History Hit Podcasts

Ice Age America

A group of hunter-gatherers encounter diverse habitats full of creatures they’ve never seen before. A land of opportunity, but also...

Ghosts of the Deep South

The Deep South is a haunted landscape where dark tourism thrives, supplying spine-tingling thrills to eager visitors. But is there a darker truth...

Practical Magic: Spells, Prayers & Cunning Folk

Long before witch trials, magic was the domain of ‘cunning folk’ who were part of the fabric of medieval and early modern life. Their...

Gladiator Women of Ancient Rome

Evidence shows us that women gladiators fought in front of baying crowds in Ancient Rome.

Who were these women? How would these fights have...

Joan of Arc's Signature & Other Medieval Marvels

Dr. Eleanor Janega can hardly contain her excitement. She’s just seen Joan of Arc’s actual signature on show in the Medieval Women: In Their...

The True Story of London's Blitz

Dan explores stories of London's Blitz, beyond the stiff-upper-lip stereotypes Dan discovers an unexpected world of crime, sexual revolution and...

The Spanish-American War

In April 1898 the United States declared war on Spain. By the end of the war that December, the Spanish had lost their centuries-old colonial...

English Village Sacrificed to Plague (Part 1)

(Part 1/2) They could've run, but they stayed. In 1665 plague arrived in the idyllic English village of Eyam. What followed was a story of...

Leonardo da Vinci with Ken Burns

Leonardo da Vinci was a man like no other. A restless visionary and polymath, his paintings are some of the best known of all works of...

The Duomo of Florence

The Renaissance was an age of sweeping transformation in politics, literature, science, art and architecture. Perhaps nothing better represents...

Gladiators: The Praetorian Guard

The true nexus of power in the Roman Empire wasn't in the Emperor's box but in the shadowy ranks of the Praetorian Guard. First established in 27...

Emperor Macrinus: Usurper of Rome

Denzel Washington stars as Emperor Macrinus in the epic new movie Gladiator II, but who exactly was this shadowy ruler of Rome?

Join...

Mythbusting Medieval Buildings

What is a leper squint? Are the marks scratched into the exterior walls of churches from damned souls trying to claw their way in?

Join Matt...

Catherine of Aragon | Secret Lives of the Six Wives

We know the fates of Henry VIII's wives, but what were these iconic women really like?

In the first episode of this limited series, Secret...

Gladiators: The Real Spartacus

Spartacus is probably the most famous gladiator in history but how much of his legend is actually true? Dan is joined by Dr Rhiannon Evans, from...

A CIA Man in China: 20 Years Imprisoned

This is the story of America's longest held prisoner of war. John 'Jack' Downey, an American CIA operative, was imprisoned by the Chinese for 21...

Witchfinder General

In the aftermath of the Civil War, a remote corner of Essex witnessed the most brutally devastating witch-hunt in English history. A dangerous...

Queen Victoria's Funeral & the Cult of Death

Queen Victoria was synonymous with grief and the Victorian cult of death. Yet her own funeral wasn't that at all. Today Dan O'Brien explains to...

Caracalla & Geta: The Real Emperors of Gladiator II

The new Hollywood blockbuster Gladiator II features two of Rome's most villainous emperors - the brothers Caracalla and Geta.

And in today's...

Gladiators: Myths vs Reality

Join Dan at Rome's Colosseum as he separates fact from fiction in the world of the gladiators. He traces the origins of gladiatorial fighting from...

El Cid: Spain's Medieval Mercenary

Rodrigo Díaz - known as el Cid - lived a violently colourful life in 11th Century Spain. By turns an ambitious military leader, exile and brutal...