Dan Snow's History Hit
Episodes
Why Are We Drawn to Dictators?
05 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Is liberal democracy facing an existential crisis? A 2023 poll conducted by the Open Society Barometer found that faith in democracy among young peopl...
The Atomic Bomb & Civil War Cigars: Greatest 'What Ifs' from History
04 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We think of history as a neat chain of predictable events; but what if the truth is far wilder than that? Today, we're talking about the pivotal force...
The Battle of Okinawa
30 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Please note, this episode contains discussion of suicide.On 1 April 1945, as the Second World War in Europe was reaching its end, one of the bloodiest...
The Original Kamikaze: The Mongol Invasions of Japan
29 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
At the height of the Mongol Empire, Kublai Khan set his sights on the island of Japan. He launched two enormous invasions of that nation in 1274 and 1...
The Kamikaze Hunters
28 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Please note, this episode contains discussion of suicide.In 1945, after lengthy delays, the Royal Navy sent a powerful fleet into the Pacific. After t...
The Kamikaze Pilots
27 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Please note, this episode contains discussion of suicide. By October 1944, the Japanese were in real trouble. The Allies had made great strides i...
Rwandan Genocide Explained
23 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Warning: This episode contains some upsetting descriptions of human suffering.The Rwandan Genocide is a dark and pivotal moment in modern history; the...
Pontius Pilate
22 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Pontius Pilate was the Roman Prefect of Judea during the reign of Emperor Tiberius and is most famous for condemning Jesus of Nazareth to death by cru...
The Battle of Crécy
21 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The English won a decisive battlefield victory over the French in the first decade of the Hundred Years' War. At the Battle of Crécy, an outnumbered ...
Iran & Israel: From Allies to Enemies
20 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On the 1st of April, 2024, a presumed Israeli airstrike destroyed the Iranian consulate in Damascus, killing 13 people. Amongst them was a Brigadier G...
Mao's China, The Berlin Wall and WWII Egypt: Witnessing History with Peter Snow
16 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As a foreign correspondent for ITN in the 70s, Peter Snow remembers handing tins of film to strangers on airport runways, hoping they would take it ba...
The Battle of El-Alamein Explained
16 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Fought in the second half of 1942, the Battles of El Alamein were a series of climactic confrontations in Egypt between British Imperial and Commonwea...
The Trial of Charles I
14 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the mid-17th century, King Charles I of England was put on trial for treason against the sovereign state. Such a process involved a singular determ...
What is Zionism?
13 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dan delves into the complex history of Zionism, exploring its multifaceted origins and the various ideological strands that have shaped it over the ye...
Plagues
09 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
From a plague in Athens during the Peloponnesian War in 430 BCE, to another in 540 that wiped out half the population of the Roman empire, down throug...
Hollywood Spy: The British WW1 Hero Who Helped Japan Attack Pearl Harbour
08 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Frederick Rutland was one of Britain's finest naval pilots and a celebrated hero of the First World War. And yet in the interwar period, he would beco...
HMS Wager: Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder
07 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Join Dan as he narrates the harrowing story of the HMS Wager and its crew's descent into mutiny and survival against all odds. Set against the backdro...
Nazis, the CIA & Psychedelics
06 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is the untold story of how Nazi experiments with psychedelics influenced CIA research and the War on Drugs. From covert mind control programs to ...
The Mary Celeste: Ghost Ship
02 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 1872 the ghost ship Mary Celeste is found sailing across the Atlantic without a single crew member left onboard. Theories over what happened on the...
Kensington Palace: Serving the Royal Court
01 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Kensington Palace was the centre of court life in 18th-century Britain. It was the principal London residence for the Royals, as well as a lavish venu...
George Washington
31 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As Commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, George Washington was a central feature of the American Revolutionary War. He was also the first Presid...
The Amelia Earhart Mystery Solved?
31 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What happened to the pioneering pilot, Amelia Earhart? In 1937, while attempting to circumnavigate the globe by aircraft, Earhart and her navigator we...
