Dan Snow's History Hit
1,842 episodes - English - Latest episode: 25 days ago - ★★★★★ - 3.5K ratingsHistory! The most exciting and important things that have ever happened on the planet. Powerful kings, warrior queens, nomads, empires and expeditions. Historian Dan Snow and his expert guests bring all these stories to life and more in a daily dose of history. Join Dan as he digs into the past to make sense of the headlines and get up close to the biggest discoveries being made around the world today, as they happen.
If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at [email protected], we'd love to hear from you!
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Episodes
2. Thomas Cochrane: The Battle of Basque Roads
January 03, 2024 00:31 - 50 minutes - 69.2 MB2/3. Thomas Cochrane and his crew of the HMS Imperieuse embark on their greatest and most audacious scheme yet; Cochrane leads a flotilla of burning vessels and exploding bomb ships piled high with gunpowder into a fleet of Napoleon's forces off the coast of Biscay. The Battle of Basque Roads made Cochrane a national treasure but only for a while... when the truth about what happened that night reaches London, Cochrane finds himself up against enemies far worse than the French. You can find...
1. Thomas Cochrane: The Real Master and Commander
January 03, 2024 00:30 - 39 minutes - 53.9 MBDan tells a story as dramatic, unlikely and exciting as any ever penned by an author about one of Britain's greatest sailors. Thomas Lord Cochrane was a naval commander with an illustrious career in the Napoleonic Wars who once strapped himself to a floating bomb, in a rising storm, in the dead of a moonless night to take out a French fleet. Another time, he convinced an enemy force to surrender to a navy that didn’t exist. Napoleon dubbed him 'The Sea Wolf'. In part 1 of this 3-part series...
Fall of the Aztec Empire
January 01, 2024 00:30 - 39 minutes - 54.4 MBThe 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, after a last stand on the steps of their temple buildings, the Aztec defenders of Tenochtitlan surrendered to the Spanish forces of Hernán Cortés and his Mesoamerican allies. To talk about the fall of the Aztec Empire, Dan is joined by Matthew Restall, Director of Latin American Studies at Penn State University. Matthew challenges some of the commonl...
England & Portugal: The Oldest Alliance in the World
December 27, 2023 00:30 - 39 minutes - 54.5 MBIf you’re enjoying a glass of port during the festive period, you have the world’s oldest treaty to thank. Winston Churchill once described the Anglo-Portuguese alliance as ‘without parallel in world history.’ Forged in the backdrop of the Hundred Years War 650 years ago, the alliance is the oldest in the world. In this episode Dan explores the medieval roots of this diplomatic friendship, which has benefitted both nations politically, culturally, and commercially. Hear why John of Gaunt ...
Pythagoras' Utopia
December 23, 2023 00:30 - 28 minutes - 40 MBWhat comes to your mind when you think of Pythagoras, the ancient Greek polymath? Some might think of the Pythagorean theorem, a foundational principle of mathematics. But he was also the enigmatic founder of Pythagoreanism, a mysterious secret society that strove to create a utopia on earth. Today Dan is joined by Kristen Ghodsee, an ethnographer and author of Everyday Utopia. Kristen delves into this ancient social experiment, and talks about other attempts at paradise in the millennia si...
Georgian Christmas
December 21, 2023 00:30 - 34 minutes - 47.8 MBPantomimes, pleasure gardens, bare-knuckle boxing and political upheaval. Christmas in the 18th and early 19th centuries was a very different affair from the peaceful family celebration of the Victorian Age. Georgian Christmas was raucous, rowdy and time for a bit of fun before heading back to work. In this seasonal episode, Dan delves into the festivities of London's working classes with Footprints of London tour guide Rob Smith who has a fascinating anecdote for just about person who's ca...
The Middle Ages in 5 Facts
December 20, 2023 00:30 - 40 minutes - 663 MBWhere is the grave of King Arthur? What was the worst year in human history? Who were the most fractious royal siblings? What were the origins of humble pie? Which monsters pre-occupied Medieval minds? In this episode, Gone Medieval’s co-hosts Matt Lewis and Dr. Eleanor Janega delve into some of the big Medieval questions, obscure facts and bizarre stories featured in History Hit Miscellany, our fascinating and entertaining new book published this month. The History Hit Miscellany was publ...
