Dan Snow's History Hit
1,842 episodes - English - Latest episode: 26 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
WW2's Special Ops Sisters
November 10, 2020 17:00 - 36 minutes - 50.2 MBJean and Patricia Owtram were teenagers when the Second World War broke out. They both served in secret roles, one on the coast intercepting German naval signals, the other running intelligence agents from Cairo. Neither told the other what they had been up to until the 1970s! Now, in their late nineties they talked to me about their service and how they can still operate a Sten gun. Subscribe to History Hit and you'll get access to hundreds of history documentaries, as well as every single...
Why We Remember
November 09, 2020 17:00 - 35 minutes - 49.4 MBAsh Alexander-Cooper OBE is a former specialist military unit colonel in the British Armed Forces, world-championship athlete and award-winning international musician. Now a member of the Army Reserve, he works tirelessly with organisations geared towards supporting and remembering those who have risked so much in the service of their countries. For this year’s Remembrance Day, Ash joined James to talk about why he thinks that it is so important to honour members of the Armed Forces and, in ...
In Search of My Father
November 08, 2020 03:00 - 30 minutes - 69.4 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 never knew that a bomber from his father's squadron was recovered and is being restored by the RAF museum in Cosford. Dan accompanied John to the museum for the emotional visit which he hoped would bring closure after 80 years of pain. Subscribe to History Hit and you'll get access to hundreds of history documentaries, as well as ev...
Remembrance Sunday: In Search of My Father
November 08, 2020 03:00 - 30 minutes - 69.4 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 never knew that a bomber from his father's squadron was recovered and is being restored by the RAF museum in Cosford. Dan accompanied John to the museum for the emotional visit which he hoped would bring closure after 80 years of pain. Subscribe to History Hit and you'll get access to hundreds of history documentaries, as well as ev...
The US Cabinet
November 07, 2020 03:00 - 24 minutes - 33.2 MBLindsay Chervinsky joined me on the podcast to discuss the history of the US Cabinet. We also discussed the electoral college system and the Constitution. 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. Jus...
The Moth and the Mountain with Ed Caesar
November 06, 2020 17:00 - 20 minutes - 28.2 MBEd Caesar joined me on the podcast to tell the story of World War I veteran Maurice Wilson, Britain's most mysterious mountaineering legend. 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 histor...
The Forgotten Hero of Everest
November 06, 2020 17:00 - 20 minutes - 28.2 MBEd Caesar joined me on the podcast to tell the story of World War I veteran Maurice Wilson, Britain's most mysterious mountaineering legend. 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 histor...
Philip and Alexander: Kings and Conquerors
November 05, 2020 17:00 - 58 minutes - 80.4 MBAlexander the Great. One of the most recognisable names in history. In his short lifetime he conquered the mighty Persian Empire and marched his army as far as the Indus River Valley. But it is important to remember that Alexander’s achievements were only possible because of his father Philip. It was Philip who transformed the Kingdom of Macedon from a backward domain into the dominant power in the Central Mediterranean. It was Philip who reformed the army and created the force that would se...
The Electoral College
November 04, 2020 12:30 - 15 minutes - 21.9 MBFabian Hilfrich joined me on the podcast to talk about the US electoral college. 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 f...
Trump, Putin, Bolsanaro: The Return of The Strongman
November 03, 2020 17:00 - 21 minutes - 30.1 MBRuth Ben-Ghiat joined me on the podcast to discuss what modern authoritarian leaders have in common and how they can be stopped. We discussed the strongman playbook from Mussolini to Putin, Johnson and Trump. 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...
The Strongman
November 03, 2020 17:00 - 21 minutes - 30.1 MBRuth Ben-Ghiat joined me on the podcast to discuss what modern authoritarian leaders have in common and how they can be stopped. We discussed the strongman playbook from Mussolini to Putin, Johnson and Trump. 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...
Hong Kong Flu
November 02, 2020 17:00 - 23 minutes - 32.1 MBProfessor George Dehner is a world environmental historian who examines the intersection of humans and disease in the modern era. We talked about the great flu pandemics of the later 20th Century, 1968 and 1976. 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 subscri...
America's Contested Election
November 02, 2020 08:02 - 27 minutes - 38.2 MB1876 was a great pivot in US history. In the presidential election that year a record turn out and chaotic vote counts, particularly in Florida (!), saw a contested result. Civil war, so recently concluded, seemed imminent until Democrat and Republican grandees made a bargain. It would save the republic but at terrible cost. Joining us on the podcast is Professor Gary Gerstle, the Paul Mellon Professor of American History at the University of Cambridge. We discussed the momentous events of 1...
