History Hit Podcasts

The Battle of Crécy

The Battle of Crécy in 1346 saw an outnumbered English army under King Edward III win an unexpected and decisive victory that reshaped the...

History's Worst F*ckboys: Henry VIII

Charismatic, passionate, insatiable - Henry VIII is known across the world as the king who had 6 wives, and a few mistresses on the side. But was...

The Einstein Murders

Warning: this episode contains discussion of suicide.

In August 1944, German soldiers burst into the Florentine villa of Robert Einstein,...

Richard Nixon: Rise from Poverty

To understand Watergate, to understand the fall of Nixon, you need to look first at the rise. How the turbulence of his sky rocketing career left...

The Caribbean, Colonisers & Christianity

What - and who - did Christopher Columbus find when he landed in the Caribbean?

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb and Dr. Alice Samson explore the...

The Birth of Indo-European

From the steppes of prehistoric Eurasia to the languages we speak today, the story of Indo-European is one of ancient roots and global impact. But...

Final Days of 'Mad' George III

How did George III die? Was it raving in a straightjacket? Who stayed with him at the end of his long illness? Today we uncover the truth about...

A History of Popes

Popes have shaped the history of the world. The Catholic Church has had a Pope for two thousand years, the first- tradition dictates- was St...

St. George & Springtime Saints

Dr. Eleanor Janega welcomes back Amy Jeffs, author of Saints: A New Legendary of Heroes, Humans, and Magic, to revel in the fascinating stories of...

What Happened On A Medieval Wedding Night?

We've been tying the knot for thousands of years in one way or another, but what did a medieval wedding look like?

The church had very...

Vietnam: Conscientious Objection in a Warzone

During the Vietnam War, 170,000 men received conscientious objector deferments. In this episode, we speak to one of them.

Sidney Morrison...

Crystal Palace and the Great Exhibition

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate takes players to Victorian London. This was an age of massive social change through technological innovation and...

Cardinal Wolsey

No advisor was more important to King Henry VIII than Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. He captured Henry's attention with his brilliance and became his...

Hammersmith Ghost: How to Murder a Poltergeist

Can it be murder if you think you're killing a ghost? In 1804 the London suburb of Hammersmith was being terrorised by a ghost. One man set out to...

How Did the American Revolution Start?

On 19th April, 1775, just over 250 years ago, the opening salvos of the American Revolutionary War were fired at the battles of Lexington and...

The Praetorian Guard: Rise to Power

From Gladiator to Rome Total War to I, Claudius, today the Cohortēs praetōriae are one of the most distinctive military units of Imperial Rome....

Crown of Thorns

What if one of the most iconic symbols of suffering and triumph in Christian history isn't what you think it is? Matt Lewis is joined by Dr. Faith...

The Battle of Berlin with Sir Antony Beevor

Warning: this episode includes discussion of subjects like suicide and sexual assault that some listeners may find disturbing.

80 years ago,...

The Truth About Paul Revere's Ride

Paul Revere's Midnight Ride is a legend of the American Revolutionary War - galloping through the Massachusetts' dark to warn Sam Adams, John...

History's Worst F*ckboys: Casanova

Can you imagine being SO smooth-talking and seductive your surname becomes an actual noun in the dictionary to describe someone who has a...

John the Baptist

From the wilderness of ancient Judea to the pages of the New Testament, John the Baptist is one of the most compelling and mysterious figures in...