly well and most went to their graves never revealing what they'd been a part of so we're only really just learning about them now.Today, Andy Chatterton and his organisation Coleshill Auxiliary Research Team are mapping the bunkers left by this secretive unit and those used by Special Operations Wireless Operators who were posted in similar areas in the same sorts of hideouts. Many were sealed straight after the war with everything inside, while others have collapsed, revealing their secrets to the outside world. Andy got word there must be some hidden in the New Forest where Dan lives, so for this episode, Dan and Andy are joined by New Forest historian Marc Heighway as they go bunker hunting. The team come across some very promising discoveries...If you've found something you think could be or relate to an Auxiliary bunker, get in touch with Andy and his team at https://www.staybehinds.com/contact-usProduced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.Image Credit: “Parham airfield, Museum of the British Resistance Organisation - Auxiliary unit operational base” by Gaius Cornelius is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.02.0.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Leader of the Chinese Communist Party from 1949 until his death in 1976, Chairman Mao reshaped the nation's course of history, founding the People's Republic of China and implementing sweeping socio-political reforms that dramatically changed the country. However, his rule was marred with controversies and disastrous policies, leading to widespread suffering, trauma, and ultimately the deaths of millions.In the first episode of Warfare's Dictators series, James is joined by author Jung Chang to talk about her and her family's experiences under Mao's rule, and to help shed light on who exactly Mao was. Looking at the devastating loss' she faced during the Cultural Revolution, her eventual move to the UK, and how Mao's political relationships reached even Russia - what legacy has Mao's rule left on not only China but the rest of the globe?PLEASE VOTE NOW! for Dan Snow's History Hit in the British Podcast Awards Listener's Choice category here. Every vote counts, thank you!Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Queen Elizabeth I, Gloriana, victor over the Spanish and patron of the arts ushered in a Golden Age for England. But she was also Queen of Ireland, and her campaigns to control her Catholic subjects in the late 17th century led to some of the bloodiest battles of her reign. The Nine Years' War as it came to be known would bring the English treasury to the edge of bankruptcy, and submit Ireland's population to genocidal violence.So what was Elizabeth's claim to Ireland? How did Irish leaders respond to English incursions? And how far can we trace the roots of partition and the Troubles to this period? On this episode Dan is joined by James O'Neill, a historian of Irish history, to discuss the conflict and its legacy.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.PLEASE VOTE NOW! for Dan Snow's History Hit in the British Podcast Awards Listener's Choice category here. Every vote counts, thank you!We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the recent Indiana Jones: The Dial of Destiny movie, the Antikythera Mechanism is used for time travel but in reality it was actually more of a celestial calculator- to track and predict astronomical phenomena. It was discovered by a group of Greek sponge divers in 1901 as they explored the site of an ancient shipwreck that dated back to the first century BCE. Among the wreckage on the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea, they found a complex arrangement of gears, wheels, and dials housed in a wooden case. It has astounded archaeologists, scientists and historians for years. It challenges our previous understanding of ancient technological capabilities and reveals the sophisticated level of scientific knowledge possessed by the ancient Greeks.Dan is joined by Professor Tony Freeth, a man who understandings this astonishing object better than most- he is a founding member of the Antikythera Mechanism Research Project and an Honorary Professor at University College, London. He believes that the Antikythera Mechanism, may be an iteration of something designed by the great Greek inventor Archimedes, decades earlier...Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you!You can take part in our listener survey here.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The first three days of July 1863 saw the bloodiest single battle of the American Civil War. This clash between the Unionist and Confederate armies quickly became the stuff of legend.But what actually happened at Gettysburg? Professor Glenn LaFantasie joins Don for this episode to take us through the key figures in the battle, their strategies and whether this really was the turning point of the Civil War.Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Teän Stewart-Murray. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you!You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is it possible that the Taliban of today are more fanatical than before? American and Coalition troops recently fought a bitter, 20-year war against them following the seismic events of 9/11. On August the 15th we mark the end of that conflict, two years after the last Western troops left Kabul. The withdrawal was chaotic and confused, and left the Taliban in control of Afghanistan.So what does the future of Afghanistan look like? And is the Taliban of today the same as the one that emerged from the Soviet occupation of the 1980s? Dan is joined by journalist and author Ahmed Rashid to discuss the origins, rise and future of the Taliban.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and James Hickmann, and edited by Dougal Patmore.PLEASE VOTE NOW! for Dan Snow's History Hit in the British Podcast Awards Listener's Choice category here. Every vote counts, thank you!Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you!You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It is believed clans started to emerge in Scotland around 1100AD and were originally the descendants of kings – if not of demigods from Irish mythology. As well as kinship and a sense of identity and belonging, being part of a clan was an important part of survival throughout the centuries that would follow.Scotland’s leading cultural historian, Professor Murray Pittock, joins Dan on the podcast to share the history of the clans from their Celtic origins through to the Clearances and the present day. They discuss the structure of clans, how the system collapsed and the paradox of how global clanship has become today.This episode was produced by Hannah Ward and edited by Dougal Patmore.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.PLEASE VOTE NOW! for Dan Snow's History Hit in the British Podcast Awards Listener's Choice category here. Every vote counts, thank you!We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dan tells the story of Archimedes, the ancient Greek inventor whose weapons of war protected the town of Syracuse from a Roman army. The Romans laid siege to Syracuse between 213 and 212 BC, attacking by sea and land, but were repelled by the city's defences. The story goes that these included fantastical devices like the Claw of Archimedes, and a 'Death Ray' that would set ships ablaze. Eventually the stalemate broke and the Romans captured the city, but Archimedes' name would survive through the centuries.So who exactly was Archimedes? Can we believe these tall tales of ancient invention? And why did this siege happen anyway? Dan traces the course of Archimedes' life against the backdrop of the Punic Wars to answer these questions, and more.Produced by Dan Snow and edited by Dougal Patmore.PLEASE VOTE NOW! for Dan Snow's History Hit in the British Podcast Awards Listener's Choice category here. Every vote counts, thank you!Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you!You can take part in our listener survey here.PLEASE VOTE NOW! for Dan Snow's History Hit in the British Podcast Awards Listener's Choice category here. Every vote counts, thank you! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lord Daniel Finkelstein recounts stories from his parents' remarkable lives. His mother Mirjam Wiener survived the Nazi concentration camps, and his father Ludwik Finkelstein lived through a Soviet gulag. Daniel tells Dan how these remarkable people survived the horrors of both regimes, and imparts some of the lessons that they learnt along the way.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.PLEASE VOTE NOW! for Dan Snow's History Hit in the British Podcast Awards Listener's Choice category here. Every vote counts, thank you!We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Genghis Khan roughly translates to 'Universal Ruler', a fitting name for the most famous nomadic conqueror to have ever lived. He was born as Temüjin, outcast by his tribe as a young child and left to fend for his family in the wild. But the determined young man would go on to unite the Mongolian clans and through warfare, trade and diplomacy, carve out the largest contiguous land empire to have ever existed. So what did the world that he was born into look like? How did he unite the rival clans, and go on to dominate the 13th century world?In the second episode of this two-part series on nomadic conquerors, Professor Kenneth W. Harl of Tulane University takes us through this remarkable story, and compares Genghis' life with that of Attila.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.PLEASE VOTE NOW! for Dan Snow's History Hit in the British Podcast Awards Listener's Choice category here. Every vote counts, thank you!Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you!  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Known to the Romans as the 'Scourge of God', Attila the Hun brought chaos to the world around him. He and his armies plundered, pillaged and looted their way across vast swathes of Europe, ultimately contributing to the fall of the Western Roman Empire. So who was Attila, what made him so successful, and was his success built on more than just bloodshed?In the first episode of this two-part series on nomadic conquerors, we're diving into the world of Attila the Hun. To talk us through his life, Dan is joined by Professor Kenneth W. Harl, an expert in ancient history. Tune in tomorrow to hear the second episode in this series, on the famed conqueror from the Central Asian steppes, Genghis Khan.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.PLEASE VOTE NOW! for Dan Snow's History Hit in the British Podcast Awards Listener's Choice category here. Every vote counts, thank you!Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you!You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Did the "heist of the century" really happen the way the robbers say it did? In the summer of 1963, a gang of masked robbers executed a daring plan to intercept a Royal Mail train carrying millions of pounds in cash. Operating in the quiet countryside of Buckinghamshire, England, the gang stopped the locomotive in its tracks, overpowering the train's crew and escaping with an astronomical haul. But the robbery itself was just the beginning - what came after - the most wanted men on the run, the jailbreak, the betrayals, fake identities, the surreptitious flights to Latin America and the manhunt across continents - the audacity of it all captured the public's imagination for decades.But with each grand retelling, we get further from the facts of what really happened. Joining Dan is the author of 'The Great Train Robbery: Crime of the Century', Nick Russell-Pavier who says that they may have pulled off the heist itself but their lack of planning for the aftermath was their downfall, and a common pattern in audacious heists like this and the Hatton Garden Diamond heist.Dan also hears from Colin Mackenzie who secured one of the scoops of the century when he tracked down train robber Ronnie Biggs in Brazil who was enjoying the beaches of Rio De Janeiro as a minor celebrity and fugitive.Produced by Mariana Des Forges, edited and sound designed by Dougal Patmore.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.PLEASE VOTE NOW! for Dan Snow's History Hit in the British Podcast Awards Listener's Choice category here. Every vote counts, thank you!If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you!You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The ninth-century Danish king and warrior Ragnar Lothbrok became notorious again most recently through the TV series The Vikings. But what do we know about the real Ragnar Lothbrok? In this episode of Gone Medieval, Matt Lewis finds out from Professor Carolyne Larrington, author of The Norse Myths That Shape the Way We Think.  This episode was edited and produced by Joseph Knight.The scriptwriter was Lucy Davidson.The voice actor was Kimberly ParkerThe Senior Producer was Elena Guthrie.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.PLEASE VOTE NOW! for Dan Snow's History Hit in the British Podcast Awards Listener's Choice category here. Every vote counts, thank you!We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In war, leadership matters. Poorly trained or outnumbered armies have often been led to victory by the sheer brilliance of their leaders. Celebrated or criticised, loved or hated, those who forged their legacies on the battlefield are some of the most famous people in human history. But what makes them great? Is it the reverence they inspire in their troops, or their aptitude for logistics and supply? And how did their legacies influence one another?For this episode, Dan is joined by an anonymous guest, author of the blog The Angry Staff Officer and commentator on all things military history. By studying the achievements of everyone from Alexander the Great to Dwight D. Eisenhower, they'll put forward their picks for history's greatest commanders.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.PLEASE VOTE NOW! for Dan Snow's History Hit in the British Podcast Awards Listener's Choice category here. Every vote counts, thank you!We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who was the real good King Wenceslas? The Duke of Bohemia who was made famous by the Christmas carol was also a pivotal figure of European history. He was the first modern Christian Czech ruler who brought the region into being and established it within a developing Europe. He is revered as an Arthurian figure in the Czech Republic today and his importance and reputation extend far beyond the Christmas carol.Dan is joined by Dr Eleanor Janega, a University lecturer and History Hit favourite. She is a lover of Czech and Bohemian history. We are very excited to be welcoming Eleanor to the History Hit family! She is joining Matt Lewis over on the Gone Medieval podcast as his new co-host from August 1stProduced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.PLEASE VOTE NOW! for Dan Snow's History Hit in the British Podcast Awards Listener's Choice category here. Every vote counts, thank you!Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you!You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The divided Korean peninsula is the last remnant of the Cold War: South Korea is a vibrant democracy, a strong market economy, and home to a world-renowned culture. North Korea is ruled by the most authoritarian regime in the world, plagued by famine and poverty, best known for its nuclear weapons. These two countries are diametrically opposed but also intrinsically connected by their long shared ethnic history. How was this country split by the great powers after the Japanese occupation and how did they take such divergent paths?An armistice to the bloody fighting of the Korean War was drawn 70 years ago - it was a call for peace not an ending. As such, the Koreas are still technically at war with each other. To untangle the intricate and fascinating history of the relationship and divide between North and South Korea, Dan is joined by Dr Ramon Pacheco Pardo- Professor of International Relations at Kings College London and Dr Victor Cha, Professor of Government at Georgetown University.Their book is 'Korea: A New History of South and North' Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.PLEASE VOTE NOW! for Dan Snow's History Hit in the British Podcast Awards Listener's Choice category here. Every vote counts, thank you!Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsely, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you!You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The new Oppenheimer movie has everyone asking questions about the atomic bombs dropped on Japan in 1945 - were two bombs necessary? Would the war have ended without it? Was there an ulterior motive? Would the Americans have dropped a third if they had it?At the end of WWII, the Manhattan Project demonstrated the power humanity had harnessed for destruction. When the uranium bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on the 6th of August 1945, city residents saw a flash of light and a loud boom- virtually everything within a 2-mile radius was destroyed. Those who survived the initial impact were then caught in subsequent firestorms and after that, many succumbed to radiation poisoning. It's estimated 1 in 3 were killed. 3 days later, Nagasaki suffered the same fate.At the time, it was said it was necessary to end the war and to show why these weapons should never be used again. But is that true? To answer some of the questions we've all been asking after learning about Oppenheimer, Dan is joined by Professor Paul Poast from the Department of Political Science at the University of Chicago who explains how the decision was really made to drop the bombs, what would have happened if they hadn't and reveals that the Manhattan Project was actually more about impressing Stalin than destroying Japan.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.PLEASE VOTE NOW! for Dan Snow's History Hit in the British Podcast Awards Listener's Choice category here. Every vote counts, thank you!We'd love to hear from you- what do you want to hear an episode on? You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Benito Mussolini, the Italian fascist dictator met a gruesome end during the final days of World War II when he and his mistress were executed and hung upside down as a symbol of the end of Fascist rule in Italy. But, his fate had been sealed much earlier.When Italy's fascist regime aligned with Nazi Germany, Mussolini's grip on power seemed unshakeable. However, as the tides of war turned against him, his leadership faced unprecedented challenges. Military defeats in North Africa and the Balkans weakened his regime, and public support waned as Italians questioned the direction he was taking the country. As the Allies launched a daring invasion of Sicily, the cracks in Mussolini's rule deepened. Fearing complete ruin, King Victor Emmanuel III took a bold step and dismissed Mussolini from his position as Prime Minister in July 1943. But this was only the beginning of the dramatic events that followed.Unraveling the downfall of one of Europe's most feared dictators is Dr Christian Goeschel, Reader in Modern European History at the esteemed University of Manchester. He and Dan shed light on the interplay between the power, betrayal, and consequences of Europe's wartime authoritarian regimes.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal PatmoreDiscover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.PLEASE VOTE NOW! for Dan Snow's History Hit in the British Podcast Awards Listener's Choice category here. Every vote counts, thank you!We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From Boudicca to Ukrainian snipers, battlefields have always contained a surprising number of women.Today Kate is joined Betwixt the Sheets by Sarah Percy to get to the bottom of why women were allowed to be astronauts a full thirty years before they were allowed to fight in combat.From women who disguised themselves as men in order to be allowed to fight, to the Soviet all-female regiments who Nazi Germany learnt to fear, they'll be discussing fearless women warriors on the frontline.You can find out more about Sarah's book here: https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/sarah-percy/forgotten-warriors/9781529344318/Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Known among the Nazis as "the girl with the red hair," Hannie Schaft was a resistance fighter so deadly that Adolf Hitler personally ordered her capture. She was a 24-year-old Dutch student when the Nazi forces occupied the Netherlands in 1940. Fuelled by a desire to protect her country, Hannie became an integral part of the Dutch Resistance, at a time when speaking out was dangerous and resistance could cost lives, Hannie displayed unyielding courage and determination. She and other women fighters were able to transport weapons in bicycle baskets, plant bombs and eventually lure Nazi officials and conspirators into honeytraps before assassinating them, as most didn't believe women were capable of committing such acts. She was eventually caught, tortured and executed.Her life and bravery were extraordinary and historian and historical novelist Buzzy Jackson joins Dan to tell Hannie's incredible story. Her life is the subject of Buzzy's new novel 'The Girl with the Red Hair.'Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal PatmoreDiscover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you!You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On a summer morning in 1945, a device known simply as 'Gadget' was detonated. An enormous explosion tore a crater into the New Mexico desert, melting sand into radioactive green glass and sending a mushroom cloud 7.5 miles into the sky. This was the first controlled detonation of a nuclear weapon, and its mastermind was the American theoretical physicist, J Robert Oppenheimer.In this episode, Dan is joined by writer and artist Ben Platts-Mills to hear about the man who orchestrated one of the most extraordinary scientific developments in human history. What kind of person was he? How did he go from a shy, studious child to a charismatic celebrity scientist? And what did he think about the perils of the weapons he worked so hard to create?Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

They can survive in lava for half an hour and accelerations of 3,400 Gs. Their beacons can be detected 20,000 feet beneath the waves. Most shocking of all - they aren't actually black! (They're bright orange = the least common colour in nature.)Today it's the invention of the iconic Black Box (or Flight Recorder). We'll meet David Warren, the Australian who invented them. We'll learn how they work and try to fathom the strange fascination they hold.Edited by Tom Delargy, Produced by Freddy Chick, Senior Producer is Charlotte LongDiscover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you!You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Russian history is defined by the rise and fall of favourites. Peter the Great had Menshikov, and Nicholas II had Rasputin. It's part of the architecture of Russian regimes that those close to the ruler enjoy immense power and influence. But sometimes, they overstep the mark.For this episode, Dan is joined by the renowned historian of Russia, Simon Sebag Montefiore. To help us better understand the relationship between Putin and Prigozhin, Simon sheds some light on the way Russian power works at its centre.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Did Napoleon really come from nothing and conquer everything? The release of the trailer for Ridley Scott's new epic biopic film has created hot debate among fans of the famous Frenchman everywhere. In this episode from the archive Dan talks to Adam Zamoyski, a biographer of Napoleon about his rise to become one of the most famous and fascinating figures in history.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emerging around the 3rd century CE and later designated official adversaries of the Roman Empire, the Picts wreaked havoc across the northern fringes of Roman Britain. But due to their limited presence in the archaeological record and the complexities of multiple kings, kingdoms, and languages involved, unravelling the true identity of the Picts and understanding why Rome harboured such animosity towards them can be challenging. So what sources can archaeologists turn to, and what does it show us about ancient Scotland?In this episode, Tristan welcomes Professor Gordon Noble from the University of Aberdeen to shed light on the enigmatic culture of the Picts. By examining Imperial sources, ancient artwork, and even the earliest known form of daily 'tweets', what insights can we gather about the Picts? And why have they been obscured by the passage of time?Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Cold War was defined by the antagonism between two world superpowers: the United States and the Soviet Union. They relied on proxy wars, espionage, disinformation, assassinations and sabotage to undermine one another as part of a greater ideological battle between Western democracy and Communism.We typically think that the Cold War ran from the end of the Second World War until the collapse of the Soviet Union. But our guest today sees it quite differently. Calder Walton, author of Spies: The Epic Intelligence War Between East and West, argues that the Cold War is not a vestige of the past but part of an ongoing, 100-year struggle between East and West. How has this war changed over the years? And what does it mean for the future of Russian-Western relations? Listen to this episode to find out.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the autumn of 1909, the American explorer Frederick Cook arrived in Copenhagen, claiming to have become the first person to reach the North Pole. His dramatic return had been eagerly anticipated, but one young journalist was skeptical. Philip Gibbs contested Cook's version of events, calling him a fraud and starting a public relations war that captured the attention of the Western world.So was Cook a charlatan, bent on fame and fortune? Or was Gibbs merely trying to stir up scandal and intrigue? Dan is joined by Richard Evans, author of The Explorer and the Journalist, to find out which of the two emerged from this scandal with their reputation intact.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The most audacious deception operation of WWII. On the 30th of April, 1943, the corpse of a 'Major Martin' washed up near the Spanish city of Huelva. On his body, Spanish officials found secret documents detailing an upcoming Allied invasion of Greece. This was the moment that the Axis powers had been waiting for, and the Germans began redirecting much-needed divisions to Greece and the Balkans. They would discover only too late that this was all an elaborate feint, conceived by British Intelligence to obscure the Allies' real target - Sicily. By mid-July, the Allies had landed in southern Italy and the liberation of Nazi-occupied Europe was well underway.So how exactly did its architects create this complex web of misdirection and misinformation? And can it really be true that the success of the Sicily invasion came down to this one act of deception? In this Explainer episode, Dan takes us through the twists and turns of this audacious and unorthodox act of subterfuge.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dan explains Operation Citadel. In July and August of 1943, it was the last major attempt by the Nazis to turn the tide of the war in the East. Millions of soldiers and thousands of tanks would go head-to-head across the vast steppes around the Russian city of Kursk. The Soviets would emerge victorious from the bloody fighting and carry the momentum westwards, eventually reaching Berlin in 1945. So why did the Germans choose to undertake an offensive at Kursk? And how exactly did the Soviets manage to weather the storm?In this Explainer, Dan delves into the preparations for the battle and the fighting itself, drawing on first-hand accounts to bring us closer to this crucial turning point in the Second World War.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

