Channel History Hit
1,605 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 208 ratingsThis is a combined feed which includes shows from across the History Hit Network. Including: Dan Snow's History Hit Histories of the Unexpected, Art Detective, Chalke Valley History Hit. More shows coming soon. Follow us on Twitter/Facebook: @HistoryHit
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Episodes
Britain's Black Power Movement
December 19, 2020 03:00 - 24 minutes - 33.5 MBLeila Hassan Howe and Amanda Kirton joined me on the podcast to talk about the history of the Black Power movement in Britain. Subscribe to History Hit and you'll get access to hundreds of history documentaries, as well as every single episode of this podcast from the beginning (400 extra episodes). We're running live podcasts on Zoom, we've got weekly quizzes where you can win prizes, and exclusive subscriber only articles. It's the ultimate history package. Just go to historyhit.tv to sub...
The Violence of the Suffragettes
December 18, 2020 17:00 - 25 minutes - 34.9 MBToday we remember the suffragettes as a peaceful movement, but in the years before the First World War, the WSPU launched one of the most shocking terrorist campaigns the British mainland has ever seen. Dan talks to Fern Riddell about Kitty Marion, one of the most militant suffragettes, and her struggles. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Sicily '43
December 17, 2020 17:00 - 23 minutes - 33 MBJames Holland joined me on the podcast to discuss the allied invasion of Sicily on the 10th July 1943. Subscribe to History Hit and you'll get access to hundreds of history documentaries, as well as every single episode of this podcast from the beginning (400 extra episodes). We're running live podcasts on Zoom, we've got weekly quizzes where you can win prizes, and exclusive subscriber only articles. It's the ultimate history package. Just go to historyhit.tv to subscribe. Use code 'pod1' ...
Ethiopia: All You Need to Know
December 16, 2020 17:00 - 23 minutes - 31.8 MBRichard Reid joined me on the podcast to talk about the history of Ethiopia. Subscribe to History Hit and you'll get access to hundreds of history documentaries, as well as every single episode of this podcast from the beginning (400 extra episodes). We're running live podcasts on Zoom, we've got weekly quizzes where you can win prizes, and exclusive subscriber only articles. It's the ultimate history package. Just go to historyhit.tv to subscribe. Use code 'pod1' at checkout for your first...
WINGS REVAMPED!
December 16, 2020 05:00 - 31 minutes - 71.3 MBIn this BONUS episode, the Histories of the Unexpected duo, James and Sam, take another flight into the historical stratosphere to talk about the expected history of WINGS! Which is all about Aerial combat in WWI, John Aidan Liddell, VC, William Blake and Paradise Lost, tree toppers, Hans Christian Anderson’s Christmas Tree! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Soviet Spy Masters
December 15, 2020 17:00 - 28 minutes - 39 MBEspionage. The word brings to mind the Cold War - Stasi informants and surveillance bugging in East Berlin. Or today’s media promoted anxieties about Chinese infiltration. But for this episode, Calder Walton came onto the World Wars podcasts to talk about spying during the Second World War. Calder researches History that is relevant to the policy making of today’s governments and intelligence communities. He talks to James about the depth of the Soviet spies’ permeation of their allies, and ...
How Dogs Became Man's Best Friend
December 14, 2020 17:00 - 16 minutes - 22.6 MBMike Loades joined me on the podcast to talk about the history of dogs, and they are intertwined with human history. Subscribe to History Hit and you'll get access to hundreds of history documentaries, as well as every single episode of this podcast from the beginning (400 extra episodes). We're running live podcasts on Zoom, we've got weekly quizzes where you can win prizes, and exclusive subscriber only articles. It's the ultimate history package. Just go to historyhit.tv to subscribe. Us...
WINGS!
December 14, 2020 15:39 - 33 minutes - 76.6 MBIn this episode, the Histories of the Unexpected duo, James and Sam, scale the heights of historical inquiry to uncover the expected history of WINGS! Which is all about biblical angels, the Christmas story, early modern angels and the Reformation, conservation and falcons, the Cottingley Fairies and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Christmas MicroHistories 3: Shoes
December 13, 2020 06:00 - 17 minutes - 39.5 MBThis is the THIRD of our special Christmas-themed micro-histories in which we will embrace the task of demonstrating how an unexpected subject not only has a history but is massively important and interesting - in just 15 minutes! We will start with a shared example and then have just five minutes each to make a case for an interesting history on that very unexpected subject. Contributions will be rigorously timed and you - dear listeners - will get to vote on SM on what YOU think was the mo...
