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 Eckhart Fromm to explore Assyria’s military machine, its sophisticated communication networks and the monumental architecture that defined its dominance. But what caused this ancient superpower to fall—and why so suddenly? Produced and edited by Dougal Patmore Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release ev...
Jun 01, 2025•49 min•Ep. 1641
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 context behind the ongoing conflict between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir region, stemming from the partition of India in 1947 to the present day. They examine the political and cultural complexities of this contested and heavily militarised region. Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore Sign up to History Hit for hundreds o...
May 29, 2025•45 min•Ep. 1640
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 united the disparate Mongol tribes to create the largest contiguous empire in history. Dan is joined by economic historian Duncan Weldon to explain how his empire revolutionised global trade via the Silk Road and changed the tactics of global warfare for centuries to come. They discuss how he unified vast territories with a common legal code, develope...
May 27, 2025•34 min•Ep. 1639
Warning: this episode contains descriptions of violence against children and suicide. The Battle of Okinawa was the final, climactic battle of the war in the Pacific. The largest naval fleet in human history assembled to support the amphibious invasion of the island. But the Americans would learn the hard way that the Japanese intended to fight tooth and nail to protect their home soil. The gruelling battle that ensued would influence the decision to drop the atomic bombs on Japan and ultimately...
May 25, 2025•40 min•Ep. 1638
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 about as far as it was possible to go, sailing the Pacific Ocean and arriving on the shores of Australia and New Zealand. For these voyages, he assembled an A-Team of maritime explorers - marines, scientists, and a Polynesian explorer who had memorised the constellations of the stars. So what trials did he face on these epic voyages? Which peoples di...
May 22, 2025•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 1636
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 northeast of the capital: Mount Hiei, a sacred site that was protected by a powerful army of warrior monks. Dr Chris Harding, Senior Lecturer in Asian History from the University of Edinburgh, returns to help Matt Lewis understand what life was like on Mount Hiei during the late Sengoku period; its role in the story of Japanese unification; and wha...
May 20, 2025•38 min•Ep. 1635
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 the islands around it, into an impenetrable fortress. It became a key strategic part of Hitler’s defensive Atlantic Wall and a base from which he hoped to invade Britain. Under German occupation, islanders suffered under a repressive regime… Some were even sent to internment camps in Germany. In return, thousands of prisoners of war were brought o...
May 18, 2025•51 min•Ep. 1634
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 a key trading post on the edge of the Sahara and the centre of the Islamic Golden Age- home to some of the most important manuscripts in African history. Dan is joined by Kai Mora, an author and historian in African and African American Studies as she takes Dan on a tour of its history and explains how this city of gold, an ancient centre of learni...
May 15, 2025•31 min•Ep. 1633
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 accession to the throne of William III and Mary II. For this we're joined by Professor Clare Jackson, a distinguished historian from the University of Cambridge. She joins us to delve into the religious, political, and military tensions of 17th-century Britain. Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Tim Arstall. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of ho...
May 13, 2025•47 min•Ep. 1632
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 expansion into Central Europe. Inside the city, famine and fear took hold. But as the city teetered on the brink of collapse, a thunderous cavalry charge broke the Ottoman lines and shattered the siege. To tell us all about this mighty clash, we're joined by Martyn Rady, Professor Emeritus of Central European History at University College London and aut...
May 11, 2025•48 min•Ep. 1631
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 fortress was the final stop for the nation's most dangerous criminals and was thought to be escape-proof - at least, until one night in June 1962, when three men on an improvised raft slipped into the icy waters of San Francisco Bay, never to be seen again. President Donald Trump has said that he is determined to reopen this notorious prison, so today we...
May 08, 2025•37 min•Ep. 1629
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 elation and celebration to reticence and restraint. For the final episode of our 'D-Day to Berlin' series, we're joined by Lucy Noakes, author of 'The People's Victory: VE Day Through the Eyes of Those Who Were There'. She takes us through the street parties and festivities, as well as the post-war challenges that began right after the war came to an end...
May 06, 2025•34 min•Ep. 1628
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 that still echoes today. In this episode, Dan dives into the life and times of Andrew Jackson from his birth in a cabin on the frontier to his mission to 'drain the swamp' of Washington elites. He's remembered for defying the courts, expanding U.S. territory and for his abhorrent treatment of Native Americans during his presidency. Revered by some as...
May 04, 2025•42 min•Ep. 1627
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 Nuremberg Trials, the first of their kind, that would decide the fate of Nazism's worst criminals. It's also the story of the millions of people who were displaced by the chaos of conflict. For them the war would did not end with victory in Europe, and dragged on for years to come. We're joined by Max Likin, author of '1945: A World at the End of War'...
May 01, 2025•31 min•Ep. 1626
Warning: this episode contains discussion of suicide. Berlin, April 1945: After nearly 12 years, the "Thousand-Year Reich" is crumbling. Isolated in a bunker beneath the city, as Soviet forces close in on them, Adolf Hitler and his inner circle face the end. Today we're joined by Frank McDonough, a historian of the Third Reich and author of The Hitler Years series. Frank unpacks for us the final days of the Nazi dictator, and debunks some of the myths around his death. Produced by James Hickmann...
Apr 29, 2025•38 min•Ep. 1625
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 decade, the infamous Dreyfus affair would mutate into a scandal that shook nineteenth-century France and stunned the world. Ruth Harris is a Professor of History at the University of Oxford and author of 'The Man on Devil's Island'. She joins us to explain what a Jewish artillery officer's wrongful conviction tells us about the deep divisions within ...
