History Hit Podcasts

The Servants' Revenge: Arsenic & a Poisoned Pint of Beer

Why did two servants living in Plymouth, England, poison their whole household in 1675? How did they sneak arsenic into the food? And what on...

Samurai vs Guns: The Battle of Nagashino

Assassin's Creed Shadows transports players to a formative period in Japanese history - the Sengoku era, when warlords vied for control of Japan,...

Shakespeare's Daughter, Judith

The brief life of William Shakespeare's son Hamnet is now quite well known, thanks to Maggie O'Farrell's novel, but Hamnet also had a twin sister...

THE LEADERS: Hitler

Could Germany have won the war if not for Hitler's hubris? Dan is joined by Professor Phillips O'Brien to explore Hitler's biggest decisions...

Elektra: Revenge in Ancient Greece

Few figures in Greek mythology embody vengeance like Elektra, daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. Betrayal, grief, and justice shaped her...

The Viking Great Army in Britain

How did a Viking army transform the very fabric of a nation?

In 865, the Viking Great Army landed in East Anglia. For the next 15 years, it...

Sex Life of Michelangelo

Michelangelo made religion sexy.

That may not have been his initial aim, of course, but the way he portrayed the human form, and...

Why Do Humans Wage War?

Why, despite knowing the devastation it causes, do humans insist on starting wars? Countless battles have littered the pages of our shared human...

THE LEADERS - Mini Series Coming 3rd March

Why do we, as humans, allow such individuals to hold such power over us? And at what cost? Our world is shaped by choices—some calculated, some...

President Harry Truman: From Farm to Oval Office and the Atom Bomb

The end of the Second World War. The start of the Cold War. The dropping of the Atomic Bomb and the growth of the Civil Rights movement. When FDR...

The Persian Wars: Xerxes, Thermopylae and Salamis

In 486 BC, King Xerxes ascended the Persian throne, inheriting its vast and glittering world empire. But his ambition didn’t stop there - he...

The Great Siege of Malta

What happens when a small island faces the might of the Ottoman Empire?

In 1565, Malta was the setting for a brutal clash between the forces...

Samurai or Shinobi: Who Really Ruled Medieval Japan?

Chasing Shadows 2. Politics

Assassin's Creed Shadows gives players the chance to experience history as two icons of medieval Japan: samurai...

The Curse of King Tutankhamun's Tomb

Untimely deaths followed the opening of Tutankhamun's tomb by Howard Carter. Coincidence or ancient curse? When the tomb of King Tutankhamun was...

Mary, Queen of Scots

This is the story of the incredible rise and fall of Mary, Queen of Scots. She was queen of Scotland, she was queen of France, and she could have...

Is the Renaissance a Myth?

Dr. Eleanor Janega reveals the darker side of the Renaissance with Dr. Ada Palmer, challenging the notion that it was a golden age, exposing it as...

Sex & Scandal in 1920s Soho

When and why did Soho become a hedonistic hotspot, the home of sex, drugs and music?

Kate is Betwixt the Sheets with Dan Snow to talk about...

Jamestown: Decline & Fall?

In 1699, Virginia’s government and capital moved from Jamestown to Middle Plantation, renaming it Williamsburg.

But why did they abandon...

Mount Hiei: Home of Japan's Warrior Monks

Assassin's Creed Shadows gives players the chance to visit the imperial capital of medieval Japan. But today, we're heading to a mountain lying...

Final Days of Thomas Cromwell

From ruthless schemer to pragmatic hero - who is the real Thomas Cromwell? And how did he meet his end? Today Anthony Delaney tells Maddy Pelling...

How to Run a Stuart Household

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb delves into the world of Stuart-era recipe books, in which medicine, cookery and women's roles combine in fascinating...