Adolf Hitler: The War Years
December 13, 2020 03:00 - 56 minutes - 129 MBAt the beginning of 1940 Germany was at the pinnacle of its power. By May 1945 Hitler was dead and Germany had suffered a disastrous defeat. Hitler had failed to achieve his aim of making Germany a super power and had left her people to cope with the endless shame of the Holocaust. In this episode, I'm joined by Professor Frank McDonough, internationally renowned expert on the Third Reich, as well as actor Paul McGann, to discuss this dramatic change of fortune. Subscribe to History Hit an...
How Slavery Built Modern Britain
December 12, 2020 16:02 - 22 minutes - 30.7 MBPadraic Scanlan joined me on the podcast to talk about how Britain rose to global power on the backs of enslaved workers. Modern Britain has inherited the legacies and contradictions of a liberal empire built on slavery. Modern capitalism and liberalism emphasise 'freedom' - for individuals and for markets - but are built on human bondage. Subscribe to History Hit and you'll get access to hundreds of history documentaries, as well as every single episode of this podcast from the beginning (...
Disinformation and the White Helmets in Syria
December 11, 2020 17:00 - 19 minutes - 26.3 MBChloe Hadjimatheou joined me on the podcast to talk about the death of James Le Mesurier, the man who co-founded the White Helmets, a Syrian civil defence force who filmed themselves pulling survivors and bodies from the rubble of bombed out buildings. Subscribe to History Hit and you'll get access to hundreds of history documentaries, as well as every single episode of this podcast from the beginning (400 extra episodes). We're running live podcasts on Zoom, we've got weekly quizzes where ...
Christmas MicroHistories 2: Evil
December 11, 2020 06:00 - 16 minutes - 36.6 MBThis is the SECOND of our special Christmas-themed micro-histories in which we will embrace the task of demonstrating how an unexpected subject not only has a history but is massively important and interesting - in just 15 minutes! We will start with a shared example and then have just five minutes each to make a case for an interesting history on that very unexpected subject. Contributions will be rigorously timed and you - dear listeners - will get to vote on SM on what YOU think was the m...
Special Christmas Micro-Histories 2: Evil
December 11, 2020 06:00 - 16 minutes - 36.6 MBThis is the SECOND of our special Christmas-themed micro-histories in which we will embrace the task of demonstrating how an unexpected subject not only has a history but is massively important and interesting - in just 15 minutes! We will start with a shared example and then have just five minutes each to make a case for an interesting history on that very unexpected subject. Contributions will be rigorously timed and you - dear listeners - will get to vote on SM on what YOU think was the m...
Spartacus: Life or Legend?
December 10, 2020 17:01 - 47 minutes - 65.6 MB‘I’m Spartacus!’ In the field of epic film making, the 1960 historical drama ‘Spartacus’, is legendary. Directed by Stanley Kibrick, adapted from the Howard Fast novel by Red Scare blacklisted screenwriter, Dalton Trumbo, and starring Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Peter Ustinov and Jean Simmons; it is a classic. But how much of the plot has emerged from the true story of a Thracian gladiator and slave who escaped his Roman captors and led an unsuccessful but impressive rebellion against th...
Christmas MicroHistories 1: Bad Luck
December 09, 2020 20:55 - 18 minutes - 42.9 MBThis is the FIRST of our special Christmas-themed micro-histories in which we will embrace the task of demonstrating how an unexpected subject not only has a history but is massively important and interesting - in just 15 minutes! We will start with a shared example and then have just five minutes each to make a case for an interesting history on that very unexpected subject. Contributions will be rigorously timed and you - dear listeners - will get to vote on SM on what YOU think was the mo...