75 years ago this week, the National Health Service was born. Launched by Aneurin Bevan on the 5th of July, 1948, it revolutionised healthcare in the UK by providing free medical treatment for all. Today, it is one of the country's most beloved yet divisive institutions. But how did the NHS come into being in the first place? And how has it shaped our lives in the 75 years since?Dan is joined by Jenny Crane, a lecturer in Health Geography at the University of Bristol to tell us about how the NHS was created, and the key characters who shaped it along the way.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From the rings on our fingers to coins in our pockets and, for a select few, the medals hanging around our necks. Gold is one of the most coveted metals in the world.Gold still has the power to change lives, but in the mid-19th century, it also sparked the largest migration in the history of the United States.Don is joined by Professor Mark Eifler, author of 'The California Gold Rush: The Stampede that Changed the Nation', to find out how gold was discovered in California and who benefitted from it.Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Siobhan Dale. The senior Producer was Charlotte Long.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you!You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dan Explains the first day of The Somme which remains the bloodiest day in the history of the British army; a symbol of the senseless carnage of the First World War. At 7:30 a.m. on July 1 1916, the British soldiers climbed out of their trenches and advanced towards the German lines. They were met with a bombardment of machine gun fire, artillery barrages, and a hail of bullets from the well-entrenched German troops. It was a bloodbath.It wasn't supposed to happen like that- beforehand, the British had spent several days bombarding the German lines, believing they would destroy their enemy trenches and barbed wire defences, making the British advance straightforward and almost painless. They didn't know just how well-fortified the Germans were in their deep dugouts. When the bombardment stopped, the Germans manned their defences, waiting for the British to walk right into their line of fire.In chilling detail, Dan retells the astonishing story of that fateful first day of The Somme- determining what really happened in the days leading up to it and what the men endured when they went 'over the top', using the diaries of the men who were there.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited and sound designed by Dougal Patmore.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.We'd love to hear from you- what do you want to hear an episode on? You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Toto Koopman was remarkable; she was a high society socialite who risked her life wining and dining with Italian blackshirts in order to gather information for the Dutch intelligence service in WWII. When she refused to work as a spy for the Italians, she was thrown in a detention camp. She escaped and hid in the mountains. When she was captured again she was taken to Ravensbrück concentration camp. There, got a role at the hospital by pretending she was a nurse; she risked her own life forging documents to save the lives of women destined for the gas chamber. She was truly unapologetic about who she was, individualistic and brave. Before the war, she'd defied society's expectations as a Vogue cover model working with Coco Chanel by having high-profile relationships with both men and women - including Hollywood star Talulah Bankhead and newspaper baron Lord Beaverbrook. So why have most of us never heard of her?In this episode, author and historical novelist Maryka Biaggio gives a roaring account of the incredible life, achievements and character of Toto Koopman, a story we should all know.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsely, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you!You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why do we call the Great Fire of London in 1666 “great”? Was it because of the significant challenge it posed to authorities and residents as they sought to bring it under control? Was it because of the extent of its devastation? Or was it because it occurred during an eventful couple of years when plague and war also threatened lives?In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to historian Rebecca Rideal, author of 1666: Plague, War and Hellfire, whose research has drawn on little-known sources to set the Great Fire of London in the broader context of the political, social and economic events of the time. This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the 24th of June, 2023, Yevgeny Prigozhin and his paramilitary group Wagner carried out what appeared to be an attempted coup in Russia. In a seismic turn of events, his mercenaries marched across the Russian border without resistance and seized key military installations in the city of Rostov-on-Don. While much of what followed remains uncertain, it is clear that this was the most serious challenge to Putin's authority since he came to power in 1999.Dan is joined by Alexander Watson, an expert on Russia and the First World War, to discuss the historical context for coups in Russia.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 20th century heralded a revolution in how wars are fought. From military strategy and planning to the weapons and equipment used on the ground, modern militaries have radically changed how they operate. So what major changes have there been? And what is the purpose of war in the first place?Dan is joined today by Mike Martin, a conflict scholar who specialises in modern warfare, to discuss its evolution and development over the past century.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Tomos Delargy.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The journey of the Empire Windrush that docked in Essex with 1,027 passengers & at least two stowaways on 22nd June 1948 has come to define a whole generation of people who arrived in Britain for two decades from the Caribbean until the 1970s. The 802 Caribbean citizens onboard were the first of 500,000 Commonwealth citizens who settled in Britain having been invited to help rebuild the "mother country". Despite having equal rights to British citizenship most faced discrimination, prejudice and abuse. Many had fought for Britain in the war just years earlier and yet when they arrived were often denied jobs, housing and access to public spaces like pubs and dancehalls. But communities among new settlers thrived, arrivals brought with them a rich heritage that shaped British culture from music and literature to food and sport. Communities pooled their resources to buy houses, set up community centres, services and support networks and fought for the rights they were promised.In 2018, the rights of the Windrush Generation entered the news again when they and their descendants became the targets of mistreatment by the UK government, resulting in the denial of their rights, deportation threats, and significant harm to their lives and communities. Dan is joined for the 75th anniversary of Windrush Day by Dr Juanita Cox, who is a research fellow on Nationality, Identity and Belonging at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies. She unravels the long history of the Windrush Generation, their struggles and impact on Britain and the scandal with help from the voices of that generation themselves, recorded as part of her oral history project, ‘The Windrush Scandal in a Transnational and Commonwealth Context‘.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you!You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1912 Titanic departed on her first and last voyage from Southampton, sinking over 2 miles to the bottom of the dark North Atlantic Ocean, around 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland. It has captured the imaginations of adults and children alike for over a century since the wreck was discovered- broken in two, but largely intact by explorer Bob Ballard in 1985. Since then, people from all over the world have been desperate to see the slowly degrading wreck on the ocean floor, some paying in the hundreds of thousands to make the trip down.Currently, the world watches as organisations and countries work together to try and locate a submersible carrying tourists that disappeared in the early hours of an expedition on Sunday. Titanic expert Tim Maltin joins Dan to talk about Titanic tourism, what the perilous journey down to it is like, the state of the wreck and its role as a gravesite for those who perished in the sinking. He also describes the astonishing things Bob Ballard saw when he laid eyes on the wreck for the first time - the swinging chandeliers and the telephone set from which the final distress calls were made compared with what people might see today.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsely, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you!You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode brings the marriage of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother to life, from the uproar of King Edward VIIIs abdication to the challenges of the Second World War. How did they shore up public faith in the monarchy? And how did they raise their daughters through such an uncertain period?Dan is joined by Sally Bedell Smith, a leading historian of the monarchy and author of George VI and Elizabeth: The Marriage That Saved the Monarchy. She was granted special access by Queen Elizabeth II to her parents' letters and diaries and shed some light on these questions and more.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Tomos Delargy.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pride month happens in June in commemoration of the Stonewall Uprising that took place in the summer of 1969 after police undertook a routine raid on an LGBTQ+ bar in New York City and instead of submitting to the usual mistreatment, its patrons resisted. The unrest continued for several nights with clashes between LGBTQ+ individuals, their allies and the police. It escalated with protestors throwing bottles, bricks, and other objects at the police, who responded with force.The story of Stonewall has become something of a mythology. Dan is joined by award-winning broadcaster and writer Matthew Todd who untangles the many threads of hearsay and weaves the facts back together into an incredible story of community resilience and determination to fight back against injustice and oppression. The Stonewall Uprising marked a significant turning point in the LGBTQ+ rights movement in the US and worldwide but was just the beginning. As Matt explains, the history of Pride is about so much more than just what happened at the Stonewall Inn.If you're struggling with any of the issues raised in this episode, you can find help here: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/Produced by Mariana Des Forges and James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more.Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you!You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For the first time in 18 years, the Declaration of Arbroath - an iconic document in the story of the struggle for Scottish independence in the 14th century - will go on public display. Dated 6 April 1320, and written by the barons and freeholders on behalf of the Kingdom of Scotland, the Declaration asks Pope John XXII to recognise Scotland's independence and to persuade Edward II of England to end hostilities against the Scots. In this episode of Gone Medieval, Matt Lewis finds out more from Dr. Alice Blackwell, Dr. Alan Borthwick and Prof. Dauvit Broun.The Declaration of Arbroath is on display from 3 June until 2 July 2023 at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh: https://www.nms.ac.uk/declarationThis episode was edited by Joseph Knight and produced by Rob Weinberg.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1740, the Royal Navy ship The Wager set sail for the Pacific to take part in the War of Jenkins' Ear. The unfortunate ship was separated from the fleet and, after pulverising storms and outbreaks of scurvy, ended up sinking near a small island off the coast of Chile.Dan is joined by David Grann, author of the bestselling book The Wager, to tell this tale of shipwreck and mutiny on the high seas.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the 6th of June, 2023, an explosion tore through the Kakhovka Dam in Ukraine. A torrent of water cascaded downriver, flooding towns and villages, displacing thousands, and causing a catastrophic ecological disaster. Many observers suggest that this was a deliberate act of sabotage by the Russian occupiers - if true, then this would not be the first time that an army has destroyed critical infrastructure to gain the upper hand on the battlefield. Neither would it be the first time that water has been used as a weapon.Dan is joined by historian Frank McDonough, an expert on the Third Reich to unravel any parallels between what we're seeing today in Ukraine and the 'scorched earth' policies of Nazi Germany in WWII.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges is perhaps the most accomplished classical musician that you've never heard of. A composer, soldier and champion fencer, this episode traces his life from the French colony of Guadeloupe to the concert halls of Paris and the battlefields of the French Revolution.So how did a man of mixed heritage overcome the prejudices of the day? And what was the significance of his achievements at the time? Dan is joined by Stephen Williams, director of the acclaimed 2023 biographical drama Chevalier, to talk about his life and the importance of remembering it.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The British Empire was one of the most influential and far-reaching empires in history. Dan and his guest journalist and author Sathnam Sanghera remember school lessons on the small island that rose to global dominance. From the 16th century to the 20th century, the British Empire spanned continents, encompassing vast territories and diverse cultures, controlling a quarter of the planet. But, the way we've been taught about the Empire hasn't always been the full story and today historians are building a more complex and thorough picture of what the British Empire was. Sathnam sheds light on the darker aspects of the empire's history - colonisation, slavery and exploitation and Dan confronts some difficult truths about his own family's history. Together, they consider how we teach it to the next generation in a way that acknowledges everything- the good, the bad and the difficult.Sathnam Sanghera's new children's book is called 'Stolen History'.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Warfare, host James Patton Rogers is joined by Tony Phelan and Susanna Fogel, creators of the new TV series A Small Light, which explores the remarkable true story of Miep Gies, who hid Anne Frank and her family during the Holocaust. The trio discuss the character of Gies and how she went from Otto Frank's employee to hiding his whole family in the secret annexe for two years.A Small Light is currently streaming on Disney+, with two episodes released each week.You can take part in our listener survey here.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 6th of June, 1944 was the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany and the pinnacle of the 'special relationship' between Britain and the United States. Hundreds of thousands of Allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day and fought side by side to liberate Europe. But in the decades since the world has changed drastically - great powers have risen and fallen, and geopolitical realities have shifted along with them. How has the relationship fared through these tumultuous years? And just how special was it in the first place?Dan is joined for this episode by Sam Edwards, an expert in Anglo-American relations and the memory of war. By discussing D-Day and the commemoration of it, they try to make sense of the fabled special relationship and figure out if it has stood the test of time.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An ejector seat propels a human at speeds reaching 200 miles in less than a second. It can save a life... or snap a neck. John Nichol remembers pulling the ejector handle in his Tornado aircraft flying at over 500mph above the Iraqi desert, launching him back down to earth. It saved his life, but he wasn't able to recover in a hospital because he was captured and taken straight to an Iraqi prison. This makes him the most appropriate guest to take Dan through the history of the invention of the ejector seat, how it works and what it was like to eject. He delves into the incredible history of the Martin Baker ejector seat, still being made in London today and astonishing stories of the first ejection in combat, of American soldiers ejecting out of burning aircraft over Vietnam in the 80s and how they were all given a second chance at life by ejecting.This episode was produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.His new book is called 'Eject! Eject!'Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Though rarely spoken about, love, lust and sexuality were key to many soldiers' experiences of the Second World War. Veterans might allude to them in their recollections, but what do we know about wartime experiences of sex and sexual identity? And how did this intersect with the soldiers' understandings of masculinity?For this episode that marks the beginning of Pride month, Dan is joined by Luke Turner, author of Men at War: Loving, Lusting, Fighting, Remembering, 1939 - 1945. Luke has assembled a cast of fascinating characters, from a prisoner in a Japanese POW camp who later became an LGBT+ activist, to a gay RAF fighter ace; their stories help to demystify notions of sexuality and masculinity in the Second World War.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and James Hickmann, and edited by Dougal Patmore.You can take part in our listener survey here.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Ancient Romans are often thought of as ahead of their time. They invented concrete, sophisticated road systems and even underfloor heating.But their approach to murder is starkly different to how the modern world recognises it, and frankly, it’s a bit weird. These people saw 26 emperors murdered in one 50-year period and would watch people being killed for entertainment in the Colosseum.Today Kate is Betwixt the Sheets with Emma Southon to talk about murder in Ancient Rome.You can find out more about Emma's book here.WARNING: There is adult content and explicit words in this episode.Senior producer: Charlotte Long. Producer: Sophie Gee. Mixed by Stuart Beckwith.Betwixt the Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society. A podcast by History Hit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For centuries, the Roman Empire commanded unparalleled control over the world around it. It expanded its borders through trade and conquest, sucking resources from the periphery into its thriving centre - Rome. And then, suddenly, everything changed. The Empire entered a state of crisis, and rapidly disintegrated. The West has experienced a similarly dramatic rise and fall over the last 3 centuries, moving from an era of global dominance to one of economic stagnation and political division. But is the decline and fall of empires inevitable? And what can be done to avoid the fate of Rome? In this episode, historian Peter Heather and political economist John Rapley join Dan to compare the West's current crisis with that of Rome, and discuss what comes next.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.You can take part in our listener survey here.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After the death of Chinggis Khan, the founder and first Emperor of the Mongol Empire, the land became the largest contiguous empire in history.The Horde, the western portion of the Mongol empire, was the central node in the Eurasian commercial boom of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries and was a conduit for exchanges across thousands of miles. A force in global development as important as Rome, the Horde left behind a profound legacy in Europe, Russia, Central Asia, and the Middle East, palpable to this day.Marie Favereau, Associate Professor of History at Paris Nanterre University, joins Dan on the podcast. They discuss the Mongols as thinkers who constructed one of the most influential empires in history and how that empire continued to shape, incubate and grow the political cultures it conquered.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From the First World War to the Cold War, conflict in the 20th century has been crucial in shaping England as we know it. This is the final episode of Dan’s epic adventure, taking him deep inside the famous White Cliffs of Dover with Gavin Wright, into the complex warren of tunnels that became the first line of England’s defence in WWII - overlooking the channel for the ships of modern invaders. He discovers how wars on distant frontlines changed life in England, from the very organisation of English society with Dan Todman, to the advent of modern medicine with Tim Cook. He then charts England's course from world wars to the Cold War, learning how the nature of conflict changed and speaking to Julie McDowall about the government's preparations for nuclear armageddon. He ends in York with Kevin Booth, underground once again in what was once a state of the art Cold War nuclear bunker, to look at how technology has changed England and the world.Produced by James Hickmann, Mariana Des Forges, edited and sound design by Dougal Patmore and artwork by Teet Ottin.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Modern England as we know it started in the industrial heart of Ironbridge in Shropshire- now a verdant gorge that once was black with smog, fire and slag heaps. Dan tries his hand at casting iron at one of the last working foundries in the country and gets the scoop on the scandals of Georgian high society with historian Catherine Curzon. The Regency period was a wild time of £15,000 pineapples, the marriage market and the tell-all memoir of a famous courtesan who named and shamed the Duke of Wellington. But the new wealth England experienced came at a price; Dan traces the dark history of Europe’s addiction to sugar and Britain’s slave trade, while actor Paterson Joseph recounts the powerful words of Black Georgians who spoke truth to Britain’s imperial power and fought for its abolition.Dan goes back to the Victorian times at the Blists Hill Living Museum in Telford to discover just how gruelling work at the coalface of the industrial revolution was and how great ideas...and not so great ideas... changed the daily lives of Victorians with the help of Collections Curator Kate Cadman.Produced by Mariana Des Forges. Edited and sound designed by Dougal Patmore and artwork by Teet Ottin.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Tudors were the dynasty that had it all- power, family feuds, sex and scandal. Dan couldn't do a history of England without a hearty helping of our favourite family and for this episode, he's joined in the Elizabethan garden at mighty Kenilworth Castle by Dr Joanne Paul who tells the intricate story of the powerful Queen Elizabeth I and her mutual infatuation with Sir Robert Dudley, to whom she gifted the castle. Meanwhile, pirate expert and historian Angus Konstam delves into tales of pillaging, plundering and the Elizabethan Sea Dogs, who took to the high seas to steal from the Spanish and acquire new lands for England, establishing lost colonies, engaging in slavery and looting along the way. It’s a whistle-stop tour of this period of upheaval in England as Dan makes his way to Boscobel House to see the Royal Oak, the hiding place of Charles II from the parliamentarians after his father was executed by Cromwell’s roundheads in the English Civil War. Produced by Mariana Des Forges and sound-designed and mixed by Dougal Patmore. Artwork by Teet Ottin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Great Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, bloodshed at the battle of Hastings, Bubonic Plague and Roland the celebrity flatulist. As dawn breaks, Dan walks the beach at Pevensey where William the Conqueror and his Norman Invaders landed in 1066, but not before getting a quick lesson from Medieval Historian Dr Levi Roach in what’s always been called the ‘Dark Ages'. Next, Dan swings by Dover Castle to Dover castle to learn about courtly life, clashing knights, princesses and jesters and travels east to the Hastings Battlefield, where Dan narrates a dramatic play- by -play of the most famous fight on English soil.In the 14th century, the invaders didn’t arrive in festooned long-boats but on the backs of rats on merchant ships. Dan ambles through York’s iconic medieval streets and with the help of medical historians Susie Edge and Kevin Goodman, they tell the grisly story of how the plague gripped the city and the nation in the worst pandemic the world had ever seen. Produced by Mariana Des Forges, edited and sound designed by Dougal Patmore. Artwork by Teet Ottin.You can take part in our listener survey here.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dan begins his ultimate historical road trip at the mysterious plinths at Stonehenge in the South-West of England. Dan uncovers how the stones arrived in Salisbury all the way from Western Wales and unravels the ancient burial practices of England’s early humans with English Heritage curator Heather Sabire. He hears how England was once populated by rhinos and elephants from the Natural History Museum’s Professor Chris Stringer. Passing through Old Sarum, the site of an Iron Age hillfort, Dan muses over what we have to thank those Latin invaders for in our daily lives, from our transport network to our baths. The day draws to a close as Dan prepares for the invasion of William the Conqueror at Pevensey, 100 miles east down England’s south coast.Produced by James Hickmann and Mariana Des Forges. Edit and sound design by Dougal Patmore and artwork by Teet OttinYou can take part in our listener survey here.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After speaking to Gone Medieval in April 2022 about the first volume of his magisterial biography of Henry III, David Carpenter promised Matt Lewis that he would pay the podcast a return visit when the second volume came out. Henry III 1258-1272: Reform, Rebellion, Civil War, Settlement picks up the story when Henry is 51 years old. He's been monarch for 42 years and might have been looking forward to a quieter twilight to his reign. But he was in for the rudest of awakenings. This episode was edited by Joseph Knight and produced by Rob Weinberg. Listen to Henry III: England’s Longest Reigning King here: https://shows.acast.com/gone-medieval/episodes/henry-iii-englands-longest-reigning-kingIf you’re enjoying this podcast and are looking for more fascinating Medieval content then subscribe to our Medieval Monday newsletter here.If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download, go to Android or Apple store Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Second World War placed a tremendous strain on Britain's natural resources. One of the most important materials for fuelling the war effort was wood - used to make everything from ammunition boxes to Spitfires, Britain's timber would be harvested at an unprecedented rate during the war. It was a forgotten army of women who stepped up to make this happen, felling trees through freezing winters, splitting logs in hazardous sawmills and managing entire forestry operations.So what did this job entail? How risky was it, and how were these 'Lumberjills' considered by society at that time? Dan is joined by Joanna Foat, author of Lumberjills: Britain's Forgotten Army, to uncover the obscured world of the Women's Timber Corps.