History Hit Podcasts

Stonewall

What made June 28 1969 a landmark occasion for LGBTQ+ rights?How was Stonewall different from the uprisings that had come before it? And why were...

Shakespeare's Plays: The Power of Gestures

When we think of Shakespeare, we mostly think of language. But what about gesture and other forms of nonverbal communication - from thumb-biting...

Persia and the Bible

As the Babylonian Empire fell into decline, and it's power faded, the Persian Empire stepped in to fill the void that was left - but how did this...

Toto Koopman: Socialite, Vogue Model and WWII Spy

Toto Koopman was remarkable; she was a high society socialite who risked her life wining and dining with Italian blackshirts in order to gather...

Ejector Seats: Death Defying Invention

"Eject! Eject!" Imagine hearing that and the next second flying out into the sky at hundreds of miles an hour, your life in the hands of a chair....

Great Fire of London

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...

Time Team's Tony Robinson: A Life in History

On this episode of Gone Medieval, Matt Lewis talks to Sir Tony Robinson — actor, author and presenter — who is now hosting his own podcast,...

Stonewall Uprising: Liberation & Mafia Exploitation

In 1969 America, it was illegal to be gay in 49 out of 50 states. You could be fired from your job and evicted by your landlord if you were found...

Wagner vs Putin: A History of Russian Coups

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...

Amelia Earhart

On July 2 1937, Amelia Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, took off on what was supposed to be the final leg of their circumnavigation of the...

Transgender Fairies in Early Modern Literature

Today we think of fairies on the stage and in stories as often cute, ultra-feminine and unthreatening. But in Early Modern literature, fairies...

The 20th Century Arms Race

The 20th century heralded a revolution in how wars are fought. From military strategy and planning to the weapons and equipment used on the...

War Crimes in Afghanistan

This episode contains references to extreme violence and content that some listeners may find disturbing.

The allegations of war crimes in...

Achilles

This episode contains themes of a sexual nature

Achilles is one of the greatest heroes in Greek mythology. The son of Peleus, a Greek King,...

McDonald's: Roadside Stand to Worldwide Brand

Every second McDonald’s sells 75 hamburgers. It serves 70 million customers each day (more than the population of the UK). All this began at a...

WW2: Forgotten Mission of the 6888th Battalion

This episode contains references to highly offensive racist language and events.

In February 1945, with the war in Europe still raging,...

Ragnar Lothbrok: The Viking Legend

The ninth century Danish king and warrior Ragnar Lothbrok became notorious again most recently through the TV series The Vikings. But what do we...

History of Camp: From Oscar Wilde to James Bond

As the old adage goes, attitude is everything. And if there’s one attitude that stands proud above the rest it’s the utterly fabulous,...

The CIA & MI6: The Real Special Relationship?

Behind the handshakes of leading politicians, beyond the trade deals and beneath mutually beneficial military deals, how has the 'special...

Shakespeare's London: Going to the Theatre

In this third special episode of Not Just the Tudors celebrating the 400th anniversary of the publication of Shakespeare’s First Folio,...

Origins of Water

When you envision what Earth was like 4.5 billion years ago, shortly after its creation, images of dust-filled air and raging volcanoes tend to...