Christmas Special Micro-Histories 1: Bad Luck
December 09, 2020 20:55 - 18 minutes - 42.9 MBThis is the FIRST of our special Christmas-themed micro-histories in which we will embrace the task of demonstrating how an unexpected subject not only has a history but is massively important and interesting - in just 15 minutes! We will start with a shared example and then have just five minutes each to make a case for an interesting history on that very unexpected subject. Contributions will be rigorously timed and you - dear listeners - will get to vote on SM on what YOU think was the mo...
Big Data and History
December 09, 2020 17:00 - 28 minutes - 38.7 MBDan Hoyer and Peter Turchin joined me on the podcast to talk about the new transdisciplinary field of Cliodynamics, which uses the tools of complexity science and cultural evolution to study the dynamics of historical empires and modern nation-states. Subscribe to History Hit and you'll get access to hundreds of history documentaries, as well as every single episode of this podcast from the beginning (400 extra episodes). We're running live podcasts on Zoom, we've got weekly quizzes where y...
Mary Queen of Scots with Kate Williams
December 08, 2020 17:04 - 56 minutes - 77.2 MBDan Snow and Kate Williams talk about the rise and fall of Mary Queen of Scots. Subscribe to History Hit and you'll get access to hundreds of history documentaries, as well as every single episode of this podcast from the beginning (400 extra episodes). We're running live podcasts on Zoom, we've got weekly quizzes where you can win prizes, and exclusive subscriber only articles. It's the ultimate history package. Just go to historyhit.tv to subscribe. Use code 'pod1' at checkout for your fi...
Diary of an MP's Wife
December 07, 2020 17:00 - 11 minutes - 16.1 MBSasha Swire joined me on the podcast to talk about her diary, written during the Cameron years. Her husband was an MP and junior minister at the time. Subscribe to History Hit and you'll get access to hundreds of history documentaries, as well as every single episode of this podcast from the beginning (400 extra episodes). We're running live podcasts on Zoom, we've got weekly quizzes where you can win prizes, and exclusive subscriber only articles. It's the ultimate history package. Just go...
MicroHistory 2: Tattoos!
December 07, 2020 06:00 - 21 minutes - 48.8 MBThis is second episode in our new micro history series - where we take an historic subject and try to demonstrate how it has a history in just 15-20 minutes!! And without just talking at supersonic speed. Think of it as the historicaI equivalent of speed chess or speed dating. In this second foray into historical brevity the histories of the unexpected duo of James Daybell and Sam Willis tackle the artistic subject of TATTOOS, which is inspired by their book on the Romans. Taking that as the...
Charles Dickens
December 06, 2020 18:13 - 37 minutes - 85.7 MBIn today's episode, I was joined by John Mullan, Lord Northcliffe Professor of Modern English Literature at University College London. He has published extensively on eighteenth- and nineteenth-century literature, and is a wealth of knowledge on all things Dickens. We discuss the man himself and his writings, and the unique Victorian context in which inspired the great novelist. Subscribe to History Hit and you'll get access to hundreds of history documentaries, as well as every single epi...
Friendship renewed!
December 05, 2020 06:00 - 42 minutes - 98.1 MBIn this BONUS episode, the Histories of the Unexpected buddies, James and Sam, renew their explorations in the archives to investigate further the wonderfully pleasant expected history of FRIENDSHIP! Which is all about childhood memories, oral history and essays, pals battalions and WWI, Francis Bacon and Cicero, friendship albums at the British Library, as well as relations between nations and the Yalta Conference of 1945! Who knew! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out informa...
'Cheese Eating Surrender Monkeys'? French Defeat in World War Two
December 05, 2020 03:00 - 30 minutes - 42.7 MBIt's the common recollection of French efforts to repel German invasion. But with 100,000 troops lost in the Battle of France, how true is the depiction of the French surrendering without a fight? How else might their contribution to, and experience of, the Second World War be remembered? Were the French a weak link, willing collaborators with the Nazis, brave resistance fighters or the Allied sacrifice to continuing the fight? Olivier Schmitt is a Professor of Political Science at the Cente...
Ghost Hunter!