Saint Nicholas
December 19, 2023 00:30 - 24 minutes - 408 MBIt's that time of year when the beloved Santa Claus comes around once again. But the celebrated image of this prolific gift-giver is based on an even more fabled figure - that of Saint Nicholas, a 3rd century Christian bishop famed for his generosity and compassion. He was thought to be a miracle worker, and through his divine acts he became one of Christianity's most popular patron saints. His life is unsurprisingly shrouded in myth and legend, so help make sense of it all, Dan is joined o...
Fighting Hitler's U-Boats
December 18, 2023 00:30 - 42 minutes - 703 MBThe Second World War is remembered for its colossal battles in the air, on land and at sea. But perhaps the most terrifying were those waged UNDER the ocean, against an unseen enemy. By the end of 1941, cumbersome shipping convoys were Britain's only lifeline. Protecting them proved a difficult task, and German U-boats hunting in wolf packs sank merchant ships faster than they could be built. But into this loosing battle stepped the British naval officer and pioneer of anti-submarine warfare...
The Boston Tea Party
December 14, 2023 00:59 - 56 minutes - 77.7 MBOn December 16th, 1773, a band of American patriots quietly boarded three ships in Boston Harbour, under the cover of night. Armed with axes and hatchets, they pried open the crates on board and poured their contents into the ocean. The crates contained tea; black-leaved Bohea and green tea from China. Some 92,000 pounds of it cascaded over the side in protest of British taxation in the American colonies. These men were known as the Sons of Liberty, and they had just lit a powder keg that w...
Sara Forbes Bonetta: Queen Victoria's African God-Daughter
December 12, 2023 00:33 - 35 minutes - 48.6 MBBy the age of just 7, Sara Forbes Bonetta had survived a West African war, lost her parents, been enslaved and finally, exchanged as a gift for a far-flung queen. When she arrived in the court of Queen Victoria in 1850, the monarch was immediately impressed by the determined, intelligent young girl. She took Sara under her wing as a royal protégée and goddaughter, setting in motion an extraordinary story of transformation and identity. Dan is joined by Joanna Brown, author of Bright Stars o...
The Tower of London's Most Notorious Prisoners
December 11, 2023 00:31 - 37 minutes - 51.2 MBFrom Ann Boleyn and Walter Raleigh to Rudolf Hess and the Kray twins, London's iconic Tower of London has held some of history's most notorious figures over its 1000 year history. Host of Gone Medieval podcast Matt Lewis joins Dan to uncover the secrets embedded within the tower's formidable walls. They dive into the deep history of this mighty fortress built by William the Conqueror and tell the stories of the executions, the escapes and the animals that have called the tower home, includin...
Mother Shipton: Tudor Prophetess of England's Doom
December 07, 2023 00:34 - 36 minutes - 49.7 MBDid a Tudor prophetess correctly predict the English Civil War, the Crimean War, the sinking of the Titanic, World War One and the end of days? And what does she have to do with turning teddy bears into stone? Find out as Maddy and Anthony discuss Mother Shipton's life, legend and legacy. Written by Maddy Pelling Edited and produced by Freddy Chick. The senior producer is Charlotte Long. Discover the past with exclusive history documentaries and ad-free podcasts presented by world-renown...
A Guide to Ancient Egypt
December 06, 2023 00:32 - 41 minutes - 57.2 MBEgypt was a vast kingdom of the ancient world. Its rulers were considered gods and wielded tremendous power and wealth. Egyptian scholars, astrologists and thinkers pioneered in their fields. Lasting for millennia, the kingdom's influence on culture, economics and politics was felt across North Africa and beyond, even centuries after it was gone. This episode tells you everything you need to know about Ancient Egypt - guided by Dr. Campbell Price, Curator of Egypt and Sudan at the Mancheste...
Medieval Baghdad
December 05, 2023 00:31 - 24 minutes - 33.4 MBToday we find ourselves in 9th-century Baghdad, the beating heart of the Islamic Abbasid Caliphate. This was a vast empire that stretched from North Africa through the Middle East, and all the way to Central Asia. At the height of the Islamic Golden Age, it hosted profound cultural and intellectual advancements that laid the foundations for our modern world. Dan is joined by Ali A. Olomi, a historian of the Middle East and Islam. Ali is one of the hosts of Echoes of History, a podcast by Ub...
What Really Happened to the Princes in the Tower?
