Episodes
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Josie Bassett Morris' life epitomised the Wild West. She grew up on a homestead in the late 18th century, in Northern Utah, USA. Their home was situated on the Outlaw Trail and gun-slingers like Butch Cassidy and the Sun Dance Kid would stay as they passed through. Her mother was a forbidding cattle rancher and Josie quickly learnt the trade. As an adult, she was known for her quick wit, hardy lifestyle on the land and the many husbands she got through- she was smart, self-reliant and kind; a force they struggled to reckon with. As an older woman, she set up her home in the wilderness of Cub Creek where she lived completely off the land, stealing nearby cattle when she needed meat. When the depression hit, she brewed her own corn whiskey to sell. In the mid-20th century, she became a living legend - a movie starring Doris Day was even made about her- and she remains a legend of the old west to this day.
While in the USA, Dan took a visit to the Uintah Heritage Museum in Vernal, where he spoke with curator LeeAnn Denzer about life on the frontier and Josie Bassett Morris' extraordinary life.
You can find out more about the museum and the history of the frontier at the UINTAH COUNTY HERITAGE MUSEUM website.
It was produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.
If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!
To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.
Complete the survey and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win 5 Historical Non-Fiction Books- including a signed copy of Dan Snow's 'On This Day in History'.
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Please note that this episode contains discussion of racist language.
Charles Ignatius Sancho was born on a slave ship crossing the Atlantic Ocean, in what was known as the Middle Passage. He was soon orphaned and then brought to England, where he was enslaved in Greenwich, London, by three sisters who opposed any attempt at education. So how did Charles Ignatius Sancho later go on to meet the King, write and play highly acclaimed music, become the first Black person to vote in Britain and lead the fight to end slavery?
Paterson Joseph is an actor and writer. Paterson joins Dan on the podcast to share Sancho’s extraordinary story— one that begins on a tempestuous Atlantic Ocean, and ends at the very centre of London life.
This episode was produced by Hannah Ward, the audio editor was Dougal Patmore.
If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!
To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.
Complete the survey and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win 5 Historical Non-Fiction Books- including a signed copy of Dan Snow's 'On This Day in History'.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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This episode will establish the century-long roots of sectarian tensions, paint a picture of the political atmosphere in Northern Ireland as the decade came to a close, and track the series of escalating conflicts that climaxed in the deployment of British Troops.
Dan is joined by Tim McInerney, co-host of The Irish Passport podcast, for this deep dive into the pivotal events of 1969 to the early 1970s.
This episode was edited by Dougal Patmore.
If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!
To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.
Complete the survey and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win 5 Historical Non-Fiction Books- including a signed copy of Dan Snow's 'On This Day in History'.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Dame Hilary Mantel died on 22 September 2022 at the age of 70. Her acclaimed Wolf Hall trilogy - which brought the life of Thomas Cromwell so vividly to life - has sold more than five million copies worldwide. She won the Booker Prize twice - for Wolf Hall and its sequel, Bring Up the Bodies.
In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb and History Hit's Dan Snow pay tribute to one of the greatest English-language novelists of our century.
The Senior Producer was Elena Guthrie. It was edited and produced by Rob Weinberg.
If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!
To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.
Complete the survey and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win 5 Historical Non-Fiction Books- including a signed copy of Dan Snow's 'On This Day in History'.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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A long dark, cold winter looms with soaring energy prices. Some of the advice we've heard recently includes buying a new kettle or taking a flannel bath...echoing previous advice given during the brutal fuel crisis of 1973. The Arab–Israeli War sent oil sky high and Britain saw a wave of crises from rolling strikes to energy shortages but the 1970s saw a fuel shortage and what we're facing now is fuel at inflated prices. Any sense of communal struggle and national unity is absent this time. Making sense of what we're facing today, historian Alwyn Turner joins Dan on the podcast to look at similarities in how people coped, how the government responded and also the big differences.
This episode was produced by Mariana Des Forges, the audio editor was Dougal Patmore.
