Dan Snow's History Hit

In the winter of 1911, Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his party set out into the frozen heart of Antarctica. Battling blizzards and treacherous terrain, they were determined to be the first people to reach the South Pole. But when they arrived in early 1912, they discovered that a Norwegian team had beaten them to it. As if that weren't enough, their return journey turned into a tragedy, with Scott and his men dying just 11 miles from a supply depot that would have been their salvation.Their deaths are usually attributed to Scott's failures in planning and leadership or simple bad luck. But based on rediscovered documents, journalist and writer Harrison Christian points to other, more sinister causes - betrayal, sabotage, and a bubbling animosity that pitted the expedition's two most senior members against one another.Harrison's book is called 'Terra Nova: Ambition, jealousy and simmering rivalry in the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration'.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.Enjoy unlimit

The history of the United States' relationship with communism is one littered with fear and persecution. So where did the American Communist Party come from? How powerful has it been in the last century? And where is it now?In this episode of American History Hit, Don is joined by Dr. Vernon Pederson, Professor at the American University of Sharjah and President of the Historians of American Communism.Produced and edited by Sophie Gee. The senior Producer was Charlotte Long.Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off for 3 months using code ‘DANSNOW’.We'd love to hear from you - what do you want to hear an episode on? You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here.

Emperor Heraclius took the Byzantine Empire from its lowest ebb to its greatest heights. After years of turmoil at the hands of invading Persian armies, Heraclius led lightning counter-offensives that swept into Mesopotamia and devastated the Sassanid Empire. His battlefield exploits became the stuff of legend, but his success was not to last - in the Arabian Peninsula, a new religion was on the rise that would mark the end of one era and the beginning of another.Jonathan Harris, Professor of the History of Byzantium at Royal Holloway, explains how Heraclius reinstated the empire as a regional superpower, and why the rise of the Arab Muslims brought it all tumbling down.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and James Hickmann and edited by Max Carrey.Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off for 3 months using code ‘DANSNOW’.We'd love to hear from you - what do you want to hear an episode on? You can email the podcast at ds.

Swashbuckling, murder and robbery on the high seas! We're bringing back the fan-favourite episode on Dr Rebecca Simon's 'Pirate Queens: The Lives of Anne Bonny & Mary Read' from our archive.She takes Dan through a dramatic history of piracy in the Caribbean and the Atlantic World. She tells the extraordinary stories of pirates Anne Bonny, and Mary Read as well as captains Blackbeard, Jack Rackham and the notoriously sadistic Charles Vane. She also gives Dan the lowdown on pirate treasure.Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off for 3 months using code ‘DANSNOW’.We'd love to hear from you - what do you want to hear an episode on? You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here.

On the eve of the 2024 General Election, we're joined by Tim Shipman, chief political commentator at The Sunday Times, to hear about how things really work in Westminster.Tim draws on his first-hand experience to explain the tumultuous last decade of British politics. How are crucial decisions made in the halls of government? Who can we trust when we get wildly differing accounts of the same event? And why exactly did Brexit turn out the way that it did?Tim's latest book and the final instalment of his Brexit quartet, 'Out', is available now.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and James Hickmann, and edited by Dougal Patmore.Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off for 3 months using code ‘DANSNOW’.We'd love to hear from you - what do you want to hear an episode on? You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here.

On the eve of the 2024 General Election, we're tackling one of the UK's most divisive topics; Brexit.The 2016 referendum on EU membership split voters in two, creating two entrenched camps - Brexiteers and Remainers - whose differences show no signs of abating 8 years later. To better understand this political hot potato, we're charting Britain's relationship with the EU from the 1950s all the way up to the present day.Dan is joined by Tim Bale, Professor of Politics at Queen Mary University of London. Tim explains why Britain first pursued closer integration with Europe, and how various factors saw the Brexit movement eventually gain traction.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and James Hickmann, and edited by Dougal Patmore.Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off for 3 months using code ‘DANSNOW’.We'd love to hear from you - what do you want to hear an episode on? You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You

110 years ago today, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire was struck down by an assassin's bullet. His death triggered one of the most destructive wars in human history, a conflict that set the stage for the 20th century.With the help of historian Sue Woolmans, Dan gives a minute-by-minute account of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and the beginning of the First World War.Written and produced by Dan Snow, and edited by Dougal Patmore.For more episodes on the origins of World War One:The Assassination of Franz Ferdinand - https://shows.acast.com/dansnowshistoryhit/episodes/the-assassination-of-franz-ferdinandHow WW1 Began - https://shows.acast.com/dansnowshistoryhit/episodes/howwwibeganEnjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off for 3 months using code ‘DANSNOW’.We'd love to hear from you - what do you want to hear an episode on? You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our

