Dan Snow's History Hit
Episodes
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...
Gladiators: The Praetorian Guard
18 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The true nexus of power in the Roman Empire wasn't in the Emperor's box but in the shadowy ranks of the Praetorian Guard. First established in 27 BCE ...
Gladiators: The Real Spartacus
15 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Spartacus is probably the most famous gladiator in history but how much of his legend is actually true? Dan is joined by Dr Rhiannon Evans, from Melbo...
Gladiators: Myths vs Reality
13 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Join Dan at Rome's Colosseum as he separates fact from fiction in the world of the gladiators. He traces the origins of gladiatorial fighting from fun...
Gladiators: The Colosseum
11 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Join Dan on an adventure in Rome as he traces the true history of the gladiators. He begins his story in 64 AD with the great fire of Rome that left t...
Shackleton's Endurance Expedition
11 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this dramatic episode, Dan tells the incredible story of how Shackleton saved every single man on the fated Endurance expedition from perishing in ...
The Clinton Body Count to the QAnon Shaman: Conspiracy Theories in American Politics
06 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
From the Clinton 'crime family' to businessman JP Morgan sinking the Titanic to kill off his rivals, conspiracy theories are rife on the internet. Dan...
The Unknown Warrior
04 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the western nave of Westminster Abbey, nestled between illustrious tombs and beneath a slab of black Belgian marble, lies the body of an unidentifi...
Will This Be America's Closest Election Ever?
01 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The 2024 US Presidential election is just around the corner, and it seems like the result is balanced on a knife's edge. As the polls continue to roll...
The Secret Origins of the SAS
30 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 1974, a pioneer of the SAS and master of military deception, Dudley Clarke, passed away. His death went almost entirely unnoticed by the British pu...
2. Wars of the Roses: Rise of the Tudors
28 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the second episode of our Wars of the Roses series, Edward IV secures the English throne after his victory at the bloody Battle of Towton. But his ...
1. Wars of the Roses: England Divided
24 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is the first episode in a two-part series on the brutal, three-decade-long civil war that tore England in two. Today, we explore the complex alle...
The Origins of Halloween
22 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Pumpkins, trick or treating and ghost stories are what we associate with Halloween, but what about turnips, fairies and a fortune-telling cake? Dan an...
The Great Napoleonic Escape
20 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Lieutenant Charles Hare was a young British naval officer who made an extraordinarily elaborate escape from a French prisoner-of-war camp during the N...
The Hunt for the Endurance Shipwreck
17 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 2022 Dan was part of the international expedition that went in search of Shackleton's lost shipwreck Endurance in the Weddell Sea in Antarctica; wh...
Tom Crean: The Unsung Irish Hero of the Antarctic
15 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
He was one of the last men to see Antarctic Explorer Robert Scott alive and was Shackleton's right-hand man on the Endurance expedition. So why don't ...
Ernest Shackleton
13 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dan charts the life, successes and failures of the charismatic and chaotic Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton. In late 1914, Shackleton led 27 men o...
Scotland & England's Union
10 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The union between the nations of Great Britain goes back to 1707. On each side of the border, statesmen started to realise that a closer relationship ...
Scotland's Disastrous Attempt at Empire
08 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the late 17th century, Scotland tried to establish a colony in Panama - and it all went horribly wrong.In July 1698, a fleet of five ships departed...
Robert the Bruce, King of Scots
06 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Robert the Bruce is best remembered as a rebel king, and for good reason. He was an unrelenting thorn in the side of any English monarch with ambition...
Rise of the Medici
03 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The House of Medici ruthlessly wielded control of Florence for nearly 300 years. Through financial and political machinations, they transformed the ci...
The British Agent Who Tried to Kill Lenin
01 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Robert Bruce Lockhart was one of the most extraordinary and unconventional agents of the 20th century. A British diplomat, spy, and propagandist, his ...
The Creation of Modern China
29 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On the 1st of October 1949, a huge crowd gathered in Tiananmen Square. In the shadow of Beijing's imperial Forbidden City, they listened as Mao Zedong...
The Iranian Embassy Siege with Ben Macintyre
26 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On the drizzly, grey morning of 30th April 1980, six heavily armed gunmen stormed the Iranian Embassy in London. They charged through the front door a...
Mansa Musa: History's Wealthiest Man?
24 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Mansa Musa's wealth is a thing of legend. It's impossible to know exactly how much he was worth, but he himself spread rumours that gold grew like a p...
On the Frontline at Stalingrad
22 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dan explains the bloody Battle of Stalingrad alongside exclusive, never before heard frontline accounts from the German soldiers who were there. They ...
The Battle of Arnhem with Al Murray
19 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Al Murray, host of WWII podcast We Have Ways of Making You Talk joins Dan to tell the story of the most catastrophic 24-hours the British military fac...
Operation Market Garden
17 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Operation Market Garden was an ambitious Allied airborne offensive to secure a quick victory in WWII. It failed disastrously.The plan was to capture k...
Jesse Owens
15 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jesse Owens' victories at the 1936 Berlin Olympics made him an international sports hero, and a symbol of the civil rights movement. His friendship wi...
How to Survive in Viking Britain
12 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever wondered what it would take to live in Viking Britain? When they arrived and settled in the British Isles, Viking settlers didn't just f...
Sir Walter Raleigh's Search for El Dorado
10 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sir Walter Raleigh's life was a turbulent one, to say the least. The Elizabethan statesman and explorer climbed to the top rung of Queen Elizabeth's c...
The Heist of the Century: The Missing Irish Crown Jewels
08 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the shadowy halls of Dublin Castle, 1907, a daring heist shook the British Empire. Four days before King Edward VII's royal visit, the priceless Ir...
Machu Picchu: The Lost City
05 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Part 1/4. Dan takes the podcast to the Peruvian Andes as he follows in the footsteps of intrepid American explorer Hiram Bingham who revealed Machu Pi...
Hitler's V1 & V2 Rockets
03 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As the world closed in on the Third Reich in the final chapter of World War Two, a desperate Adolf Hitler turned to his so-called 'Revenge Weapons' fo...