Dan Snow's History Hit

Argentina surrendered to British forces in Port Stanley on the 14th of June 1982. The Falklands conflict was over. In the months after the fighting ended troops and their equipment shipped out, graves were dug and memorials were put up across the islands for those killed in battle. British military personnel were identified, most buried at sea or repatriated to the UK. But for 237 deceased Argentine soldiers, their hastily buried bodies remained unidentified for decades and their families were left unable to claim their loved ones who’d died fighting in the islands. Their memorials read simply: “Argentine Soldier Known Only By God”Then in 2012, a team embarked on a project to change that. The International Committee of the Red Cross began a mission to collect DNA samples from each of the unknown graves in the hope that they could give the Argentine soldiers back their names and provide answers to relatives. Reporter Beth Timmins went to the Falkland Islands for the 40th-anniversary commemorations earlier this

The Battle of Mount Tumbledown was an attack by the British Army and the Royal Marines on the heights overlooking Stanley, the Falkland Islands' capital. One of a number of night battles that took place during the British advance towards Stanley, the battle led to British troops capturing all the heights above the town.Professor Tony Pollard is a Professor of Conflict History and Archaeology. Tony joins Dan to detail the battlefield of Mount Tumbledown, the events that led to the capture of Stanley, and the surrender of the Argentine forces on the islands. Tony and Dan also discuss the Falklands War Mapping Project (FWMP), which Tony co-founded with Dr. Timothy Clack. The first time that veterans have taken part- the project uses archaeology to try and alleviate the stresses of PTSD.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and Hannah WardMixed and Mastered by Dougal PatmoreIf you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today!

The wreck of one of the most famous ships of the 17th century - which sank 340 years ago while carrying the future King of England James Stuart - has been discovered off the coast of Norfolk in the UK, it can be revealed today.Since running aground on a sandbank on May 6, 1682, the wreck of the warship The Gloucester has lain half-buried on the seabed, its exact whereabouts unknown until brothers Julian and Lincoln Barnwell, with their friend James Little, found it after a four-year search. They join Dan on today's podcast along with maritime historian Professor Claire Jowitt to share the exciting news of their discovery and what it and the artefacts found still on board tell us about a time of great political and religious tension.Produced by Mariana Des ForgesMixed and Mastered by Dougal PatmorePhoto credit: Norfolk Historic ShipwrecksIf you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit

Please note that this episode contains descriptions of conflict and torture that some may find distressing.When the British arrived on the Falklands Islands in 1982, they battled the Argentines. But on the other side, it was a very different story. For the young Argentine combatants, their greatest enemy was not the British, nor the unrelenting terrain—for many soldiers, it was their own commanders...At the beginning of The Falklands War -La Guerra de las Malvinas- as it is known in Argentina, Silvio Katz was just 19 years old. Born and raised in Parque Chacabuco, Buenos Aires, Silvio would find himself amongst the battle for the Falklands, called up while fulfilling his compulsory military service. Joining Dan, Silvio shares his story of the conflict in the Battle of Mount Longdon, the harrowing methods of torture he endured at the hands of his superiors, and his reflections about the war forty years on.Produced by Hannah Ward.Translation by Claudio Molinari Dassatti.Voiceover by Martin Esposito.Mixed and ma

On the 4th of June 1942, the US Navy took on the might of Japan's Imperial Navy in the battle of Midway. It was America's Trafalgar! At the end of the fighting devastating losses had been inflicted on the Japanese and the entire strategic position in the Pacific was upended in favour of the Allies. Never again would Japan be able to project power across the ocean as it had done at Pearl Harbour. In this explainer episode, Dan takes you through this key turning point in the Pacific War. He examines the key intelligence that allowed the American Navy to turn the tables on the Japanese fleet, a blow by blow account of the battle itself, the terrible human cost of the fighting and the aftermath of this decisive American victory. Mixed and Mastered by Dougal PatmoreIf you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted

There was only one Victoria Cross awarded on the 6th June 1944, D-Day. It went to Company Sergeant Major Stanley Hollis of the 6th Battalion of the Green Howards. Alongside the 7th Battalion of the same regiment, the 6th were to advance 7 miles inland on the first day of Operation Overlord, the furthest of any other forces from Britain and the United States.To explore the actions of the individuals from the Green Howards who made this advance, including the 180 who lost their lives in doing so, James spoke to Eric Le Doux-Turnbull. Eric runs D-Day Landing private tours and is one of the contributors for the History Hit TV special on the D-Day landings.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On June 6, 1944, D-Day, Patrick Thomas, a young Royal Navy telegraphist, boarded the craft in Portsmouth. The boat was part of the first wave on Sword Beach, covering communications for land battles while providing defence from enemy ships and torpedoes. On June 25, it was hit by an acoustic mine and almost all of the men on board were trapped inside. Knocked unconscious, Patrick awoke in the water in time to see his friends and the craft sink. Unsure exactly where the vessel went down, the families of the deceased had never had a place to honour the fallen.Then, in Normandy in 2015, Patrick met a young archaeologist called John Henry Phillips and the pair struck up a close friendship. Moved by Patrick’s story, John embarked on an extraordinary mission to find the landing craft that sank on D-Day and enable Patrick and the families to finally lay the memories of their loved ones to rest. But, as with any shipwreck, locating it wouldn’t be easy.Produced by Mariana Des ForgesMixed and Mastered by Dougal Patmore