December 04, 2020 17:40 - 15 minutes - 21.8 MBKate Summerscale has written one of the Sunday Time books of the year exploring the world of poltergeists and ghosts in the build up to the Second World War. She came on the podcast to tell us all about Nandor Fodor – a Jewish-Hungarian refugee and chief ghost hunter for the International Institute for Psychical research in London. From New York to Croydon he used all the gadgets of modern technology to record, X-ray, tape and photograph ghosts. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt...
Sylvia Pankhurst
December 03, 2020 17:00 - 24 minutes - 33.9 MBRachel Holmes joined me on the podcast to discuss the life of British suffragette and socialist Sylvia Pankhurst. Sylvia found her voice fighting militantly for votes for women. The vote was just the beginning of her lifelong defence of human rights, from her early warnings of the rise of fascism in Europe, to her campaigning against racism and championing of the liberation struggles in Africa and India. Sylvia's adventures in America, Soviet Russia, Scandinavia, Europe and East Africa made ...
Friendship!
December 03, 2020 15:32 - 36 minutes - 82.8 MBIn this episode, the Histories of the Unexpected duo, James and Sam, make their way through the archives to investigate the wonderfully pleasant expected history of FRIENDSHIP! Which is all about Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie and friendship at first sight; it's about diary-writing, letter-writing and the history of emotions, as well as bereavement, falling in love; it's about Francis Bacon, Cicero and political; as well as Penal Laws and the Catholics in eighteenth-century Ireland, and of cour...
The Nuremberg Trials: 75th Anniversary
December 02, 2020 17:00 - 19 minutes - 27 MBTom Bower joined me on the podcast to discuss the history and legacy of the Nuremberg Trials. Subscribe to History Hit and you'll get access to hundreds of history documentaries, as well as every single episode of this podcast from the beginning (400 extra episodes). We're running live podcasts on Zoom, we've got weekly quizzes where you can win prizes, and exclusive subscriber only articles. It's the ultimate history package. Just go to historyhit.tv to subscribe. Use code 'pod1' at checko...
Rebel Anthropologists Who Challenged Everything
December 01, 2020 17:00 - 22 minutes - 31.6 MBCharles King joined me on the podcast to talk about a group of cultural anthropologist who fundamentally transformed conceptions of 'normality' in the early twentieth century. We talked in particular about the work of Margaret Mead. Subscribe to History Hit and you'll get access to hundreds of history documentaries, as well as every single episode of this podcast from the beginning (400 extra episodes). We're running live podcasts on Zoom, we've got weekly quizzes where you can win prizes, ...
Was Winston Churchill Racist?
November 30, 2020 17:00 - 19 minutes - 26.9 MBThe former Prime Minister has faced a renewed controversy as people are calling for his statues to be removed due to his racist views. We are joined by Professor Richard Toye and Dr Warren Dockter to discuss where his personal views and political policies collide. Subscribe to History Hit and you'll get access to hundreds of history documentaries, as well as every single episode of this podcast from the beginning (400 extra episodes). We're running live podcasts on Zoom, we've got weekly qu...
MicroHistory 1: Cannibalism!
November 30, 2020 12:00 - 21 minutes - 49.5 MBThis is the launch of a new challenge! We’ve enjoyed so much our recent lengthier explorations of unexpected subjects in which one topic runs over two podcasts, such is the depth of our research! Nonetheless it raises the important question of whether or not we could do a micro history - take an historic subject and try to demonstrate how it has a history in just 15-20 minutes!! And without just talking at supersonic speed. In this first foray into historical brevity the histories of the une...
The Gay Men Who Took on Hitler
November 29, 2020 03:00 - 15 minutes - 22 MBChris Bryant joined me on the podcast to tell the story of the gay British politicians who were among the very first to warn Britain about the danger of Hitler’s rise to power and the most vocal in demanding an end to the government’s policy of appeasement. Subscribe to History Hit and you'll get access to hundreds of history documentaries, as well as every single episode of this podcast from the beginning (400 extra episodes). We're running live podcasts on Zoom, we've got weekly quizzes w...
Pompeii and the Eruption of Mount Vesuvius
November 28, 2020 03:00 - 52 minutes - 72.7 MBPompeii is back in the news. An extraordinary new, touching discovery, found during the Great Pompeii Project of Professor Massimo Osanna and his team. Roughly 700 metres northwest of Pompeii, in the remains of a suburban Roman villa, archaeologists have unearthed the incredibly-preserved remains of two men, victims of the infamous eruption of Mount Vesuvius that occurred almost 2,000 years ago in 79 AD. So what do we know about the eruption? What do we know about this terrible event that h...