Apr 27, 2025•37 min•Ep. 1621
Warning: this episode contains discussion of suicide. In August 1944, German soldiers burst into the Florentine villa of Robert Einstein, cousin of the renowned physicist, Albert Einstein. As both a Jew and an Einstein, Robert had already gone into hiding, but his wife, daughters and extended family remained at home. What followed was a 12-hour nightmare that culminated in a brutal war crime. With us is Thomas Harding, author of 'The Einstein Vendetta: Hitler, Mussolini, and a True Story of Murd...
Apr 24, 2025•28 min•Ep. 1623
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, the fisherman turned disciple of Jesus. Pope 'Leo the Great' stared down Atilla the Hun at the gates of Rome while Pope Innocent III made it his mission to convert the Anglo-Saxons and spread Christianity across Europe. In this episode, Dan is joined by Jessica Wärnberg, author of City of Echoes: A New History of Rome, Its Popes and People , to exami...
Apr 22, 2025•44 min•Ep. 1622
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. Elite British Redcoats went head-to-head with the famed provincial Minutemen in bloody skirmishes across the Province of Massachusetts Bay. Ultimately, the British were forced to retreat, and the provincial victory galvanised colonial support for the cause of independence. In today's Explainer episode, Dan travels to the sites of these momentous b...
Apr 20, 2025•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 1620
Warning: this episode includes discussion of subjects like suicide and sexual assault that some listeners may find disturbing. 80 years ago, the Soviets launched their final assault on the German capital. Having swept across Eastern Europe with the Wehrmacht fleeing before them, this was to be the final, apocalyptic battle that marked the collapse of the Nazi regime. Joining us is one of the great military historians, Anthony Beevor, author of 'Berlin: The Downfall 1945'. He explains the strateg...
Apr 17, 2025•36 min•Ep. 1619
Warning: This episode contains detailed discussion of the Holocaust and genocide, which some listeners may find upsetting. 80 years ago, British troops liberated the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. The horrors they witnessed would haunt them for the rest of their lives. Bestselling author and journalist Thomas Harding joins us to revisit this harrowing day, describing the camp's unimaginable conditions and the fates of the people held there. He also provides some necessary reflection on the co...
Apr 15, 2025•28 min•Ep. 1618
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 with the iceberg to the first steps of survivors in New York. He's joined by world-leading expert Tim Maltin to bust the many infamous myths and provide insight you probably won't have heard before. Together they pore over the records, the testimonies of survivors and the science of how Titanic, at every turn, was doomed to sink that fateful night. ...
Apr 13, 2025•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 1617
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 had left them shattered and desperately trying to hold on in front of the capital of the Third Reich. But how the Soviets' been able to bring the once mighty German Army to the brink of total defeat, and did the Wehrmacht have one last throw of the dice to save the Nazi regime? In this episode, Dan is joined by Professor Evan Mawdsley, author of Th...
Apr 10, 2025•33 min•Ep. 1615
Have trade tariffs ever worked? Dan explores a cautionary tale from the turn of the 20th century when Britain's Conservatives' flirtation with tariffs led to huge political upheaval and a truly disastrous electoral defeat. In this historical deep dive, Dan is joined by Duncan Brack, an expert analyst and policy advisor, as they discuss the historical implications and public sentiment surrounding tariffs as the world grapples with a very similar situation today. Produced by James Hickmann and edi...
Apr 08, 2025•34 min•Ep. 1614
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 Russian culture, and its geography made it a focal point for industry. It's factories would jump-start the revolutions that ushered in the Soviet era, and in the wake of a devastating Nazi siege, the recovering city would birth the man who lead Russia into the 21st century - Vladimir Putin. Joining us is Sinclair McKay, author of 'Saint Petersburg: Sacr...
Apr 06, 2025•50 min•Ep. 1613
This is the story of the legendary Samurai - how did they go from provincial bodyguards to revered warriors? Why did they transform from ancestral soldiers to office workers? And will we ever see them again? Dan is joined by Christopher Harding, a cultural historian of Japan, India and East-West connections. Chris explains the long history of the Samurai and the potential renewal of the Samurai spirit in Japan's future. Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore. If you would like t...
Apr 03, 2025•33 min•Ep. 1612
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 assets in the New World to his exploits as Queen Elizabeth I's 'war dog', Drake's adventures laid the groundwork for England's maritime ambitions. Dan recounts Drake's unyielding quest for glory, which forever changed the course of naval warfare, navigating the highs and lows of his storied career. This is Part 2 of 2. Written by Dan Snow and edit...
Apr 01, 2025•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 1611
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 16th-century naval engagements against Spain. This episode covers Drake's early life, his transformation from a passionate Protestant to a relentless scourge of the Spanish, and his legendary feats of seamanship as he led England's first successful circumnavigation of the globe. Dan narrates Drake's audacious attacks on Spanish treasure fleets and h...
Mar 30, 2025•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 1610
How instrumental was Roosevelt in the Allied victory? He'd guided America through the Great Depression, he changed American society and his post-war vision shaped the world we see today. He knew WWII would be won through alliances, not bloodshed and America's entry into the war changed the game completely. To examine how and why, Dan is joined by Dr Graham Cross from Manchester Metropolitan University and Professor of Strategic Studies at the University of St Andrews, Phillips O'Brien as they lo...
Mar 28, 2025•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 1608
He was responsible for the fastest trains in history. He built innovative new hospitals for Florence Nightingale. His vessels shattered records for crossing the Atlantic and he enabled the laying of the first transatlantic cables. He is probably the greatest engineer in human history. But what toll did his greatness take on his health and personal life? To explore the life and times of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Dan is joined by biographer and historian Steven Brindle, author of 'Brunel: The Man W...
Mar 26, 2025•30 min•Ep. 1607
