Dan Snow's History Hit

Notre Dame

03 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Join Dan Snow in the heart of Paris as he kicks off his summer series exploring Europe’s greatest historic sites. From a leafy Montmartre café to t...

5 Reasons the Allies Won the War

31 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What really tipped the scales in the Allies’ favour during World War II? In this episode, we break down five critical reasons behind the Allied vict...

Emperor Titus

29 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we explore the remarkable - and often overlooked - life of Emperor Titus. We uncover the dramatic events that defined his life and re...

Churchill vs Attlee: The Election That Changed Britain

27 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It was one of the most dramatic political upsets in British history. Just weeks after leading Britain to victory in Europe, wartime Prime Minister Win...

Is James I an Underrated King?

24 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We dive into the reign of the first Stuart monarch of England, his political savvy, and the controversies that shaped his rule. From the Gunpowder Plo...

War of the Worlds: Orson Welles' Alien Invasion Hoax

22 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1938, Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds radio broadcast stunned America. It was a defining moment in broadcast history - reports claimed it caused ...

Pirates: The Pirate Hunts

20 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As the Golden Age of Piracy drew to a close, the oceans turned into hunting grounds where pirates became prey. Dan tells the dramatic tale of the rise...

How did the Colonies win the American War of Independence?

17 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1775, American revolutionaries went to war with the British. Seeking independence from colonial ties, they fought more than 150 battles over eight ...

Christopher Wren

15 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Architect, astronomer, anatomist, and genius who rebuilt London after the Great Fire —Christopher Wren. His life is nothing short of extraordinary. ...

Pirates: Barbary Corsairs & The Bombardment of Algiers

13 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For centuries, the Barbary Corsairs captured ships and enslaved European Christians, turning the Mediterranean into a sea of fear and ransom. Backed b...

Boudicca: Myths vs Reality

10 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Boudicca, the warrior queen of the Iceni tribe, has become a symbol of resistance and British defiance. But what do we really know about her, and her ...

Why Do Empires Fall?

08 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For centuries, the Roman Empire commanded unparalleled control over the world around it. It expanded its borders through trade and conquest, sucking r...

Pirates: Piracy in the South China Seas

06 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Zheng Yi Sao was a pirate leader so formidable that she made Blackbeard and Captain Morgan look like amateurs. From humble beginnings as a sex worker ...

The Rise & Fall of Sparta

03 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Today, we trace the rise and fall of ancient Greece’s most formidable warrior society - Sparta. This society's militaristic culture and battlefield ...

The Seven Years War

01 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Seven Years' War in the 18th century is often called the first world war - it was fought across Europe, North America, the Caribbean, Africa, and ...

Pirates: Myths vs Reality

29 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When it comes to our perception of pirates, Treasure Island has a lot to answer for. They didn't make their enemies walk the plank, they didn't keep p...

Richard the Lionheart

26 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Crusading hero, battlefield legend...absentee ruler? Dan explores the myth and reality behind England’s Warrior King. From storming Sicily to conque...

Pirates! NEW SERIES

25 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Swashbuckling rogues with a disregard for authority surging across the oceans, the smell of salt and gunpowder in their nostrils... looking for treasu...

The Crystal Palace

24 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Great Exhibition of 1851 was something to behold for the 6 million Victorian patrons who travelled to London's Hyde Park to see it. It was a trium...

Civil War in the Holy Roman Empire

22 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we hear about one of Europe’s most devastating conflicts - the Thirty Years’ War. From 1618 to 1648, the continent was torn apart...

The Mysteries of Easter Island

19 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the heart of the Pacific Ocean, over 2,000 miles from the nearest continent, lies one of the world’s most iconic archaeological treasure troves -...

The Battle of Waterloo

17 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Dan is joined by his dad, veteran broadcaster Peter Snow, to tell the incredible story of the clash between Napoleon Bonaparte and the Duke of Welling...

Iran & Israel: Allies to Enemies

15 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tensions between Iran and Israel have escalated with a recent Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities and retaliation from Iran. The two countrie...

How Did Humans Take Over the World?

12 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Humans are everywhere. How did we get from the savannahs of Africa across to the most northern reaches of Alaska and Greenland, to the outbacks of Aus...

The Ultimate Mesopotamian Mystery

10 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For thousands of years, ancient cuneiform - the script of the ancient Mesopotamians was lost to time, until being dramatically rediscovered in the 19t...