2. The British Empire: The Raj and Indian Independence
27 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is the story of the British Empire in India. Over two episodes, we'll chart India's history from the birth of the Mughal Empire until the Partiti...
1. The British Empire: Mughals & the East India Company
26 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is the story of the British Empire in India. Over two episodes, we'll chart India's history from the birth of the Mughal Empire until the Partiti...
D.B. Cooper & the 70s Hijacking Craze
25 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On 23 June 1972, a man boarded American Airlines Flight 119 in St Louis. He sat most of the way to Tulsa before donning a wig and a pair of gloves in ...
The Real Shogun: The English Navigator Who Became a Samurai
24 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the year 1600, a bedraggled English sailor and his sick and dying crewmates anchored off the coast of Kyushu, Japan. His name was William Adams, an...
Atlantis
20 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The fictional island of Atlantis has intrigued and eluded us for millennia. First mentioned in the works of Plato, it's a story that captures our coll...
Persia: Rise of the Sasanians
19 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Sasanians are renowned as one of Rome's most feared enemies. Founded in third-century Persia by an Iranian noble called Ardashir, their dynasty ov...
The History of the RNLI
18 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the tempestuous waters of the 18th century, a revolutionary idea emerged from the depths of despair and necessity: the lifeboat. Born from the geni...
Warfare in Ancient Greece
17 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How did warfare work in Ancient Greece? The weapons and armour of the Greek hoplite are legendary, as are the warrior cultures of city-states like Spa...
Boudica: Queen of the Iceni
13 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
She's the warrior queen who took on the mighty Roman Empire, but who really was Boudica?Separating facts from the myths we've read can be tricky, but ...
Infiltrating the IRA: Murder & Espionage in Northern Ireland
12 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
With Operation Kenova back in the headlines, we look to the story of Frank Hegarty, an IRA member turned British informant whose assassination led to ...
The Financial Crashes that Changed the World
11 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Over the last turbulent century, the global economy has suffered the shockwaves of recessions and depressions, bubbles and unchecked investor euphoria...
Oppenheimer vs Einstein
10 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today we're talking about two 20th century titans, the physicists J. Robert Oppenheimer and Albert Einstein. Their scientific achievements changed the...
4. Machu Picchu: The Fall of the Inca Empire
07 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Part 4/4. The Spanish conquistadors arrived in Peru in 1526 in a bloody pursuit of gold and riches; it was the beginning of the end for the Inca. The ...
3. Machu Picchu: Inca Gods and Human Sacrifices
06 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Part 3/4. Juanita the Ice Maiden is one of the most famous mummies in the world. She was found in 1991 by anthropologist Johan Reinhard lying out in t...
2. Machu Picchu: The Rise of the Inca Empire
05 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Part 2/4. At their most powerful, the Inca had the largest empire in the world. Lasting just one century from the mid-15th century, it stretched acros...
Machu Picchu: The 'Lost City'
04 Mar 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...
History of Gulags
28 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On the 16th of February, 2024, the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service announced that opposition leader Alexei Navalny had died. He had been imprison...
How to Survive in Tudor England
27 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Life in Tudor England was risky. In addition to the outbreaks of plague, the threat of poverty and the dangers of childbirth, there were social r...
Atatürk: Fall of the Ottoman Empire
26 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On the 19th of May, 1919, an Ottoman general stepped ashore at the Black Sea port city of Samsun. This marked the beginning of the Turkish War of Inde...
Abraham Lincoln
25 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Abraham Lincoln began his life in a log cabin in Kentucky, the son of poor pioneers. He would end it as President of the United States, having steered...
Britain's Secret Expedition to Antarctica
21 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 1943, just as the Second World War was raging across the globe, the British government launched a top-secret mission to the Antarctic. Code-named O...
Harold Godwinson: The Last Anglo-Saxon King
20 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dr Eleanor Janega and Matt Lewis uncover the stories of the protagonists and events that led up to the Battle of Hastings. There’s Harold Godwinson,...
