History Hit Podcasts

Origins of the Normans

Because of William the Conqueror’s victory at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, the Normans have remained a familiar and important name in British...

Execution of Charles I

In 1649, Charles I had his head chopped off for treason. It's a unique, divisive moment in English history. Was Charles a tyrant or a martyr? Was...

From Tudor to Stuart: Regime Change

In 1603, Queen Elizabeth I died and King James VI of Scotland, became King James I of England.  Elizabeth was a hard act to follow for the...

The Battle of Okinawa

Please note, this episode contains discussion of suicide.

On 1 April 1945, as the Second World War in Europe was reaching its end, one of...

Drunk Victorians: Moral Panic & Meat Wine

Glass of meat wine, anyone? That's right, the Victorians loved a glass of meaty wine.

They loved drinking so much that it became a moral...

The Original Kamikaze: The Mongol Invasions of Japan

At the height of the Mongol Empire, Kublai Khan set his sights on the island of Japan. He launched two enormous invasions of that nation in 1274...

Diving Tudor Shipwrecks

In the 16th and 17th centuries, sailing was a tool of warfare and empire, of conquest and discovery, of trade and travel. But vessels were...

1811 Ratcliffe Highway Murders: Birth of True Crime

Horror struck the East End of London twice in December 1811. Two brutal sets of murders within a few days of each other. It became ground zero for...

The Kamikaze Hunters

Please note, this episode contains discussion of suicide.

In 1945, after lengthy delays, the Royal Navy sent a powerful fleet into the...

The Real Hamilton: Founding Father

Who really was Alexander Hamilton, and what do we actually know about his life?

A Founding Father, he fought in the Revolutionary War,...

The Kamikaze Pilots

Please note, this episode contains discussion of suicide. 

By October 1944, the Japanese were in real trouble. The Allies had made...

The Beaker People

The Beaker People were a Bronze Age culture that revolutionised prehistoric Britain. They were responsible for introducing Bronze Age technology...

The Witan: England's First Parliament?

Athelstan, grandson of Alfred the Great, was a great king who united what was once a collection of petty Anglo-Saxon kingdoms into one vast...

Elvis Presley's Sex Life

Elvis Presley embraced sexuality from the start. Rock n roll was not tame music, and neither were his early performances.

So much so that he...

President Rutherford B. Hayes: The First Great Depression

Emerging victorious from an electoral quagmire in 1876, Rutherford B. Hayes became the 19th President of the United States.

Professor Mark...

The Library of Alexandria

The Library of Alexandria was one of the most important and most celebrated buildings of the ancient Mediterranean. It was a great hub of learning...

The Birth of Science in 16th Century Europe

The traditional view of the birth of modern science places it firmly in the 17th century with such huge names as Bacon, Descartes, Newton, and...

Cannibalism in Scotland: Legend of Sawney Bean

According to legend, Sawney Bean and Agnes "Black" Douglas raised a clan of cannibals in a remote Scottish cave. They killed and ate unlucky...

Rwandan Genocide Explained

Warning: This episode contains some upsetting descriptions of human suffering.

The Rwandan Genocide is a dark and pivotal moment in modern...

Medieval Italy

The huge peninsula of what we today call Italy saw waves of invasions and sweeping changes over the course of the Medieval period, with huge...

Ancient Greek Sexual Health: Wandering Wombs & Headless Beetles

If there’s one thing you’ll find out from this episode, it’s that the Ancient Greeks were better at philosophy than...