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.You can take part in our listener survey here.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Betty Webb is the last known living veteran who worked on both German and Japanese codes at Bletchley Park and Dan got an invite to her 100th birthday party over the weekend. Codebreaking, secrets and dancing were all part of daily life at Bletchley Park, she joined Dan on the podcast back in 2021 to tell him all about her incredible time at the place that enabled the Allies to win WWII.You can take part in our listener survey here.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the summer of 1791, thousands of enslaved people in Saint Domingue, as Haiti was then known, cast aside their shackles and revolted against French colonial rule. The Haitian Revolution lasted for over a decade, and Haiti became the first independent country to be founded by former enslaved people.Among the key leaders of the revolution was a man named Henri Christophe. Born an enslaved person, Christophe served in the American Revolutionary War, fought in the Haitian Revolution and became Haiti's first and only king. But what happened during the Haitian Revolution? And how did Christophe make himself king of the first free black nation in the Americas?Dan is joined by Paul Clammer, author of Black Crown: Henry Christophe, the Haitian Revolution and the Caribbean's Forgotten Kingdom, to guide us through this extraordinary tale.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.You can take part in our listener survey here.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the night of the 16th May, 1943, Operation Chastise commenced - 133 RAF airmen in their iconic Lancaster bombers took off from England, bound for Germany. Armed with specially designed 'bouncing bombs', the highly trained crews were tasked with destroying key installations in Germany's industrial heartland, the Ruhr Valley. It was an audacious mission of unprecedented precision, from which over a third of the airmen would never return. The Dambusters Raid, as it came to be known, is remembered as one of the greatest feats of daring and airmanship in the Second World War. In this two-part Explainer, and with the help of the late, great RAF veteran 'Johnny' Johnson, Dan delves into the true story of this historic operation.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.You can take part in our listener survey here.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the night of the 16th of May, 1943, 133 RAF airmen in their iconic Lancaster bombers took off from England, and headed for Germany. Armed with specially designed 'bouncing bombs', the highly-trained crews were tasked with interrupting German industry by destroying three enormous dams in the Ruhr Valley. It was a risky mission of unprecedented precision, from which over a third of the aircrew would never return. The Dambusters Raid, as it came to be known, is remembered as one of the greatest feats of daring and airmanship in British military history. In this two-part Explainer, and with the help of the late, great RAF veteran Johnny Johnson, Dan delves into the crew's preparations as well as the events of the historic raid itself.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.You can take part in our listener survey here.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tales of feuding monarchs, bloody battles, plagues, explorers and scandals. In a special mini-series dropping from the 22nd May 2023 in this feed, Dan hits the road for a 5-day road trip to bring listeners his favourite parts of England's epic history. He dashes through one million years from Stonehenge to the Hastings battlefield across to the heart of industry at Ironbridge and ends in York’s Cold War Bunker to tell England’s story from the beginning to the present day with help from the country's best experts and storytellers. It's going to be a wild ride, so make sure to subscribe to Dan Snow's History Hit and tell your friends!If there's somewhere you want Dan to stop off at, email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com and it could end up in the series!  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 16th century in Europe was an age of great Queens. But just because they were in charge, didn't always mean they were powerful or safe; it was tough being a queen in the Renaissance and. Author and Former Professor of French at The George Washington University Leah Redmond Chang joins Dan to delve into the fascinating and complicated lives of three queens: Catherine De Medici, a noblewoman in one of the most important families of the Renaissance, who married the King of France and found herself Queen some deaths later. They discuss the fate of her daughter Elizabeth De Valois who married Phillip II King of Spain and ruler of the Spanish Empire that launched the Armada and conquest of the Americas and Mary Queen of Scots who ruled over a mighty Scotland but who endured assault, exile and finally execution at the behest of her cousin Elizabeth I. These women were at the top of European society but faced pressure, personal dangers and political threats unique to women in power during that time.Her new book is called Young Queens: Three Renaissance Women and the Price of PowerProduced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Tom Delargy You can take part in our listener survey here.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The legend of the Minotaur and its labyrinth has captivated us for centuries, but is there any evidence of it really existing?In this episode, Tristan visits the Ashmolean museum in Oxford to interview Dr. Andrew Shapland, the curator of a new exhibition exploring the Bronze Age settlement of Knossos in Crete - the home of the mythical King Minos, the Minotaur and the labyrinth.Together they explore ancient artefacts that hint at human sacrifices being carried out, and find out through archaeological evidence if there is any truth behind the myths.The Senior Producer was Elena GuthrieThe Assistant Producer was Annie ColoeMixed & edited by Stuart Beckwith Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1831, the French aristocrat Alexis de Tocqueville left the troubled continent of Europe and set sail for America. Travelling in the shadow of the French Revolution, his goal was to learn about the world's largest democracy and work out how France could move forward. He would eventually publish a remarkable account of life and politics in the United States that became one of the best 19th century accounts of the burgeoning democracy. But Tocqueville would go on to travel to a myriad of other places by ship and stagecoach, on horseback and on foot across North America, Europe and North Africa. In this episode, Dan is joined by Jeremy Jennings, author of Travels with Tocqueville Beyond America, to find out more about his little-known travels beyond the United States.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.You can take part in our listener survey here.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

*WARNING there are adult words and themes in this episode*How debaucherous do you have to be to be remembered as the original bad boy? How mad, bad and dangerous to know was Lord Byron? And how much of it did he get from his family?For this episode, Kate is joined by Emily Brand, the author of ‘The Fall of the House of Byron: Scandal and Seduction in Georgian England’. From incest to murder - this family must have made for a very awkward dinner party.Poems by George Gordon Byron read by Matt Lewis: ‘So, We’ll Go No More A Roving’ and lines 1089 to 1096 of Don Juan, canto 2.Produced by Charlotte Long and Sophie Gee. Mixed by Sophie Gee.Betwixt the Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society. A podcast by History Hit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth is perhaps the most captivating fantasy world ever created. His mythology and folklore continues to influence the work of writers, film-makers, musicians and artists to this day. He first conceived of the idea during the First World War, and built his world to examine the fear and courage, despair and hope that he witnessed. So how exactly did this brutal, bloody war help to shape Middle-earth? Dan is joined today by John Garth, an award-winning Tolkien biographer and author of Tolkien and the Great War, to tell us about Tolkien's life and how the conflict influenced his writing.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.You can take part in our listener survey here.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.From almost the moment the battle finished the myth of Agincourt was being spun. Henry V milked the victory for all its worth to secure his reign and it has continued to play a prominent role in the British psyche ever since inspiring both Shakespeare and Churchill amongst others. It was however a crushing English victory with much of the nobility of Northern France being killed on that muddy field that day. It is all the more remarkable as Henry's army had been worn down by previous battles and ravaged by dysentery with thousands dying in miserable agony. In this episode, Dan returns with another of his explainers to explore the background, the campaign, the battle itself and its aftermath. If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you!If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What do you get when you bring together five top historians to debate Mary, Queen of Scots on film? History with the gloves off - our second special episode of Not Just the Tudors Lates! This time, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb takes as her starting point the tragic life of the Scottish Queen and her relationship with her rival and cousin Queen Elizabeth I.Suzannah is joined once again by Dr Joanne Paul, Jessie Childs, Alex von Tunzelmann and Professor Sarah Churchwell to compare the various film versions of Mary’s story, where they have got it right - and often wildly wrong.This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.Listen to the first Not Just the Tudors Lates about Elizabeth I on Screen, here.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you!If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the first episode of a special series that we made in collaboration with Ubisoft, the developers of the Assassins's Creed franchise. In Assassins vs Templars, we immerse ourselves in the real history that inspired the first game, exploring the rise and fall of The Knights Templar and the Assassins, speaking to leading historians to uncover the real histories behind key characters in the game, and unearthing the folklore around the mythical Holy Grail.In this episode, we go back to the 11th century and the beginning of the crusading period. What was the reason for hostility between Christianity and Islam? Why did the first three Crusades happen, and what do they mean to us today? Dan is joined by Jonathan Phillips, a Professor of Crusading History, to find out the answers to these questions and more.Produced by History Hit and Ubisoft, with post-production done by Paradiso Media.To listen to the rest of Assassins vs Templars, make sure you're following Echoes of History wherever you get your podcasts.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you!If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The commandos have become a byword for elite raiding and cutting-edge military operations. They were set up during the Second World War in June 1940, following a request from Winston Churchill, for special forces that could carry out raids against German-occupied Europe. As Monty Halls says, they were 'well trained men who wreaked havoc'. But to be the best you have to train the hardest and where better and more challenging than the wild and rugged highlands of Lochaber, Scotland.In today's episode Dan takes the podcast to Achnacarry Castle, the Clan Cameron headquarters turned Commando Basic Training Centre during World War Two. Both clan chief Lochiel Donald Cameron and ex-Royal Marine Monty Halls tell Dan about the gruelling initiation hike, the assault courses with live ammunition and the harsh weather that made the Commandos the best of the best.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As preparations for the Coronation of King Charles III get underway, you're going to see words everywhere like 'anointing,' 'enthronement,' and 'crowning.' Despite how medical they sound, they are in fact ceremonial acts steeped in centuries of British history and tradition.There'll be talk of Edward the Confessor's crown, the absence of the controversial Koh-i-noor Diamond and something called the Stone of Scone. If you're excited to see history in action or wondering if it's worth the cost, this episode with Historian of the Monarchy Anna Whitelock is your A-Z guide to the regalia, pomp and ceremony of the Coronation. Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal PatmoreIf you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When it was completed in 1931, the Empire State Building became the tallest building in the world. While it has long been surpassed, it is still one of the most recognised skyscrapers on the planet, synonymous with the city in which it stands. Its imposing but elegant art deco design is a tribute to the roaring ’20s from which it came. Carol Willis, author of Form Follows Finance: The Empire State Building tells Don how it became a monument to the golden age of the skyscraper.Produced by Benjie Guy. Mixed by Joseph Knight. Senior Producer: Charlotte Long.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you!If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is it even possible to imagine what Britain would have been without seafaring? Braving the waters beyond our harbours can be traced back eight and a half thousand years - the earliest boats made crossings as soon as Britain broke away from the continent. You can trace the ages of Britain through the vessels that have been launched to and from her shores - Roman warships, Viking longships, William the Conqueror's flagship Mora and many more besides.In this episode recorded at the 2022 Chalke Valley history festival, conservationist and author of 'The Ship Asunder', Tom Nancollas joins Dan to talk about Britain's seafaring history through three aspects of three vessels: the mast of the steamship SS Great Eastern designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the hull of the Rosebud- a Cornwall-based fishing boat at the centre of the 1930s Newlyn villagers protest to save their condemned properties, and the figurehead of the Rosa Tacchini wrecked on the Isles of Scilly.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you!If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the night of the 19th of April, 1956, the decorated navy diver Lionel Crabb went missing. A veteran of the Second World War, Crabb had been sent on a secret mission by MI6 to investigate a Soviet cruiser in Portsmouth Harbour. After pulling on his diving gear and checking his oxygen supply, Crabb slipped into the dark waters, never to be seen alive again. Was he killed by the Soviets? Was he killed by the Brits? Or can this all be chalked up to a bewildering accident? To this day, the government refuse to declassify the crucial files relating to his death. Dan is joined by Giles Milton, a writer and host of the podcast Cover Up: Ministry of Secrets, to untangle this mysterious web and find out what really happened to the frogman Lionel Crabb.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you!If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The enormous Cullinan Diamond will be on display at Charles III Coronation, but the diamond that's missing - the Koh-i-Noor - is the one that everyone's been talking about. Its splendour captured the eyes and imaginations of rulers for centuries, from the Persian conqueror Nader Shah to Queen Victoria. But how did this symbol of Mughal power and prestige come to hold a central role in the British coronation ceremony? Dan is joined by journalist and historian Shrabani Basu as she traces the story of the diamond, navigating the epic twists and turns of South Asian history, the power struggles that have shaped the region and the bloody colonial history that brought the Koh-i-Noor to Buckingham Palace.Produced by Mariana des Forges and James Hickmann, and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you!If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode contains high-speed chases, modified cars and a mission to uncover secret enemy technology. It's everything you'd find in a James Bond movie, but also on a Cold War BRIXMIS mission- one that today's guest Dave Butler was part of, gathering intelligence on Soviet firepower as Britain prepared for World War Three.During their time in East Germany, Dave and his fellow officers were given the opportunity to legally break the speed limits and laws and ignore the police; it was dangerous work and the trick was to avoid being caught by the enemy cars chasing them. For the 70th anniversary of Ian Fleming's first Bond book 'Casino Royale' Dan finds out if life as a spy is really anything like the Bond stories.Produced by Mariana Des Forges, edited and mixed by Dougal Patmore.Clips courtesy ofCasino Royale (2006) / Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Sony Pictures, Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Releasing/ Martin CampbellCasino Royale (1967) / Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer / John HustonThe Graham Norton Show/ BBCGoldfinger / United Artists/ Guy HamiltonIf you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you!  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When we think of Vikings, we tend to picture them in the colder climates of Northern Europe, and not so much in the warmer regions of Spain and the Mediterranean beyond.However, joining Dr. Cat Jarman today is Dr. Irene García Losquiño, a researcher whose work is uncovering Viking activity on the Iberian peninsula, shedding new light on the lives they lived there beyond the raiding we know about.This episode was edited by Stuart Beckwith and produced by Rob Weinberg.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dan explains what happened in the spring of 1940 when the Soviet secret police executed over 22,000 Polish prisoners of war at three secluded sites in the Soviet Union. Sanctioned by Stalin and the most senior members of the Communist Party, this flurry of mass killings has become known collectively as the Katyn Massacre. It drove a wedge between the Allied Powers and cemented the Polish government in exile against Stalin's regime. To this day, it remains an extremely charged topic for Russia and Poland. So what can atrocities like this tell us about the nature of Soviet occupation? And what parallels can we draw with the present day, as Russia continues the invasion of yet another of its neighbours? Dan is joined by Anne Applebaum, a Polish-American journalist and specialist in the history of Communism in Europe, to tackle the aftermath and legacy of this infamous event.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The assassination of Chris Hani was a pivotal moment in the dismantling of South African apartheid. On the 10th of April, 1993, he was shot dead as he returned to his home in a quiet suburb of Johannesburg. Negotiations between Nelson Mandela's party and the ruling apartheid government had stalled, and the country was as close as it had ever been to civil war. The murder of Nelson Mandela's heir apparent forced the negotiators back to the table, where they would finally set a date for South Africa's first democratic election. But who exactly was Chris Hani? And why was his death such an incendiary event? Dan is joined by Justice Malala, a South African political commentator and author of the book The Plot to Save South Africa, to give us his account of this crucial figure in South African history.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Perhaps one of the best-known modern dictators, Saddam Hussein ruled Iraq for nearly 30 years before eventually being overthrown in 2003 by the US Coalition. Known for his authoritarian rule, the use of chemical weapons against his own people, and multiple invasions of neighbouring countries - Saddam Hussein's legacy is a dark one. But how did he become President of Iraq in 1979, and what did the Iraqi people really think of him?In the latest episode of our Iraq mini-series, reflecting on 20 years since the invasion of the country, James is joined by Dr Afzal Ashraf to examine just who Saddam Hussein was. Looking at the effect British Colonialism had on his early political career, the relationship between Iraq and the United States, and how lasting Cold War tensions defined this period - how did Saddam Hussein hold onto power for so long, and just who was helping him?The senior Producer was Elena Guthrie. The Assistant Producer was Annie Coloe. Edited by Annie Coloe.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Please note, this episode contains descriptions of racial violence that some listeners may find disturbing.In November 1781, a British slave ship carrying hundreds of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic began to run out of water. The ship was called the Zong, and her crew decided to save their own lives by throwing enslaved Africans overboard. In a sinister twist, they would later file an insurance claim on the lives of those they killed, treating them simply as cargo. This appalling episode has since become known as the Zong Massacre and was a key catalyst in the fight for the abolition of the slave trade. So what exactly happened on that fateful day, and what did this event mean for the abolitionist movement? Dan is joined by Giles Terera, award-winning actor and star of the London production of Hamilton, to talk about this massacre and its legacy.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the aftermath of the Second World War, the Allied Powers sent research teams into the ruins of the Third Reich to cherry-pick the best German engineers and scientists. The goal was to integrate them into their own R&D programmes and exploit Nazi technology to beat the Soviets in the arms race. Operation Paperclip saw thousands of scientists relocated to the United States, even though many of them had been complicit in Nazi war crimes. So which technologies did they salvage from the wreckage of the Nazi regime? And what scientific breakthroughs did they contribute to after the war? Annie Jacobsen, an investigative journalist and Pulitzer Prize finalist, joins Dan to answer these questions and more.Produced by Mariana des Forges and James Hickmann, and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy's meteoric rise to power has been packed with drama and action. His journey has taken him from a Russian-speaking, aspiring diplomat to a TV comedian and finally, one of the most recognisable politicians on the planet. Having once been firmly rooted in Russian culture, he is now the greatest symbol of defiance to a Russian invasion that has wreaked havoc in his country. But what caused this shift? How did controversy mire his early years in office? And what can we expect from him in the future? Joining us today is Steven Derix, a long-standing Russia and Ukraine reporter and author of Zelensky: A Biography of Ukraine’s War Leader, to guide us through the life and career of Ukraine's celebrated leader.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Given his incredible career, you'd perhaps expect the name of Roman Emperor Septimius Severus to be better known. Born in North Africa in 145AD, he rose to power after distinguishing himself as a military commander at a time of great instability in the Roman Empire. Finally bringing the Year of the Five Emperors to an end, Severus was in power for nearly two decades - so how did he end up perishing in York?In this episode, Tristan welcomes back author (and Severus' unofficial 21st Century biographer) Dr Simon Elliot. Together, they explore the life and legacy of Septimius Severus - looking at his impact on the history of Ancient Rome, as well as the bloody events surrounding his campaign in Scotland, and asking how one of the most powerful men in the world was eventually brought down. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over a period of 30 years, NASA's Space Shuttle program contributed to some of space exploration's most important achievements, as well as some of its greatest tragedies. Affectionately known as 'space trucks', the reusable shuttles hauled crew, satellites, parts of the Hubble Space Telescope and modules for the International Space Station into Earth's orbit across a staggering 135 missions. However, two of these missions would end with catastrophic failure and the deaths of 14 crew members. Joining us today is Kevin Fong, award-winning broadcaster and host of an upcoming podcast on the Space Shuttle, 16 Sunsets, to help make sense of the program's complex legacy.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Captain Robert Falcon Scott died in his tent in Antarctica in March 1912 during his failed effort to become the first person to reach the South Pole. He'd just missed out to the Norwegians under explorer Roald Amundsen. You might think the British had no chance from the beginning- Amundsen's crew were wearing sealskins and using dogs, sledding 50 miles a day while Scott's team were outfitted in kit from Bond Street, covering just 10 miles a day. The motorised vehicles they took lasted only a couple of days; one sank through the ice the moment they took it off the ship. But, Tim Maltin's new research suggests there was something more unusual else at play that led to their failure and ultimately Scott's death: thermal inversion. The same meteorological phenomenon that caused the Titanic to hit the iceberg just two weeks later.Tim joins Dan on the podcast to discuss the rivalry between two great explorers, the similarities and differences between their expeditions and he takes Dan through the gruelling last months of Scott's expedition, what happened the night of Scott's death and the discovery of their bodies, months later.Produced by James Hickmann and mixed by Dougal PatmoreIf you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

