History Hit Podcasts

WW2: The White Rose Resistance

2022 marks the 80 year anniversary of the White Rose resistance against Nazism. The White Rose was made up of 5 students and an academic in...

Cleopatra

Cleopatra VII was part of a dynasty of Macedonian rulers founded by Ptolemy, who served as general under Alexander the Great during his conquest...

The First Americans

Modern humans thrived in the Americas for thousands of years before the first European colonists arrived, but how and when did they get...

Warships with Dan Snow

Today we are talking warships: from the revolutionary Tudor ships to modern aircraft carriers, and all the innovations along the...

Shakespeare's Richard III

Richard III is one of Shakespeare’s most controversial plays, often cited as the basis for the King’s reputation as a scheming murderer. But...

When the US 'Invaded' Northern Ireland

With 300,000 US troops stationed in Northern Ireland between 1942 and 1945 - Northern Ireland soon became overrun. Known as the 'Friendly...

The Museum of Sex Objects

We’re used to exhibits in museums detailing our ancestors’ home lives and work lives, but what about their sex lives?

On a sunny day in...

A Short History of Nomads

The roots of the word ‘Nomad’ dates back to an extremely early Indo-European word, ‘nomos’. After towns and cities are built and more...

How to Crown a Tudor Queen

Four women were crowned in England between 1509 and 1559: two Queens consort - Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn - and England’s first two...

The Rise of Mammals

They survived extinction level events and record high global temperatures - how did mammals adapt and thrive in a dramatically changing world? In...

Allotments with Emma Bailey

To cope with the grief after losing her nan to cancer in 2017, Emma Bailey did something she’d never considered before. She started...

Al Capone

Born in Brooklyn, New York in January 1899, Alphonse Gabriel Capone would go on to become perhaps the most infamous gangster in American history....

Special Effects

The history of Special Effects — from stop motion to motion capture.

In just over a century, we special effects have been subject to rapid...

Inside the Royal Marines

The Royal Marines are the UK's Commando Force and the Royal Navy's own amphibious troops. The Commandos have become a byword for elite raiding...

Anglo-Saxon Treasures at Norwich Castle

Norwich Castle was designed by William the Conqueror to be a royal palace. But no Norman kings ever lived in it. Instead it became a gaol and then...

Fanny and Stella: The Men Who Shocked Victorian Society

In 1870, two young women were arrested after leaving a theatre in London. These women, so-called Fanny and Stella, were in fact Ernest Boulton and...

Nuclear Disasters

In 2011, a 43-foot-high tsunami crashed into a nuclear power plant in Fukushima, Japan. In the following days, explosions would rip buildings...

Isabel Clara Eugenia: Early Modern Europe's Most Powerful Woman

Isabel Clara Eugenia was the heir to the kingdoms of Spain and Portugal, but she was never crowned Queen. But despite this, her life provides a...

The Cold War in West Africa

The Cold War wasn’t just limited to nuclear tensions and competition between the great powers. 

What’s often overlooked is that...

HS2: Digging up the 'Dark Ages'

An extraordinary discovery has been unearthed by archaeologists working alongside the HS2 rail project. The find, made at an undisclosed location...

The Image of God

Often pictured with a flowing white beard, looking down from Heaven - why is God always seen as an old man? In today's episode, Professor...