If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!
To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.
Complete the survey and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win 5 Historical Non-Fiction Books- including a signed copy of Dan Snow's 'On This Day in History'.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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From the stone age to current day, from sticks and rocks to drones and artillery - the nature of warfare has changed drastically throughout history. Over the years, technology and societal organisation have transformed the battlefield. Dan talks to Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman, a professor of war studies at King's College London about the evolution of warfare. Professor Freedman takes the temperature of the war in Ukraine from the point of view of history, examining the patterns of recent years.
This episode was produced by Beth Donaldson, the audio editor was Dougal Patmore.
If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!
To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.
Complete the survey and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win 5 Historical Non-Fiction Books- including a signed copy of Dan Snow's 'On This Day in History'.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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In 1939 Franklin D Roosevelt received a letter from Albert Einstein, warning him that the Nazis might be developing nuclear weapons. America has to act fast.
What follows is the creation of a secret city in the rural area of Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Around 75,000 people moved to the secret city during World War Two, and the first atomic bomb was developed in just 28 months.
Don Wildman is joined by historian, Ray Smith, to find out how it was possible, and to hear about the experiences of the people who worked at Oak Ridge, most of whom didn't know what they were creating.
You can find out more here.
The senior producer was Charlotte Long. The producer was Benjie Guy. Mixed by Thomas Ntinas. Special thanks to Fendall Fulton.
If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!
To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.
Complete the survey and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win 5 Historical Non-Fiction Books- including a signed copy of Dan Snow's 'On This Day in History'
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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In the week of the Labour Party when polls indicate that the party is likely to form the next government, it seems an opportune moment to examine what lessons they might be able to draw from their own history. But why Harold Wilson?
Harold Wilson won four general elections. More than Clement Atlee or Tony Blair. Wilson was a wily, strategic political operator who made some radical changes to the UK including the decriminalisation of homosexuality, legalising abortion, abolishment of the death penalty and confirming the UK's membership of the European Economic Community. He led the country through a number of crises that would be very familiar to us today including industrial action an energy crisis and the pound sterling being under threat. He was also, allegedly, the Queen's favourite Prime Minister.
To discuss Wilson's life and leadership Dan is joined by Nick Thomas-Symonds. Nick is a Labour MP and Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade. He is also a writer, barrister and politician and has recently published a biography of Harold Wilson.
This episode was produced by Mariana Des Forges, the audio editor was Dougal Patmore.
If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!
To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.
Complete the survey and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win 5 Historical Non-Fiction Books- including a signed copy of Dan Snow's 'On This Day in History'.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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As the UK's bond market has suffered its biggest fall in decades and the pound has reached its lowest ever price against the US dollar, Dan talks to Dr Nuno Palma, a senior lecturer and associate professor in economics at the University of Manchester about the Bank of England. Dr Palma explains its historical role in Britain's imperial expansion and the industrial revolution and now how it's fighting to keep the British economy from the precipice.
This episode was produced by Beth Donaldson, the audio editor was Dougal Patmore.
If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!
To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.
Complete the survey and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win 5 Historical Non-Fiction Books- including a signed copy of Dan Snow's 'On This Day in History'.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Agatha Christie is the best-selling fiction writer of all time and her many detective novels, short stories and plays have gripped and entertained millions around the world. Her real life was just as fascinating as any of her crime novels. It was full of love and loss, travel and adventure and an enduring passion for archaeology.
In this episode, Dan is joined by historian and Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces Lucy Worsley to discuss the life of Agatha Christie. They talk about her upbringing, what Christie was like in private and the inspirations that led her to become probably the most famous author in history.
This episode was produced by Mariana Des Forges, the audio editor was Dougal Patmore.
If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!
To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.
Complete the survey and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win 5 Historical Non-Fiction Books- including a signed copy of Dan Snow's 'On This Day in History'.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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From an age in which women’s lives were obscured and poorly recorded, one shines brightly from the darkness. Eleanor of Aquitaine - born 900 years ago - has been the subject of scandal and legend for almost a millennium. Nevertheless, she played a central role in the pivotal events that defined nations and set relationships across Europe for centuries to come.