WW2 Heroine Christian Lamb Turns 100
November 01, 2020 09:00 - 26 minutes - 36.8 MBChristian Lamb has had a remarkable life. The daughter of an admiral, she served in the navy during the war and went on to become an expert in horticultural history. Dan visited her the day after her 100th birthday to learn about her wartime experiences. 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 whe...
Margaret Beaufort: Mother of the Tudors
October 30, 2020 17:00 - 39 minutes - 53.9 MBNicola Tallis comes on the show to talk about the extraordinary Margaret Beaufort: 'Mother of the Tudors' and the ancestor of all subsequent royals.
The Bomb: With Fred Kaplan
October 29, 2020 17:00 - 35 minutes - 48.2 MBWhy is it that nobody has used the absolute weapon, the nuclear bomb, since 1945? Was it ever likely that the American arsenal would be used against the Soviet Union? Or was it created solely to prevent nuclear war? If the latter is true, how does a country create the false impression that it is willing to release a weapon of mass destruction? New York Times bestselling author and Pulitzer prize winning journalist, Fred Kaplan, has authored The Bomb: Presidents, Generals and the Secret Histo...
Mutiny on the Spanish Main
October 28, 2020 17:00 - 22 minutes - 31 MBAngus Konstam joined me on the podcast to tell the dramatic story of HMS Hermione. In 1797, the British frigate was the site of the bloodiest mutiny in British naval 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 ...
Time Travel to Regency Britain with Ian Mortimer
October 27, 2020 17:00 - 17 minutes - 24.6 MBIan Mortimer joined me on the podcast to take us back in time to the Regency period. It was a time of exuberance, thrills, frills and unchecked bad behaviour.
Toussaint Louverture and the Haitian Revolution
October 26, 2020 17:00 - 21 minutes - 29.2 MBSudhir Hazareesingh joined me to discuss the life of Toussaint Louverture, a revolutionary leader who confronted the forces of slavery, settler colonialism, imperialism and racial hierarchy. The Haitian Revolution began in the French Caribbean colony of Saint-Domingue with a slave revolt in August 1791, and culminated a dozen years later in the proclamation of the world's first independent black state.
Trump and Presidential History
October 25, 2020 03:00 - 25 minutes - 35.2 MBTwo weeks before the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Richard Brookhiser joined me on the podcast to discuss Trump and presidential history.
War Lord with Bernard Cornwell
October 24, 2020 02:00 - 17 minutes - 23.7 MBBernard Cornwell joined me on the podcast to discuss his final book in the Last Kingdom series. War Lord is the epic story of how England was made.
The Battle of Philippi: Death of the Roman Republic
October 23, 2020 16:00 - 50 minutes - 69.4 MBIn October 42 BC the Roman Republic committed suicide. Near the town of Philippi in northern Greece the forces of Brutus and Cassius, the famous assassins of Julius Caesar and the last surviving cheerleaders of the Roman Republic, faced off against the armies of Marc Antony and young Octavian. Two separate battles were fought, the results of which decided the future direction of Rome. In this Ancients podcast, Tristan was joined by Steele Brand (@steele_brand) to talk through these all-import...
Britain's Oldest Laws
October 22, 2020 16:00 - 20 minutes - 27.9 MBJoanna McCunn joined me on the podcast to discuss the history of some of Britain's oldest and strangest laws. From shooting Welshmen with longbows, to Oliver Cromwell banning mince pies, we also discussed 19th century policing and vagrancy acts. 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...
Time's Monster with Priya Satia
October 21, 2020 16:00 - 21 minutes - 29.4 MBPriya Satia joined me on the podcast to discuss the dramatic consequences of writing history today as much as in the past. Against the backdrop of enduring global inequalities and debates about reparations and the legacy of empire, Satia offers us a hugely important and urgent moral voice. 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...
Nelson and the Slave Trade
October 20, 2020 16:00 - 25 minutes - 35.2 MBVice Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson died at Trafalgar on 21 October 1805. Recently there has been considerable interest in Nelson's views on the slave trade and the plantation economy of the West Indies. A letter of Nelson's written months before his death in 1805 to the infamous Jamaican slave owner Simon Taylor, was published years after his death in attempt to stop the abolition of the slave trade as the matter was before Parliament. Martyn Downer joined me on the podcast to discuss key phra...