During the Battle of Trafalgar, the men on the gun decks of HMS Victory felt the heat of fire from above and from below; they dodged enemy cannon balls shot from just 2 metres away. HMS Victory was the flagship of Nelson's fleet during that historic clash with the French and Spanish on the 21st of October 1805. She is a mighty vessel to behold; at over 70m long, 6000 oaks were felled for her planking and 27 miles of rope used for her rigging. She was and still is a feat of engineering with impressive firepower-104 state-of-the-art guns and manned by a crew of over 800.Dan walks the gun decks with Andrew Baines, Deputy Executive Director of Museum Operations National Museum of the Royal Navy, who knows everything there is to know about Victory. They talk about life on board the ship, from punishment to surgery to using the bathroom and tell the story of Nelson's dramatic demise on the very spot where he was shot in battle.The reason Dan is visiting Portsmouth's historic dockyard is that there is a huge restoration project going on to save Victory and preserve it for future generations. As a wooden ship, she is inherently biodegradable so Andrew and his team are working around the clock for the next decade to restore the ship as she was at the Battle of Trafalgar. Today the ship's greatest foe is not the French but the deathwatch beetle that Burroughs into the wood ship's timbre, destroying it from the inside. Dan meets with Diana Davis, Deputy Director of the Victory Conservation Project, to talk about this nemesis and the vital, and costly, work they are doing. Now is a great time to experience HMS Victory as you've never seen her before while archaeologists and conservators work on the ship in front of your eyes. You can find out more information here: https://www.nmrn.org.uk/visit-us/portsmouth-historic-dockyard/hms-victoryProduced by Mariana Des Forges and mixed by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With Putin's war in Ukraine raging on, the threat of a nuclear conflict feels as real as ever. But since the Iron Curtain fell, our understanding of what to do in the event of a nuclear strike has waned. In this episode, we look to the past to discover the extraordinary things that the British government have done to prepare the nation for nuclear war. What plans did they put in place, and would they have worked if the missiles had started flying? Dan is joined by Julie McDowall, an expert on the nuclear threat and author of Attack Warning Red! How Britain Prepared for Nuclear War, to shed some light on the unnerving history of nuclear preparation.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Clear soup, Irish stew and steamed puddings - this was the war work of Georgina Landemare, the Churchills' longest-serving cook.Throughout the war years, Georgina served the Prime Minister, delegations of diplomats and the occasional royal, as well as the other staff of 10 Downing Street, Chequers and the War Rooms.Annie Gray is back with Kate today to introduce us to Georgina; why she went into the service industry, where she learnt to cook the French way, and how she managed to make the most of wartime rations (with a few top-ups here and there).*WARNING there are adult words and themes in this episode*Produced by Charlotte Long and Sophie Gee. Mixed by Stuart Beckwith.Betwixt the Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society. A podcast by History Hit.For more History Hit content, subscribe to our newsletters here.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Stuart time capsule has emerged from beneath the sand after 320 years. In early December 1703, barometers across South-Eastern England plunged as a cyclone made landfall in Britain leaving a path of destruction in its wake. In London, the roof of Westminster Abbey was ripped off and hundreds of ships in the Thames smashed together and left in heaps. 2000 Chimney stacks were destroyed and Queen Anne cowered in the cellar of St James Palace.But the biggest damage was done to the Royal Navy; over 1000 seaman drowned and a fifth of its fleet was wrecked overnight. One of those ships the HMS Northumberland has recently begun to appear thanks to the shifting sediment of Goodwin Sands on the South-East coast. On the podcast to tell its story in the storm is archaeologist Dan Pascoe who is working with Historic England to dive on the wreck and learn what he can before it disappears once again forever.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and mixed by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As two of humanity's great religions, Islam and Christianity have shaped much of the world's history. Empires across the globe have risen and fallen under their influence, and there have been many occasions for them to go head-to-head on the battlefield. So what have been some of the greatest military clashes between Islam and Christianity? Dan is joined by Sir Simon Mayall, a former Middle East Senior Adviser at the UK Ministry of Defence, to discuss three key clashes; the Siege of Jerusalem in 1099, the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, and the Great Siege of Malta in 1565.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Looking back at the past few weeks, it seems like banks are collapsing left, right and centre; but what exactly does this mean for us? Are these inconsequential blips on the financial radar, or will they herald the beginning of a major banking crisis? On today's episode, Dan is joined by Charles Read, who teaches economics and history at the University of Cambridge, to walk us through why these collapses happen, whether they can be predicted, and what their repercussions are.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While rifling through a stall at a flea market in Leningrad- now St Petersburg- composer and music producer Stephen Coates came across something unusual. It looked like a vinyl record, but when he held it up to the light, he noticed he could see the pattern of human bones on it. It was a bootlegged record made from an old x-ray. He dubbed his find "Bone Music" and set out to find out more about this ghostly flexi-disc, and the many others he soon found like it.Known as "music on the ribs" in Russian due to the TB x-rays commonly used, these homemade vinyls were sold in back alleys and out of cars when music was ruthlessly controlled by the State in the Soviet Union. Not only was Western music- Rock'n'Roll, Jazz, Blues - banned but so were traditional Russian folk songs. Stephen travelled around Russia for years collecting Bone Music vinyl and interviewing the bootleggers and the buyers to find out just how dangerous and important it was to keep the music playing in the USSR.You can find out more about Stephen's work and Bone Music here: www.x-rayaudio.comMusic heard in this episode is courtesy of Nikolai Rechetnik.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On 6 September 1560, Amy Robsart Dudley died after falling down a staircase at Cumnor Place in Oxfordshire. But did she fall? Was she pushed? Or did she throw herself down the stairs? These questions exercised Tudor courtiers and foreign ambassadors at the time. The truth mattered because Amy was the wife of Queen Elizabeth I’s leading courtier and very close friend, Robert Dudley, and his wife’s death could clear the way for Elizabeth to marry Dudley. But in practice, the circumstances of Amy’s death precluded any possibility of a royal marriage. In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Dr. Joanne Paul - author of the acclaimed book The House of Dudley - to discuss what really happened - was it an accident, suicide or murder?This episode was edited and produced by Rob Weinberg.**WARNING: This episode contains descriptions of suicide**If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can we trace the 'British sense of humour' back to the Georgian period? It was an age of royal madness, political intrigue, the birth of modern celebrity, the French revolution, American independence and the Napoleonic Wars so the satirists of Georgian Britain had plenty to work with. In the late 18th century, artists like Thomas Rowlandson, James Gillray and Isaac Cruikshank took on the establishment with cartoons, forever changing how we the public view those in power. History Hit presenter and TikTok star Alice Loxton (@history_alice) joins Dan as they look at the characters behind the 'Golden Age of Caricature' and what was going on that made these prints so popular with the masses.Alice's new book is called 'Uproar!'.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is everything you ever wanted to know about fascism. Are the British government's new proposals to stop refugee boats arriving fascistic? Were the 2021 insurrectionists at the Capitol building fascists? Is Muslim persecution in India today fascism in action? They're certainly attacks on democracy but can they accurately be described as fascism?Dan puts that question to a world-leading expert in today's episode, Roger Griffin, Emeritus Professor in Modern History at Oxford Brookes University. They get into the deep history of fascism's origins, and the true definitions of terms like 'authoritarian' and 'populism' and look to distinguish the difference between the technical meaning of fascism and the colloquial term we tend to invoke in daily conversation.Produced by James Hickmann and edited Dougal PatmoreIf you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Glencoe in the Scottish highlands is a beautiful landscape with a dark past. While folks from all over the world travel to this beautiful valley to hike, in 1692 it was the site of a treacherous massacre that had repercussions for Scotland and England into the next century. Scottish government troops had been sent on orders from King William III of England, to make an example of the MacDonald clan who had missed the deadline to pledge their allegiance to him as the new monarch. Government soldiers were sent to the homes of the Macdonalds where they were billeted - given lodging and food by the locals. The Macdonalds shared their homes, food, stories and songs before the soldiers revealed their true purpose in Glencoe. 12 days after arriving, they received their true orders to annihilate the entire population of the glen. The clan chief Alexander, or McIan as he was also known, was killed along with more than 30 other men women and children. Others fled into the highlands, succumbing to exposure, but most escaped with their lives. Dan is in Glencoe with Lucy Doogan and Derek Alexander of the National Trust for Scotland to tell the tale of this tragedy, the traditions and history of this magnificent landscape and how it shaped Scotland's past and present. This special episode is made possible by The National Lottery. National Lottery players have supported over 48,000 heritage projects alone since the inception of The National Lottery in 1994. This includes supporting The National Trust for Scotland to help keep green and historic spaces like Glencoe open to the public. The National Trust for Scotland has received £37 million of National Lottery funding which enables them to preserve properties and natural spaces across Scotland that are of great historical and architectural importance.  Produced by Mariana Des Forges, edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of the Founding Fathers of the United States, Samuel Adams was a political force of nature. Stacy Schiff tells Don how Adams, fuelled by discontent under British rule, instilled a revolutionary spirit in his peers. The result was the Declaration of Independence - and the fight to earn it.Produced by Benjie Guy. Mixed by Joseph Knight. Senior Producer: Charlotte Long.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There are descriptions of suffering early in this episode that some listeners may find distressing. As hospitals and institutions across the European frontline were taken over to serve the war effort in the 1940s, what happened to psychiatric hospitals, housing some of the continent's most vulnerable in often prison-like conditions? Well, approximately 45,000 psychiatric patients died of starvation and disease in France alone. One psychiatrist described the scenes he witnessed during that time as being as bad as the concentration camps. But there was one hospital that, not only defied this fate but thrived during the war. Saint-Alban-sur-Limagnole, in Southern France, had a death rate of less than 10 per cent – and no deaths from malnutrition. Not only did staff and patients stay alive through pooling skills to create food, foraging in the local area and keeping livestock, it actually became a hub of the French Resistance - storing ammunition, and acting as a safe house for Jewish refugees and freedom fighters. The hospital not only fought fascism but also provided a more community-focused treatment that proved to have a revolutionary effect on patients.Joining Dan on the podcast to tell this extraordinary story is Ben Platts-Mills, a writer who has worked in the mental health sector for 16 years. He came across it when he was looking into the work of French painter Jean Debuffet and saw that much of the artwork he’d collected was done by inpatients at Saint Alban during the war.You can read more about Saint Alban-sur-Limagnole and Ben's other work here: https://www.benplatts-mills.com/Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a suburb of North-West London, among housing estates and residential streets lies a secret bunker, you may never have heard of it but it's one of the most important World War Two sites in Britain. Here, deep underground, the RAF built its Uxbridge headquarters where it commanded the defence of the country in the Battle of Britain. The pilots who fought in the skies are rightly hailed as heroes and affectionately known as 'the few', but they wouldn't have been able to do what they did without the many women behind them and under the ground gathering intelligence and commands, distributing them at lightening speed under the intense pressure of active battle.Dan goes down into the earth with Dr Sarah-Louise Miller, who brings their stories to life in the room where the Battle of Britain was organised, overlooking the very maps that show what happened there during that decisive summer of 1940. Dr Sarah-Louise's new book 'The Women Behind the Few' puts the Women's Auxiliary Air Force back at the heart of Britain's war, exploring what they did- collecting and disseminating vital intelligence- that led to the Allied victory.You can also visit the secret RAF bunker in Uxbridge, find out more about the Battle of Britain Bunker Museum here: http://battleofbritainbunker.co.uk/Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Count Coudenhove-Kalergi was one of the most influential 20th Century European thinkers that you've never heard of. He was a pioneer of European integration, advocating for the free movement of people across European borders, a common currency and a single passport. Unsurprisingly, his ideas attracted the ire of right-wing thinkers across the continent; Hitler angrily denounced him in Mein Kampf, and even today he is the subject of a right-wing antisemitic conspiracy theory called 'The Kalergi Plan'. But how influential was his vision for Europe? In what ways did he help to shape the modern European Union? Dan is joined by the journalist Martyn Bond, author of Hitler's Cosmopolitan Bastard, to discuss his life and legacy.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

All Quiet on the Western Front is the 2022 film adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque's famous anti-war novel. Told from the German perspective, it presents a gruelling depiction of life and death in the First World War, emphasising the despair and disillusionment of the soldiers who fought in it. The film has enjoyed great success, having already won seven BAFTA Awards and been nominated in nine categories at the upcoming 95th Academy Awards. But what does it take to transform a film like this from a passion project into a blockbuster hit? And how should filmmakers handle stories rooted in conflict? On today's episode, we are joined by Lesley Paterson, the film's executive producer and co-writer, and a world champion triathlete. She tells us about the trials and tribulations she faced to bring the project to fruition, and how history influenced her writing to bring the story to life.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

102 year old Ben Ferencz is the last surviving prosecutor from the Nuremberg trials and a direct witness to the horrors of the Nazi death camps. Born in Transylvania he emigrated to the United States with his family as a child to escape antisemitic persecution. He trained at Harvard Law School, graduated in 1943 and served in the US army in the campaign to liberate western Europe. In 1945 at the end of the war, he was assigned to a team charged with collecting evidence of war crimes during which he visited the death camps and saw first-hand the appalling conditions there. He then became a prosecutor during the Nuremberg war crimes trials where his work focussed on the prosecution of the Einsatzgruppen death squads. His experiences during the war have led him to be a passionate, lifelong campaigner advocating for the international rule of law and he helped found the international criminal courts in The Hague. In this episode, he shares his life experiences and how we all need to find ways to resolve our differences peacefully if we want to continue to see humanity flourish.This interview was first released in 2021. If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Kim Kardashian of Georgian England; she was a young housemaid who became one of the most famous socialites in the Western world and stole the heart Lord Nelson. Emma Hamilton, born Amy Lyon, grew up in abject poverty and at 13 travelled to London from Wales, where became a service maid. She was enthralled by the beauty and glamour of the actresses in Covent Garden and would miss work to go see them, eventually getting herself fired. She ended up destitute on the street until self proclaimed doctor and showman James Graham put her on the stage at his Temple of Good Health. Although still a teenager, men would come to oggle her beauty. Eventually she found work as a prostitute and became a mistress for the upper echelons of British society. She was effectively bought by Sir Henry Featherstonehaugh and while with him, learnt social graces, how to read, write and ride. Portraits were painted of her, she operated as a diplomat during the French revolution and became a socialite about Europe.It was her relationship with Lord Nelson that gave her the greatest love affair and heartbreak of her life. It's said they had an electrifying chemistry and when Nelson hobbled into the Port of Naples in 1973, war-weary and sick she nursed him back to health. For years the pair enjoyed the highlife of the Enlightenment, inseparable, much to the disdain of the high society they mixed with. But, his death would mark the beginning of a steady decline- consumed by grief, addiction and debt, she died with just £10 in her pocket, some pawn receipts and just the clothes she was wearing.Professor Joanna Lewis is a descendent of Lady Emma Hamilton and takes Dan through the twists and turns of her truly extraordinary life.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store.Produced by James Hickmann and Mariana Des Forges, edited by Matthew Peaty and mixed by Dougal Patmore.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matt Lewis continues his Mystery Month on Gone Medieval with another tantalising enigma of the Middle Ages - possibly the most mysterious manuscript that exists anywhere in the world. Carbon-dated to the early 15th century, the Voynich manuscript is hand-written in an unknown script, embellished with illustrations and diagrams, showing people, fantastical plants and astrological symbols.Yet the origins, authorship, and purpose of the manuscript continue to baffle experts, which have even included British codebreakers from both World War I and World War II. Matt finds out more from Raymond Clemens, Curator of Early Books and Manuscripts at Yale University.This episode was edited and produced by Rob Weinberg.If you’re enjoying this podcast and are looking for more fascinating Medieval content then subscribe to our Medieval Monday newsletter here >If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download, go to Android > or Apple store > Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In late February 1943, Norwegian commandos were given the details of their mission, Operation Gunnerside. Their job would be to sabotage the Vemork heavy water facility in Norway, hindering German industry and their development of the atomic bomb. Before they left, Norwegian Royal Army Colonel and pioneering chemist, Leif Tronstad, told his soldiers, “I cannot tell you why this mission is so important, but if you succeed, it will live in Norway’s memory for a hundred years.” Fully aware of the danger they faced, the men were handed suicide pills in case of capture. On the 80th anniversary of this daring raid, Dan is joined by the survival expert and TV presenter Ray Mears to discuss the challenges they faced, and the consequences of their mission.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's hard to imagine a time when we didn't write things down- on stone, papyrus or parchment. Who was the first to actually put 'pen to paper' and write. Well, her name was Enheduanna. She was an Akkadian poet, writer and high priestess, remembered as the first named author in recorded history. She lived in the 3rd millennium BCE in the city-state of Ur, and was a figure of immense significance in the Mesopotamian world. As the high priestess of the moon god Nanna, she would help to cement ties between the newly merged Sumerian and Akkadian civilisations. She would also pen the first authored literary works, and her poems on womanhood and faith hold great meaning through to this day. Dan speaks to Sidney Babcock, the Jeannette and Jonathan Rosen Curator at the Morgan Library and Museum, to find out how we know so much about her, and what her significance is today.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the 24th of February, 2022, the world looked on in disbelief as Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. One year on he shows no signs of easing his commitment to the conflict, despite the many setbacks that Russian forces have faced. The question is, why hasn't Russia's invasion gone to plan? Where did they get it wrong, where have the Ukrainians got it right, and how can we make sense of the conflict as it stands today? To answer these questions, we are joined by conflict scholar Mike Martin, who explains Russia's issues by looking at how wars have been waged in the past. We are also joined by the Ukrainian medical student and refugee, Margo Bendeliani, who gives us the perspective of someone who lives this war every day and reminds us of the conflict's human cost.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When you think of some of the remarkable feats of airpower throughout history, you might think of the Dambusters, or the Battle of Britain. But what about some of the untold stories of Britain's remarkable black airmen? Since the early 20th Century, black airmen played vital roles as pilots, ground crew, and even resistance fighters across the world wars and beyond. But what do we actually know about these exceptional figures?In this episode, James is joined by author K.N. Chimbiri to shine a light on some of the incredible men who helped shape Britain's future. Looking at the vital contributions these individuals made to the war effort, and even world history, what can we learn from Britain's black airmen?Kandace's book The Story of Britain's Black Airmen is available here.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sophie Scholl was an anti-Nazi political activist who stood up to the regime as a student under the Third Reich and paid with her life. Sophie lived, like most middle class Germans, very comfortably under the Nazi regime - if you kept your head down, you didn't have anything to fear. But Sophie and her brother Hans refused to stay silent on what they saw happening.Her activism began when she was forced to do National Labour Service in the form of passive resistance to the military-like regime she had to follow. After Labour service, in May 1942, she enrolled at the University of Munich where her brother was studying medicine. He introduced her to his friends and eventually they formed the White Rose resistance group - a non-violent, anti-totalitarian organisation who wrote flyers and graffiti and distributed leaflets that called for the toppling of National Socialism. But on the 18 February 1943, Sophie and Hans Scholl went to the Ludwig Maximilian University to leave flyers out when they were caught and arrested. The pair were charged with treason and eventually executed by Guillotine four days later. She was 21 years old.In the years after Germany's reunification, Scholl became an icon of German resistance and free-thinking and her story is now widely celebrated, thanks in part to Frank McDonough, an internationally renowned expert on the History of the Third Reich, who joins Dan on this podcast to talk about Sophie's life, on the anniversary of her death and his book 'Sophie Scholl.'Produced by James Hickmann and mixed by Dougal Patmore If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the 1st of December, 1955, Rosa Parks boarded a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. After taking her seat in the section designated for people of colour, Rosa was asked to move for white passengers that wanted to sit down. She refused, and was arrested. This incident has become one of the most infamous examples of segregation in the U.S., and Mrs. Parks has gained an iconic status in the civil rights movement. A lifetime of activism and campaigning earned her the title, ‘the first lady of civil rights’. On today’s episode, Dan is joined by Reverend H. H. Leonards, author of Rosa Parks: Beyond the Bus. Mrs. Parks was a guest in her home for nearly a decade, and she recounts for us her memories of this extraordinary person.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We think of our natural environment as a subset of history, like studying the history of warfare or economics. But in truth, climate is the driving force of humanity, and understanding our climate helps us to understand life on earth in an entirely different way. Of all natural disasters, earthquakes are amongst the most impactful and the most destructive. The tragic Turkey–Syria earthquake on the 6th of February, 2023 came with a deadly cost, and will likely change the futures of both nations. With us is Peter Frankopan, Professor of Global History at Oxford University and author of the soon to be published book, The Earth Transformed: An Untold History. Peter will guide us through the main themes of climate history, how it has impacted on the human species, and it's power to change our future.Produced by James Hickmann and mixed by Stuart Beckwith.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode contains graphic references.Aphrodite is the goddess of love and beauty in Greek mythology.Her origin story is one of the more colourful ones, being born from the foam of Uranus’s castrated genitals. Her life is no less dramatic, and one where love and war are intimately connected. She is unhappily married to the son of Zeus and Hera, Hephaestus, yet carries on her affair with Ares, God of War, and her competitive relationship with Hera and Athena results in the beginning of the Trojan War. In this episode, Tristan Hughes is joined by host of the Let’s Talk About Myths, Baby! podcast, Liv Albert. Together they discuss Aphrodite’s origin in both myth and what she shares with warrior goddesses from other ancient cultures, as well as her most famous myths, and how she’s become one of the most iconic deities history has ever known.The Senior Producer was Elena GuthrieScript written by Andrew HulseVoice over performed by Nichola WoolleyThe Assistant Producer was Annie ColoeEdited by Aidan LonerganIf you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Spy balloons are really blowing up right now. The US has shot down one confirmed Chinese balloon and has engaged several other unidentified flying objects. But like so many things we cover on this podcast, it's an old method in a new outfit. Spy balloons for reconnaissance go back all the way to the French Revolution and pop up again in the American Civil War.To talk through the history of spying from the sky, Dan is joined on the podcast by the curator at the International Spy Museum Dr Andrew Hammond who also hosts their podcast Spycast. They discuss the ideas that have taken off and the ones that haven't... including pigeons with cameras, drones disguised as dragonflies and satellites in outer space.