How the Nazis Escaped Germany

08 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Following the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945 some of its most egregious war criminals sought to escape justice by fleeing Europe, most famously to Sou...

Julius Caesar

05 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Romans built an empire that reshaped the world through brutal wars, brilliant strategy, and even the power of the pen. From the blood-soaked battl...

Disasters in the Age of Discovery

03 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The dawn of the age of European exploration in the 16th century was absurdly dangerous. Crews on the ships of Christopher Columbus, Vasco De Gama and ...

The Rise and Fall of the Assyrian Empire

01 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Was this the world’s first empire? To uncover the story of ancient history's most formidable powers, Dan is joined by Yale University’s Professor ...

Why do India and Pakistan fight over Kashmir?

29 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A dive into the history behind today's tensions. In this episode, Dan is joined by historian and journalist Andrew Whitehead to explain the historical...

How Did Genghis Khan Change the World?

27 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Genghis Khan reshaped the world with brutal force and brilliant organisation. He began life in exile and rose to be a powerful nomadic warrior who uni...

The Battle of Okinawa

25 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Warning: this episode contains descriptions of violence against children and suicide.The Battle of Okinawa was the final, climactic battle of the war ...

Captain Cook

22 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Dan 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 ab...

Mount Hiei: Home of Japan's Warrior Monks

20 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Assassin's Creed: Shadows gives players the chance to visit the imperial capital of medieval Japan. But today, we're heading to a mountain lying just ...

The Nazi Occupation of Jersey

18 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The only British territory ever occupied by the Nazis was the Channel Islands. From 1940 to the end of the war, the Germans turned Jersey, and some of...

Why is Timbuktu Famous?

15 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Synonymous for somewhere far away, Timbuktu has been mythologised by the stories of old European explorers. But in fact, for centuries it was in fact ...

The Glorious Revolution

13 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode we hear all about the Glorious Revolution, a pivotal moment in British history that saw the overthrow of King James II and the accessi...

The Siege of Vienna

11 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the summer of 1683, Vienna was under siege. A vast Ottoman army surrounded the city, poised to breach the walls and clear the way for Ottoman expan...

The History of Alcatraz

08 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Home to the likes of Al Capone and George 'Machine Gun' Kelly, Alcatraz was once the jewel in the American prison system. The wind-swept island fortre...

VE Day

06 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When the Second World War finally ended 80 years ago, there was a mixed reaction in Britain. Today, we hear about these varying responses, from elatio...

How did Andrew Jackson Change the U.S. Presidency?

04 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A hero to some, and a villain to others, the seventh president of the United States was a populist firebrand who reshaped America and left a legacy th...

Germany After Hitler

01 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

80 years ago, as the war in Europe drew to a close, the world began to come to terms with the horrors of the Third Reich. This is the story of the Nur...

The Death of Hitler

29 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Warning: this episode contains discussion of suicide.Berlin, April 1945: After nearly 12 years, the "Thousand-Year Reich" is crumbling. Isolated in a ...

The Dreyfus Affair: The Spy Scandal that Shook France

27 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It started with an inconsequential piece of military intelligence, scrawled on a piece of paper and left in a waste paper basket. But over the next de...

The Einstein Murders

24 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Warning: this episode contains discussion of suicide.In August 1944, German soldiers burst into the Florentine villa of Robert Einstein, cousin of the...

A History of Popes

22 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Popes have shaped the history of the world. The Catholic Church has had a Pope for two thousand years, the first- tradition dictates- was St Peter, th...

How Did the American Revolution Start?

20 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On 19th April, 1775, just over 250 years ago, the opening salvos of the American Revolutionary War were fired at the battles of Lexington and Concord....

The Battle of Berlin with Sir Antony Beevor

17 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Warning: this episode includes discussion of subjects like suicide and sexual assault that some listeners may find disturbing.80 years ago, the Soviet...

The Liberation of Bergen-Belsen

15 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Warning: This episode contains detailed discussion of the Holocaust and genocide, which some listeners may find upsetting.80 years ago, British troops...

The Sinking of the Titanic

13 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

How could the unsinkable ship… sink? In this dramatic moment-by-moment account, Dan tells the dramatic tale of the Titanic from the moment of impact...