December 04, 2023 00:30 - 33 minutes - 46.5 MBFor over 500 years, the mysterious disappearance of two English princes has perplexed the world. Historians have long assumed that Edward V and Richard, Duke of York were murdered in 1483 by their uncle, Richard III. But Dan's guest today brings a dramatic new theory to the table. Philippa Langley played a crucial role in the discovery and exhumation of Richard's body in 2012. She has since turned her attention to the greatest mystery that surrounds his life; did he really kill his own neph...
Tutankhamun's 'Curse' & Other History Mysteries
November 30, 2023 00:32 - 36 minutes - 50.4 MBIn Dan's long career as a broadcaster, he's come across all sorts of unexplained phenomena, myths and mysteries- from searching for the Nazi Gold Train in Poland to debunking the mummy's curse in Tutankhamun's tomb and looking for answers about ball lightning. History is full of the weird and wonderful and in this episode Dan is joined by polymath, author and fellow podcaster Dan Schreiber to talk about stories of lost treasure, curious relics and Edwardian superstitions. You can read up on...
The 'Elgin' Marbles
November 29, 2023 00:33 - 34 minutes - 47.1 MBThe permanent home of the Parthenon Marbles, also known as the 'Elgin' Marbles, has been the subject of a heated, decades-long debate. That debate was reignited this week when Prime Minister Rishi Sunak cancelled a meeting with the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis who had planned to raise the issue of returning the marbles to Greece in it. Currently housed in the British Museum, Greece has been proactively campaigning for their return since the 1980s. But how did this controversy st...
Hades: King of the Underworld
November 28, 2023 00:31 - 56 minutes - 78.1 MBThis episode contains references to death and sexual assault. Hades is King of the the dead and the Underworld in Ancient Greek mythology. Dive into the shadowy underworld with host Tristan Hughes and guest Prof Sarah Iles Johnson of Ohio State University. Together, they unearth Hades' origin, define the enigmatic underworld, and what it reveals about Ancient Greek perceptions of life and beyond. Plus, delve into iconic myths like Orpheus & Eurydice, Achilles and the Trojan War and the La...
Rasputin
November 26, 2023 00:30 - 22 minutes - 30.8 MBThe legend of Rasputin's death goes that he survived poisoning, being shot in the head before being thrown through a hole in the ice in the Neva River, where he finally died by drowning. But Rasputin biographer Douglas Smith, Dan's guest today, says that isn't what happened. He's been to Russia to study the crime scene photos and the evidence and says things happened a little differently to the way the history is told... He joins Dan to dig into the life of Grigori Rasputin, the Siberian my...
4. Napoleon: The Myth
November 23, 2023 00:34 - 39 minutes - 53.8 MBNapoleon has become more than a man. His name is a concept, a way of being, a psychological term- the 'Napoleon' complex. Napoleon began working on his legacy during his exile on St Helena in the last years of his life, his journal- memoir 'The Memorial of Saint Helena' was Napoleon's own personal and political testament and served as the founding text of the cult of Napoleon and the ideology of Bonapartism that grew after his death in 1821. In the final episode of the series, Dan is joined...
3. Napoleon: The Lover
November 22, 2023 00:33 - 46 minutes - 63.5 MBCONTENT WARNING: This episode contains discussions about sex which may not be suitable for children. Napoleon Bonaparte is one of the few commanders in history to be known for his capacity as a fierce fighter and a passionate lover. His romance with Joséphine de Beauharnais is one of the greatest in history and we know the intimate details about it because of the hundreds of passionate letters he sent to her over the years, some more explicit than others... In episode 3 of Dan's Napoleon ...
2. Napoleon: The Commander
November 21, 2023 00:31 - 43 minutes - 59.6 MBDuring the Napoleonic Wars, 18th-century leaders in Europe quickly decided the best way to beat Napoleon Bonaparte was to retreat and not meet him on the battlefield at all. He was head and shoulders above the other commanders of the day. So why did it go so spectacularly wrong for him at Waterloo? In episode two of his series, Dan delves into who Napoleon was as a military commander- what made him so effective on the battlefield, as a leader of men and conqueror of lands. He's joined by mi...
1. Napoleon: The Early Years
November 20, 2023 00:30 - 26 minutes - 37 MBHe clawed his way to the zenith of power with a relentless determination that few could fathom... he conquered empires, destroyed armies and out of the smouldering rubble of the revolution made himself the Emperor of the French; his name was Napoleon Bonaparte. Was Napoleon destined for greatness, or was just in the right place at the right time? Well, Biographer Andrew Roberts, author of Napoleon the Great says its both. In the first episode of this four-part series, Andrew and Dan pick th...