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and mixed by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As a crew of over 500 boarded HMS Captain in the autumn of 1870, none of them knew their fate was sealed in the offices of the dockyard. The Captain was one of the Royal Navy’s first steam powered battleships- both innovative and formidable - three masts with wrought iron armour, but it was no match for the treacherous storm it came up against one September night in the Bay of Biscay. As the Captain was battered and swallowed by the Atlantic, the men onboard suffered terribly: some washed overboard, some caught in steam explosions below and others trapped in the rigging and sails as she disappeared. Only 18 survived, by rowing scantily clad, barefoot and traumatised through the darkness until daybreak. The tragedy ripped through Victorian Britain and quickly questions started to be asked about how this could have happened and who was responsible.Today, over 150 years later, Dr Howard Fuller from the University of Wolverhampton and his team have made a breakthrough in their search for the wreck off the coast of Spain. They're almost certain HMS Captain lies off Cape Finisterre and are working on a campaign to explore the wreck, to discover more about the ship and its sinking. Part of the project is to find out more about the last moments of the men on board, most of whom lost their lives, for their descendants and families who are still looking for answers. You can find out more and donate to the Find the Captain fundraiser project here: findthecaptain.co.uk Produced by Mariana Des Forges, sound design and mixing by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the remarkable story of Nicholas Said - born into a wealthy Muslim family in the ancient Bornu Empire, his childhood was interrupted when, aged 13, he was sold into slavery. His journey would take him across Africa, Asia, Europe and North America, and bring him into contact with illustrious figures like Tsar Nicholas I and Queen Victoria. As a free man, he would join one of the first African American regiments in the Union Army and fought in the American Civil War. Dean Calbreath is a journalist and author of The Sergeant: The Incredible Life of Nicholas Said, and joins us to take us through this astonishing tale. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Car bombings, assassinations and a military takeover: these are just some of the things American TV producer Natasha Lance Rogoff and her team faced when trying to bring The Muppets to the former USSR in the 1990s.After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russia that emerged was a chaotic, sometimes violent free-for-all for western investors and oligarchs, swooping in to buy up businesses, natural resources and really anything they could. For regular Russians, they had to navigate a new, more free society and Natasha, a fluent speaker with experience in Russian TV, was drafted in to introduce The Muppets as the ambassadors to show children how to do that.An exercise in trying to introduce western values but also establish international relations with a former enemy, almost every aspect of the Russian Sesame Street- Uliza Sezam - was coloured by cultural clashes. Both nationalities had to learn to work together and better understand one another. What was created was a wholly Russian show, with new characters founded in traditional folklore and music informed by Russia’s rich cultural history. The show was a huge success, beloved by children across the entire USSR and ran for 10 years into Putin’s reign of power.Natasha joins Dan to tell this extraordinary story as they delve into the societal pressures faced by Russia after the Soviet Union and its relationship with the west which is still so relevant today.Her new book is called ‘Muppets in Moscow.’Archive of Sesame Street and Uliza Sezam courtesy of Sesame Workshop.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and mixed by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For years we've understood that in the prehistoric hunter-gather world, the men did the hunting and the women did the gathering. Prehistoric man went on adventures, invented, created and drew, whereas prehistoric women stayed home, educated children and carried out domestic chores. Well, research now shows that this wasn't the case. Researchers are taking a closer look at our distant ancestors and breaking stereotypes about early women. Dan is joined by Thomas Cirotteau, co-author of the book Lady Sapiens: Breaking Stereotypes About Prehistoric Women to unearth a new understanding of our origins.Produced by Beth Donaldson and mixed by Dougal PatmoreIf you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dan Snow’s History Hit hits the road to Belgium and the Waterloo Battlefield to see the soldier’s bones found in an attic earlier this month. The Battle of Waterloo is often remembered for its great leaders; Napoleon, Wellington and Blücher. Or, for its sweeping strategic importance but what did the ordinary fighting men endure? We went to the Waterloo Battlefield to learn about the almost apocalyptic reality of the battle with thick quagmires of mud and the bodies of both soldiers and horses strewn about. French Historian Antoin Charpagne shares stories of the men on the ground, what they ate (or didn't), their relationships and how they suffered. The History Hit team then head to Universite de Liege Medical Institute to the morgue to see what bones from Prussian soldiers can tell us about the battle before finally heading on to the Brussels Museum of Natural Sciences where Dan helps Dr Caroline Laforest unpack the British bones that have just arrived.With great thanks to Mathilde Daumas, Dr Bernard Wilkin and Waterloo Uncovered.Produced by Mariana Des forges and mixed by Joseph Knight.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aethelfled, a warrior queen who crushed the Vikings, Jadwiga, the first Queen Regent of Poland and Hildegard of Bingen, an 11th-century polymath abbess who became a 20th-century feminist icon and saint. Art and cultural historian Dr Janina Ramirez joins Dan on today's episode to tell the stories of three incredible medieval women. They all ruled, influenced and changed history but are often left out of the narrative of the Middle Ages.Janina's new best-selling book 'Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages, Through the Women Written Out of It' is out now.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and mixed by Dougal PatmoreIf you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Content Warning This episode contains adult themes and language that may not be suitable for children.On this special network crossover episode we're calling 'History Hit in the Sheets', host of our chart-storming 'Betwixt the Sheets' podcast Kate Lister joins Dan to unravel the stories, adventures and troubled legacy of Casanova.Sex - lots of sex. That's what we think of when we think of Giacomo Casanova, Italy's most prolific lover and adventurer. But, there was much more to this Venetian womaniser than just romancing - he was a scam artist, outlaw, alchemist, spy and church cleric. He wrote satires, fought duels, and escaped from prison more than once. He even set up the French national lottery. We know so much about Casanova thanks to his mammoth three thousand page autobiography. It spoke of his incredible life in Europe, but is regarded as one of the most authentic sources of information about the customs and norms of European social life during the 18th century. He's often been painted as a rascal but today many question the darker side of his sex life; within his 'tally' of sexual partners, many seem forced and some were children, including his own.Produced by Freddy Chick, Charlotte Long and Mariana Des Forges. Mixed by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's 1660 and General Edward Whalley and his son-in-law board a ship bound for the New World. They're on the run, wanted for the murder of King Charles I. His execution, the culmination of the English Civil War, sees control taken from the royalists by Oliver Cromwell and his parliamentarians for ten years. But, when the royalists return to power, an epic manhunt ensues for the fugitives hiding out in America.This is the plot of celebrated author Robert Harris' new historical novel Oblivions which takes a reader on a journey into the wilds of seventeenth-century New England. Robert joins Dan to talk about writing historical fiction, the history behind it and the unlikely way this story came to him.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

250 million years ago the armour-plated Placoderm fish invented the act of sex as we know it. Hubba Hubba. Dive into the historical sack as we go in search of the origins of nature’s greatest-ever invention.Dallas’s guest on this episode is Australian palaeontologist John Long, author of The Dawn of the Deed.Produced by Freddy Chick. The senior producer is Charlotte Long.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stalingrad is one of the most titanic and totemic battles of the Second World War. Millions were killed, the city itself was utterly shattered by fighting and the seemingly unbeatable Wehrmacht suffered a catastrophic rout like never before. But what made the Soviet victory possible; what happened to the men from both sides who fought in the rubble and snow of Stalin's city; and what were the consequences, both on the Eastern Front and around the world, of this savage clash of arms?To find out Dan is joined by Jochen Hellbeck professor of history at Rutgers University and author of Stalingrad: The City that Defeated the Third Reich to discuss how the battle of Stalingrad ended and what came next.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Where can you find an Iron Age fort, Roman kilns, trees built for Nelson's navy and the hunting lodge of William the Conqueror? In the place that Dan calls home: the New Forest in the South of England. In this special episode of the podcast sponsored by BMW and National Park's Recharge in Nature project, Dan joins his good friend and local archaeologist Richard Reeves for an afternoon under the canopy and over the heathland to dig into the deep history of this ancient woodland so named at the Norman Conquest.  Among the gently falling rain, crunchy leaves and chirping birds, Dan and Richard retrace the many civilisations who have utilised the forest over the centuries for commoning, building ships, serving armies, hiding out and most of all, relaxing. Right through from the Norman gentry hunting deer to the Victorians who planted giant redwoods for scenic driveways, the New Forest has been a place of play and leisure for rich and poor, old and young.  The Recharge in Nature project is a new 3-year partnership between BMW and National Parks UK with a shared aim and commitment to enhance the electric car charging network and support vital nature restoration, biodiversity and sustainability initiatives across all 15 National Parks. Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fake moon landings, aliens and secret weapons; conspiracy theories about Area 51 abound but what exactly is it, and do we know anything about it with certainty? Dan is joined by Annie Jacobsen, investigative journalist and author of Area 51: An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base, to find out what really goes on in this mysterious Air Force installation. They discuss dirty bomb tests, nuclear explosions in space and soviet hoaxes.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and James Hickmann, and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam. It was one of the most costly conflicts that the U.S. has ever fought, causing immense loss of life on all sides. US intervention was defined by the strategy of 'pacification', but what exactly did this entail, and did it really work? Dan is joined by the expert on this subject, historian Robert Thompson, author of Clear, Hold, and Destroy, to learn about pacification in Vietnam's Phú Yên province. John Harrison, an American veteran who served with the 101st Airborne, will also be sharing his experiences about what pacification looked like on the ground.Produced by James Hickmann and mixed by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anne Frank’s diary is one of the most famous accounts of the Jewish experience during the Second World War, giving us a deeply personal glimpse into the life-in-hiding of a prolific young writer. But on the 1st August 1944, the diary abruptly ends - the Franks, van Pelses and Fritz Pfeffer had been discovered by the Gestapo. In this episode, we’ll find out what happened to them between their arrest and Anne’s tragic death in 1945. Dan is joined by Bas von Benda-Beckmann, historian and co-author of After the Annex: Anne Frank, Auschwitz and Beyond, to reconstruct Anne’s life after her arrest.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Three Musketeers paints a picture of King Louis XIII of France as a rather weak monarch controlled by his powerful chief minister Cardinal Richelieu. Louis’ reign is generally thought of as being the beginning of the “age of absolutism” when ministers like Richelieu were in the ascendancy and the power of the court and courtiers declined. But was this really the case?In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Dr. Marc Jaffré, who believes it’s time to revise the conventional view of this significant period in French history.This episode was edited by Thomas Ntinas and produced by Rob Weinberg.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We think of archaeology as an exclusionary profession, one reserved for experts in the field. But why isn't the discipline more accessible to the public? Should the past not belong to everybody, and are there some basic skills that anyone can learn to help rediscover our past? The archaeologist and television presenter Chloe Duckworth joins us to give advice on how to become archaeologists in our own back gardens.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Waterloo was one of the bloodiest battles in European history, yet until now only two bodies have ever been found on the battlefield. The remains of 10 British and Prussian soldiers who died in battle have just been discovered by the Belgian-German team Waterloo Uncovered; some skeletons had been resting in an attic for more than 40 years. The bones bare the brutality of the battle with marks from bladed weapons, one skull showing horrific damage caused by bayonet thrust or sword blow.Historian Rob Schaefer and Researcher Bernard Wilkin from the Belgian State Archive who made the discovery, both join Dan on the podcast to break the news of the astonishing find. Dan hatches a plan to get over to the lab in Belgium asap to see the bones for himself and what they can tell us about the grim, violent reality of the 50,000 men who were killed or injured on the battlefield on 18th of June 1815.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal PatmoreIf you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1492 marked the beginning of the Colombian Exchange - the transfer of people, goods, ideas and commodities across the Atlantic between Europe and the Americas. We hear a lot about the conquistadors, the settlers, Jesuit priests and colonisers from Spain, Portugal and Britain whose success in the 'New World' was built on the help and enslavement of indigenous people. But what of the indigenous peoples who made the journey in the opposite direction? Many travelled to Europe, some as slaves, others as courtiers, diplomats and even tourists.Author and Britain's only Aztec historian Caroline Dodds Pennock joins Dan to tell the stories of the Maya who first brought chocolate to the court of Isabella and Ferdinand, the Algonquin diplomats who travelled with Walter Raleigh and took residence in Elizabethan London and the Brazilian King who stopped by Hampton Court palace to see Henry VIII.Caroline's new book is called 'On Savage Shores: How Indigenous Americans Discovered Europe'Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The brutal nature of the First World War presented frontline medical personnel with an array of horrific and debilitating wounds, inflicted on a previously unimaginable scale. From gas attacks and bayonet wounds to rifle fire and artillery barrages, day-to-day life on the frontlines posed a serious risk to life and limb. The doctors and nurses responsible for medical care rose to the challenge, and the First World War saw a dramatic transformation in the provision of frontline medicine. Many more lives would be saved than lost due to the efforts of these 'lifesavers'. Focusing on the Canadian experience, Tim Cook, author of Lifesavers and Body Snatchers, explains just how important and innovative the work of frontline medical staff was, and reveals the more sinister side of how these advances were achieved.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Ming Dynasty emerged in the second half of the 14th century, having achieved a hard-won victory over the declining Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. Admiral Zheng He, a Muslim of Mongol descent, was born into this turmoil in a far-flung, frontier province of the Ming empire. Yet by the early 15th century, he had been made the commander-in-chief of some of the most extravagant and far-reaching naval voyages in history. How did a Muslim eunuch ascend to a position of such power in the Ming court? Where did these vast voyages take him, and how is he considered in China today? Dan is joined by Craig Clunas, Professor of the History of Art at the University of Oxford and an expert on the Ming Dynasty, to answer these questions, and more.Produced by James Hickmann. Edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the British and French colonies in North America expanded in the middle of the 18th century, they inevitably clashed. Fighting between the two sides and their respective Native American allies began in Ohio Country (now western Pennsylvania) in 1754. Dan Snow tells Don how the fighting began in 1754 in Ohio country (now western Pennsylvania) and spread, over almost a decade, across the disputed territory in the Great Lakes region and into New France (modern-day Canada). As a result of the Treaty of Paris, which ended the war, France's presence in North America was all but ended. They were left only with the small islands of St Pierre and Miquelon, off Newfoundland.Produced by Benjie Guy. Mixed by Aidan Lonergan. Senior Producer: Charlotte Long.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Just over 100 years ago, in October 1922, Mussolini and 30,000 Blackshirts marched on Rome. It was a mass demonstration that would see his National Fascist Party take power in the Kingdom of Italy. However, the advent of Italian fascism has always been overshadowed by that of its infamous German counterpart, the Nazi Party. But what actually happened during Mussolini’s time in power? And why do we remember Mussolini’s dictatorship on more forgiving terms than that of Hitler? Dan is joined by Christian Goeschel, historian of modern European history and author of Mussolini and Hitler: The Forging of the Fascist Alliance, to lay bare the realities of Mussolini’s Italy.Produced by James Hickmann. Edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Winston Churchill is possibly the most famous politician in British history. Throughout his career, he would hold numerous positions in government, including serving as the MP for 5 different constituencies. Perhaps the most unusual of these was his time representing the Scottish industrial city of Dundee - he would provoke the ire of a fascinating cast of characters, including the respected Dundonian and prohibitionist, Edwin Scrymgeour. But how did Churchill become MP for the Scottish city of Dundee? And why did he lose the 1922 by-election to Scrymgeour? Dan is joined by Andrew Liddle, historian and author of Cheers, Mr Churchill! Winston in Scotland, to learn about Churchill’s surprising career in Dundee and how he was beaten by a prohibitionist candidate.‌Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Crusades are well-known but only part of the complex history of the medieval Near East. During the same era, the region was completely remade by the Mongol invasions.  In a single generation, the Mongols upended the region’s geopolitics. In this edition of Gone Medieval, Matt Lewis talks to Dr. Nicholas Morton, author of The Mongol Storm: Making and Breaking Empires in the Medieval Near East, about the conquests that forever transformed the region, while forging closer ties among societies spread across Eurasia.  This episode was edited and produced by Rob Weinberg.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Himalayas is one of the most expansive and storied regions in the world. It's also a place that we're hugely dependent on, providing billions of people with fresh water. Because of its significance, civilisations throughout history have sought to conquer it. What forces have exerted control over 'The Roof of the World'? And what is it about this place that has fascinated outsiders for centuries? Dan speaks with John Keay, journalist and author of Himalaya: Exploring the Roof of the World to explore the intersections of culture, society and nature that makeup one of the world's last great wildernesses.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At the end of the 19th century, the world came to fear terrorism. In an era that simmered with political rage and social inequalities, anarchists and nationalists took to bombing cities and attacking lawmakers and leaders. With an outrage-hungry press peddling hysteria, conspiracy theories and fake news, readers began to think they were living through the end of days. Add social media to the mix and it all sounds a bit familiar.Dr James Crossland, Reader in International History at Liverpool John Moores University, joins Dan on the podcast to discuss the origins of modern terrorism, parallels with what we see today with groups from ISIS to the Proud Boys who stormed the Capitol in Washington DC in 2021 and how exactly terrorism works.Dr James Crossland's new book is called 'Rise of Devils'.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and James Hickmann. Edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Prince Harry's explosive new memoir is out today and headlines, articles and tweets all weighing in on the rift between the royals are everywhere. In the past warring royal siblings fought it out on the battlefield or in duplicitous schemes of murder, but today it plays out in the media.Historian of Monarchy Anna Whitelock joins Dan to talk about the dynamics of royal families, the dangers of hereditary power and some of the most important royal sibling rivalries through history including Henry VIII and Arthur, Prince of Wales, Elizabeth I and Mary Tudor and William II and Henry I.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and James Hickmann. Edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From 1939 to 1975, Generalissimo Francisco Franco ruled Spain as a nationalist dictator. For many, he was Spain incarnate, a tenacious leader and warrior in the same vein as El Cid. Under his guidance, the regime was able to navigate 36 years of political turmoil and conflict, vanquishing Communism, surviving the Second World War and bringing about economic prosperity. For others, this idealised portrait stands in stark contrast to the reality of his rule, which was instead defined by incompetence, violence and self-interest. So who exactly was Francisco Franco, and why is he such a divisive figure? Sir Paul Preston, the acclaimed historian and biographer of General Franco, joins Dan to untangle the complex and conflicted legacy of Spain's most famous 20th-century leader.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

November 22nd marks 59 years since the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy. One of the most famous assassinations in history, JFK's death sent shockwaves not only through the United States but across the world. However, before that fateful day in history, JFK was a journalist, a Senator, and finally President - but what do we know about his early political career? And what actually went on behind the closed doors of the Oval office?James Rogers from the Warfare Podcast is joined by Deirdre Henderson, a former colleague and friend of JFK. Deirdre had worked with JFK when he was a senator, and played a significant role in helping to form a group of key advisors to secure his Presidential election. Not only that, but Deirdre went on to work in matters of defence and security for the state - and in the early years of their friendship, was gifted JFK's personal diary. Together, Deirdre and James talk about how Deirdre came to work for the then Senator, her experience at the 1961 Inauguration, and her final moments with JFK. Deirdre offers an unprecedented look inside JFK's White House, allowing for a new side of John F. Kennedy to be seen.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The first author in history, the inventor of the dishwasher and the lawyer who refused to be kicked out of the room the Oxford law school; when it comes to revolutions, says novelist Kate Mosse, you don't always have to lead from the front. There are thousands of women in history who've changed their circumstances and the world for others in smaller but no less impactful ways. She talks to Dan about her new book 'Warrior Queens and Quiet Revolutionaries' which tells the stories of some of those women. Produced by Beth Donaldson and mixed by Dougal PatmoreIf you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download the History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download the History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Harry Houdini is perhaps the most famous entertainer to have ever lived. He wowed his audiences with sensational feats of physical endurance and illusions that were as shocking as they were impressive. What was it that made him such a captivating performer? What controversies swirled around this intriguing character? And was any of the magic real...? Joe Posnanski, an award-winning sports journalist and author of The Life and Afterlife of Harry Houdini joins Dan to talk about these questions and more.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode tells the incredible story of four Second World War British POWs who overcame the trials and tribulations of internment through a shared passion for birdwatching. Derek Niemann, a specialist in natural history and author of Birds in a Cage, joins Dan to discuss why this obsession helped them survive the POW camps, and how it drove them to become giants of post-war British wildlife conservation.Produced by Hannah Ward and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Almost at the centre of Europe, Budapest, is at the crossroads of geographical regions and of civilizations, at the intersection of ancient trade routes. Mountains that gradually slope into gentle hills converge on a great river, the Danube, and the regions of Buda and Pest sprang up on either side.Victor Sebestyen is a writer and historian. Victor joins Dan on the podcast to share the story of a tumultuous, often divided, but always fascinating city. They discuss how the city bears the scars of the rise and fall of multiple empires, two world wars, fascism, Nazi German occupation, and Soviet Communism.Produced by Hannah Ward and edited by Dougal PatmoreIf you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fingers on buzzers for a very special History Hit end-of-year treat.Tricky expert questions, history in the headlines, historical fact or fiction? It can only be the History Hit Big Quiz of 2022 - a seasonal test where you can pit your wits against our in-house history brains, or just sit back, grab a glass of whatever you fancy, and enjoy a fact-filled competition, chaired by Quizmaster supreme, Dan Snow.Everyone is welcome - from history know-it-alls to the whole family. Who can tell the difference between Mary Tudor and Marie Antoinette; the battles of Bosworth and Bunker Hill; Cleopatra’s needle and the Washington Monument?We’re all living through history, now let’s find out who’s been paying attention!If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 galleries and individual victims of Nazi crimes allied troops discovered hidden caches of priceless artworks throughout Europe. As the war proceeded it had been recognised that these cultural treasures needed protection from the fighting and where necessary rescued and returned to their rightful owners. This job fell to the men and women of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program (MFAA) often known as "Monuments Men". Around 400 strong this team of dedicated art historians and museum staff risked their lives on the frontlines in order to save some of the world's most precious cultural heritage. To help tell the story of these brave men and women Dan is joined by Robert Edsel founder of the Monuments Men Foundation. Robert guides us through the formation of the MFAA, its role during and after the war and the ongoing going work by his foundation to continue their legacy and reunite works of art that remain missing with their rightful owners.In the second half of the podcast, Dan speaks to Eric 'Randy' Schoenberg an American lawyer and genealogist, based in Los Angeles, California, specializing in legal cases related to the recovery of looted or stolen artworks, particularly those by the Nazi regime during the Holocaust. Randy successfully sued the Austrian government on behalf of his client Maria Altmann and reclaimed five Gustav Klimt paintings that had been taken during the war. He talks about how he came to specialize in this aspect of the law, the case itself and the impact the return of the paintings had on both Maria's family and him. This episode was first broadcast on 16 September 2021.