In this special explainer episode of Gone Medieval, Matt Lewis recounts an incredible life, separating the myths from the facts to get to the real Eleanor of Aquitaine.
The Senior Producer on this episode was Elena Guthrie. It was mixed and edited by Rob Weinberg.
If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!
To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.
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The Lion House is a riveting new book from journalist and historian Christopher De Bellaigue, written like a novel that tells the dramatic story of Suleyman the Magnificent and his power and influence over 16th Century Europe. In this episode recorded at the Chalke Valley History festival earlier this summer, Christopher talks Dan through what was happening at the opposite end of Europe to Henry VIII and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V as this fearsome Sultan set his sights on swathes of the Middle East and the Horn of Africa and reigned over what became known as the 'Golden Age of the Ottoman Empire.'
This episode was produced by Mariana Des Forges, the audio editor was Dougal Patmore.
If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!
To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.
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In September 1952 Mahmood Hussein Mattan became the last to be executed at Cardiff Prison, but Mahmood had in fact been framed by the police and 70 years later South Wales Police formally apologised to his family for his wrongful conviction.
Mahmood originally hailed from Somalia and had been a merchant seaman who had ended up settling in Cardiff and marrying a Welsh woman called Laura Williams. They lived in the Tiger Bay district of Cardiff and had three children before their separation in 1950. Mahmood faced racism and discrimination and had several encounters with the police. His vocal distrust of the police had made him unpopular with the local force though and when Lily Volpert, a Cardiff shopkeeper, was found murdered and her shop robbed they quickly turned to Mahmood. Despite a lack of any firm evidence linking him to the crime, he became the prime suspect. He was poorly represented in court and facing a hostile jury he was convicted in July 1952 and sentenced to death. The sentence was carried out three months late. The case never went away though and his family kept the fight alive for 45 years until 1998 when his case was the first to be reviewed by the newly created Criminal Cases Review Commission. His conviction was quickly quashed but it was another 25 years before they received the apology they and Mahmood deserved.
To discuss Mahmood's case author Nadifa Mohamed joins Dan for this episode of the podcast. Her novel The Fortune Men, which has been longlisted for the Booker Prize, is based on the case and she immersed herself in Mahmoud's life and the history of Cardiff's multicultural Tiger Bay area to bring this story of injustice to life.
Please note that this episode contains mentions of racial trauma, slavery and violence.
The audio editor was Dougal Patmore.
If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!
To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.
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It is believed clans started to emerge in Scotland around 1100AD and were originally the descendants of kings – if not of demigods from Irish mythology. As well as kinship and a sense of identity and belonging, being part of a clan was an important part of survival throughout the centuries that would follow.
Scotland’s leading cultural historian, Professor Murray Pittock, joins Dan on the podcast to share the history of the clans from their Celtic origins through to the Clearances and the present day. They discuss the structure of clans, how the system collapsed and the paradox of how global clanship has become today.
This episode was produced by Hannah Ward, the audio editor was Dougal Patmore.
If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!
To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.
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On the 16th of September 1620, The Mayflower set sail from Southampton to the New World. Aboard were 102 passengers determined to reach a new land, escape the religious persecution they faced and establish a colony. They endured a long and arduous crossing and a brutal first winter which they only survived due to the help of the native Wampanoag people. It was from this first, successful, colony that the United States of America would eventually grow, but it came at a terrible price for the indigenous people of North America.
In this archive episode, originally in 2020 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower setting sail, Dan is joined on the podcast by a series of historians, writers and storytellers, to talk about the journey of the Mayflower. They discuss why the settlers left, and we examine the contested legacy of the Mayflower for the descendants of North American communities.
If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!
