History Hit Podcasts

The Murder That Shocked Edwardian Britain

It was a murder that shook Edwardian Britain, and became a media sensation around the world.

Joining Maddy and Anthony today is the...

Barbarian Invaders: The Sacks of Rome

How did the Huns, Goths, and Vandals help bring down the Roman Empire - and sack the city of Rome itself, not once but twice?

In this second...

VE Day

When the Second World War finally ended 80 years ago, there was a mixed reaction in Britain. Today, we hear about these varying responses, from...

The Hangwoman of 18th Century Ireland

Imagine an executioner. Are they big, strong, cloaked and masked? Are they male? Probably - because most executioners in history have been. Today,...

Conclave: Picking Popes

Choosing a new Pope has always been a blend of the sacred, the political, and the downright theatrical. In the middle ages, the papal election was...

Jonestown: The Birth of Peoples Temple

On November 18th, 1978, over 900 people died at an American settlement in the jungle of Guyana called Jonestown. In this first of two episodes, we...

The Dark Side of Ancient Rome

As a lot of new listeners have joined us, and it's a bank holiday in the UK, we thought we'd re-run one of our earliest, goriest episodes. Trust...

The Elizabethans and Islam

Elizabeth I's excommunication by the Pope in 1570 marked the beginning of an extraordinary - and little-known - English alignment with Muslim...

Victorian London In Assassin's Creed Syndicate

Historians Review & Ubisoft Developer Interview with Jeffrey Yohalem

For the past few weeks, Matt Lewis has investigated the history...

How did Andrew Jackson Change the U.S. Presidency?

A hero to some, and a villain to others, the seventh president of the United States was a populist firebrand who reshaped America and left a...

The Fall of Rome: Origins

The Roman Empire, once an ancient powerhouse, experienced a dramatic fall from its golden age to eventual collapse. 

Tristan Hughes and...

Magna Carta 1225

What's the true story behind the Magna Carta, and how did a 17-year-old King Henry III shape a document that impacted the course of...

What Made You Ugly In Ancient Rome?

What was a Roman skincare routine like? Why did the beard make a comeback under Emperor Hadrian? And what did it mean to be ugly in this...

Germany After Hitler

80 years ago, as the war in Europe drew to a close, the world began to come to terms with the horrors of the Third Reich. This is the story of the...

The Dark Side of Sir Francis Drake

For centuries, Sir Francis Drake has been celebrated as a national hero - the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe. But behind the Drake...

The Fall of Richard Nixon

Who was the real Richard Nixon? There are sides to him that get overlooked, like that he had a deeper understanding of foreign affairs than any...

Prehistoric Ireland: Newgrange

An astonishing ancient tomb is Ireland's most famous prehistoric monument; Newgrange. Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr Muiris O’Sullivan, an...

Spring-Heeled Jack: Terror of Victorian London

The grimy streets of Victorian London were stalked by a shadowy menace: Spring-Heeled Jack! He had glowing eyes and blue flames came out his...

The Death of Hitler

Warning: this episode contains discussion of suicide.

Berlin, April 1945: After nearly 12 years, the "Thousand-Year Reich" is crumbling....

Genghis Khan's Pax Mongolica

Dr. Eleanor Janega is joined by Dr. Jeremiah Jenne to explore the incredible impact of the Mongol Empire on medieval history. From Marco Polo's...

The Truth About Medusa

You could be forgiven for thinking the Greek myth of Medusa has zero relevance to us today. Snake for hair?!

But as you'll hear in today's...