The Conquistadores
October 19, 2020 16:00 - 30 minutes - 42 MBFernando Cervantes joined me on the podcast to reframe the story of the Spanish conquest of the New World, set against the political and intellectual landscape from which its main actors emerged.
The Expulsion of Native Americans
October 18, 2020 02:00 - 23 minutes - 32.9 MBClaudio Saunt joined me on the podcast to discuss the United States' expulsion of Native Americans from the East to territories west of the Mississippi River. Justified as a humanitarian enterprise, the undertaking was to be systematic and rational, overseen by Washington’s small but growing bureaucracy. But as the policy unfolded over the next decade, thousands of Native Americans died under the federal government’s auspices, and thousands of others lost their possessions and homelands in a...
Saving Bletchley Park with Sue Black
October 17, 2020 02:00 - 22 minutes - 31.5 MBDr Sue Black is a British computer scientist, academic and social entrepreneur. She has been instrumental in saving Bletchley Park, the World War II codebreaking site. Her book documenting this vital task is 'Saving Bletchley Park: How #SocialMedia Saved the Home of the WWII Codebreakers'.
African Europeans with Olivette Otele
October 16, 2020 16:00 - 23 minutes - 32.4 MBOlivette Otele joined me on the podcast to discuss the long African European heritage through the lives of individuals. 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....
Nero
October 15, 2020 16:08 - 31 minutes - 43.9 MBShusma Malik joined me on the podcast to discuss the infamous Emperor Nero. He ruled nearly 2000 years ago, after taking over from his stepfather Claudius. Nero was a despotic ruler, enamoured in his own talents. His reign was characterised by tyranny and debauchery. To what extent is the commonly-held perception that Nero should be understood as the Antichrist figure in the Bible accurate? Join us to learn more about Nero's rise and his eventual expulsion from office, leading up to his deat...
Nero
October 15, 2020 16:08 - 31 minutes - 43.9 MBShusma Malik joined me on the podcast to discuss the infamous Emperor Nero. He ruled nearly 2000 years ago, after taking over from his stepfather Claudius. Nero was a despotic ruler, enamoured in his own talents. His reign was characterised by tyranny and debauchery. To what extent is the commonly-held perception that Nero should be understood as the Antichrist figure in the Bible accurate? Join us to learn more about Nero's rise and his eventual expulsion from office, leading up to his deat...
1066: Year of Invasions
October 13, 2020 16:00 - 24 minutes - 33.5 MBEmily Ward and Pragya Vohra talk about the history of the Viking invasion of 1066.
On the Battlefield of Hastings with Marc Morris
October 13, 2020 02:00 - 18 minutes - 25.5 MBMarc Morris shows me around the Battlefield of Hastings.
Queer History
October 12, 2020 16:00 - 17 minutes - 23.4 MBSacha Coward joined me on the podcast to discuss queer history. We talked about Luisa Casati, Queen Anne, the Gay Liberation Front, and other stories of non-heteronormative relationships. 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 ...
History's Greatest Speeches with Simon Sebag Montefiore
October 11, 2020 02:00 - 15 minutes - 21.2 MBSimon Sebag Montefiore joined me on the podcast to talk about history's greatest speeches. From Martin Luther King Jr. to John Boyega, from Churchill to Trump, we also discuss British institutions and their link to Empire. 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 exclus...
History's Greatest Speeches with Simon Sebag Montefiore
October 11, 2020 02:00 - 15 minutes - 21.2 MBSimon Sebag Montefiore joined me on the podcast to talk about history's greatest speeches. From Martin Luther King Jr. to John Boyega, from Churchill to Trump, we also discuss British institutions and their link to Empire. 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 exclus...
Underland with Robert Macfarlane
October 10, 2020 02:00 - 19 minutes - 26.4 MBRobert Macfarlane joined me on the podcast to talk about his new book, Underland. We talked about cave communities in Cappadocia, underground bunkerism, the catacombs in Paris, and the worlds beneath our feet. 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 subscribe...
