History Hit Podcasts

The Origins of Life on Earth

Today we’re going back to the beginning – no Romans, Celts, Egyptians or Macedonians in sight. We’re going much further back, covering...

Discovered! Rare Celtic Coins in the New Forest

In a special episode of the podcast, Dan and his team hit the road after receiving a call about the discovery of a hoard of rare Iron Age coins,...

The Blitz: An Alternative History

Between September 1940 and May 1941, the German Luftwaffe relentlessly pounded British cities with bombs in an attempt to force the British to...

Ridley Scott on Gucci, Gladiator and the Blitz

Please note that this episode contains the use of explicit language right from the very beginning.  

Ridley Scott, a prolific...

Arnold Schwarzenegger on Churchill's Birthday

Actor and former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger joins Dan in conversation on today's podcast about Winston Churchill, who was born on...

Ibn Fadlan: The Real 13th Warrior

Ibn Fadlan might be familiar to many based on modern-day renditions from films such as The 13th Warrior. Ibn Traveled from Bagdad to Russia,...

How Powerful was Henry VIII?

Was Henry VIII as all-powerful and tyrannical as we have come to believe? Is the scheming of Thomas Cromwell portrayed in Wolf Hall close to the...

Battle of Austerlitz: Napoleon's Greatest Victory

2 December is a special date for those fascinated by Napoleon Bonaparte. Not only is this the date he crowned himself Emperor of France in 1804,...

Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill was many things a writer, politician, journalist, painter but the defining aspect of his career was as a war leader. Warfare...

Vindolanda's 2021 Excavation

Situated roughly one mile south of Hadrian’s Wall is one of the great jewels of Roman and early medieval archaeology: Vindolanda. Over the past...

The Complicated Legacy of F W de Klerk

The result of his complicated legacy, the death of South Africa's last apartheid president, F W de Klerk, on November 11 2021 generated a flood of...

How To Live Like A Monk

Monks. We know that they dedicated their lives to serving God, but what did it mean to be a Monk? In today's, episode Matt is joined by the...

The Punjab Soldiers of WWI

About one in six of the men who served in the First World War came from undivided India. However, unlike those who hailed from Britain and the rest...

The Rise of the Praetorian Guard

From Gladiator to Rome Total War to Star Wars, today the Praetorians are one of the most distinctive military units of Imperial Rome. It was their...

The First Gun Crime in London

Early in the morning of Sunday 13 November 1536, a London merchant named Robert Pakington was shot dead crossing Cheapside as he walked to...

Menka: Village of the Breadfruit Goddess

It is one of the most remote ancient sites in the world. Situated on the isolated Micronesian island of Kosrae are the ruins of an ancient...

The British Spy who Saved Jews from Hitler

Thomas Kendrick was at the very centre of British Intelligence operations throughout the first half of the twentieth century. He combined a public...

The Battle of Prokhorovka

The Battle of Prokhorovka was one of the largest tank battles in military history. Taking place on the Eastern Front, it was fought on 12 July 1943...

From the Punjab to the Western Front

Over a million Indian soldiers served during the First World War, but many of the records of the soldiers who fought valiantly for the Allied...

Medieval Treasure: What To Do If You Find Some

If you're lucky enough to find some 'treasure', you're legally obliged to report it. A coroner then decides whether it's actually treasure. Yes,...

The British Monarchy

The British Monarchy is a thread that has run throughout the history of Britain but over the centuries it has been a constantly evolving...