The Silk Road was a pivotal ancient exchange network that connected the grassy steppes of Asia and the Middle East with the Western world. The passage of goods, ideas and technologies along this bustling commercial artery was crucial to the development of the ancient East and West. It was, quite simply, the glue that held the ancient world together. But what were the origins of this first global exchange network? In today’s episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes seeks to answer that very question. Speaking to Dr. Miljana Radivojevic they discuss how people living in Bronze Age Central Asia helped build the world’s first and most famous trading route. This episode was produced by Joseph Knight and edited by Aidan Lonergan Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off for 3 months using code ‘DANSNOW’.We'd love to hear from you - what do you want to hear an episode on? You can email the podcast at ds.hh@hist

Adam Worth was the quintessential criminal mastermind. He faked his own death, robbed banks in the US, stole diamonds in South Africa and amassed a fortune that helped him evade capture for decades. As a gentleman thief in London high society, he infamously stole Thomas Gainsborough's celebrated Portrait of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire.Ben Macintyre, author of ‘The Napoleon of Crime: The Life and Times of Adam Worth, Master Thief’, take us through the life of the man who inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Moriarty.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and James Hickmann, and edited by Max Carrey.Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off for 3 months using code ‘DANSNOW’.We'd love to hear from you - what do you want to hear an episode on? You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here.

In 1798, the young French General Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Egypt. After successfully taking Alexandria, he ordered the reconstruction of a fort at the nearby city of Rosetta. As his soldiers did the back-breaking work of digging fortifications in the blazing sun, they uncovered an archaeological treasure that would prove to be the key to Egypt's past - the Rosetta Stone.Dan is joined by Egyptologist and writer Dr Chris Naunton to tell us what exactly was written on this vital relic, and why it mattered.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and James Hickmann, and edited by Max Carrey.Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off for 3 months using code ‘DANSNOW’.We'd love to hear from you - what do you want to hear an episode on? You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here.

Not long after the turn of the first millennium, a Jewish prophet emerged from a period of desert solitude in the Jordan River valley. He wore simple camel hair garments and ate nothing but locusts and wild honey. His name was John the Baptist, and his pre-messianic preachings about repentance and God's final judgement would form the bedrock of the early Christian faith.Joan Taylor is Professor of Christian Origins and Second Temple Judaism at King's College London and author of 'The Immerser: John the Baptist Within Second Temple Judaism'. She explains why people were so drawn to him, and why he is considered the forerunner of Jesus Christ.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Max Carrey.Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off for 3 months using code ‘DANSNOW’.We'd love to hear from you - what do you want to hear an episode on? You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.

Historian, broadcaster and author Jonathan Dimbleby joins Dan to explain how Hitler's plans in the East went disastrously wrong.2 weeks after the D-Day landings, a gigantic Soviet offensive tore through the German lines on the Eastern Front. Named for the Russian general who fought Napoleon, Operation Bagration swept through Byelorussia and put the Red Army within striking distance of Berlin. On the anniversary of this vital offensive, Jonathan and Dan look at the role it played in the liberation of Europe.Jonathan's new book is called 'Endgame 1944: How Stalin Won the War'.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code DANSNOW - sign up at https://historyhit.com/subscription/.We'd love to hear from you - what do you want to hear an episode on? You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey

Please note that this episode contains some explicit language.This is the story of Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart, Britain's most extraordinary soldier. The one-handed, one-eyed, walking stick-wielding war hero fought in the Second Boer War, The First World War and the Second World War. He was wounded countless times, awarded prestigious medals for gallantry, and made into a figure of legend. Away from the battlefield the eccentric veteran rubbed shoulders with kings and emperors, and worked with some of the most important world leaders of the 20th century.To tell this astonishing tale, Dan weaves his storytelling with the words of Carton De Wiart himself, read by Dan's father, Peter Snow. In this second episode, Carton de Wiart survives the 1939 invasion of Poland, becomes a POW in Italy and eventually makes his way to China, where he becomes Churchill's personal representative to Chiang Kai-shek.Written and produced by Dan Snow, and edited by Dougal Patmore.Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original docum

