History Hit Podcasts

Bog Bodies

What lurks under the surface of the dense black peat pits strewn across northern Europe? Bog bodies, naturally mummified humans, have fascinated...

How to Survive in Renaissance England

Quacks, wise women, barber surgeons and private madhouses - just some of the options available if you were to find yourself in ill health in the...

St. Catherine & Autumnal Saints

**This episode contains graphic references to genitalia**

Did you know that the Catherine Wheel firework takes its inspiration from St....

Inside Concentration Camp Brothels

Even among Holocaust researchers, this subject is taboo. Starting in 1942, the Nazis set up brothels inside some of the camps, not for the guards,...

What if the Cuban Missile Crisis Sparked WW3?

On October 22 1962, President John F. Kennedy announced that Soviet missiles has been discovered in Cuba. Over the following days, the fate of the...

Revolutionary Paris In Assassin's Creed Unity

Assassin’s Creed Unity offers a stunning recreation of 18th century Paris, which in modern times is the home of Ubisoft. How did this setting...

How to Stay Alive in Renaissance England

In 16th and 17th century England, the plague and pox, disease and injury were a daily presence. At at time when medicine was a complex interplay...

Britain's Coldest Murder Case

Eugene Aram was an 18th century schoolmaster who got away with murder for fourteen years. Then a skeleton was unearthed and a case that had been...

Richard II vs Henry IV

Today, we dive into the dramatic tale of two men whose rivalry changed the course of English history. We unravel the complex relationship between...

Marcus Aurelius: The Philosopher Emperor

He's known as Rome’s philosopher-emperor and faced plague, rebellion and war in the East. Yet Marcus Aurelius ruled with a pen as much as a...

Ragnarok & The End of the World

It's time. Winter has come, and the giant wolf has swallowed the sun.

Today, Matt Lewis holds our hand as we experience the end of the...

Wife-Swapping Magician of the Tudor Court

The 16th century was a dangerous time to be talking about magic and hidden forces, so how did John Dee end up being invited into Elizabeth I's...

How Did the Industrial Revolution Change the World?

Was the Industrial Revolution the most important event in human history? Dan is joined by economist and journalist Duncan Weldon to explore why...

What If There Were No CIA?

The Agency. The Company. Langley.

Without the Central Intelligence Agency, would we talk about conspiracy theories as much as we do? Who...

The Sons of Attila the Hun

The year is 453 AD. The most feared warlord in Europe - Attila the Hun - lies dead on his wedding night. But what happened next plunged his vast...

Ballads of Magic & Mystery

Songs have always carried stories of love, loss, rebellion and hope. Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by author Amy Jeffs, illustrator Gwen...

Day in the life of a Black Death Rat

What did Medieval people think about rats? Did they have any idea that they were the cause of the Black Death? How did they use charms and poisons...

The Germans Who Rebelled Against the Nazis

Today, we journey back to Berlin in the summer of 1943, where a clandestine gathering of Germany’s elite quietly plots to resist Hitler’s...

How to Reach Valhalla

Gone Medieval is embarking on an epic journey through Norse Mythology; from the first creation myth to Ragnarok, Matt Lewis and Dr. Eleanor Janega...

Inside a Wild West Brothel

Shoot outs, hard drinking and gambling. The Wild West is remembered for it's general lawlessness, but what might life have been like for the first...

Origins of the US Navy: America's Revolutionary Pirate

Happy 250th Birthday to the US Navy! Today Don asks, who was John Paul Jones and did he really father the US Navy? Our guest is historian James L....