Dan Snow's History Hit
Episodes
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...
Georgian Christmas
18 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Pantomimes, pleasure gardens, bare-knuckle boxing and political upheaval. Christmas in the 18th and early 19th centuries was a very different affair f...
The Cod Wars
16 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the long and lamentable history of human conflicts, the Cod Wars have to be among the most bizarre. And what was the catalyst for them? You guessed...
The Syrian Civil War: How It Started
13 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dan is joined by the Defence Editor for The Economist, Shashank Joshi, to explore the origins of the brutal Syrian civil war that has left the country...
Henry VIII's Tudor Christmas
11 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Tudor Christmas was a time for revelry and fun. Henry VIII and his court celebrated the full 12 days of Christmas in excess, with tables ladened with ...
Surviving the Great War: Medics in the Trenches
09 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Warning: this episode contains graphic details of injuries.The brutal nature of the First World War presented frontline medical personnel with an arra...
Fascism in America
06 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The rise of fascism in America in the 1920s & 30s looked just like the rise of fascism in Germany at the same time- scapegoating, the dissemination of...
Roman Saturnalia
04 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Episode 1 in our 'Origins of Christmas' series. This Roman winter festival laid the foundations for many of our Christmas customs today- feasting, gif...
Churchill & FDR: The Origins of the 'Special Relationship'
02 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today we explore one of history's most consequential relationships - that of Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt, a pivotal alliance that shap...
The Greeks vs Persia: The War that Changed the Ancient World
29 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the 5th century BC, the ancient world's pre-eminent superpower turned its gaze towards the turbulent fringes of its empire. Under the illustrious P...
Oswald Mosley & Fascism in Britain
27 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is the story of British fascism seen through the life of its leader, Oswald Mosley. We explore his charismatic yet deeply flawed personality, his...
Ian Fleming's Commandos
25 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Amid the chilling tension of the Cold War, Ian Fleming captured readers with his character James Bond, whose missions were based on his experiences...
A History of Escaping from Alcatraz Prison
22 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Alcatraz was the jewel in the crown of America's prison system. The wind-swept island fortress was the final stop for the nation's most dangerous crim...
The True Story of London's Blitz
19 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dan explores stories of London's Blitz, beyond the stiff-upper-lip stereotypes Dan discovers an unexpected world of crime, sexual revolution and despe...