History Hit Podcasts

Wounds of Christ: Macabre History of Stigmata

The wounds that Christ received on the cross - the stigmata - have had a strange afterlife, reappearing on the flesh of followers from St Francis...

Mystic Visionary: Teresa of Avila

Born in 1515, St. Teresa of Avila continues to inspire countless people today with her mystical writings and spiritual insights. Yet, despite...

History in Flames: Destroyed Manuscripts

Bonfires of paperwork have accompanied human upheaval for centuries, eradicating, making space for rewriting. Imagine standing in the centre of...

Mansa Musa: History's Wealthiest Man?

Mansa Musa's wealth is a thing of legend. It's impossible to know exactly how much he was worth, but he himself spread rumours that gold grew like...

Underwear: Codpieces, Loin Cloths & Thongs

Whatever your underwear preferences, have you ever wondered about their history?

From the Tudor codpiece to Victorian bloomers, they've all...

Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor

If you’ve ever been to Prague, you’ll have noticed that there are many places and institutions that bear the name Charles - all of them...

Guantanamo Bay Detention Center: A History From The Inside

Very few people know what it is like to be in the infamous US detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, but our 3 guests for this episode have all had...

George Washington: The Man Who Could Be King

George Washington is perhaps the most consequential leader in the USA’s short history. Having demonstrated his leadership credentials as...

Who was Jack the Ripper? The Barber (Suspect 2)

Part 2/4. By looking at the men accused of being Jack the Ripper, we uncover dark truths about Victorian society - and our own. Why were these...

Rosy Royals: Tudor & Stuart Gardens

One subtle but powerful way that the Tudor and Stuart monarchs tried to show off their magnificence was through the creation of gardens that...

On the Frontline at Stalingrad

Dan explains the bloody Battle of Stalingrad alongside exclusive, never before heard frontline accounts from the German soldiers who were there....

Tyrannosaurus Rex

67 million years ago the most famous meat-eating dinosaur prowled the earth - the Tyrannosaurus Rex. At it's full size, this prehistoric apex...

What Did The Vikings Really Look Like?

Were the Vikings the original trendsetters?

Even when they were raiding the poor monks in Lindsfarne in 793, they were passing on hairstyles...

How To Live Like a Viking

The stories often told and retold of the early medieval period are those of great kings, battles and daring deeds. But ordinary people can often...

The Battle of Arnhem with Al Murray

Al Murray, host of WWII podcast We Have Ways of Making You Talk joins Dan to tell the story of the most catastrophic 24-hours the British military...

Outlaws: New York's Criminal Mastermind

When was the first bank robbery? What does it take to be successful in organized crime? Is it possible to be non-violent? And how might you avoid...

Oliver Cromwell: Protector & Dictator

Four years into Britain's experiment as a republic, Oliver Cromwell staged a coup, violently dissolving parliament. His “Bare Bones...

Ned Kelly: Australia's Notorious Outlaw

Ned Kelly is a murdering, bank-robbing, Australian folk hero. What is the true history of this mythic figure? And how did an outlaw - or...

Ra and the Sun Gods

Of all the Egyptian Gods it is Ra, the God of the Sun, who is perhaps most well known in the popular imagination. He is said to have voyaged...

Operation Market Garden

Operation Market Garden was an ambitious Allied airborne offensive to secure a quick victory in WWII. It failed disastrously.

The plan was...

Cruising & Cottaging: Sex in Public Places

With privacy being a modern luxury, where did people in the past go to meet and hook up? Public toilets were (and can still be) a popular...