Elizabeth I with Helen Castor
November 27, 2020 17:00 - 31 minutes - 43.6 MBDan talks to Helen Castor about her book on Elizabeth I and the way she governed. Subscribe to History Hit and you'll get access to hundreds of history documentaries, as well as every single episode of this podcast from the beginning (400 extra episodes). We're running live podcasts on Zoom, we've got weekly quizzes where you can win prizes, and exclusive subscriber only articles. It's the ultimate history package. Just go to historyhit.tv to subscribe. Use code 'pod1' at checkout for your ...
LOSERS KEEP ON LOSING!
November 27, 2020 06:00 - 44 minutes - 102 MBIn this BONUS episode, the Histories of the Unexpected duo, James and Sam, continue their rampage through the past on their question to uncover the unexpected history of LOSERS! Which is all about The Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression, the American Dream, rugged individualism, and the concept of being unsuccessful (bankrupts, defeats, third-raters, good-for-nothings, flunkies, wastes-of-space, old bogies, loafers, has-been, failures and no-hopers), credit ratings, statues, commemor...
The First Thanksgiving
November 26, 2020 17:00 - 26 minutes - 37.2 MBSarah Churchwell and Kathryn Gray joined me on the podcast to discuss the first Thanksgiving of 1621. They critique mythologies of Thanksgiving that have arisen from 19th century ideologues, to Reagan, to the present day, and reframe settler colonial narratives. Subscribe to History Hit and you'll get access to hundreds of history documentaries, as well as every single episode of this podcast from the beginning (400 extra episodes). We're running live podcasts on Zoom, we've got weekly quiz...
LOSERS!
November 25, 2020 23:31 - 37 minutes - 85.5 MBIn this episode, the Histories of the Unexpected duo, James and Sam, scour the archives to uncover the unexpected history of LOSERS! Which is all about Donald Trump and the 2020 US Presidential Election, it’s about democracy, Jim Carey and Ace Ventura Pet Detective, Aisne-Marne American Cemetery, George H. W. Bush, John McCain, Etiquette in Defeat, Homer’s Iliad, Charles Dickens, workhouses and Oliver Twist, Presidential Concession Speeches (including Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carte...
Rebel Women
November 25, 2020 17:00 - 23 minutes - 32.6 MBSarah Lonsdale joined me on the podcast to tell the stories of radical women who challenged the status quo in the interwar years. Subscribe to History Hit and you'll get access to hundreds of history documentaries, as well as every single episode of this podcast from the beginning (400 extra episodes). We're running live podcasts on Zoom, we've got weekly quizzes where you can win prizes, and exclusive subscriber only articles. It's the ultimate history package. Just go to historyhit.tv to ...
Food, Class and Baking
November 24, 2020 17:00 - 21 minutes - 29.1 MBPen Vogler joined me on the pod to discuss the origins of our eating habits and reveals how they are loaded with centuries of class prejudice. Subscribe to History Hit and you'll get access to hundreds of history documentaries, as well as every single episode of this podcast from the beginning (400 extra episodes). We're running live podcasts on Zoom, we've got weekly quizzes where you can win prizes, and exclusive subscriber only articles. It's the ultimate history package. Just go to hist...
Vaccine Roll Outs: Tragedy and Triumph
November 23, 2020 18:17 - 23 minutes - 53.1 MBPaul Offit is on the US Food and Drug Administration's advisory panel on vaccines. He talked Dan through the history of massive public vaccination programmes in the US, starting with the unprecedented campaign against Polio in 1955. During that vaccination 200,000 children were a form of the vaccine in which the live polio virus had not been sufficiently inactivated and 40,000 of them got polio leading to 10 deaths and 200 cases of paralysis. That 'Cutter Incident' led to the birth of a mode...
