History Hit Podcasts

The Ten Commandments

Did Moses really receive the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, or is that just ancient legend? Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr. Dylan Johnson to...

Medieval Roots of The Modern Alphabet

How did the alphabet we use today take shape?

Matt Lewis welcomes Danny Bate to explore how the medieval period shaped the alphabet we use...

Sex & Scandal in Ancient Egypt

What did the Ancient Egyptians think about sex? Is there any truth to a rumoured royal sex scandal? What did they think of same-sex...

The Quakers' Rebellious Origins

How could walking naked through town be seen as religious? What about digging up a corpse? Or bursting into church services to cause...

Sitting Bull and the Battle of Little Bighorn

The Battle of the Little Bighorn - also known as the Battle of the Greasy Grass - was one of the most dramatic and important clashes in American...

How Poets Spoke Truth to Power

Throughout history, the words of poets have often ignited change or unsettled those in power. In England particularly, poetry has both...

Origins of Chocolate

Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr. Cameron McNeil, Mesoamerican archaeologist, to explore cacao, in ancient Mesoamerican societies like the Maya,...

The Dark Side of the Vikings

How dark really were the Vikings? How much of a part did human sacrifice play in their world? And what was their relationship with...

The Truth About Mythical Women

Myths are incredibly powerful, especially when it comes to creating nations.

Why are mythical women so central to how we think about our...

Medieval Europe's Encounter with Islam

What if the Renaissance was powered by Arabic science?

Dr. Eleanor Janega is joined by Dr. Elizabeth Drayson to uncover how figures like...

What Was the American Ice Age?

For thousands of years, North America was a frozen frontier buried beneath miles-deep ice... How did the first people reach the Americas live...

Life as a Greek Philosopher

One of the most profoundly influential periods in history is the 5th century BCE, when when a collection of great minds in Ancient Greece formed...

The Only Prime Minister Ever Assassinated

Was this moment the closest Britain came to revolution? When Prime Minister Spencer Perceval lay dying on the floor of the Parliament, many feared...

Dark Side of the Quakers

**Contains story of a young male suicide**

Out of the devastation of the English Civil Wars, a radical new religious movement was born. The...

How to Survive the Age of Sail

What was life really like aboard the great wooden ships of the Age of Sail? Dan joins After Dark hosts Anthony and Maddy to step aboard these...

The Khmer Empire: Angkor Wat

How did Indian culture shape the wonders of Southeast Asia?

Tristan Hughes is joined by William Dalrymple to explore the fascinating first...

When the Vikings met the Slavs

Journey east with Matt Lewis and Martyn Whittock to uncover how the Vikings came face to face with the Slavs. Using clues like the Ingvar Rune...

Origins of Aphrodite: The Sex-Positive Goddess

Who was Aphrodite? She's often thought of as a goddess of sexuality, but there's so much more to this woman.

Which ancient civilisation was...

Thanksgiving

In the fall of 1621, a year after the pilgrim ship the Mayflower landed on the coast of New England, the settlers of the Plymouth Colony...

Mother of All Tudors: Margaret Beaufort

Step into the turbulent heart of the Wars of the Roses and meet one of history’s most formidable survivors: Lady Margaret...

The Assassination of JFK

Anyone alive at the time remembers the day President John F. Kennedy was shot dead in Dallas, Texas, on November 22 1963. In this episode, Dan...