History Hit Podcasts

WWII Britain's 'Missing' Sailors

During WWII, the sailors of the British merchant navy played a vital role in keeping the UK fed and armed. They carried essential supplies across...

HMS Terror: Cursed Arctic Expedition

Was ever a ship more aptly named? In 1845, HMS Terror (and its forgettably named sister ship HMS Erebus) set off from Victorian Britain. Their...

Scottish Kings' Sex Lives

One thing royal families strive for is the common touch. Whilst some have struggled with it, King James IV and V in the 15th and 16th centuries...

The Hundred Years' War

The Hundred Years' War plunged England, France and their allies into over a century of conflict. This bleak period of history had rebellions,...

Alexander The Great: The Siege of Tyre

The renowned conqueror Alexander the Great was known as 'the two-horned one' by his enemies, and for good reason. His campaigns were bloody...

Killers of the Flower Moon: Native Americans & the FBI

During the first half of the 20th century, dozens of murders plagued the oil-rich Osage Nation. The question of who killed them, and why, spread...

A Guide to Living in Dark Times with Weird Medieval Guys

Olivia Swarthout prowls the web for little-seen snippets of medieval art and life, sharing it via the Weird Medieval Guys Twitter and instagram...

Victorian Sex

They’re famously thought of as a buttoned up prudish bunch, but we all know they loved to bump uglies as much as anyone today. 

Were...

Guy Fawkes & the 1605 Gunpowder Plot

Other countries celebrate their victories and independence. But in Britain, we celebrate a bungling terrorist from the 17th century. Why? Who was...

Gunpowder Plot: Tudor Origins

The Gunpowder Plot is one of the hinge events of British history - an act of terror the roots of which stretch back to the Tudor period and Henry...

Human Evolution: Dragon Man

Homo longi, also known as Dragon Man, is an extinct archaic human species - with a nearly complete skull found near Harbin, China, dating back to...

History of the Witch

It’s that time of year again, Halloween. A word which conjures up images of pumpkins, ghosts, and of course…witches.

But have you ever...

New Orleans Voodoo

If you've ever watched a Voodoo scene in a horror movie, you might be forgiven for envisioning zombies, dolls and witchcraft when asked what it...

Who was Hunayn ibn Hishaq?

How did this famed Arab physician shape the future of medicine and influence the Muslim Empire for centuries to come? From his humble beginnings...

Ghosts of Wales

Wales has a wealth of ghost stories, including fantastical animals, flickering death omens and unseen things that go bump in the night. Whether...

Origins of the Witchfinder General

In the 1640s, Matthew Hopkins gave himself the grandiose title of Witchfinder General and set himself the task of purging England of witches. But...

Witches

From seductive sorceresses to withered necromancers, witches play a varied - and vital - role in ancient history. Recorded in classical epics by...

Hammersmith Ghost: How to Murder a Poltergeist

Can it be murder if you think you're killing a ghost? In 1804 the London suburb of Hammersmith was being terrorised by a ghost. One man set out to...

Josephine Baker: Jazz Age Superstar to WW2 Spy

Josephine Baker was one of the most extraordinary people of the 20th century - and the first black woman honoured in the French Panthéon in...

President Andrew Jackson

The seventh person to hold the position of President is arguably one of the most divisive.

A strong-willed military hero, whilst President...

Hauntings, Hangings & a Beast: Bodmin Jail

Bodmin Jail can claim to be one of the most haunted buildings in Britain. Perhaps that's because of all the hangings that took place here. Or the...