In Conversation with Astronaut Al Worden
November 22, 2020 03:00 - 58 minutes - 80.1 MBAl Worden was an American astronaut and engineer who was the Command Module Pilot for the Apollo 15 lunar mission in 1971. He is one of only 24 people to have flown to the Moon. Subscribe to History Hit and you'll get access to hundreds of history documentaries, as well as every single episode of this podcast from the beginning (400 extra episodes). We're running live podcasts on Zoom, we've got weekly quizzes where you can win prizes, and exclusive subscriber only articles. It's the ultima...
Maggots Re-hatched!
November 22, 2020 00:00 - 46 minutes - 107 MBIn this BONUS episode, the Histories of the Unexpected duo, James and Sam, re-hatch the unexpected history of MAGGOTS! Which is all about the American Civil War, Ancient and modern medicine, dangerous Sardinian delicacies, the circle of life, forgetful mothers-in-law and Amazonian plane crashes! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Bloody Sunday 100 Years On
November 21, 2020 03:00 - 23 minutes - 31.7 MBDiarmaid Ferriter joined me on the podcast to talk about the events of Bloody Sunday on 21st November 1920, which marked a decisive turning-point in Irish history. Subscribe to History Hit and you'll get access to hundreds of history documentaries, as well as every single episode of this podcast from the beginning (400 extra episodes). We're running live podcasts on Zoom, we've got weekly quizzes where you can win prizes, and exclusive subscriber only articles. It's the ultimate history pac...
From Dynamite to Drones: How Terrorist Technologies Impacted the Start of the First World War
November 20, 2020 17:00 - 32 minutes - 44.7 MBProfessor Audrey Cronin is the world's leading expert in Terrorism and Technology. She has released a new book, Power to the People, and spoke with James about the development of materials used in terrorism. Audrey explains how the technological boom which occured before the First World War created new opportunities for terrorism, and how this can be compared with today's developments. Subscribe to History Hit and you'll get access to hundreds of history documentaries, as well as every sing...
Maggots!
November 20, 2020 16:10 - 31 minutes - 72.5 MBIn this episode, the Histories of the Unexpected duo, James and Sam, hatch the unexpected history of MAGGOTS! Which is all about the American Civil War, Ancient and modern medicine, dangerous Sardinian delicacies, the circle of life, forgetful mothers-in-law and Amazonian plane crashes! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Lincoln with Sidney Blumenthal
November 19, 2020 18:30 - 24 minutes - 33.4 MBSidney Blumenthal joined me on the podcast to talk about the political life of Abraham Lincoln and what his legacy means today. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Abraham Lincoln with Sidney Blumenthal
November 19, 2020 18:30 - 24 minutes - 33.4 MBSidney Blumenthal joined me on the podcast to talk about the political life of Abraham Lincoln and what his legacy means today. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
The Pioneers of Egyptology
November 18, 2020 17:10 - 16 minutes - 23.4 MBChris Naunton joined me on the podcast to talk about the work of the many people who contributed to our understanding of ancient Egypt. Subscribe to History Hit and you'll get access to hundreds of history documentaries, as well as every single episode of this podcast from the beginning (400 extra episodes). We're running live podcasts on Zoom, we've got weekly quizzes where you can win prizes, and exclusive subscriber only articles. It's the ultimate history package. Just go to historyhit....
How Deep History Swung the US Election
November 17, 2020 17:00 - 19 minutes - 27.3 MBLewis Dartnell joined me on the podcast to talk about a theory that links the outcome of the US election to geology. Subscribe to History Hit and you'll get access to hundreds of history documentaries, as well as every single episode of this podcast from the beginning (400 extra episodes). We're running live podcasts on Zoom, we've got weekly quizzes where you can win prizes, and exclusive subscriber only articles. It's the ultimate history package. Just go to historyhit.tv to subscribe. Us...
I’m a Celeb Special: Gwrych Castle
November 16, 2020 17:30 - 25 minutes - 34.5 MBGwrych Castle dominates the road into North Wales. A sprawling Victorian ruin on land that belonged to the same family for over 500 years. It is now famous in the UK as the Covid convenient set for "I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here" which launched to huge audiences this weekend. But history fans will be more interested in the the remarkable story of the castle itself than the antics of the celebs in its shadow. From an illustrious stately home, and safe haven for dozens of child refugees i...