Habsburg Inbreeding with Dr. Adam Rutherford
November 17, 2023 00:30 - 34 minutes - 47.8 MBOne of Early Modern Europe’s most powerful families, the Habsburgs shared a physical trait so distinctive that it came to be regarded as a badge of honour - the large, jutting jaw that was a result of family inbreeding. But that was only part of their physiological challenges. In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks about genetics, inbreeding and the sad fate of the Habsburgs with Dr. Adam Rutherford, author of A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived: Th...
The Belfast Blitz
November 16, 2023 00:34 - 29 minutes - 40 MBIt wasn't just London that was devastated by German bombing raids in WWII, but Belfast in Northern Ireland too. The most intense bombing took place over four consecutive nights, from April 7 to April 10, 1941, as the Luftwaffe targeted strategic locations, industrial sites, and residential areas in Belfast. Over 1000 residents in the city and surrounding counties were killed in the raids. Hundreds more were wounded and many deceased were left unidentified after the rubble was cleared. The B...
Napoleon's Greatest Battles with Ridley Scott
November 14, 2023 00:31 - 37 minutes - 51.8 MBNapoleon Bonaparte is one of the most accomplished military commanders in world history. He rose to become Emperor of the French after a series of spectacular battlefield victories and continued this success until the very end of his rule. On this episode, Dan is joined by the famed filmmaker Ridley Scott to discuss his recent blockbuster, Napoleon, and go through some of the film's epic battlefield scenes. What were the conqueror's greatest battles? How did Joaquin Phoenix capture the esse...
Remembrance Day: Searching for My Father the WWII Pilot
November 13, 2023 00:30 - 30 minutes - 41.6 MBJohn Watts never knew his father. He was conceived days before his father, Wing Commander Joseph Watts, was killed on a bombing mission over occupied Europe. He left behind a daughter, and also an unborn son. But, recently John discovered that at the RAF Museum at Cosford, they have one of the very few surviving Hampdens which is being restored. The plane is from the very squadron his father flew in. Dan accompanied John to the museum for the emotional visit which he hoped would bring closur...
3. Hitler's Third Reich
November 08, 2023 00:34 - 47 minutes - 65.9 MBIn this special 4-part series, we look back at the life of Adolf Hitler. With the help of Frank McDonough, a leading historian of the Third Reich, we follow Hitler from childhood to adulthood and learn how an awkward, aspiring artist became one of history's most infamous dictators. In this third episode, we pick up Hitler's story with the sweeping German military victories of 1939. Emboldened by these successes, Nazi Germany goes head-to-head with the Soviet Union. But the tide begins to tu...
2. The Rise of Hitler
November 07, 2023 00:32 - 52 minutes - 71.7 MBIn this special 4-part series, we look back at the life of Adolf Hitler. With the help of Frank McDonough, a leading historian of the Third Reich, we follow Hitler from childhood to adulthood and learn how an awkward, aspiring artist became one of history's most infamous dictators. In this second episode, we pick up the story just after his failed coup. Hitler exploited the chaos of 1920s Germany to build his own popularity. He manipulates the levers of government to gain power and builds a...
1. Hitler's Early Years
November 06, 2023 00:31 - 42 minutes - 58.9 MBIn this special 4-part series, we look back at the life of Adolf Hitler. With the help of Frank McDonough, a leading historian of the Third Reich, we follow Hitler from childhood to adulthood and learn how this awkward, aspiring artist became one of history's most infamous dictators. In this first episode, we trace Hitler's childhood and upbringing to learn what we can about his personality and desires. We hear how the First World War gave him a sense of purpose, and how the upheaval of Wei...
Pocahontas: The True Story
November 06, 2023 00:30 - 32 minutes - 44.1 MBDespite her being a household name, how much do we really know about Pocahontas? Where did she come from? How old was she? And what was her real relationship with the colonists? Don is joined for this episode by Camilla Townsend, a Historian of Early Native American and Latin American History at Rutgers University. Camilla is the author of 'Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma' and, most recently, 'Indigenous Life After the Conquest: The De la Cruz Family Papers of Colonial Mexico'. Produce...