How and Why History: King David
October 08, 2020 16:00 - 26 minutes - 36.2 MBOne of the Old Testament’s most compelling figures, King David was anointed as king of a united Israel, conquering Jerusalem and bringing the Ark of the Covenant into the city. First renowned for his musicianship and killing Goliath, David was feted by King Saul who then turned against him. But how did David rise to power and importance? Why was the capture of Jerusalem so significant? And how sure can we be that David actually existed? Rob Weinberg asks the big questions about this importan...
In Conversation with Sir David Attenborough
October 08, 2020 16:00 - 37 minutes - 51.9 MBSir David Attenborough is an English veteran broadcaster and naturalist. He is best known for writing and presenting the nine Life series, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit, which collectively form a comprehensive survey of animal and plant life on the planet. He is also a former senior manager at the BBC, having served as controller of BBC Two and director of programming for BBC Television in the 1960s and 1970s. He is the only person to have won BAFTAs for programmes in each ...
Ireland's Great Famine: Counterpoint
October 07, 2020 16:00 - 19 minutes - 26.8 MBChristine Kinealy joined me on this podcast to discuss the British government’s adverse policies during the Great Famine, and the effects these had on the Irish people. 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 histor...
A President Incapacitated: Woodrow Wilson's Stroke
October 06, 2020 16:00 - 23 minutes - 31.7 MB101 years ago this week, President Woodrow Wilson suffered a serious stroke which left him prone to "disorders of emotion, impaired impulse control, and defective judgment." As President Trump confronts his own health crisis, I talked to John Milton Cooper, Jr., Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison about President Wilson. 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 beginnin...
Asylum on Saint Helena
October 05, 2020 16:00 - 12 minutes - 16.8 MBAnnina Van Neel showed me around Saint Helena, a small scrap of land in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. This island is the most significant physical trace of the Transatlantic slave trade middle passage.
War with Margaret MacMillan
October 04, 2020 02:00 - 23 minutes - 31.8 MBMargaret MacMillan joined me on the podcast to discuss the ways in which war has influenced human society. We discussed how, in turn, changes in political organisation, technology, or ideologies have affected how and why we fight. 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, an...
MI9: The Secret Service for Escape and Evasion
October 03, 2020 02:00 - 19 minutes - 26.6 MBHelen Fry joined me on the podcast to talk about the thrilling history of MI9. The WWII organisation engineered the escape of Allied forces from behind enemy lines.
How Steam Power Remade the World
October 02, 2020 16:00 - 23 minutes - 31.9 MBJohn Darwin joined me on the podcast to discuss how steam power reshaped our cities and our seas, and forged a new world order. 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 su...
The Hunt For The Killers Of Julius Caesar
October 01, 2020 16:00 - 23 minutes - 32.2 MBPeter Stothard joined me on the podcast to discuss the assassination of Julius Caesar. Many men killed Julius Caesar. Only one man was determined to kill the killers. From the spring of 44 BC through one of the most dramatic and influential periods in history, Caesar's adopted son, Octavian, the future Emperor Augustus, exacted vengeance on the assassins of the Ides of March, not only on Brutus and Cassius, immortalised by Shakespeare, but all the others too, each with his own individual sto...
History of China with Michael Wood
September 30, 2020 16:00 - 26 minutes - 35.9 MBMichael Wood joined me on the podcast to talk about his new history of China. He takes a fresh look at Chinese history in the light of the current massive changes inside the country, and how its people and leaders see their place in the world, and its place on the world stage. 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 ...
How and Why History: Rome and the Mediterranean
September 29, 2020 16:00 - 23 minutes - 32.8 MBBy the first century BC, the nuisance of piracy had become a plague in the Mediterranean. The Romans dispatched Pompey who freed the way for the expansion of commerce and the Empire. But why was the Mediterranean so important to Rome? How did they go about ruling its waves? And how did they rid the sea of pirates? Rob Weinberg asks the big questions about this important stretch of water to Dr. James Corke-Webster at Kings College London. Subscribe to History Hit and you'll get access to hun...
Joking About Stalin
September 28, 2020 16:00 - 20 minutes - 28.5 MBJonathan Waterlow joined me on the podcast to explore how ordinary people used political jokes to cope with and make sense of their lives under Stalinism in the 1930s. 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...
The Simulmatics Corporation
September 27, 2020 02:00 - 25 minutes - 35.2 MBJill Lepore joined me on the podcast to discuss The Simulmatics Corporation. Founded in 1959, it mined data, targeted voters, accelerated news, manipulated consumers, destabilized politics, and disordered knowledge—decades before Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Cambridge Analytica. 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'...