The Red Army Surrounds Berlin

10 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

By April 1945, Soviet forces stood at the gates of Berlin. From the summer of 1944, Hitler's armies had suffered a series of cataclysmic defeats that ...

The Great Tariff Battle

08 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Have trade tariffs ever worked? Dan explores a cautionary tale from the turn of the 20th century when Britain's Conservatives' flirtation with tariffs...

Saint Petersburg: Putin's Hometown

06 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Founded by Peter the Great, the city of Saint Petersburg was built to rival the majesty of any capital in Europe. Its splendour made it a hub of Russi...

The Samurai

03 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This is the story of the legendary Samurai - how did they go from provincial bodyguards to revered warriors? Why did they transform from ancestral sol...

Francis Drake (Part 2)

01 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Dan Snow picks up his dramatic tale of the exploits of Francis Drake- this time the story of the Spanish Armada. From his astonishing raids on Spanish...

Francis Drake (Part 1)

30 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Dan tells swashbuckling tales of Francis Drake on the Spanish Main. Francis Drake was England's first imperial warrior forged in the crucible of the 1...

THE LEADERS: Roosevelt

28 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

How instrumental was Roosevelt in the Allied victory? He'd guided America through the Great Depression, he changed American society and his post-war v...

Isambard Kingdom Brunel

26 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

He was responsible for the fastest trains in history. He built innovative new hospitals for Florence Nightingale. His vessels shattered records for cr...

THE LEADERS: Hirohito

24 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Was Hirohito really as passive as history has painted him? Emperor Hirohito stood at the head of Japan’s war machine, yet after 1945, both the Japan...

The Rise & Fall of The Moors in Spain

21 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 711 an Arab and Berber army crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and invaded the Iberian Peninsula. Seven years later, their conquests had birthed the M...

THE LEADERS: Stalin

19 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Was WWII actually Stalin's War? He's a man whose name is synonymous with absolute power, the epitome of ruthless ambition, his story is one of both tr...

Babylon: The Most Important City of Antiquity

17 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The urban cultures of ancient Mesopotamia formed the foundation for so much of our modern world. Nowhere exemplifies this better than the city of Baby...

THE LEADERS: Mussolini

14 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Once a political heavyweight with dreams of a new Roman Empire, Mussolini's journey from a rebellious socialist youth to the fascist leader of Italy i...

The Origins of Jim Crow

12 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Jim Crow era is one of the darkest periods in American history. The country was divided by laws, customs and etiquettes that demeaned African Amer...

The Sphinx

10 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Great Sphinx of Giza is probably the most recognisable statue in the world but it’s also one of the most mysterious...with conflicting stories a...

THE LEADERS: Churchill

07 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Does Churchill deserve the legacy he has? He took the reigns from a foundering Chamberlain and proved himself to be the man the country needed. B...

D-day to Berlin: The Americans Cross the Rhine

05 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

80 years ago this week, American forces unexpectedly discovered an intact bridge across the river Rhine - the last natural defence of the crumbling Th...

THE LEADERS: Hitler

03 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Could Germany have won the war if not for Hitler's hubris? Dan is joined by Professor Phillips O'Brien to explore Hitler's biggest decisions during WW...

Why Do Humans Wage War?

28 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Why, despite knowing the devastation it causes, do humans insist on starting wars? Countless battles have littered the pages of our shared human story...

THE LEADERS - Mini Series Coming 3rd March

27 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Why do we, as humans, allow such individuals to hold such power over us? And at what cost? Our world is shaped by choices—some calculated, some reck...

Mary, Queen of Scots

26 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This is the story of the incredible rise and fall of Mary, Queen of Scots. She was queen of Scotland, she was queen of France, and she could have been...

Soho: London's Most Notorious Neighbourhood

24 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Soho was once a thriving melting pot of speakeasies, sex work and organised crime. From razor gangs of the 1920s to money laundering, the area has alw...

Dogs

21 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

From the small corgis that drove cattle to Smithfield market to the Dalmatians that protected carriages from highwaymen, humans and dogs have relied o...

Josef Mengele

19 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Nazi doctor who committed heinous experiments on prisoners of Auschwitz was harboured by a network of Nazi supporters in Argentina after the war. ...

Why Isn't Canada the 51st State?

17 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Dan explains how Canada has resisted many American attempts at annexation since the Revolution in 1775. From the tariff tensions of 1911 to President ...

