History Hit Podcasts

Samhain: The First Halloween

Halloween is a tradition that only grows in popularity each year. Yet its origins are mysterious, shrouded by myth and...

2. Wars of the Roses: Rise of the Tudors

In the second episode of our Wars of the Roses series, Edward IV secures the English throne after his victory at the bloody Battle of Towton. But...

Pyrrhus: Warlord of Ancient Greece

It’s 279 BC. On a large plain in Southern Italy near the town of Asculum, a famous Greek warlord likened to Alexander the Great faces down the...

18th Century Dating: From Booty Calls to 'Bundling'

What was life like as a single person in the 18th century? What if you became pregnant out of wedlock?

In today's episode, Kate talks to...

Old Sarum: Stronghold of Norman England

Old Sarum was the earliest settlement of Salisbury in Wlitshire. While there are indications of a prehistoric settlement on the...

1. Wars of the Roses: England Divided

This is the first episode in a two-part series on the brutal, three-decade-long civil war that tore England in two. Today, we explore the complex...

The Doolittle Raid: WW2 Bombing of Japan

If somebody asked you to go on a dangerous mission, no other details, would you volunteer?

Well, in 1942, that's exactly what 120 crewmen of...

Irish Origins of Halloween

Pumpkins, trick or treating and ghost stories are what we associate with Halloween, but what about turnips, fairies and a fortune-telling cake?...

The Tudor World at Hampton Court

The oldest surviving part of Hampton Court Palace is a series of chambers and closets built in the 1520s for Henry VIII's chief advisor and Lord...

Origins of the Inuit

In this instalment of The Ancients we're going north of the Arctic circle to uncover the incredible story of the Thule Inuit. Expanding out from...

The Origins of Halloween

Pumpkins, trick or treating and ghost stories are what we associate with Halloween, but what about turnips, fairies and a fortune-telling cake?...

Inside the Witch Trials: Iceland | The Men Who Burned As Witches

When we think of the witch trials, we often think of women being charged.

Whilst misogyny was at the heart of many of the witch trials, this...

Castles, Kings and Courtly Life

All this month, Matt and Eleanor are ranging across England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland to discover the stories of our greatest...

Execution of Lady Jane Grey

This Tudor's story is intense and tragic. She's known as Lady Jane Grey but we ought to change that to 'Queen Jane'. That's who she was, even...

The Spanish Armada

In July 1588 the Spanish Armada set sail to conquer England. Three weeks later a fierce naval battle foiled the planned invasion. Many myths...

Elections Explained: How FDR Won Four Times

4,322 days. That's how long Franklin Delano Roosevelt was in office. Whilst no other US president has served more than two terms, FDR was elected...

The High King Of Ireland

Viking Age Ireland was divided into many rival kingdoms. However, some men could rise to become High King of Ireland. Men like Flann Sinna....

The Great Napoleonic Escape

Lieutenant Charles Hare was a young British naval officer who made an extraordinarily elaborate escape from a French prisoner-of-war camp during...

Ptolemy I: The First Greek Pharaoh

In the aftermath of Alexander the Great’s death his former generals carved out their own kingdoms in the chaos that was the Wars of the...

Castles and the Conquest of Ireland

Ireland has been known as the land of saints and scholars and once was the farthest reach of the known world. But it's also home to one of the...

The Hunt for the Endurance Shipwreck

In 2022 Dan was part of the international expedition that went in search of Shackleton's lost shipwreck Endurance in the Weddell Sea in...