History Hit Podcasts

What Was Life Like As A Samurai And Shinobi In Medieval Japan?

Chasing Shadows 1. Culture

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

Glencoe Massacre: Haunted Highlands

(Part 2/2) On the 13 February 1692, Scottish government troops slaughtered between 30-40 members of Clan MacDonald in their home in Glencoe, in...

The Persian Wars: Darius, Athens and the Battle of Marathon

490 BC. On the plains of Marathon, Athens faced down a mighty army of the Persian Empire - the superpower of the time It was an underdog clash...

Josef Mengele

The Nazi doctor who committed heinous experiments on prisoners of Auschwitz was harboured by a network of Nazi supporters in Argentina after the...

The Dark History of BMI & Fatphobia

Dark ideas and stigma around different body sizes really took hold in the Enlightenment.

Very unenlightened, if you ask us.

This...

Supernatural Medieval Ireland

In early Medieval Ireland, supernatural beings moved in and out of our world, unseen. These were the residents of the Otherworld – the...

Did Vikings Reach the US?

What is a Viking? Did they really make it to the United States? And if so, how far did they get?

Don speaks to Martyn Whittock about the...

Hattori Hanzo: The Demon Samurai

In the world of Assassin's Creed Shadows, the legendary Hattori Hanzo embodies both samurai and shinobi warriors, and earned himself the nickname...

German Peasants' War

The German Peasants' War - which happened exactly 500 years ago - saw peasants across Germany, Switzerland and Austria rise up against oppressive...

Peasants' Revolt: Murder in the Tower of London

(2/2) A boy King, a rebel army, and the first ever execution at Tower Hill. Maddy Pelling tells Anthony Delaney the days in the summer of 1381...

Why Isn't Canada the 51st State?

Dan explains how Canada has resisted many American attempts at annexation since the Revolution in 1775. From the tariff tensions of 1911 to...

The Last Neanderthals

For hundreds of thousands of years Neanderthals have roamed the lands of what is today Europe and western Asia. But how did they survive, and what...

The Destruction of Charlemagne's Legacy

What happens when one of the greatest empires in history begins to unravel? Matt Lewis explores the turbulent era of the Carolingian Empire's rise...

Inside the Magdalene Laundries

Societies all throughout history have tried to control female sexuality.

Ireland's Magdalene Laundries and Mother and Baby Homes are two...

The Bombing of Dresden

As the Second World War neared its bloody climax, Allied bombers unleashed a devastating firestorm on Dresden. In just two days the historic city...

Frederick Douglass: Civil War to Statesman

How did Frederick Douglass, born into enslavement, rise to become one of the most influential orators, writers, and publishers of his time. By the...

Glencoe Massacre: Hell in the Scottish Highlands

On the 13 February 1692, Scottish government troops slaughtered between 30-40 members of Clan MacDonald in their home in Glencoe, in the Scottish...

The Scythians

Known as the barbarians of the north, the Scythians were expert horsemen that roamed the great steppe of Eurasia more than 2,000 years ago. But...

Versailles: Science & Splendour

The opulent halls of 17th and 18th-century Versailles were not just filled with dazzlingly dressed courtiers and royal intrigue. They also...

The Siege of Malta: Knights Hospitaller vs The Ottomans

This is the story of Suleiman the Magnificent's attempt to conquer Malta, the headquarters of a Catholic military order that had become a thorn in...

Valentine's Day in Ancient Rome

What are the origins of Valentine's Day?

Perhaps the answer lies in a pagan festival that starts with a sacrifice in a cave above Ancient...