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 of Bosworth. It was a grudge match to decide who would become King of England, but how true is this story really? In this episode, we'll find out as we ask the big questions about Richard III and Henry VII. Did Richard kill the princes in the tower? Were the motives of Henry's supporters honest ones? Who was the better king and why did they both end up so unpopular? And, how did these two men end up fighting each other for the crown? Representing Richard III is Matt Lewis presenter of Gone Medieval, Chair of the Richard III Society and author of numerous books on Richard and the Wars of the Roses. Matt takes on Nathen Amin author of Henry VII and the Tudor Pretenders: Simnel, Warbeck And Warwick who represents Henry VII. They answer the big questions about these two controversial Monarchs and as you'll hear they might have more in common than you might think. This episode was first broadcast on 25 October 2021.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 before the fourteenth century. Whether religious or not, the singing of Christmas carols is a tradition enjoyed by many every year, but do we know why?Author of ‘Christmas Carols: From Village Green to Church Choir,’ composer and choirmaster Andrew Gant joins Dan for this carol-filled episode of the podcast. Andrew and Dan discuss why we sing Christmas carols and how they came to hold the magic enjoyed by so many. Accompany Dan and Andrew in the festive spirit as delve into the history of one of our best-loved musical traditions and the surprising stories behind a handful of well-known seasonal songs.Audio courtesy of Signum Records.This episode was first broadcast on 24 December 2021.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Porpoises, beaver tails, boar's head and puffins: are just some of the exquisite dishes on medieval tables during the festive season. In this episode food historian, Annie Gray joins Dan in his kitchen to cook up some delicious Christmas fare from ages past. They make wassail - an ancient alcoholic punch - and mince meat pies as they talk about the Pagan rituals, Medieval feasts and Victorian traditions that dictate what we put on our Christmas dinner tables.You can make these festive delicacies at home as you listen! Find the easy-to-follow traditional recipes Dan and Annie used here: Annie's book is called 'At Christmas We Feast'Follow the link to see the recipes featured in the podcast and learn more about Christmases past.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal PatmoreIf you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Click here to vote for Gone Medieval at the Signal Awards.At this time of year, many of us will find ourselves singing about a royal personage who braves the snow on the Feast of Stephen – the Second Day of Christmas – so that he can distribute alms to a poor peasant. But who was the real Good King Wenceslas and was he as pious and saintly as the Christmas song suggests?In this episode of Gone Medieval, Dr. Cat Jarman is joined by Czech historian Dr. David Kalhous to learn about the tenth-century Bohemian Duke, posthumously declared to be a king and patron saint of the Czech state.This episode was edited and produced by Rob Weinberg.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lasting six brutal weeks, from December 16, 1944, to January 25, 1945, the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes region of Belgium was Adolf Hitler’s last major offensive in the Second World War against the Western Front.Anthony Tucker-Jones had a former career in British intelligence and is now a defence writer and military historian. Dan welcomes Anthony back to the podcast to discuss Hitler’s aim to split the Allies in their drive toward Germany, the attack on the battle-fatigued American troops and how ultimately, the German troops’ failure to divide Britain, France and America with the Ardennes offensive paved the way to victory for the allies.Produced by Hannah Ward and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why do grandmas wear bloomers? How did romans clean themselves after using the toilet? Pillows were originally made of stone?! These are all questions Orla, Wolf and Zia Snow have for author and public historian Greg Jenner. In this episode Dan and his children quiz Greg about the incredible history of the everyday things we use and take for granted.Greg's new children's book is called 'You Are History' and is bursting with hundreds of astonishing stories and illustrations.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and mixed by Joseph Knight.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Followed by billions and worshipped across the planet, Jesus is the most famous person who ever lived. Jesus Christ is revered as a prophet and the Messiah by Christians but who was Jesus, the man, who was born in Judea in the 1st Century AD and preached around Galilee during the Roman Empire?What we know of Jesus largely comes from the four gospels of the New Testament which are regarded as the most authoritative accounts of Jesus' life. As a poor labourer who only really appeared on the scene for a very short time, it's no surprise there's no archeological evidence of Jesus. Only kings and emperors leave a trace. This means historians have to find other ways to corroborate the details in the gospels.In this Christmas episode Joan Taylor, Professor in Early Christianity at Kings College London, compares parallel details across all the gospels, looks at contemporary textiles, Roman historical accounts and evidence of Jesus' contemporaries to piece together a biography of the man who changed the world. Produced by Mariana Des Forges, mixed by Joseph Knight.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week a celebrity chef, former police officers and serving army officers were arrested in Germany as part of an extremist coup to overthrow the government. The 'Reichsbürger' group has been described as a 'right-wing terrorist cell' by German media and was targeted by over 3000 police officers in an enormous raid that uncovered rifles, ammunition and personnel gathering. The group's aim was to reinstate the German monarchy with a hereditary prince, and right-wing conspiracy theorist Heinrich XIII as head of state. The 71-year-old is a descendent of the Hohenzollern dynasty, part of the German monarchy deposed in 1918 after the disastrous First World War.To make sense of the news, Dan speaks to Anglo-German historian and author Katja Hoyer about Germany's relationship with its historical monarchy, the roots of the coup and the influence of QAnon and Trumpian conspiracy theories in galvanising far-right groups in Germany.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and mixed by John Rogers.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Angela Findlay was determined to find out if her grandfather, Karl von Graffen, was a Nazi and what he did on the Eastern front. An artist and speaker, Angela spent her youth feeling a constant sense of guilt and shame but couldn't figure out why. It wasn't until her 40s that she turned to her German roots and discovered that she was enmeshed in the horrors of Nazi Germany and the Second World War.She knew her German grandfather had been a Wehrmacht general in the Second World War but never really understand what that meant. She set out on a research mission to find out what her grandfather had been involved in and what he'd known. Her journey took her across Russia to the swamps of the Volkhov Front where he’d fought in Operation Barbarossa in Hitler's war of annihilation.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal PatmoreIf you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There are many common misconceptions and misunderstandings about Tattoos. They can act as a window into the social economic and cultural issues of a period of time. Britain was in fact the 'land of the painted people' with tattooing going further back into our history than many people would think. Dr Matt Lodder, the world's leading expert on the history of tattooing, and senior lecturer in Art History and Theory at the University of Essex talks to Dan about all things ink and body art. What do tattoos mean for us as individuals and what can they tell us about societies of the past? This episode was produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The American Civil War saw a transformation in medical provision on the battlefield. A loose grouping of medical practitioners was reshaped into a burgeoning, professionalised occupation. How did the medical profession rise to the challenge of treating thousands of wounded soldiers? What lessons were learnt about treating not just battlefield wounds, but infection and disease as well? Dan is joined by Carole Adrienne, author of Healing A Divided Nation to discuss the American Civil War, and the birth of modern medicine.Produced by Hannah Ward and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Battle of Stalingrad was the deadliest battle of the Second World War, and one of the bloodiest in the history of warfare. Infamous for its atrocious conditions and brutal house-to-house fighting, the battle raged for just over 5 months and concluded with an estimated 2 million casualties. Dan is joined by Iain MacGregor, author of the acclaimed book The Lighthouse of Stalingrad, to hear his thrilling account of history's greatest battle and the key moments that shaped its outcome.Produced by Beth Donaldson and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Of all the air raids carried out during World War Two, none are as enduringly famous as the attack by Lancaster Bombers against the dams of Germany’s industrial heartland. Commemorated in literature and film throughout the decades, the mission – which was codenamed Operation ‘Chastise’ – has come to epitomise British ingenuity and courage throughout the war. On the night of 16-17 May 1943, an audacious raid using purpose-built “bouncing bombs” destroyed the Möhne and Edersee Dams. Successful detonation required great technical skill from the pilots: they needed to be dropped from a height of 60 feet, at a ground speed of 232mph, in challenging conditions. Once the dams were breached, there was catastrophic flooding of the Ruhr valley and of villages in the Eder valley. Despite the fact that the impact on industrial production was limited, the raid gave a significant morale boost to the people of Britain and became enshrined in popular consciousness. In late March 1943, the RAF 617 Squadron was formed under great secrecy at RAF Scampton, for the specific purpose of attacking the dams. Led by 24-year-old Wing Commander Guy Gibson, the squadron was made up of aircrew from Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the USA. Over 100 aircrew, aboard 19 Lancaster bombers, would eventually carry out the famous raids. One of the young men selected to take part in the crew was 21-year-old George ‘Johnny’ Johnson, who had been trained as a specialist bomb aimer. He was the last surviving Dambuster until his death, aged 101, on 7 December 2022. In this fascinating interview, Dan meets with Johnny Johnson to hear about the extraordinary events in the lead-up to the raid, and about how his life was altered by the events of those fateful nights in May 1943.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zeus, the chief deity in Greek mythology, is the Olympian god of sky and thunder and is king of all other gods and men.His tale is one of overthrowing fathers, eating babies and seducing women, both mortal and divine, by changing his own form. He's one of the most complex figures in history, and his story is one that's been retold throughout millennia. To try and make sense of it all, we're going back to the very beginning, to the origins of Zeus, starting with his grandfather and grandmother, Uranus and Gaia. We learn about the prophecy that ultimately overthrows Uranus, the same one that is also fated for Zeus's father, Cronus, and start to understand the family tree that becomes the Olympians - from Athena to Dionysus.For this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by academic, author, broadcaster and Professor in Classics and Ancient History at the University of Warwick, Michael Scott. If you enjoyed this episode, you might also enjoy The Symposium: How To Party Like An Ancient Greek, also with Michael Scott.Script written by Andrew HulseVoice over performed by Deryn OliverProduced, edited and sound designed by Elena GuthrieThe Assistant Producer was Annie ColoeIf you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lieutenant-Colonel 'Paddy' Mayne is a legendary figure in the history of the British Special Forces. Valiant but volatile, confident yet conflicted, Paddy embodied the fighting spirit of the SAS. Ben Macintyre is the author of the book SAS: Rogue Heroes, the only approved history of the unit which was recently turned into a BBC drama series of the same name. Ben joins us to talk about the formation of this legendary fighting force, and the life and times of its most colourful character.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How has China become the economic superpower that it is today? The decades since the death of Chairman Mao Zedong have seen an unprecedented economic transformation, but how has this been achieved? And how credible is the idea that China’s long-term, strategic vision is the key to the nation’s future? Dan is joined by historian Frank Dikötter, a specialist in modern China and author of China After Mao: The Rise of a Superpower, to find out how China has changed, and where it might be going.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With the 2022 FIFA World Cup well underway, the phenomenon of sportswashing is once again in everybody's minds. Autocracies and democracies alike have long relied on major sporting events to shore up their legitimacy and project their presence on the world stage. But why is sporting prowess so important for consolidating state power and prestige? Is it inevitable, and if not, how do we prevent it? Dan is joined by Jules Boykoff, Professor of Politics and Government at Pacific University, Oregon to talk about all these things, and more.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What was life really like in Tudor England? This was a society where monarchy was under strain, the church was in crisis and contending with war, rebellion, plague and poverty was a fact of daily life. Yet it was also an age rich in ideas and ideals, where women asserted their agency and found a literary voice. In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Dr. Lucy Wooding, who has written a bold new history of the brilliant, conflicted, visionary world of Tudor England, presenting a starkly different picture of this famous era from the one we thought we know.The Senior Producer was Elena Guthrie. It was edited and produced by Rob Weinberg. If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How can you condense the history of the world into a book? Well-celebrated historian Simon Sebag Montefiore does just that in his new epic. He takes Dan on an exhilarating journey through the families that have shaped our world: the Caesars, Medicis and Incas, Ottomans and Mughals, and Bonapartes and Habsburgs to name a few. His new book 'The World' captures the story of humankind in all its joy, sorrow, romance, ingenuity and cruelty.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal PatmoreIf you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Atlantis is one of the most compelling legends - an advanced, mythical civilisation, wiped out by an unknown phenomenon. The allure of this civilisation, rich in lost knowledge and culture, is obvious. But how do archaeologists separate fact from fiction? How can they be confident about the past, whilst remaining open to new ideas? Flint Dibble, an archaeologist at Cardiff University, joins Dan to talk about Atlantis and how experts should treat new discoveries and evidence.This episode was produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

England plays Wales in the World Cup today so it only makes sense that Dan looks back at what's often called Wales' last war of Independence against the English. No one quite knows how it began, but on the 16th of September 1400 Owain Glyndwr- a man of affluence from a mixed Anglo-Welsh family took the title of Prince of Wales and lead a bold and bloody rebellion against King Henry IV. Although he was ultimately defeated, Owain Glyndwr is remembered as a welsh hero, reimagined time and again by poets, writers and historians. Historical accounts from this period can sometimes be obscure so Dr Adam Chapman, a lecturer in Medieval History at the Institute of Historical Research joins the podcast to unravel the legend of Owain Glyndwr and sort the myth from the fact.This episode was produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rome has attracted aspiring conquerors and leaders for millennia, not just as a great metropolis, but as an idea. It has long been a symbol of military might and universal power, defined by political and religious authority as well as great feats of engineering that would leave indelible marks on the regions it conquered, and overshadow empire builders for centuries to come. Dan is joined by Simon Elliott, a historian, archaeologist and author of 'The Legacy of Rome', to discuss how the experience of being part of the Roman world is still felt in the modern day.This episode was produced by Beth Donaldson and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From a plague in Athens during the Peloponnesian War in 430 BCE, to another in 540 that wiped out half the population of the Roman empire, down through the Black Death in the Middle Ages and on through the 1918 flu epidemic (which killed between 50 and 100 million people) and this century's deadly SARS outbreak, plagues have been a much more relentless fact of life than many realise.Brian Michael Jenkins is one of the leading authorities on U.S. national security and an advisor to governments, presidents and CEOs. Brain joins Dan to discuss the legacy of epidemics— which is not only one of the lives lost but also of devastated economies, social disorder, and severe political repercussions.This episode was produced by Hannah Ward and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Yesterday the UK Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Scottish government is not allowed to hold a second independence referendum without Westminster's agreement. It means, for now, Scotland will stay in the United Kingdom, though for how long is unclear.The union between the nations of Great Britain goes back to 1707. On each side of the border, statesmen started to realise that a closer relationship offered solutions to problems both countries were facing: Scotland needed economic security and England needed political safeguards against French attacks. In this episode, Scottish historian Professor Murray Pittock talks Dan through the benefits and cracks in this 300 year old union.Produced by Hannah Ward and edited by Dougal PatmoreIf you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dan teams up with his parents and esteemed journalists Peter Snow and Ann MacMillan to explore the lives, loves, triumphs and disasters of a monarchy that is the envy of the world. They offer a unique insight into those born to rule, whether villains or heroes – from cruel King John and warrior-king Edward III to our own Elizabeth II: dutiful, discreet and the longest-reigning queen in the world.Their new book is called 'Kings and Queens: The Real Lives of Monarchs' Produced by Dan Snow and edited by Dougal Patmore. If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Central Park is an oasis of nature in New York City, amidst the countless skyscrapers and gridded streets of Manhattan. Over 800 acres of sweeping fields, shaded pathways and picturesque vistas attract more than 42 million visitors a year. It was created to give free and equal access to recreational space for all. But, as Don hears from Leslie Alexander, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Professor of History at Rutgers University, underneath Central Park are the remains of Seneca - a village of African-American, Irish and German communities, whose inhabitants were forced from their homes to make way for the park’s construction in 1857.Produced by Benjie Guy. Mixed by Thomas Ntinas. Senior Producer: Charlotte Long.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mike Sadler is the last surviving original member of the SAS and is featured in the new television series SAS Rogue Heroes as a dashing young man and master of desert warfare. Major Sadler, now 101, was the navigator for the regiment’s founder David Stirling, guiding raiding columns for hundreds of miles behind enemy lines in North Africa. In this archive interview, he talks to Dan about how he came to join this legendary unit at its very conception and his service during the Second World War.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For centuries, the pub has played a central role in our lives and communities. Throughout Britain, there are many pubs saying that they are the oldest - some of them even claim to have Medieval origins.In this episode of Gone Medieval, Dr. Cat Jarman welcomes back award-winning buildings archaeologist Dr. James Wright to explore how long we have actually had pubs and which of them can truly claim to be the oldest.The Senior Producer on this episode was Elena Guthrie. It was edited and produced by Rob Weinberg. If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rising interest, cost of living crisis, energy prices at an all-time high- is Britain's precarious financial situation the fault of policymakers or global forces? On the day the chancellor reveals the Autumn budget Dan and Dr Charles Read, economic historian and fellow at the University of Cambridge make sense of how Britain got here. They break down gilts, bonds and interest rates, how voters swing toward extreme parties in the wake of the financial crisis, and what lessons Kwasi Kwarteng should have taken from the Whig party's mistakes during the Great Potato Famine in the 1840s, as he made his disastrous mini-budget.Dr Charles Read's new books are called 'The Great Famine in Ireland and British Financial Crisis' and 'The Carry Trade, the Banking School and British Financial Crises since 1825'This episode was produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In part 2 of this series on Easy Company and the American 101st Airborne Division, we are back in the village of Aldbourne, following in the steps of the infantrymen as they trained, relaxed and got to know Britain in preparation for the liberation of Europe. The team make an exciting discovery that gives them a direct link to soldiers of Easy Company.This episode was produced by Marian Des Forges and James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the first of this 2-part series dedicated to the legacy of Easy Company and the American 101st Airborne Division, Dan visits the idyllic country village of Aldbourne in Wiltshire, where the 'Band of Brothers' were stationed. Joined by a group of volunteers, including military veterans and archaeologists, Dan and the team dig into the 'friendly invasion' of the Second World War and see what can be learned from the treasures that the Allied troops left behind.This episode was produced by Marian Des Forges and James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In December 2021, marine archaeologists working alongside the Swedish Navy came across the wreck of a 17th-century warship in the Stockholm archipelago. Its identity remained a mystery until earlier this year when she was positively identified as the elusive 'Äpplet', sister ship to the ill-fated 'Vasa' that sank during her maiden voyage. Marine archaeologist Jim Hansson joins us to explain the significance of this wreck as an example of the cutting-edge engineering and experimentation that defined this period of naval history.This episode was produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Often faster than letters sent by ship, WWII soldiers stationed in South East Asia would send heartfelt and humorous video messages to their loved ones who'd gather in cinemas across Britain. Using the revolutionary technology of the time the men spoke directly to the camera, addressing their families and partners watching back home in Britain, it was a way the government ensured those fighting further away weren't forgotten.For Remembrance Day, Dan takes a trip to South Yorkshire to the Penistone Paramount cinema, a red plush auditorium with an original Compton cinema organ, for a special screening of these moving films from the front line. Professor Steve Hawley came across the films gathering dust in archives up and down the country and decided to track down the descendants of the personnel in the films for a special screening. In this episode, Dan goes along and meets Vanessa and Richard Barnes who have no idea a film of their father exists.Professor Steve Hawley's book is called 'Men, War and Film'Find out more about the Penistone Paramount here.Archive audio heard in this episode is held by the BFI.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and mixed by Dougal PatmoreIf you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!Download History Hit app from the Google Play store.Download History Hit app from the Apple Store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For at least 1,500 years, since the mists swirling around the Dark Ages began to clear, the British Isles have had monarchical rulers. For hundreds of years, they were the central figures of the nation: the focus of its politics and society, consecrated by God, endorsed (or not) by the nobility, the arbiters of its arts and culture, the makers of its laws, the directors of its government and the leaders in its wars.Stephen Bates is an award-winning author and journalist, most recently, the Royalty and Religious Affairs correspondent for the Guardian from 2000-2012. Stephen joins Dan to explore how and why the monarchy in these islands has endured and evolved, and what will become of its survival in the future.This episode was produced by Hannah Ward and James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On November 9th, 1989, 33 years ago to the day, the Berlin Wall that had symbolised the ideological and physical division of Europe came crumbling down. We remember this in the West as a triumph of Democracy and the beginning of a new, post-Cold War world. But was it that clear cut for the people whose lives were most closely touched by this momentous occasion? How did people in Germany respond to events as they unfolded? For this special anniversary episode, Dan is joined by four people who experienced the 9th of November first-hand and hears their unique perspectives on the events of that day.This episode was produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As protests continued across Iran, a number of Iranian-made kamikaze drones were fired by Russian forces at targets thousands of miles away in Kyiv, Ukraine.It marks the first time that these Iranian weapons have been used against a European capital, as well as a new low for relations between Iran and the West - which were already under strain.So how did we get here? In this episode of Warfare, James Rogers is joined by Professor Ali Ansari of St Andrews University in Scotland to learn the historical context of modern Iran - from the Iranian Revolution to the nuclear deal torn up by former US President Donald Trump in 2018.This episode was first broadcast on 24th October 2022.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

