History Hit Podcasts

Inventing Bond: The Real Q

Well before Bond was lasering and limboing himself out of fictional situations, these were the questions faced by the British forces trying to...

Vikings in Spain

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 Katyn Massacre

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...

Bond Girls

‘Bond girl’ is quite a loaded term. Why aren’t they women? What makes them part of this homologous team? And what does it mean if they have...

Becoming an Anglo-Saxon King

Throughout April, Gone Medieval is your perfect companion for the forthcoming coronation of King Charles III. In this episode, Dr. Cat Jarman...

The Road to Civil Rights

Under segregation, African Americans' lives were severely limited. Restricted entry to public places, private businesses and public transport,...

The Secret History of Nuclear War

Why is it that nobody has used the absolute weapon, the nuclear bomb, since 1945? Was it ever likely that the American arsenal would be used...

Catherine Howard: Henry VIII's Fifth Wife

Catherine Howard was Queen Consort - and fifth wife - to Henry VIII for just 16 months before he had her executed for treason for committing...

The Assassination that Ended South African Apartheid

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...

Assassins vs Templars: The Assassins & The Crusaders

In 1192, Conrad of Montferrat was assassinated, the question was, did Richard I have anything to do with it? Then, 80 years later Lord Edward, who...

Athena: Goddess of Wisdom

This episode contains graphic references of a sexual nature.

Athena is the goddess of wisdom, tactical war and skilled craft in Greek...

Vasectomies

Why did Sigmund Freud want a vasectomy at 67 years old? Why were goat gonads all the rage in the 1920s? Who was the first person to get the...

Tournaments & Rebellion in Historical Fiction

The Second Baron’s War was a time of great unrest and upheaval in 13th century England. Fought just decades after the signing of Magna Carta, it...

AI At War: Killer Robots

What if we could take people completely out of the equation when planning military strikes? Lethal autonomous weapons systems use artificial...

Sports Bra

REAL LIFE INVENTOR ALERT!!!

Two jockstraps cleverly sewn together. That was how the very first sports bra was made in 1977. The product...

Hudson River: America's First Art Movement

English-born artist Thomas Cole emigrated to the United States in 1818. Six years later he began what is now known as the Hudson River School,...

Mary, Queen of Scots on Film: Historians’ Verdict

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...

Rise of the Assyrians

At its pinnacle, the kingdom of Assyria stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf, a feat few could compare with in 660BCE....

The Rise and Fall of Saddam Hussein

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...

AI

Get ready for the coming of our robot overlords by listening to this episode all about the history of AI. Who was Shakey the robot? Why did we...

Massacre on the Slave Ship Zong

Please note, this episode contains descriptions of racial violence that some listeners may find disturbing.

In November 1781, a British...