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The Queen's body has been taken to Westminster Hall in London, where she will lie in state for the public to visit and pay their respects. Over the past week since her death, we've seen a number of ceremonies and protocols enacted across the country to mark the end of her reign and life. These arrangements and the funeral we can expect to see on Monday follows a precedent set by Queen Victoria upon her death in January 1901. Before Queen Victoria, royal funerals had been quiet, private affairs held at night but Victoria left very clear instructions that she wanted a full military and state funeral, to be dressed in white with white ponies and a gun carriage.
Journalist and author of the acclaimed 'Victoria and Abdul,' Shrabani Basu joins Dan to talk through the last days of Queen Victoria's life, the unprecedented pageantry of her funeral, what happened to those who were there in her last moments and the parallels between these long-reigning monarchs.
This episode was produced by Mariana Des Forges, the audio editor was Dougal Patmore.
If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!
To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.
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Ray Victor is a lifelong New Yorker and tour guide from Queens. He remembers 11th of September 2001 vividly, when hijacked planes were flown into the World Trade Centre towers in New York City, the Pentagon in Virginia, and a site in Pennsylvania. Thousands were killed and injured. Ray remembers the missing posters, the hole that was left in the heart of the city, the destruction but also the humanity and the way his city came together.
In this episode, Dan visits Ground Zero with Ray as he shares personal stories and lesser-known facts about what happened that day and in the aftermath. They stop by the church where the NYFD coordinated their rescue, the bank where a little-known water rescue took place from Battery Park in which over half a million people were evacuated from the chaos by a flotilla of civilian vessels that rushed to their aid, a rescue bigger than Dunkirk. They finish at the reflection pools where the towers once stood and reflect on how this great city weathered the worst terror attack in history.
Ray offers a 9/11 History tour from ExperienceFirst. To find out more follow ExperienceFirst | Make the Most of Your Visit
This episode was produced by Mariana Des Forges, the audio editor was Dougal Patmore.
If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!
To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.
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Malta is located in the Mediterranean sea just beyond Sicily, between Europe and Africa; its warm climate and beautiful islands make it a perfect holiday destination. But in World War Two, the Islands’ strategic location made it centre stage in the theatre of war in the Mediterranean: a key stronghold from which the Allies could sustain their North African campaign and from which they could launch their eventual attack on mainland Italy.
Museum curator Liam Gauci and Keith Gatt from Heritage Malta take Dan through the country's rich wartime history and shed light on how the country and its people survived some of the most intense bombing of the war, as the Axis resolved to bomb or starve Malta into submission, by attacking its ports, towns, cities, and Allied shipping supplying the island.
This episode was sponsored by Visit Malta. Find out more about Malta's rich history here: https://www.visitmalta.com/en/history-of-malta-and-gozo/
This episode was produced by Mariana Des Forges, the audio editor was Dougal Patmore.
If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!
To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.
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As a mark of respect and remembrance to the late Queen Elizabeth II, we've chosen to focus on Her Majesty's personal history as a veteran of the Second World War.
For this episode, James is joined by Tessa Dunlop to learn more about how the inspirational, dedicated, and devoted monarch that was Elizabeth II went from a young girl living through the blitz, to serving as a second subaltern in the all-female Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) by the end of WW2.
Note: This episode was recorded before the announcement of Queen Elizabeth II's death.
Edited by Aidan Lonergan.
Listen to Elizabeth II: The Making of the Queen.
If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!
To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.
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Queen Elizabeth II has died after 70 years on the British throne. Born in April 1926, Elizabeth Windsor became heir apparent, aged 10, when her uncle Edward VIII abdicated and her father George VI became king. In 1947 – She married navy lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, a Greek Prince, at London’s Westminster Abbey before being crowned there in 1953 in the world’s first televised coronation. In this reflection of her life and illustrious reign, Dan is joined by historian Professor Kate Williams to look at The Queen’s childhood, adolescence in WWII and the upbringing that made her a monarch admired around the world.
Producer: Charlotte Long
Audio editor: Dougal Patmore
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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