American intelligence services like the CIA are commonly thought of as global behemoths of international surveillance and covert operations, responsible for carrying out everything from cyber espionage to assassinations and political coups. But its origins in the Second World War paint a picture of a very different kind of intelligence agency, operating on a smaller scale, and with very different goals. We are joined by historian Nicholas Reynolds, who has in his time been a marine and an employee of the CIA, who will guide us through the birth and growth of the agency, and tackle some of the most persistent conspiracy theories that surround it along the way.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Joseph Knight.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4/4. Dan descends the very same stone steps into Tutankhamun's tomb that Carter did, 100 years earlier. From within the chamber, Dan and Egyptologist Alia Ismail give a sense of the awe Carter and Carnarvon would have felt, of the riches and sarcophagi that housed the mummy of Tutankhamun. Meanwhile, Dr Campbell Price gets into the obsession the discovery sparked- ‘tut-mania’- as the public bought all the rolls of film in Luxor and slept on camp-beds in the grounds of the winter Palace hotel, desperate to catch a glimpse of the treasures emerging from the tomb.From the bustling Luxor souk, Dan reflects on why exactly the boy pharaoh captured the world's imagination and still does to this day.Listen to episode one - Tutankhamun: The Valley of the Kings.Listen to episode two - Tutankhamun: The Discovery of a Lifetime.Listen to episode three - Tutankhamun: The Life of a Boy Pharaoh.This podcast was written and produced by Mariana Des Forges and mixed by Dougal PatmoreIf you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/4. How much do we know about Tutankhamun, his short life and even shorter reign? Dan unravels the complicated legacy of Tutankhamun's predecessor Akhenaten who changed the very fabric of Egyptian society, leaving his son Tutankhamun to change it back. In life, the boy pharaoh was plagued by health complications and died aged 18, leaving very little information about his life. Dan and Egyptologist Dr Campbell Price look to his tomb to see what it can tell us about his reign, death and funeral.Listen to episode one - Tutankhamun: The Valley of the Kings.Listen to episode two - Tutankhamun: The Discovery of a Lifetime.This podcast was written and produced by Mariana Des Forges and mixed by Dougal PatmoreIf you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2/4. Dan dives into Carter’s obsession with Tutankhamun and the trials and idiosyncrasies that made him the right man for the discovery. Dan visits the house Carter built where he conducted his search. There, architectural historian Nicholas Warner tells Dan about the many frustrating years of finding nothing...until water boy Hussein Abdel-Rassoul stumbled upon a square stone that looked like a step. They dug down and discovered a tomb door with the royal seal. No one could have imagined the treasure that lay inside...Listen to Episode One Tutankhamun: The Valley of the Kings.This podcast was written and produced by Mariana Des Forges and mixed by Dougal PatmoreIf you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1/4. On the West Bank of the Nile in Luxor lie the burial chambers of some of Ancient Egypt's greatest pharaohs - Ramses II, Seti I and Tutankhamun. From Luxor, Dan delves into the history of the Valley of the Kings with Alia Ismail whose current project is 3D mapping the tombs. He ventures deep into the earth inside the most magnificent of all the valley tombs- Seti I - as he and celebrated Egyptologist Salima Ikram tell the story of Giovanni Belzoni and the many explorers and archaeologists who set the stage for Howard Carter's discovery of the century.This podcast was written and produced by Mariana Des Forges and mixed by Dougal PatmoreIf you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stories of shipwrecks, smugglers and ghosts. Built in the mid-18th century, over the years many of the Jamaica Inn's patrons have been less respectable than most. The inn has a long history of being used by smugglers to hide away contraband that was brought ashore concealed in all sorts of things - potatoes, women's stockings and even a hollowed-out turtle. It is estimated that half the brandy and a quarter of all tea being smuggled into the UK was landed along the Cornish and Devon coasts. Jamaica Inn was remote and isolated so it was the ideal stopping place on the way to Devon and beyond.The inn was made famous by Daphne Du Maurier's novel of the same name published in 1936 after she and a friend became lost in fog whilst out riding on the moors and were led back by their horses to safety at the Inn. During the time spent recovering from her ordeal, the local rector is said to have entertained her with ghost stories and tales of smuggling...Today it still operates as a hotel and museum and local historian at the Jamaica Inn Karin Beasant joins the podcast to regale us with tales of smuggling off the Cornish coast.Find out more information about the Jamaica Inn.Produced by Mariana Des Forges, edited by Dougal Patmore and readings by Lucy Davidson.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From their origins in necromancy to their ritualisation in the religion of Spiritualism, seances have long been a staple in the occultist's toolbelt. Purporting to call forth spirits and allow communication with the dead, they exploded in popularity in the nineteenth century, attracting great scientists, writers and thinkers to their cause. Dan is joined by Lisa Morton, an expert on Spiritualism and author of Calling the Spirits: A History of Seances to talk about where seances came from, what they mean, and the frauds behind them.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and Beth Donaldson and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The inspiration behind countless gothic novels, Countess Elizabeth Báthory is said to be one of the most prolific serial killers of all time, accused of the murder of 600 girls during the late 16th century. Dan talks to Professor Kimberly Craft, a legal historian who has spent over a decade researching the life and trial of Countess Báthory and over a year translating original source material into English. Where does the truth lie, a conspiracy started by her enemies or a psychopathic vampire?Produced by Beth Donaldson and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Was Rasputin really Russia’s greatest love machine? Did he have any healing powers? And why might his penis be pickling in a jar?In this episode, we are drawing this mystical man out of his cloud of green smoke to find out which of the things we know about him might actually be true.Kate Lister from Betwixt The Sheets is joined by Douglas Smith, historian, translator and expert in Russian history, who has emerged from the archives with a new interpretation of this cartoon baddy.*WARNING there are naughty words and discussions of sexual coercion in this episode*Produced by Charlotte Long and Sophie Gee.Betwixt the Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society. A podcast by History Hit.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Arthur Stanley Harley was a scholar, reverend, politician, and perhaps aristocrat. Born in a poor village in the Caribbean island of Antigua, he went on to attend Howard, Harvard, Yale and Oxford universities, was ordained a priest in Canterbury Cathedral and was elected to Leicestershire County Council. This remarkable career was all the more extraordinary because he was black in an age - the early twentieth century - that was institutionally racist.Pamela Roberts is an award-winning creative producer and historian. Her work as Founder and Director of Black Oxford Untold Stories has raised the profile of many black scholars from the turn of the twentieth century. Pamela joins Dan to offer insight into the Antiguan scholar, his entry by marriage to the Washington elite, and his clerical and political careers.Produced by Hannah Ward and edited by Joseph Knight.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the 1st of November comes an immersive mini-series telling the story of one of the great discoveries of all time: the tomb of Tutankhamun. For more than 3000 years, the boy pharaoh lay undisturbed and almost forgotten in the Valley of the Kings; when in 1922 British archaeologist Howard Carter noticed a set of steps leading down into the earth, they would reveal the most extraordinary gateway to the afterlife the world had ever seenMarking the 100th anniversary of Howard Carter’s discovery, Dan Snow’s History Hit is bringing you a dramatic retelling, recorded from within the tombs of Egypt’s Valley of the Kings. With celebrated Egyptologists, Dan unravels the story of one of the world’s greatest ancient dynasties and the discovery that gripped the globe and still does to this day.Get lost in the Valley of the Kings with Dan, coming to the podcast soon… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fought in the second half of 1942, the Battles of El Alamein were a series of climactic confrontations in Egypt between British Imperial and Commonwealth forces, and a combined German and Italian army. Intended as a last-ditch attempts by the British to halt German gains in North Africa, they resulted in a clear victory for the British and represented a key turning point in the Second World War. Winston Churchill famously remarked that it was ‘not the end, not even the beginning of the end but, possibly, the end of the beginning’. In this episode, Dan explores the circumstances that provoked this historic confrontation, and takes us through the twists and turns of the battle itself, from the perspective of those who fought it.Produced by Dan Snow, James Hickmann and edited by Joseph Knight.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 tactics to break up the allied fleet and ensure success but at great cost to his men and of course himself. It was a truly crushing defeat for the Franco-Spanish forces though. With the majority of their ships destroyed or captured it confirmed Britain's naval supremacy for decades to come. In this dramatic telling of one of the most famous battles in naval history, Dan brings to life the men, the commanders, the ships, and the tactics that enabled the British fleet to emerge as victors.This episode was edited by Dougal Patmore.This episode was first broadcast on 21st October 2021.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Death by tiger bites. Death by prodding. Death from sexual excess. Deaths from over-eating and over-drinking. The opening of graves.These are a few of the chapter headings in a 13th-century Chinese book called ‘The Washing Away of Wrongs’. It is a compendium of grizzly, gory, bizarre murders and deaths.Its author was Song Ci, a Confucian trained bureaucrat who, like his fellow officials all over China, was responsible for investigating murders in his jurisdiction. According to the Wikipedia page for ‘forensic science’ this book is the earliest written evidence of forensic thinking. Is that correct?Our guest today is Daniel Asen, a historian of China at Rutgers University.This is the first episode in a mini-series from Patented: History of Inventions we’re bringing you all about the invention of Forensics.Produced by Freddy ChickEdited by Pete Dennis and Anisha DevaThe actors were Lucy Davidson and Tristan HughesThe Executive Producer is Charlotte LongIf you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Born Mary Jane Grant in the colony of Kingston, Jamaica, in November 1805, Mary would later become a businesswoman, traveller and healer. Posthumously, Mary is best known as a Black British nurse.Gretchen Gerzina is an author and academic who has written mostly historically-grounded biographical studies. Grethen joins Dan to share the story of Mary Seacole— how the traditional Afro-Caribbean medicine she learned from her mother would inform much of her life, her experiences as a Jamaican woman of mixed race and how she nursed the wounded of the Crimean War.This episode was produced by Hannah Ward and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Could Liz Truss be Britain's worst Prime Minister? As the political scene in the UK hurtles into further disarray, Dan gets together historians Tim Bale, Catherine Haddon and Robin Eagles to put forward who they think has been Britain's worst Prime Minister over the centuries. Anthony Eden, Edward Heath and the 3rd Earl of Bute contend for first place.This episode was produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 the Cuban authorities were building medium-range ballistic missile facilities on the island of Cuba and only around 100 miles from the coast of Florida. The resulting confrontation between the USA under JFK and the Soviet Union led by Nikita Khrushchev lasted just over a month and it's often considered to be the closest that the Cold War came to escalating to full-scale nuclear war. Serhii Plokhy, author of Nuclear Folly: A New History of the Cuban Missile Crisis, is Dan's guest on the podcast.This episode was first released on 16 April 2021.The audio editor for this episode was Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There remains a tendency to reduce the history of African and Caribbean people in Britain to a simple story: it is one that begins in 1948 with the arrival of a single ship, the Empire Windrush. Yet, from the very beginning, from the moment humans first stood on this rainy isle, there have been African and Caribbean men and women set at Britain's heart.Professor Hakim Adi is the first historian of African heritage to become a professor of history in Britain— he has been researching and writing about the history of African and Caribbean people in Britain for decades. Hakim joins Dan to chart a course through British history with an unobscured view of the actions of African and Caribbean people, sharing the stories of the Africans in Britain during the Roman period, Black Tudors, Stuarts and Victorians, and shedding light on the Windrush Myth.This episode was produced by Hannah Ward and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.Complete the survey and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win 5 Historical Non-Fiction Books- including a signed copy of Dan Snow's 'On This Day in History'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Russia's current conflict in Ukraine was supposed to be a showcase of military prowess, a quick war that solidified her status as a great power. Instead, it has laid bare issues in leadership, training, supply and morale, all of which have crippled the military's operational capabilities. Although separated by a century, this conflict and Russia's handling of it bear a striking resemblance to Russia's involvement in the First World War. Dan speaks to Alexander Watson, acclaimed historian and author of the award-winning book The Fortress: The Great Siege of Przemysl, to find out exactly what comparisons we can draw between that conflict and the current war in Ukraine.This episode was produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.Complete the survey and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win 5 Historical Non-Fiction Books- including a signed copy of Dan Snow's 'On This Day in History'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in 1933, thousands of German Jews facing systematic persecution wanted to flee the Third Reich but found few countries willing to accept them. For refugees fleeing the Nazis, America’s immigration quotas, established in the 1920s and sustained by popular and Congressional support, made it extremely difficult to enter the United States.Ken Burns and Lynn Novick join Dan to explore America's response to one of the greatest humanitarian crises in history. They discuss the rise of Hitler and Nazism in Germany in the context of global antisemitism and racism, the eugenics movement in the United States and race laws in the American south.This episode was produced by Hannah Ward and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.Complete the survey and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win 5 Historical Non-Fiction Books- including a signed copy of Dan Snow's 'On This Day in History'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Located on the banks of the River Nile in Luxor, Egypt, the Karnak Temple complex is one of the largest buildings ever constructed for religious purposes. Dedicated to the god Amun-Ra and covering over 200 acres - the Karnak Temple complex is bigger than some ancient cities.Earlier this year, Tristan from The Ancients podcast, visited the Temple complex and spoke to the Director of Karnak Temples, El-Tayeb Gharieb Mahmoud. In this special, on-location episode, Tristan and Tayeb give us a tour of one of the most colossal sites left from the ancient world. Journeying around the complex, looking at the reliefs, architecture, and reflecting on the Pharaohs responsible for its construction - what can we learn from this 4,000 year old building?If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.Complete the survey and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win 5 Historical Non-Fiction Books- including a signed copy of Dan Snow's 'On This Day in History'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Romanov family were the first imperial dynasty to rule Russia, reigning from the early seventeenth century until the Russian Revolution of 1917. Including such illustrious names as Peter the Great, Catherine the Great and Alexander I, they oversaw and often instigated, dramatic changes to the fabric of Russian society and culture as a whole. Through conquest and expansion, they carved out a Russian Empire and propelled their nation into great power status. The myth and memory of the Romanovs still permeate Russian identity and history today.Dan catches up with Orlando Figes, a distinguished historian and an expert on Romanov Russia whose acclaimed books, including A People's Tragedy: The Russian Revolution, 1891 - 1924, help to shed light on this crucial portion of Russian history.This episode was produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.Complete the survey and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win 5 Historical Non-Fiction Books- including a signed copy of Dan Snow's 'On This Day in History'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Josie Bassett Morris' life epitomised the Wild West. She grew up on a homestead in the late 18th century, in Northern Utah, USA. Their home was situated on the Outlaw Trail and gun-slingers like Butch Cassidy and the Sun Dance Kid would stay as they passed through. Her mother was a forbidding cattle rancher and Josie quickly learnt the trade. As an adult, she was known for her quick wit, hardy lifestyle on the land and the many husbands she got through- she was smart, self-reliant and kind; a force they struggled to reckon with. As an older woman, she set up her home in the wilderness of Cub Creek where she lived completely off the land, stealing nearby cattle when she needed meat. When the depression hit, she brewed her own corn whiskey to sell. In the mid-20th century, she became a living legend - a movie starring Doris Day was even made about her- and she remains a legend of the old west to this day.While in the USA, Dan took a visit to the Uintah Heritage Museum in Vernal, where he spoke with curator LeeAnn Denzer about life on the frontier and Josie Bassett Morris' extraordinary life.You can find out more about the museum and the history of the frontier at the UINTAH COUNTY HERITAGE MUSEUM website.It was produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.Complete the survey and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win 5 Historical Non-Fiction Books- including a signed copy of Dan Snow's 'On This Day in History'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Please note that this episode contains discussion of racist language.Charles Ignatius Sancho was born on a slave ship crossing the Atlantic Ocean, in what was known as the Middle Passage. He was soon orphaned and then brought to England, where he was enslaved in Greenwich, London, by three sisters who opposed any attempt at education. So how did Charles Ignatius Sancho later go on to meet the King, write and play highly acclaimed music, become the first Black person to vote in Britain and lead the fight to end slavery?Paterson Joseph is an actor and writer. Paterson joins Dan on the podcast to share Sancho’s extraordinary story— ​​one that begins on a tempestuous Atlantic Ocean, and ends at the very centre of London life.This episode was produced by Hannah Ward, the audio editor was Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.Complete the survey and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win 5 Historical Non-Fiction Books- including a signed copy of Dan Snow's 'On This Day in History'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode will establish the century-long roots of sectarian tensions, paint a picture of the political atmosphere in Northern Ireland as the decade came to a close, and track the series of escalating conflicts that climaxed in the deployment of British Troops.Dan is joined by Tim McInerney, co-host of The Irish Passport podcast, for this deep dive into the pivotal events of 1969 to the early 1970s. This episode was edited by Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.Complete the survey and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win 5 Historical Non-Fiction Books- including a signed copy of Dan Snow's 'On This Day in History'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dame Hilary Mantel died on 22 September 2022 at the age of 70. Her acclaimed Wolf Hall trilogy - which brought the life of Thomas Cromwell so vividly to life - has sold more than five million copies worldwide. She won the Booker Prize twice - for Wolf Hall and its sequel, Bring Up the Bodies.In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb and History Hit's Dan Snow pay tribute to one of the greatest English-language novelists of our century.The Senior Producer was Elena Guthrie. It was edited and produced by Rob Weinberg.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.Complete the survey and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win 5 Historical Non-Fiction Books- including a signed copy of Dan Snow's 'On This Day in History'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A long dark, cold winter looms with soaring energy prices. Some of the advice we've heard recently includes buying a new kettle or taking a flannel bath...echoing previous advice given during the brutal fuel crisis of 1973. The Arab–Israeli War sent oil sky high and Britain saw a wave of crises from rolling strikes to energy shortages but the 1970s saw a fuel shortage and what we're facing now is fuel at inflated prices. Any sense of communal struggle and national unity is absent this time. Making sense of what we're facing today, historian Alwyn Turner joins Dan on the podcast to look at similarities in how people coped, how the government responded and also the big differences.This episode was produced by Mariana Des Forges, the audio editor was Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.Complete the survey and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win 5 Historical Non-Fiction Books- including a signed copy of Dan Snow's 'On This Day in History'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From the stone age to current day, from sticks and rocks to drones and artillery - the nature of warfare has changed drastically throughout history. Over the years, technology and societal organisation have transformed the battlefield. Dan talks to Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman, a professor of war studies at King's College London about the evolution of warfare. Professor Freedman takes the temperature of the war in Ukraine from the point of view of history, examining the patterns of recent years.This episode was produced by Beth Donaldson, the audio editor was Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.Complete the survey and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win 5 Historical Non-Fiction Books- including a signed copy of Dan Snow's 'On This Day in History'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1939 Franklin D Roosevelt received a letter from Albert Einstein, warning him that the Nazis might be developing nuclear weapons. America has to act fast.What follows is the creation of a secret city in the rural area of Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Around 75,000 people moved to the secret city during World War Two, and the first atomic bomb was developed in just 28 months.Don Wildman is joined by historian, Ray Smith, to find out how it was possible, and to hear about the experiences of the people who worked at Oak Ridge, most of whom didn't know what they were creating.You can find out more here.The senior producer was Charlotte Long. The producer was Benjie Guy. Mixed by Thomas Ntinas. Special thanks to Fendall Fulton.