This is the story of Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart, Britain's most extraordinary soldier. The one-handed, one-eyed, walking stick-wielding war hero fought in the Second Boer War, The First World War and the Second World War. He was wounded countless times, awarded prestigious medals for gallantry, and made into a figure of legend. Away from the battlefield the eccentric veteran rubbed shoulders with kings and emperors, and worked with some of the most important world leaders of the 20th century.To tell this astonishing tale, Dan weaves his storytelling with the words of Carton De Wiart himself, read by Dan's father, Peter Snow. In this first episode, we follow the aspiring young officer from his baptism by fire in South Africa to the trenches of the Western Front.Written and produced by Dan Snow, and edited by Dougal Patmore.Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code DANSNOW - sign up at

With a sinister hierarchy of "grand wizards" and "dragons," hooded Klansmen concealed their identities as they unleashed a reign of terror on Black Americans and other minorities across America for almost a century.Dan is joined by Professor Kristofer Allerfeldt from the University of Exeter to map out the rise and fall of the KKK founded in 1866 by Confederate veterans in Tennessee, as a vehicle for white Southerners to resist Reconstruction and the enfranchisement of Black Americans right through to the 21st century.Produced by Mariana Des Forges, James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code DANSNOW - sign up at https://historyhit.com/subscription/.We'd love to hear from you - what do you want to hear an episode on? You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here.

100 years ago, in the spring of 1864, the Overland Campaign ignited a ferocious clash between two titans of US military history: Ulysses S. Grant, the rugged and relentless Union general, versus the Confederate general Robert E. Lee, a suave southern officer and master of strategy.Theirs was a hotly-contested rivalry, and the debate still rages on to this day - who was the better general? To help you decide, we're joined by Jonathan D. Bratten, an engineer officer and command historian in the Maine Army National Guard.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code DANSNOW - sign up at https://historyhit.com/subscription/.We'd love to hear from you - what do you want to hear an episode on? You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here.

The British weren't always imperial global players with an empire of viceroys, redcoats and industrialised trade systems. The early years of the British Empire were actually pretty chaotic; for the English in the 17th century, it was a period of exploration, rugged individuals, private companies, pirates, misadventure and failure.Dan is joined by David Veevers, historian of Early Modern History at the University of Bangor, to explore those tumultuous early years, how the English moved into new lands, the challenges they faced, how they interacted, cooperated with, attempted to subjugate and were resisted by the indigenous peoples they found. David's book is called The Great Defiance: How the World Took on the British EmpireProduced by James Hickmann and edited by Teän Stewart-Murray.Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code DANSNOW - sign up at https://historyhit.com/subscription

On January 28, 1986, the nation watched in horror as the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded just 73 seconds after liftoff, killing all seven crew members aboard, including Christa McAuliffe, the first civilian selected to fly into space. The devastating tragedy unfolded live on television, shattering the dreams of millions of schoolchildren who had tuned in to witness this historic mission.Dan is joined by British journalist and former U.S. correspondent for The Sunday Telegraph Magazine Adam Higginbotham to explore what caused the explosion and how the disaster exposed a deeply flawed decision-making process within NASA, as well as the bravery of the whistleblowers who challenged authority and paid a heavy price.Adam's book is called Challenger: A True Story of Heroism & Disaster at the Edge of Space.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 mont

Dan unravels the mystery surrounding George Mallory and Andrew Irvine's daring attempt to conquer Mount Everest in 1924 - a feat that could have made them the first to stand atop the world's highest peak. He tells the tale of Irvine and Mallory's ascent into the 'Death Zone' where they embarked on their final summit push amidst biting winds and punishing altitudes. Dan also hears from world-renowned climber Jake Norton who was part of an expedition in 1999 to find out what happened to the climbers and describes the group's truly astonishing discovery.Written and produced by Dan Snow, and James Hickmann and edited by Dougal PatmoreEnjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code DANSNOW - sign up at https://historyhit.com/subscription/.We'd love to hear from you - what do you want to hear an episode on? You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey

With closed borders, a totalitarian regime, electricity blackouts and widespread poverty, North Korea is a brutal place to survive; even looking at a foreign media outlet can get a North Korean citizen sent to a concentration camp. So why, in 2011 did leader Kim Jong Il allow Jean Lee, a celebrated American journalist to set up a news bureau in Pyongyang?In today's episode, Jean is Dan's guide to North Korea. She tells him about her extraordinary experiences living and working in North Korea as the AP bureau chief. She delves into the history of the Korean peninsula, the Korean War and what made North Korea the country it is today- including the mythology of the Kim dynasty and the famine of the 1990s. Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code DANSNOW - sign up at https://historyhit.com/subscription/.We'd love to hear from you - what do you want to hear an episode on? You ca