History Hit Podcasts

Renaissance Beauty: Snails, Cat Poo & Fatal Make-Up

Why did Renaissance women say the Lord's prayer while removing pubic hair?

If you're like us you definitely want to know the answer to this,...

Lafayette: The Marquis and the American Revolution

Why did an aristocratic French man fight for American freedom? How influential was Lafayette? And what did he do on his return visit to the United...

Ptolemy XIII: The Forgotten Pharaoh

Antony and Cleopatra. Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great. These are household names thanks to Shakespeare’s plays, big budget TV shows and...

Salem Witch Trials: Hysteria & Accusations

First of two episodes on the Salem Witch Trials. We begin the story as accusations are made throughout the town of Salem and a climate of fear...

How Indigenous Americans Discovered Europe

We have long been taught that modern global history began when the 'Old World' encountered the 'New', when Christopher Columbus 'discovered'...

The Cocaine Craze in Victorian Britain

Many things may come to mind when you hear the word 'cocaine' - and we'd wager that the last thing on that list would be the Victorians. But as it...

The First Cats

Cats! These much loved furry friends have brightened people’s lives for millenia. And it was the same in ancient times. They were pets. They...

Sex Work in 18th Century Paris

Paris was a wild place in the 18th century.

It was the Age of the Enlightenment, cafe culture was exploding along with the world of ballet...

Crusader Criminals

Please be aware that this episode mentions sexual violence

Amongst the countless crusaders who travelled to the Holy Land, there were...

The Real Society of the Snow: I Survived the Andes Flight Crash

Warning: this episode includes descriptions of human suffering and cannibalism.

High in the remote Andes mountains, a Uruguayan rugby team...

Kamala Harris: An Unprecedented Candidacy?

Cleopatra, Catherine the Great, Boudicca, Margaret Thatcher, Angela Merkel: what do these women have in common? They were all leaders of their...

American History Hit: 200 Episodes On

Host Don Wildman has a message for listeners old and new, marking 200 episodes of American History Hit.

American History Hit first started...

The Parthenon: Wonder of Athens

It is the most famous monument of ancient Greece. Its remains standing tall above modern Athens today, more than 2,000 years old. The Parthenon. A...

Harry Houdini: the Original Ghostbuster

Harry Houdini was the greatest magician that ever lived. He was also the greatest ghostbuster ever, exposing countless spiritual mediums as...

Lorenzo de' Medici, the Magnificent

All this month, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is taking a deep dive into the complex and controversial House of Medici, which left an indelible mark...

The Fall of Roman Britain

By 410 AD, over 450 years after Julius Caesar first landed on its shores, the Romans had formally withdrawn from Britain. Burdened by military...

The Real Joan of Arc

How did a peasant girl go on to lead French armies at the age of 17? How did her visions of saving France from the English play a part in her...

The Real Cleopatra

Cleopatra. One of the most famous people from history, and remembered for her beauty, power and scandalous love affairs. But how accurate is her...

President Theodore Roosevelt

What kind of a nickname is Bull Moose? How progressive was Theodore Roosevelt's presidency? And how does his legacy live on?

Don is joined...

China's First Tourists: Travel Writers in the Ming Dynasty

Around the same time as the Mayflower was landing at Cape Cod, on the other side of the world tourism was thriving in China, giving rise to a...

Who Built The Parthenon?

An enduring symbol of ancient Greek artistry and architecture. Arguably the most recognisable monument they left behind. The...