History Hit Podcasts

Exploding Kings & Red Hot Pokers: Gruesome Deaths of Monarchs

Edward II died by red-hot poker. William the Conqueror exploded on his way into the coffin. Mary II went down covered in so many pustules she was...

Fall of the Aztec Empire

The Aztec Empire was a large and sophisticated one, stretching at its height from the Pacific coast to the Gulf of Mexico. But in August 1521,...

Zeus

Zeus, the chief deity in Greek mythology, is the Olympian god of sky and thunder, and is king of all other gods and men.

His tale is one of...

The Slave Revolt That Created A Country

Haiti was under French colonial rule in 1791 when the revolution began, resulting in the largest and most successful slave revolt in modern...

Prohibition

On 17 January 1920, the 18th Amendment came into effect in the United States. It made the manufacture, sale and transportation of 'intoxicating...

The Black Medici Prince of Florence

In the cut-throat world of Renaissance Florence, Alessandro - the illegitimate son of a Duke and a mixed-race servant - attempts to reassert the...

Blood Countess of Hungary: Sixteenth Century Serial Killer

The inspiration behind countless gothic novels, Countess Elizabeth Báthory is said to be one of the most prolific serial killers of all time,...

Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc is a name that’s instantly recognisable to most people. A controversial figure in her own day, she has remained so ever since,...

The Assassination of Julius Caesar

March 15th 44BC is perhaps the most notorious date in all of ancient history. On that fateful day, the Ides of March, 55-year-old Roman dictator...

England & Portugal: The Oldest Alliance in the World

If you’re enjoying a glass of port during the festive period, you have the world’s oldest treaty to thank.

Winston Churchill once...

Bonnie Prince Charlie

In August, 1745, Bonnie Prince Charlie led a rebellion that brought the Jacobite cause closer to seizing the throne than any other. He had landed...

The Book That Changed Sex Forever

There had been sex manuals for hundreds of years, but by the 20th century they were quite underground. That is, until the Joy of Sex was released...

The Kennedy Curse

What was it about the Kennedys that attracted so much tragedy, that many believed them to be cursed?

From plane disasters in World War 2, to...

The Rise of Christianity

In the fourth century AD, the Christian faith exploded out of Palestine, overwhelming the paganism of Rome, converting the Emperor Constantine in...

Christmas Day Strangler: the murder of Gwen Ellen Jones

On Christmas Day 1909, Gwen Ellen Jones was murdered by William Murphy in the Welsh town of Holyhead. Anthony and Maddy tell the story with an...

Rise of Hannibal

He was one of the greatest enemies the Romans ever faced. An excellent general and a larger-than-life figure, he led an army across the alps and...

Pythagoras' Utopia

What comes to your mind when you think of Pythagoras, the ancient Greek polymath? Some might think of the Pythagorean theorem, a foundational...

The Festive Fetish: Santaphilia

They say he comes once a year... ahem.

Santa is back! To a lot of people that's no bad thing at all, and we're not just talking about the...

Sex & Sparta

This episode contains graphic references to sex, infant mortality, and sexual assault.

While Spartans are often thought of for their...

What Food Did Medieval People Eat?

In times of plenty, we stuff ourselves. When the food runs out, we're basically stuffed. How did people in medieval Britain share the riches...

Tudor Ghosts and Angels

To this day, the presence of angels is synonymous with the Christmas story and the momentous events associated with the Nativity. For the...