History Hit Podcasts

The History of the Clitoris

It’s so important that it’s been ‘discovered’ at least twice, but what is the clitoris and why has it previously been so hard to...

Irish Revolution

The Irish War of Independence in 1919 was fought between the Irish Revolutionary Army and British Forces, with support of the RIC and USC. Wounds...

Plagues

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...

The First 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...

The Legacy of Tutankhamun

Since the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings, the phenomenon of “Tutmania” has continued to capture the worlds...

Fall of the Ming Dynasty

In 1627 Zhu Youjian, the Chongzhen Emperor, became the 17th - and what would turn out to be the last - Emperor of China’s Ming Dynasty. It had...

A Short History of Scotland and England's Union

Yesterday the UK Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Scottish government is not allowed to hold a second independence referendum without...

Roller Coasters

The world’s first Loop-the-Loop roller coaster gave so many people whiplash that they kept a medical team on the payroll.

Find out where...

Kings and Queens: Villains, Heroes and Rulers

Dan teams up with his parents and esteemed journalists Peter Snow and Ann MacMillan to explore the lives, loves, triumphs and disasters of a...

Hanseatic League

Growing from a few North German towns in the late 12th century, the Hanseatic League — a powerful network of...

Mussolini's Favourite Daughter

What do we know about the people who shared the surname Mussolini with the Italian fascist dictator?

Edda Mussolini may have been Benito’s...

Central Park: What Lies Beneath

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...

Ronald Reagan: The Peacemaker

When Ronald Reagan became President in 1981, he was initially written off by many as a reckless B movie cowboy who would lead the US to nuclear...

Inside the JFK White House

November 22nd marks 59 years since the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy. One of the most famous assassinations in history, JFK's...

Football and the Tudors

Already in 2022 we have celebrated England’s Lionesses winning the Women’s European Championships, and this month you may well be waiting with...

Rogue Heroes: Veteran of the SAS

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...

Frozen Food

The Frozen Food industry was invented by the Birdseye company. And that company was started by a living breathing Birdseye; Clarence...

Rise of the Etruscans

Situated in the North of Italy, the Etruscan's were once a powerful civilisation, dominating the Italian peninsular. Predecessors to Ancient Rome,...

The Rise of Christianity

In the fourth century AD, the Christian faith exploded out of Palestine, overwhelming the paganism of Rome, converting the Emperor Constantine in...

Conscientious Objection in WW2

Accounts of the Second World War usually involve tales of exceptional bravery in battle, as the allied nations stood together against fascism. But...

Tattoos

George V, Otzi the Iceman, possibly Winston Churchill and … Kate Lister. What do all these people have in common?

They have tattoos. As do...