Hunting Pablo Escobar
November 03, 2023 16:15 - 29 minutes - 41 MBBy the early 1990s, the Colombian city of Medellín was at the centre of the world's largest drug empire. The fearsome Medellín Cartel, led by the notorious drug lord and narcoterrorist Pablo Escobar, brought murder and mayhem to the city and the world for nearly two decades. In this episode, Dan is joined by the men portrayed in the critically acclaimed series Narcos, ex-DEA agents Javier Peña and Steve Murphy. They tell us the true story behind the rise and fall of the infamous Pablo Escob...
Babylon
November 03, 2023 16:14 - 34 minutes - 47.2 MBThe urban cultures of ancient Mesopotamia formed the foundation for so much of our modern world. Nowhere exemplifies this better than the city of Babylon, which was the cultural seedbed for the Greek and Roman civilisations that in turn left such lasting legacies. On this episode, Dan is joined by Amanda Podany, professor emeritus of history at the California State Polytechnic University. Amanda draws on an astonishing breadth of original documents and objects to explain just how foundation...
The Salem Witch Trials
November 03, 2023 16:13 - 33 minutes - 45.5 MBThe Malleus Maleficarum, or the 'Hammer of Witches', was a 15th-century book that sparked mass hysteria about the existence of witches in Europe - and it wasn't long before North America had fallen for the same obsession. In a special Halloween episode, Dan is joined by the co-host of the Gone Medieval podcast, Eleanor Janega, to take us through the most famous example of a witch-hunt in action. Eleanor explains how old grudges and grievances boiled up as the citizens of Salem, Massachusett...
James Beckwourth, Conquering the American Frontier
November 03, 2023 16:12 - 31 minutes - 43.7 MBJames Beckwourth was a pioneering frontiersman and fur-trapper who conquered the American West by embedding himself in the Native American tribes who called it home. Although Beckwourth wasn’t a runaway slave, he'd been born into slavery in the Deep South at the turn of the 19th century. As a young man, he was enticed by the freedom of the wilderness, after being emancipated by his owner and own father- a white Virginian planter. Beckwourth made his way west to the gold-dappled state of Cali...
Tutankhamun: The Valley of the Kings - Signal Award Gold!
November 03, 2023 16:11 - 35 minutes - 49 MBIn celebration of recently winning a gold Signal Award, we are revisiting our series from last year on the 100th anniversary of the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun. 1. On the West Bank of the Nile in Luxor lie the burial chambers of some of Ancient Egypt's greatest pharaohs - Ramses II, Seti I and Tutankhamun. From Luxor, Dan delves into the history of the Valley of the Kings with Alia Ismail whose current project is 3D mapping the tombs. He ventures deep into the earth inside the most...
Reburying the Dead of America's Revolutionary War
November 03, 2023 16:10 - 32 minutes - 44.2 MBDan attends the funeral of British and American soldiers, over 240 years after they died fighting one another at the Battle of Camden. He takes us through the battle step by step, walking the fields of South Carolina and speaking with archaeologists, locals and soldiers to bring this British victory back to life. Dan ends at a funeral procession that commemorates the lives of the men who died, and reminds us that the cost of war transcends the centuries. Produced by James Hickmann and edit...
The Murder of Christopher Marlowe
November 03, 2023 16:09 - 49 minutes - 68.8 MBThis month on Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb investigates four of history’s most notorious murders and brutal crimes. In this first episode, she’s joined by Charles Nicholl to dig deeper into the mystery of the 1593 murder of the brilliant and controversial playwright Christopher Marlowe, who was stabbed to death in a house in Deptford. The official account stated it was a violent quarrel over the bill. But as Charles Nicholl explains, critical evidence about that fatal d...
The Arab- Israeli War: Yom Kippur War 1973
November 03, 2023 16:08 - 39 minutes - 54.4 MBAlso known as the October War and the Ramadan War, this conflict was initiated by Egypt and Syria on October 6, 1973, as a surprise attack on Israel during the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur and the Muslim month of Ramadan. It was motivated by a desire among Arab states to regain territory taken by Israel during the Six-Day War in 1967, particularly the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. The initial stages of the war caught Israel off guard, but they were able to regroup and mount a stron...
Israel, Gaza and the West Bank: A History
November 03, 2023 16:05 - 1 hour - 89.3 MBIn light of the complex and tragic situation unfolding in Gaza and Israel, this episode looks at the past 100 years of the history of the region of Palestine. As well as explanation from Dan, we hear from experts who have been on the podcast before to explain the background to the conflict we're seeing today. Historian Simon Sebag-Montefiore explores why Jerusalem is so important to both the Israelis and the Palestinians. Yara Hawari, a senior policy analyst for Al-Shabaka, describes the P...
