History Hit Podcasts

Falklands40: Return to Mount Tumbledown

The Battle of Mount Tumbledown was an attack by the British Army and the Royal Marines on the heights overlooking Stanley, the Falkland Islands'...

The Death of Alexander the Great: Explained

Alexander the Great’s untimely death at Babylon in 323 BC triggered an unprecedented crisis across his continent-spanning empire.

Within a...

Plastic Surgery

As a result of all the military and medical advancements of World War One there were more seriously injured and disfigured soldiers surviving the...

The Wars of the Roses: The Uncrowned Queen

Matt Lewis concludes his series on the Wars of the Roses with a look at a figure who is often divisive and misunderstood, despised or loved, but...

Disaster Before D-Day: Exercise Tiger

The D-Day landings of June 6 1944 were the largest amphibious landing in the history of warfare, and are famed as a major turning point towards...

Discovered! A Royal Navy Shipwreck

The wreck of one of the most famous ships of the 17th century - which sank 340 years ago while carrying the future King of England James Stuart -...

The Queen Who Was Crowned King

Not Just the Tudors’ month-long season on Queenship continues with a look at the fascinating Christina Varsa, who was crowned King of Sweden on...

The Origins of Clothing

Clothing has been essential for human evolution. From protection against changing climate, through to the driving force behind technological...

Moving to the Country with Danny Wallace

Many of us have reevaluated the importance of green spaces after pandemic lockdowns.

Author and and broadcaster Danny Wallace moved from...

Falklands40: Memories of an Argentine Veteran

Please note that this episode contains descriptions of conflict and torture that some may find distressing.

When the British arrived on the...

Daylight Saving Time

Introduced just over 100 years ago, Daylight Savings have always been divisive.

So, why are people for and why are people against — and...

The Battle of Midway

On the 4th of June 1942, the US Navy took on the might of Japan's Imperial Navy in the battle of Midway. It was America's Trafalgar! At the end of...

Judith, England’s First Crowned Queen

When HM The Queen was crowned in 1953, her Coronation ceremony contained some subtle nods to another Queen who made history 1100 years earlier....

Sarah Baartman: A Life On Show

Who was Sarah Baartman? Why was she paraded across Europe as part of a 'freak' show? And why did it take until 2001 for her remains to be...

D-Day Heroes: The Green Howards

There was only one Victoria Cross awarded on the 6th June 1944, D-Day. It went to Company Sergeant Major Stanley Hollis of the 6th Battalion of...

D-Day Heroes: The Green Howards

There was only one Victoria Cross awarded on the 6th June 1944, D-Day. It went to Company Sergeant Major Stanley Hollis of the 6th Battalion of...

Tudor England's Foreign Queens

Not Just the Tudors’ special month-long look at Queenship continues with an exploration of the popular perception of those foreign Queens who...

The Veteran Searching for his D-Day Shipwreck

On June 6, 1944, D-Day, Patrick Thomas, a young Royal Navy telegraphist, boarded the craft in Portsmouth. The boat was part of the first wave on...

Roman Treasures of Iron Age Scotland

In 1919, excavators working near Edinburgh in Scotland unearthed the largest hoard of Roman hacksilver ever found. The trove, containing mostly...

Coronation Chicken

Chicken, mayonnaise, curry powder - and wait, sultanas? What exactly is Coronation Chicken and what does it have to do with Her Majesty Queen...

Matilda: Empress, Queen, Warrior

To celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, Matt Lewis revisits the fascinating story of Empress Matilda who came within a hair’s breadth of...