History Hit Podcasts

The Crusades: Assassins vs Templars

For the second episode in our mini-series on the Crusades, we explore the legendary rivalry between two extraordinary medieval orders: the...

The Truth About the Little Mermaid

What is a mermaid? Do sirens, selkies and Aquaman fit into this category? And how far back in history do they go?

Kate is joined by Diane...

The Betrayal of Thomas Becket

"Who will rid me of this troublesome priest?!"

These words supposedly uttered by a King over 800 years ago set in motion a chain of gruesome...

Nat Turner's Rebellion

In 1831, a rebellion erupted in Virginia that sent shockwaves across the United States, and challenged the brutal system of slavery in a way that...

The Commanders: The Best of the Rest

For the final episode in our 'Commanders' series, we've drawn on your suggestions to pay tribute to the commanders who didn’t make our main...

Elizabethan Boy Actresses

Why were Shakespeare’s greatest heroines played by teenage boys? How did they learn their craft? On the Elizabethan stage, highly trained young...

The Victorian Era's Wildest Murder

It was one of the most gruesome crimes of the Victorian era... and it ended up in David Attenborough's garden! Kate Webster, a servant, killed and...

Judas Iscariot

**Warning: This episode contains graphic descriptions of violence, including suicide**

What really happened to Judas Iscariot? From shifting...

Inside the Brothels of New Orleans

Storyville was the red-light district in New Orleans, created in 1897.

What was it like in this neighbourhood, and inside the brothels...

What Are the Late Medieval Ages?

Matt Lewis and Dr. Eleanor Janega dive into the chaos of the late Middle Ages; from the Great Famine and the Little Ice Age to plague, peasant...

What Is The Kennedy Curse?

Their name is synonymous with power, influence ... and tragedy. And with so much of the latter, many have taken to speculating - are the Kennedy...

The Real Outlander

The book and TV series "Outlander" has introduced millions of fans to Scottish history and the story of the Jacobites.

One of those fans is...

The Crusades: Origins of a Holy War

To launch our mini series on the Crusades, we've put together your complete guide to almost two centuries of holy war - from start to finish. We...

Britain's First Dog

Fifteen thousand years ago, as the Ice Age loosened its grip on Northern Europe, humans returned to the previously inhospitable British Isles. But...

When the Spanish Armada Reached Ireland

What happens when a fleeing armada meets an unforgiving coast? Shipwreck, slaughter and survival collide as Professor Suzannah Lipscomb and...

The Women Who Ruled Medieval Burgundy, and Europe

What if the most powerful warlords in medieval Europe were women?

From wine country to empire, Burgundy’s Duchesses brokered marriages,...

The Victorian Sex Trafficking Panic

Was there really a boom in sex trafficking at the end of the 19th century? What was 'white slavery'? And how often did the traffickers get...

The Trail of Tears | The Frontier

The Trail of Tears is one of the darkest chapters in American history: the forced removal of thousands of Native Americans from their ancestral...

The Man Who Ate Everything

Listener warning: this episode contains a description of cruelty to animals

One of the strangest tales to emerge from Napoleonic France was...

The Commanders: Zhukov

Marshal Georgy Zhukov was undoubtedly one of the Second World War's most formidable figures. Rising from humble peasant origins, Zhukov became the...

Henry Wotton: Outlaw and Royal Spy

Assassination plots, Venetian stand‑offs and a diplomat in disguise: how did one maverick change the course of history?

Professor Suzannah...