WWII Britain's 'Missing' Sailors
November 03, 2023 16:04 - 25 minutes - 34.8 MBDuring WWII, the sailors of the British merchant navy played a vital role in keeping the UK fed and armed. They carried essential supplies across the treacherous Atlantic - and many paid with their lives. What's less well known is that many of those sailors were Chinese - volunteers who came to Britain to help the war effort and settled predominantly in the port city of Liverpool. But after the war, many of those Chinese sailors who returned home suddenly disappeared without a trace. For yea...
HMS Terror: Cursed Arctic Expedition
November 03, 2023 16:03 - 51 minutes - 70.6 MBWas ever a ship more aptly named? In 1845, HMS Terror (and its forgettably named sister ship HMS Erebus) set off from Victorian Britain. Their quest was to discover the fabled Northwest passage through the Arctic ice. The crew were heroes in waiting. Yet by the end, the rules that govern life on board Royal Navy vessels collapsed into chaos and cannibalism. Maddy tells Anthony this story about life in the Royal Navy, Arctic winters, badly written poetry, and the thin line that separates us ...
Scottish Kings' Sex Lives
November 03, 2023 16:02 - 47 minutes - 65 MBOne 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 excelled in it. It could be said, however, that they took the term ‘common touch’ too literally, as it wasn’t uncommon for them to have sexual liaisons with their subjects. Who were some of the women they had their many affairs with? And what does this tell us about how liberal life north of the border was back then? Today we’re joined by author ...
Alexander The Great: The Siege of Tyre
November 03, 2023 16:00 - 22 minutes - 31 MBThe renowned conqueror Alexander the Great was known as 'the two-horned one' by his enemies, and for good reason. His campaigns were bloody affairs even by the standards of the time. But the city of Tyre was not going to be intimidated - Alexander would have to think outside the box if he was going to take it. Dan is joined by Katherine Pangonis, a historian of the medieval Mediterranean world, to tell us the tale of Tyre from bloody beginnings to the bitter end. Produced by James Hickmann...
Alexander The Great
October 07, 2023 23:31 - 53 minutes - 74 MBThis is everything you need to know about the famed conqueror Alexander the Great. Alongside Tristan Hughes, host of the hit podcast The Ancients, Dan follows Alexander on a whistle-stop tour from his life in Macedonia to his epic battles with the Persians and eventually, to his death in Babylon. Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore. Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians li...
England's Greatest Monarchs with David Mitchell
October 04, 2023 23:30 - 34 minutes - 48.1 MBDavid Mitchell joins Dan in today's episode to ask the all-important question - who was England's greatest monarch? From the 'overrated' William the Conqueror to the tantrum-throwing Henry VIII, anyone is up for grabs. Produced by Mariana Des Forges, James Hickmann and Beth Donaldson. Edited by Dougal Patmore. Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsle...
Achilles
October 03, 2023 23:30 - 40 minutes - 55.6 MBThis episode contains themes of a sexual nature Achilles is one of the greatest heroes in Greek mythology. The son of Peleus, a Greek King, and Thetis, a divine sea nymph, Achilles was a demigod with extraordinary strength and courage. The perfect combination to make a great warrior, he is perhaps best known from Homer's epic poem the Iliad, which details his adventures in the final year of the Trojan War. He's also gone down in history for his passionate love for his companion, Patroclus....
Captain Cook
October 01, 2023 23:30 - 1 hour - 113 MBDan tells the extraordinary tale of Captain James Cook. Born a labourer's son, he would rise to become one of history's greatest explorers. He went about as far as it was possible to go, sailing the Pacific Ocean and arriving on the shores of Australia and New Zealand. For these voyages, he assembled an A-Team of maritime explorers - marines, scientists, and a Polynesian explorer who had memorised the constellations of the stars. So what trials did he face on these epic voyages? Which peopl...
Roman Emperors with Mary Beard
September 27, 2023 23:30 - 33 minutes - 46.4 MBWhat did it take to become a Roman emperor? Pliny the Elder wrote that a ruler should be generous, victorious in battle and a father to his people. But how many emperors were able to live up to these expectations? And were these really traits that the typical Roman cared about? Dan is joined by the acclaimed scholar of Ancient Rome, Mary Beard, author of Emperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient World. Mary explains how the system of one-man rule was established, the skills it required, and why t...