Podcasts
The History Hit network gives you access to a growing range of podcasts presented by and featuring historians at the forefront of research and debate.
All Podcasts

Prisoners of Geography
19 April 2021Five years ago Tim Marshall wrote the international best selling book Prisoners of Geography which examined how our politics, demographics, our...
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The Plymouth Blitz
19 April 2021Thousands of houses, 26 schools, 8 cinemas and 41 churches destroyed; 640 separate air raid sirens and almost 1180 killed. Plymouth is not the first...
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300 years of British Prime Ministers: Part 3
18 April 2021In the third episode of our series chronicling the history of British Prime Ministers we travel from one of the Most famous occupants of the office,...
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The Legacy of Thermopylae
18 April 2021Ever since its occurence in 480 BC, the Battle of Thermopylae has been the stuff of legend. Echoes of this battle, reportedly fought between a seven...
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Irish Independence
16 April 2021On 18th April 1949, the Republic of Ireland Act came into effect which saw Ireland become a republic and leave the Commonwealth. 2021 also marks the...
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JFK's Darkest Hour: The Cuban Missile Crisis
16 April 2021In October 1962 the world came very close to annihilation during the Cuban Missile Crisis. During the autumn of 1962, a U2 reconnaissance aircraft...
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The Battle of Okinawa
16 April 2021The last major confrontation of the Second World War, and the largest amphibious assault of the Pacific theatre, the Battle of Okinawa ended in...
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Life and Death in Medieval England
15 April 2021We often hear about the kings and queens of medieval England, but what was life like for the ordinary person? From knights to peasants to barbers,...
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Edges of Empire: Chesters Roman Fort
15 April 2021Described as one of the most complete cavalry forts that survives in Britain, Chesters Roman Fort is also home to the best preserved military baths...
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British Seapower in the 1900s
14 April 2021During the changes and troubles of the 20th century, officials in Britain faced a huge question: how could they maintain imperial power? Dr Louis...
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The British People and the Outbreak of World War Two
14 April 2021Our traditional understanding of the beginning of the Second World War in 1939 hinges on studies of Chamberlain and his fellow statesmen, but what...
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The End of Sex Disqualification?
13 April 2021The First World War saw unprecedented numbers of women enter the workplace and help pave the way for women to be given greater rights and...
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Yuri Gagarin: The First Human to Leave Our Planet
12 April 2021On April 12th 1961 the Soviet Union shocked the world by launching the first man into space; Yuri Gagarin. Strapped to the top of a gigantic ICBM...
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300 years of British Prime Ministers: Part 2
11 April 2021Continuing our series looking at British Prime Ministers this episode tackles the period following the Battle of Waterloo all the way up to Winston...
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Lessons from the Antonine Plague
11 April 2021A plague which affects people from across society, mass exodus from city centres and numerous opinions on how best to stay well ... all familiar to...
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Prince Philip's Military Service
11 April 2021During almost a century of life, Prince Philip dedicated seven decades to the service of Great Britain as the partner of Queen Elizabeth II. But in...
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Prince Philip
9 April 2021Abandoned by his parents, exiled from his home, a veteran of Second World War battles, an author, the founder of the World Wide Fund for Nature...
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The Xiongnu: History's First Nomadic Empire?
9 April 2021Between the 3rd century BC and the 1st century AD, the Xiongnu inhabited the area surrounding Mongolia. They influenced the later Hun Empire, and had...
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Britain's Secret Army: The Resistance
9 April 2021What if the Battle of Britain had not been a success for the British? What was the plan had the Nazis successfully crossed the channel? Chris Pratt...
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What Britain Did to Nigeria
8 April 2021When we think of the British Empire we often think of India, Pakistan, Singapore, Burma or perhaps South Africa but an often underrepresented part of...
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Persia's Untapped Source: The Persepolis Fortification Texts
8 April 2021The Persepolis Fortification Tablets / Texts are the who’s who of the Ancient Achaemenid Empire, a unique insight into the administrative workings...
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