Greek Myths: The Furies
19 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The gods and goddesses of Ancient Greece have been written about for thousands of years. From their home atop Mount Olympus, they reigned over the lan...
The Last Gay Men Executed in Britain
18 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Why was Georgian Britain's penal code so bloodthirsty when it came to homosexuality? Was Britain unusually cruel in this regard? And does this animosi...
Life and Death in Greco-Roman Egypt
14 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In its final centuries, Ancient Egypt was conquered by the Persians, the Greeks and the Romans, beginning with the invasion of Alexander the Great in ...
The Great Pyramid of Giza
13 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Built by Pharaoh Khufu some 4,500 years ago, the Great Pyramid was the first ancient wonder to be built and is the only one still standing. Towering a...
Rameses The Great
13 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Was Rameses really that great or just an excellent self-promoter? Well, as Dan learns in this episode, a little bit of both. He reigned for 66 years a...
The Origins of Ancient Egypt
11 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
All this week Dan is delving into the history, mystery and legacy of Ancient Egypt. Discover how this mighty empire grew from nomadic settlers to the ...
The Real King Arthur
07 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If King Arthur never existed, why does he loom so large in England's history? Dan traces the real-life figures who could have been the legendary King ...
Who are the Houthis?
07 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As Houthi missile attacks on shipping in the Red Sea continue, we turn to the past to answer the all-important questions - who are the Houthis, and wh...
The City of Alexandria
05 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is the story of a city that laid the foundations for our modern world. Sitting at the intersection of East and West, Alexandria has been home to ...
WWII: The Allied Invasion of Italy
04 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
By the summer of 1943, there were Allied boots on Axis soil. Sicily had been taken, and fascism's grip on Italy was beginning to loosen. But Allied co...
Prohibition
01 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On 17 January 1920, the 18th Amendment came into effect in the United States. It made the manufacture, sale and transportation of 'intoxicating liquor...
The 7 Wonders of the Ancient World
31 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
People have always looked to the wonders of the ancient world for awe and inspiration. In the Ancient era, people embarked on dangerous pilgrimages to...
First Polynesians
30 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In small wooden canoes and with just the stars for navigation, how did the first Polynesians conquer the largest ocean on earth? For centuries this ha...
Masters of the Air: WWII's Bloody 100th Bombers
28 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Screenwriter John Orloff joins Dan to talk about the new WWII mini-series 'Masters of the Air'. It tells the true story of the 'Bloody Hundredth', an ...
The Vandals
25 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Known for bringing about the fall of the Western Roman Empire - the Vandals have a reputation for violence, destruction, and conquering. Moving from E...
One Life: The 'British Schindler' Nicky Winton & The Kindertransport
24 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Nicholas Winton masterminded an effort that saved the lives of 669 Jewish Children from Czechoslovakia on the eve of World War Two. There's a new movi...
The Taj Mahal
23 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Taj Mahal is one of the most iconic and romanticised buildings on earth. Commissioned by a Mughal ruler to mark the passing of his beloved wife, i...
The Life and Death of Vladimir Lenin
22 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Vladimir Lenin died just over 100 years ago, on the 21st of February, 1924. The Russian revolutionary leader fought in no battles, spent much of his t...
What if Hitler Had Invaded Britain?
17 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How prepared was Britain for a Nazi invasion? The common perception is of a country woefully unprepared for war; hastily assembled defences manned by ...
Mike Sadler: The Last SAS Soldier
15 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we remember Mike Sadler the last of the original SAS men who recently died at the age of 103. Major Sadler was the navigator for the ...
Japan's Tokugawa Shogunate
11 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Warring States period brought Japan to its knees. It was a time of turbulence and treachery, with rival warlords fighting bitterly for control of ...
The Plague of Athens
10 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 430 BC, in the midst of the Peloponnesian War, the powerful city-state of Athens was struck down by a disastrous plague. Athenians fell sick with a...