The Bombing of Dresden

14 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As the Second World War neared its bloody climax, Allied bombers unleashed a devastating firestorm on Dresden. In just two days the historic city was ...

The Siege of Malta: Knights Hospitaller vs The Ottomans

12 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This is the story of Suleiman the Magnificent's attempt to conquer Malta, the headquarters of a Catholic military order that had become a thorn in his...

Iwo Jima: WWII in the Pacific

10 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

80 years ago, on the rocky volcanic island of Iwo Jima, the vicious battle for the Pacific reached ever bloodier crescendos. As Allied forces crossed ...

Nostradamus

07 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For centuries, Nostradamus has been hailed as the man who saw the future—his cryptic quatrains allegedly foretelling everything from the French Revo...

2. The English Civil War: Roundheads vs Cavaliers

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 2/2. In 1642, England was torn apart by a fierce struggle. Royalist armies, loyal to the defiant King Charles I, clashed with the forces of Pa...

1. The English Civil War: How it Started

03 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 1/2. King Charles I's decision to rule without Parliament was just one of the many reasons that England found itself embroiled in a bloody civ...

Auschwitz Commandant: Rudolf Höss

31 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Every day Rudolf Höss oversaw the killing of thousands of people at the death camp and then went home and acted like a doting father to his family. H...

The Hunt for Pablo Escobar

29 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

By 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...

A History of Auschwitz

27 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On January 27th 1945, the Red Army liberated the concentration camp at Auschwitz unveiling its almost unspeakable horrors to the world. The conce...

The Panama Canal

24 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What is the history of the Panama Canal and why does Trump think he can 'take it back'? Dan is joined by Professor Julie Greene to delve into the long...

How WW1 Inspired The Lord of The Rings

22 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth is perhaps the most captivating fantasy world ever created. His mythology and folklore continue to influence the work of...

Vasco da Gama and The Rise of the Portuguese Empire

20 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Dan tells the epic story of Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama, whose daring voyages at the turn of the 16th century laid the foundations for the Portu...

Charlemagne

20 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Charlemagne was king of the Franks and Emperor of the mighty Carolingian Empire. His unusually long reign saw him conquer vast swathes of Europe, and ...

The Rise of Napoleon

17 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Napoleon Bonaparte is a household name; a rare example of someone who is as well remembered by his supporters as by his enemies. His life is rich with...

Who Owns Greenland?

15 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It sounds outlandish that President-Elect Donald Trump has said he wants to buy Greenland but this isn't the first or even second time the United Stat...

Roald Amundsen

12 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Roald Amundsen was surely one of history's greatest explorers. He beat Scott to the South Pole, and was the first person to reach the North Pole and t...

How to Survive a Medieval Crusade

07 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What would it have been like to go on a medieval crusade? What dangers would you have faced on the gruelling journey to the Holy Land, and what would ...

Rome's Greatest Humiliation: Roman Empire vs Germanic Tribes

05 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 9 AD, the rebel chieftain Arminius and his confederation of Germanic tribes ambushed three Roman legions in the Teutoburg Forest. For days the Roma...

The Battle of the Bulge

03 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the dead of winter, 1944, the frozen forest of Ardennes erupted in chaos. In a desperate, last-ditch attempt to turn the tide of the war, Hitler th...

The Great Fire of London

01 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the early hours of September 2, 1666, a small fire broke out on the ground floor of a baker's house in Pudding Lane. In five days that small fire w...

The Fall of Constantinople

30 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

May 1453 saw the siege that would lead to the fall of the Eastern Roman Empire. It was the culmination of an age-long struggle between Christianity an...

The Origins of Istanbul

27 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today we dig into the history of Istanbul, the city at the crossroads of East and West. Across thousands of years, the city has survived the rise and ...

Charles Dickens' Christmas

25 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Just as Scrooge wanders London's streets on a cold Christmas night, Dan Snow follows the ghosts of Charles Dickens' past to discover the city that ins...

Folk Christmas: Yule, Solstice & Ancient English Traditions

23 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Folktales around the fire, gooding & mumping and the terrifying Hooden Horse are just some of England's winter folk traditions from history. In this e...

How the Mongols Changed the World

20 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

After the death of Chinggis Khan, the founder and first Emperor of the Mongol Empire, the land became the largest contiguous empire in history.The Hor...