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.Complete the survey and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win 5 Historical Non-Fiction Books- including a signed copy of Dan Snow's 'On This Day in History' Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the week of the Labour Party when polls indicate that the party is likely to form the next government, it seems an opportune moment to examine what lessons they might be able to draw from their own history. But why Harold Wilson?Harold Wilson won four general elections. More than Clement Atlee or Tony Blair. Wilson was a wily, strategic political operator who made some radical changes to the UK including the decriminalisation of homosexuality, legalising abortion, abolishment of the death penalty and confirming the UK's membership of the European Economic Community. He led the country through a number of crises that would be very familiar to us today including industrial action an energy crisis and the pound sterling being under threat. He was also, allegedly, the Queen's favourite Prime Minister.To discuss Wilson's life and leadership Dan is joined by Nick Thomas-Symonds. Nick is a Labour MP and Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade. He is also a writer, barrister and politician and has recently published a biography of Harold Wilson.This episode was produced by Mariana Des Forges, the audio editor was Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.Complete the survey and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win 5 Historical Non-Fiction Books- including a signed copy of Dan Snow's 'On This Day in History'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the UK's bond market has suffered its biggest fall in decades and the pound has reached its lowest ever price against the US dollar, Dan talks to Dr Nuno Palma, a senior lecturer and associate professor in economics at the University of Manchester about the Bank of England. Dr Palma explains its historical role in Britain's imperial expansion and the industrial revolution and now how it's fighting to keep the British economy from the precipice.This episode was produced by Beth Donaldson, the audio editor was Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.Complete the survey and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win 5 Historical Non-Fiction Books- including a signed copy of Dan Snow's 'On This Day in History'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Agatha Christie is the best-selling fiction writer of all time and her many detective novels, short stories and plays have gripped and entertained millions around the world. Her real life was just as fascinating as any of her crime novels. It was full of love and loss, travel and adventure and an enduring passion for archaeology.In this episode, Dan is joined by historian and Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces Lucy Worsley to discuss the life of Agatha Christie. They talk about her upbringing, what Christie was like in private and the inspirations that led her to become probably the most famous author in history.This episode was produced by Mariana Des Forges, the audio editor was Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.Complete the survey and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win 5 Historical Non-Fiction Books- including a signed copy of Dan Snow's 'On This Day in History'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From an age in which women’s lives were obscured and poorly recorded, one shines brightly from the darkness. Eleanor of Aquitaine - born 900 years ago - has been the subject of scandal and legend for almost a millennium. Nevertheless, she played a central role in the pivotal events that defined nations and set relationships across Europe for centuries to come. In this special explainer episode of Gone Medieval, Matt Lewis recounts an incredible life, separating the myths from the facts to get to the real Eleanor of Aquitaine.The Senior Producer on this episode was Elena Guthrie. It was mixed and edited by Rob Weinberg. If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Lion House is a riveting new book from journalist and historian Christopher De Bellaigue, written like a novel that tells the dramatic story of Suleyman the Magnificent and his power and influence over 16th Century Europe. In this episode recorded at the Chalke Valley History festival earlier this summer, Christopher talks Dan through what was happening at the opposite end of Europe to Henry VIII and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V as this fearsome Sultan set his sights on swathes of the Middle East and the Horn of Africa and reigned over what became known as the 'Golden Age of the Ottoman Empire.'This episode was produced by Mariana Des Forges, the audio editor was Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In September 1952 Mahmood Hussein Mattan became the last to be executed at Cardiff Prison, but Mahmood had in fact been framed by the police and 70 years later South Wales Police formally apologised to his family for his wrongful conviction.Mahmood originally hailed from Somalia and had been a merchant seaman who had ended up settling in Cardiff and marrying a Welsh woman called Laura Williams. They lived in the Tiger Bay district of Cardiff and had three children before their separation in 1950. Mahmood faced racism and discrimination and had several encounters with the police. His vocal distrust of the police had made him unpopular with the local force though and when Lily Volpert, a Cardiff shopkeeper, was found murdered and her shop robbed they quickly turned to Mahmood. Despite a lack of any firm evidence linking him to the crime, he became the prime suspect. He was poorly represented in court and facing a hostile jury he was convicted in July 1952 and sentenced to death. The sentence was carried out three months late. The case never went away though and his family kept the fight alive for 45 years until 1998 when his case was the first to be reviewed by the newly created Criminal Cases Review Commission. His conviction was quickly quashed but it was another 25 years before they received the apology they and Mahmood deserved.To discuss Mahmood's case author Nadifa Mohamed joins Dan for this episode of the podcast. Her novel The Fortune Men, which has been longlisted for the Booker Prize, is based on the case and she immersed herself in Mahmoud's life and the history of Cardiff's multicultural Tiger Bay area to bring this story of injustice to life.Please note that this episode contains mentions of racial trauma, slavery and violence.The audio editor was Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It is believed clans started to emerge in Scotland around 1100AD and were originally the descendants of kings – if not of demigods from Irish mythology. As well as kinship and a sense of identity and belonging, being part of a clan was an important part of survival throughout the centuries that would follow.Scotland’s leading cultural historian, Professor Murray Pittock, joins Dan on the podcast to share the history of the clans from their Celtic origins through to the Clearances and the present day. They discuss the structure of clans, how the system collapsed and the paradox of how global clanship has become today.This episode was produced by Hannah Ward, the audio editor was Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the 16th of September 1620, The Mayflower set sail from Southampton to the New World. Aboard were 102 passengers determined to reach a new land, escape the religious persecution they faced and establish a colony. They endured a long and arduous crossing and a brutal first winter which they only survived due to the help of the native Wampanoag people. It was from this first, successful, colony that the United States of America would eventually grow, but it came at a terrible price for the indigenous people of North America.In this archive episode, originally in 2020 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower setting sail, Dan is joined on the podcast by a series of historians, writers and storytellers, to talk about the journey of the Mayflower. They discuss why the settlers left, and we examine the contested legacy of the Mayflower for the descendants of North American communities.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Queen's body has been taken to Westminster Hall in London, where she will lie in state for the public to visit and pay their respects. Over the past week since her death, we've seen a number of ceremonies and protocols enacted across the country to mark the end of her reign and life. These arrangements and the funeral we can expect to see on Monday follows a precedent set by Queen Victoria upon her death in January 1901. Before Queen Victoria, royal funerals had been quiet, private affairs held at night but Victoria left very clear instructions that she wanted a full military and state funeral, to be dressed in white with white ponies and a gun carriage.Journalist and author of the acclaimed 'Victoria and Abdul,' Shrabani Basu joins Dan to talk through the last days of Queen Victoria's life, the unprecedented pageantry of her funeral, what happened to those who were there in her last moments and the parallels between these long-reigning monarchs.This episode was produced by Mariana Des Forges, the audio editor was Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ray Victor is a lifelong New Yorker and tour guide from Queens. He remembers 11th of September 2001 vividly, when hijacked planes were flown into the World Trade Centre towers in New York City, the Pentagon in Virginia, and a site in Pennsylvania. Thousands were killed and injured. Ray remembers the missing posters, the hole that was left in the heart of the city, the destruction but also the humanity and the way his city came together.In this episode, Dan visits Ground Zero with Ray as he shares personal stories and lesser-known facts about what happened that day and in the aftermath. They stop by the church where the NYFD coordinated their rescue, the bank where a little-known water rescue took place from Battery Park in which over half a million people were evacuated from the chaos by a flotilla of civilian vessels that rushed to their aid, a rescue bigger than Dunkirk. They finish at the reflection pools where the towers once stood and reflect on how this great city weathered the worst terror attack in history.Ray offers a 9/11 History tour from ExperienceFirst. To find out more follow ExperienceFirst | Make the Most of Your VisitThis episode was produced by Mariana Des Forges, the audio editor was Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Malta is located in the Mediterranean sea just beyond Sicily, between Europe and Africa; its warm climate and beautiful islands make it a perfect holiday destination. But in World War Two, the Islands’ strategic location made it centre stage in the theatre of war in the Mediterranean: a key stronghold from which the Allies could sustain their North African campaign and from which they could launch their eventual attack on mainland Italy.Museum curator Liam Gauci and Keith Gatt from Heritage Malta take Dan through the country's rich wartime history and shed light on how the country and its people survived some of the most intense bombing of the war, as the Axis resolved to bomb or starve Malta into submission, by attacking its ports, towns, cities, and Allied shipping supplying the island. This episode was sponsored by Visit Malta. Find out more about Malta's rich history here: https://www.visitmalta.com/en/history-of-malta-and-gozo/This episode was produced by Mariana Des Forges, the audio editor was Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As a mark of respect and remembrance to the late Queen Elizabeth II, we've chosen to focus on Her Majesty's personal history as a veteran of the Second World War.For this episode, James is joined by Tessa Dunlop to learn more about how the inspirational, dedicated, and devoted monarch that was Elizabeth II went from a young girl living through the blitz, to serving as a second subaltern in the all-female Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) by the end of WW2.Note: This episode was recorded before the announcement of Queen Elizabeth II's death.Edited by Aidan Lonergan.Listen to Elizabeth II: The Making of the Queen.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Queen Elizabeth II has died after 70 years on the British throne. Born in April 1926, Elizabeth Windsor became heir apparent, aged 10, when her uncle Edward VIII abdicated and her father George VI became king. In 1947 – She married navy lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, a Greek Prince, at London’s Westminster Abbey before being crowned there in 1953 in the world’s first televised coronation. In this reflection of her life and illustrious reign, Dan is joined by historian Professor Kate Williams to look at The Queen’s childhood, adolescence in WWII and the upbringing that made her a monarch admired around the world.Producer: Charlotte LongAudio editor: Dougal Patmore Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What do you get when you bring together five top historians in a room with bottles of Prosecco to debate Elizabeth I on screen? History with the gloves off - our first Not Just the Tudors Lates! Taking as her starting point the new series Becoming Elizabeth - now streaming on STARZ - Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Dr Joanne Paul, Jessie Childs, Alex von Tunzelmann and Professor Sarah Churchwell to explore how television and films have depicted the year 1547 when - following the death of Henry VIII - a complex web of relationships determined the course of British history. *WARNING! There is some strong language in this episode*The Senior Producer was Elena Guthrie. It was edited and produced by Rob Weinberg. Audio extracts from Becoming Elizabeth courtesy of STARZ.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why are humans the only species to have escaped – only very recently – the subsistence trap, allowing us to enjoy a standard of living that vastly exceeds all others? And why have we progressed so unequally around the world?Professor Oded Galor is an economist and the founding thinker behind Unified Growth Theory, which seeks to uncover the fundamental causes of development, prosperity and inequality over the entire span of human history. Oded joins Dan on the podcast to offer an explanation of the progress that has taken place over the past two hundred years and that has allowed the human species to progress with great disparity.This episode was produced by Hannah Ward, the audio editor was Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For millennia, people have obsessed over questions about the nature of matter in our universe. Then, by the turn of the twentieth century, we believed we had answered everything. Our understanding of matter was finally complete. But an unprecedented outburst of scientific discovery was about to change the course of history...Dr Suzie Sheehy is an accelerator physicist, academic and science communicator. Suzie joins Dan to introduce us to the people who staged ground-breaking experiments— from the serendipitous discovery of X-rays in a German lab to the race to split open the atomic nucleus, Suzie reminds us of the thrilling discoveries that have shaped our lives.This episode was produced by Hannah Ward, the audio editor was Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The mechanised warfare of the First World War brought unprecedented new levels of firepower and destruction to the battlefield and with it horrific new injuries. Advances in medicine also meant that soldiers were surviving injuries that previously would have been fatal. Many of these men were left with horrific, disfiguring facial injuries which carried with them not just a physical trauma but a social stigma as well. One man made it his mission to help them and in the process developed many of the techniques that formed the basis of plastic surgery as we know it today. Dr Lindsey Fitzharris joined Dan on stage at the Chalke Valley History Festival to talk about the extraordinary career of the pioneering plastic surgeon Harold Gillies. They discuss the realities of combat injuries, how Gillies established the first hospitals dedicated entirely to facial reconstruction and the profound impact he had on the lives of his patients.Warning: This episode contains discussions of surgery and battlefield injury.This episode was produced by Mariana Des Forges, the audio editor was Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the early hours of September 2, 1666, a small fire broke out on the ground floor of a baker's house in Pudding Lane. In five days that small fire would devastate the third largest city in the Western world.Adrian Tinniswood is a historian, teacher and writer, as well as a consultant to the National Trust. Adrian joins Dan to explore the cataclysm and consequences of the Great Fire of London. Together, they piece together the story of the Fire and its aftermath - the panic, the search for scapegoats, and the rebirth of a city.This episode was produced by Hannah Ward, the audio editor was Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Located just 100 miles off the coast of mainland China, the nation of Taiwan sits in the so-called 'first island chain' - a group of US-friendly territories deemed crucial to American foreign policy.Yet China's president Xi Jinping maintains that Chinese reunification with Taiwan must be fulfilled. He's not ruled out the possible use of military force - and neither has US president Joe Biden. Tensions have grown even in the last few weeks, so to what extent can tensions over Taiwan be compared to those between Russia and Ukraine?In this episode, James Rogers from History Hit's Warfare podcast is joined by Samir Puri, Senior Fellow in Urban Security and Hybrid Warfare at the International Institute for Strategic Studies based in Singapore, to take a deep dive into the history between China & Taiwan and answer the question: could Taiwan really become China's Ukraine?Produced by Sophie Gee and Aidan Lonergan. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 separate fact from fiction when it comes to this archetypal hero who robbed the rich to give to the poor. Gareth helps Dan discover some of the real-life figures which might have inspired Robin, what the story means both now and then and why it still remains so popular. They also talk about Robin's home Sherwood Forest, which may not be quite what many imagine it to be, and the newly renovated Nottingham Castle home of Robin's arch-nemesis the Sheriff of Nottingham.This episode was first released on July 18th 2021.The audio editor for this episode was Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On August 28, 1963, some 200,000 people gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. to protest the continuing inequalities faced by African Americans. The final speaker of the day was Dr Martin Luther King who would deliver one of the most famous orations of the civil rights movement—and of human history.Dr Clayborne Carson is a historian, founder of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute, and now director of the World House Project. Having edited the Papers of Martin Luther King Jr., Dr Carson joins Dan to share what led to the historic march, his experience of being a part of the very crowd who witnessed the “I Have a Dream” speech, and the lasting influence that Dr King and the protest would have around the globe.This episode was produced by Hannah Ward, the audio editor was Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1066 is one of the most critical and dramatic years in British history. In the space of one year, the country had three kings, three major battles and a year that decided the fate of British history. To tell the thrilling story of this infamous year Dan is joined by three very special guests his children Zia, Wolf and Orla. They test Dan's historical knowledge to its limits and ask the questions we're all too afraid to ask.This episode was produced by Marianna Des Forges, the audio editor was Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In August 1485, King Richard III was killed at the Battle of Bosworth. In 2012, having been lost for over 500 years, the remains of King Richard III were discovered beneath a car park in Leicester.Joining Dan on the podcast today is the very person who led that successful search to locate the grave of King Richard III. Following seven and a half years of enquiry, Philippa Langley identified the likely location of the church and grave, instructing exhumation of the human remains uncovered in that exact location.Philippa shares the adventure that marked the first search for the lost grave of an anointed King of England.This episode was produced by Mariana Des Forges, the audio editor was Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What comes to your mind when you think of a witch? Broomsticks? Black cats? Warts?Early modern witchcraft expert, John Callow, is Betwixt the Sheets with Kate to explain the history behind the stereotypes we have today. They also chat about the Bideford Witches, the last three women to be hanged for witchcraft in England, as well as the misogyny in witch trials throughout the ages.You can find out more about John's work via his website johncallow.co.uk.WARNING this episode includes some strong language.Produced by Charlotte Long and Sophie Gee. Mixed by Seyi Adaobi.Betwixt the Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society. A podcast by History Hit. This podcast includes an archive clips from The Witch's Curse 1962. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does it take to reinvent the world's oldest living language? China today is one of the world's most powerful nations, yet just a century ago it was a crumbling empire with literacy reserved for the elite few, left behind in the wake of Western technology.Jing Tsu is a cultural historian, linguist and literary scholar. Joining Dan on the podcast, Jing tells the story of China's most daunting challenge as a linguistic one: to make the formidable Chinese language - a 2,200-year-old writing system that was daunting to natives and foreigners alike - accessible to a globalised, digital world and transform China into a superpower in the process.This episode was produced by Hannah Ward, the audio editor was Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 mutton, lamb and pig carcasses as well as 250 kegs of butter, hare, pheasant, turkey, chicken and 2226 sheep tongues. This cargo would be kept fresh in the ship's hold using a Bell-Coleman compression refrigeration machine and would mark the first time fresh goods had ever been transported over such a distance. However, the journey was far from plain sailing though as you will hear in this episode.To tell the Dunedin's story and to celebrate the new digitisation project by Lloyd’s Register Foundation’s Heritage & Education Centre Dan is joined by Charlotte Ward and Max Wilson from the Foundation. This episode was first released on 30th June 2021.The audio editor for this episode was Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over Britain’s first century of mass democracy, from the Great Depression to the pandemic, politics has lurched from crisis to crisis. How does this history of political agony illuminate our current age of upheaval?Phil Tinline is a leading producer and presenter of historical narrative documentaries for BBC Radio 4. Phil joins Dan on the podcast to reveal how politics is transformed through fear— providing answers to fascinating questions: How did the Great Depression’s spectres of fascism, bombing and mass unemployment force politicians to think the unthinkable and pave the way to post-war Britain? And, how was Thatcher’s road to victory made possible by a decade of nightmares?This episode was produced by Hannah Ward, the audio editor was Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we are talking warships: from the revolutionary Tudor ships to modern aircraft carriers, and all the innovations along the way.In this episode of Patented: History of Inventions Dan, a self-confessed Maritime history nerd, joins Dallas on a whistle-stop tour of nearly 200 years of naval history. From the rise of wooden warships, to how these feats of engineering were built and how they transformed the world, forever.This episode was produced by Emily WhalleyThe senior producer is Charlotte LongEdited and mixed by Seyi AdaobiIf you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In June 1815 the French army under the command of Napoleon was decisively beaten by an allied army led by Britain and Prussia at Waterloo in what is now Belgium. This titanic clash took a terrible toll on both men and animals. An estimated 20,000 men lost their lives that bloody day. As archaeologists have attempted to unpick the events of Waterloo a mystery has emerged. What has happened to the remains of the soldiers who fought there?Very few human or animal remains have been found on the site of the battle. However, an international team of archaeologists and historians have joined forces in a bid to solve this enduring puzzle. A new discovery this summer has found some astonishing evidence to now say why that is. It seems enterprising profiteers likely plundered the site for illegal bone trading, predominantly for the European sugar industry.Joining Dan on the podcast is Professor Tony Pollard archaeological director of Waterloo Uncovered, historian and scholar Rob Schaefer and Bernard Wilkin Senior Researcher at the Belgian State Archive. They discuss their theory about the fate of the Waterloo remains and why so few have survived.The paper Tony recently published on graves at Waterloo is available to all as a free open access download - These spots of excavation tell: using early visitor accounts to map the missing graves of waterloo.Warning: this episode contains frank discussion of dead bodies, animal carcasses, mass graves and amputations.This episode was produced by Mariana Des Forges, the audio editor was Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the Second World War, the Germans liked to boast that there was 'no escape' from the infamous fortress and POW camp Colditz. However, the elite British officers imprisoned there were determined to prove the Nazis wrong and get back into the war; since then the fortress became just as famous for its escape attempts. As the officers dug tunnels, removed bricks and got lines of communication to the outside world the Gestapo were determined to uncover their secrets and planted a double agent- Walter Purdy in their midst. It was a race against time for the British officers to expose Purdy for the traitor he was.Drawn from unseen records, Robert Verkaik tells Dan this extraordinary never-before-told story and tries to make sense of why, despite committing treason, Purdy was able to escape the gallows, not once but twice.Robert's book is called 'The Traitor of Colditz'.The producer was Mariana Des Forges and the audio editor was Dougal PatmoreIf you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1989, Beijing's Tiananmen Square became the focus of large-scale demonstrations as mostly young students crowded into central Beijing to protest for greater democracy. On June 4, 1989, Chinese troops stormed through Tiananmen Square, firing into the crowds of protesters. The events produced one of the most iconic photos of the 20th century - of ‘Tank Man,’ an unidentified protester who stood in front of a line of army tanks.Louisa Lim is an award-winning journalist who grew up in Hong Kong and reported from China for a decade. Louisa joins Dan on the podcast to discuss what led to the protests and how they grew, the turmoil that ensued and why the events remain a highly sensitive topic in China.Produced by Hannah WardMixed and Mastered by Dougal PatmoreIf you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Numerous novels, TV shows and as many as 5 movies- including the Hollywood classic starring Clarke Gable and Marlon Brando - have immortalised the story of the Mutiny on the Bounty in the popular imagination forever. The mutiny on the HMS Bounty occurred in the South Pacific Ocean on 28 April 1789. Disaffected crewmen, led by acting-Lieutenant Fletcher Christian, seized control of the ship from their captain, Lieutenant Bligh, and set him and eighteen loyalists adrift in a rowing boat. The mutineers settled on Tahiti and Pitcairn Island, while Bligh navigated more than 4,000 miles in the rowing boat to safety. and began the process of bringing the mutineers to justice.Direct descendent of lead mutineer Fletcher Christian, Harrison Christian joins Dan on the podcast to seperate the myth from the truth in this epic tale of a rebellious crew, a mammoth journey and a lost colony in the far-flung tropics of the Pacific Ocean. The legends started when William Bligh returned to Britain and immediately rewrote the facts of what happened to fit his narrative; novelists and film-writers have been doing the same ever since.The producer was Mariana Des Forges and the audio editor was Dougal Patmore.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.