2. Thomas Cochrane: The Battle of Basque Roads
08 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
2/3. Thomas Cochrane and his crew of the HMS Imperieuse embark on their greatest and most audacious scheme yet; Cochrane leads a flotilla of burning v...
The WW2 Witch Trial of Hellish Nell
04 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What made a working class woman from Edinburgh become such a threat to British intelligence services during the Second World War, that they tried her ...
3. Thomas Cochrane: From Disgrace to Freedom Fighter
03 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
3/3. After a meteoric rise to fame, Cochrane finds himself in front of a court and stripped of his titles for fraud on the London Stock Exchange. Know...
1. Thomas Cochrane: The Real Master and Commander
03 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dan 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...
The Romanovs
02 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Romanov family were the first imperial dynasty to rule Russia, reigning from the early seventeenth century until the Russian Revolution of 1917. I...
Fall of the Aztec Empire
01 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The 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...
England & Portugal: The Oldest Alliance in the World
27 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
If 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 Ang...
Bonnie Prince Charlie
27 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In August, 1745, Bonnie Prince Charlie led a rebellion that brought the Jacobite cause closer to seizing the throne than any other. He had landed with...
Pythagoras' Utopia
23 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What comes to your mind when you think of Pythagoras, the ancient Greek polymath? Some might think of the Pythagorean theorem, a foundational principl...
The Middle Ages in 5 Facts
20 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Where 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 humb...
Saint Nicholas
19 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It'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 ...
Fighting Hitler's U-Boats
18 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The 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...
The Boston Tea Party
14 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On December 16th, 1773, a band of American patriots quietly boarded three ships in Boston Harbour, under the cover of night. Armed with axes and hatch...
Sara Forbes Bonetta: Queen Victoria's African God-Daughter
12 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
By 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-...
King Herod
11 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of sexual behaviour which may not be suitable for children.Appointed by the Romans as king of Judaea...
Mother Shipton: Tudor Prophetess of England's Doom
07 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Did 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 wh...
A Guide to Ancient Egypt
06 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Egypt was a vast kingdom of the ancient world. Its rulers were considered gods and wielded tremendous power and wealth. Egyptian scholars, astrologist...
Medieval Baghdad
05 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today we find ourselves in 9th-century Baghdad, the beating heart of the Islamic Abbasid Caliphate. This was a vast empire that stretched from North A...
What Really Happened to the Princes in the Tower?
04 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
For over 500 years, the mysterious disappearance of two English princes has perplexed the world. Historians have long assumed that Edward V and Richar...
The Mummy's Curse, Nazi Gold Train & Other History Mysteries
30 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 stor...
The 'Elgin' Marbles
29 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The 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...
Hades: King of the Underworld
28 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This episode contains references to death and sexual assault.Hades is King of the the dead and the Underworld in Ancient Greek mythology. Dive in...
Rasputin
26 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The 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...
4. Napoleon: The Myth
23 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Napoleon 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 hi...
3. Napoleon: The Lover
22 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains discussions about sex which may not be suitable for children.Napoleon Bonaparte is one of the few commanders in...
2. Napoleon: The Commander
21 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
During 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 ...
1. Napoleon: The Early Years
20 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
He clawed his way to the zenith of power with a relentless determination that few could fathom... he conquered empires, destroyed armies and out of th...
Habsburg Inbreeding with Dr. Adam Rutherford
17 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
One 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 ...
The Belfast Blitz
16 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It 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 ov...
Napoleon's Greatest Battles with Ridley Scott
14 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Napoleon Bonaparte is one of the most accomplished military commanders in world history. He rose to become Emperor of the French after a series of spe...
Remembrance Day: Searching for My Father the WWII Pilot
13 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
John Watts never knew his father. He was conceived days before his father, Wing Commander Joseph Watts, was killed on a bombing mission over occupied ...
Hitler's Third Reich
09 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
3/4. In 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...
The Rise of Hitler
08 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
2/4. In 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...
Hitler's Early Years
07 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
1/4 In 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,...