History Hit Podcasts

The Battles of Lexington & Concord

Assassin's Creed III gives players a unique chance to take part in the Battles of Lexington and Concord, and to influence the course of history....

Eleanor of Aquitaine

Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the most powerful figures of the medieval world: twice a queen, a crusader, a rebel and the architect of an...

The Victorian Sex Scandal of Fanny & Stella

The Victorians are seen as the ultimate guardians of rigid gender boundaries.

When Fanny Park and Stella Boulton transgressed those imagined...

Homo Sapiens vs Neanderthals

Tristan Hughes is joined by Ella Al-Shamahi, paleoanthropologist and presenter of the hit BBC series Human, to explore what interactions between...

Inside the Moulin Rouge

The Moulin Rouge opened its doors in 1889, at the height of the Belle Epoch - 'the Beautiful Age'.

Its famous windmill structure stood on...

The Bishop who Took Down Richard II

What makes an Archbishop one of the most hated figures in British history? And does Thomas Arundel truly deserve to be branded the greatest...

The Origins of Chicago

Chicago is the third most populous city in the United States. It's the windy city, the railroad capital, and home of countless film and tv...

The Romans and China

How did Roman silver travel from Egypt to China across monsoon seas, pirate waters, and bustling ports?

Tristan Hughes is joined by...

The Knights Templar vs the Order of Assassins

During the crusades, there was a legendary rivalry between two extraordinary medieval orders: the Assassins and the Templars. Separating myth from...

Grace O'Malley, Ireland's Pirate Queen

She cut off her hair to sail the seas. She divorced her husband by locking him out of his own castle. And when her son was killed by the occupying...

Henry VIII's Descent into Darkness

He's known as one of history's most murderous kings, but was he always a monster? Or was he acting in ways expected of a king during his...

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 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...

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 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...

Judas Iscariot

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

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

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...

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 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...