History Hit Podcasts

What Caused Europe's Witch Hysteria?

Across early modern Europe, fear spread like wildfire; between the 15th and 17th centuries, tens of thousands were accused, tortured, and executed...

How Bloody Was 'Bloody Mary'?

Before Mary I was Queen, no other woman had worn the crown of England.

This made her a Tudor trailblazer, and a target.

During her...

Owain Glyndwr, Welsh Rebel

Who was the self-proclaimed Prince of Wales, who was foretold in myth to free Wales from the tyrannical English and who was also a fabled...

Was the American Revolution a World War?

What makes a war a World War? If it's the involvement of multiple major world powers, will France, Spain and the Netherlands do?

If it's...

Isaac Newton vs Counterfeiters at the Royal Mint

Everyone knows the great achievements of Sir Isaac Newton. Or do they? Assassin's Creed Gold focuses not on the first half of Newton's career,...

'She Devil' Serial Poisoner of Victorian England

Sarah Dazley was one of the most infamous women in the world for a moment in 1843 when she was accused of poisoning not one but two former...

Jane Boleyn with Philippa Gregory

Jane Boleyn has long been called the most hated woman in Tudor history. Wife to Anne Boleyn's brother George, Jane served as lady-in-waiting to...

Atatürk: Fall of the Ottoman Empire

On the 19th of May, 1919, an Ottoman general stepped ashore at the Black Sea port city of Samsun. This marked the beginning of the Turkish War of...

Boudica's Tribe: How the Iceni Survived the Romans

Join us for a special episode of The Ancients, recorded on-site in Norfolk, as we delve into the fascinating history of the Iceni tribe both...

Prophet Muhammad

Matt Lewis is joined by Dr. John Tolan to explore the profound impact of the appearance of the Prophet Muhammad in the seventh century. Who was...

How To Fake Virginity

Why, just why, would one put a leech up their .. you know where? It's all in the name of virginity, or the faking of it.

Kate is joined by...

Elizabeth I: Evil or Genius?

Elizabeth I is often celebrated as one of the greatest English monarchs - but should she be? From her commanding portraits and grand speeches to...

What If George Washington Became King?

‘No occurrence in the course of the war has given me more painful sensations.' This was George Washington's response when the idea of his...

Witches of Cornwall

From the spookiest corner of the British isles, comes two stories of witches. Stories of fairies and magical powers, of skeletons and haunted...

Bog Bodies

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

When Europe met Islam

In the Early Modern period the boundaries between Christian and Islamic civilisations were far more porous than we imagine: Isaac Newton’s...

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...