A hotly anticipated biopic about the king of Rock'n'Roll will be released in June directed by Baz Luhmann. We've delved back into our archives to bring you this episode with author Sally Hoedel who interviewed people who personally knew Elvis—to support her claim that Elvis Presley was never going to live a long life. She tells Dan that prescription medication was only one aspect of his compromised health, not the ultimate cause of his death. She examines Elvis Presley—a son, husband, father, and devoted friend—while ploughing through the negative hype and legendary myths surrounding the man.Sally's book is called 'Elvis: Destined to Die Young.'This episode was first released on 21st January 2021.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What do you think of when you think of birth control? Is it condoms, IUDs, the pill? What about vasectomies?From monkey testicles to possible cancer treatments to ties of honour, over the past 150 years ‘the snip’ has had a few variations and uses … not all of them are scientifically sound. But what is it? And how did it come about?Kate Lister is joined on Betwixt the Sheets by Georgia Grainger to discuss the vasectomy’s place as a contraceptive, as well as its relationship with eugenics and masculinity.WARNING this episode includes mentions of mental illness, eugenics and themes of an adult natureProduced by Charlotte Long and Sophie Gee. Mixed by Pete Dennis.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Queen Elizabeth II is the longest-reigning monarch in British history and one of the longest-reigning in the world. To mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, we have brought together some of today’s best historians to discuss the life and times of Britain's long history of queens from the Medieval period, right up to the present day.Joining Dan is Professor Anna Whitelock who discusses Queen Elizabeth I; Dr Hannah Greig on Queen Anne; Dr Eleanor Janega on Eleanor of Aquitaine and Empress Matilda; Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks through the Tudor Queens Mary I and Mary, Queen of Scots, and lastly Professor Kate Williams on Queen Victoria.Discover how these queens came to wield power, their role in peace and war, what society made of female rule, if queens are better leaders than their male counterparts, their impact and influence and, of course, which queen you'd most want to party with.Produced by Charlotte Long and Mariana Des ForgesResearch by Hannah WardMixed and Mastered by Dougal PatmoreIf you'd like to le

From May 31 to June 1, 1921, a white mob attacked residents, homes and businesses in the predominantly Black ‘Greenwood District’ of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Hundreds of people died or were injured in the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921— the event remains one of the worst incidents of racial violence in U.S. history.Hannibal B. Johnson is an author and professor. He serves on the federal 400 Years of African-American History Commission and chaired the Education Committee for the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission. Hannibal joins Dan to discuss how Greenwood was known as ‘The Black Wall Street,’ the white supremacy that lay at the centre of the riot, and how the city grapples with its historical racial trauma today.Click here to listen to a previous episode about The Tulsa Race Massacre.Produced by Hannah WardMixed and Mastered by Dougal PatmoreIf you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History

Please note that this episode contains descriptions of combat and some explicit language.At the Battle of Goose Green the Second Battalion the Parachute Regiment (2 Para) fought against various sub-units of the Argentine army and air force— this would be the first and the longest battle of the Falklands War.Lt Col Philip Neame MBE joins Dan on the podcast to mark the 40th anniversary of the Battle of Goose Green. In 1982, Philip was commanding D Company, a rifle company in 2 PARA, under Lieutenant Colonel ‘H’ Jones who won the VC at Goose Green during the Falklands War. Philip and Dan discuss the realities of war, the tightrope between success and disaster and the strength of companionship.Want more on the story of Lieutenant Colonel ‘H’ Jones? Subscribe to HistoryHit to listen to this episode about Airdrop Ursula here.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and Hannah WardMixed and Mastered by Dougal PatmoreIf you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at 

David Stirling was an aristocrat, innovator and special forces legend that earned him the nickname 'The Phantom Major'. His formation of the Special Air Service in the summer of 1941 led to a new form of warfare and Stirling is remembered as the father of special forces soldiering. But was he really a military genius or in fact a shameless self-publicist who manipulated people, and the truth?For his new book 'David Stirling: The Phoney Major' military historian Gavin Mortimer extensively interviewed SAS veterans who fought and worked with him and poured over declassified government files that paint a very different picture of the glittering legacy Stirling has secured.In this episode, he gives Dan an explosive analysis of Stirling's complex character: the childhood speech impediment that shaped his formative years, the pressure from his overbearing mother, his fraught relationship with his brother, Bill, and the jealousy and inferiority he felt in the presence of his SAS second-in-command, the cold-blooded ki

Before they found their way into gyms, treadmills had a much darker history. In the 19th Century, they could most commonly be found in prisons.In contrast to their modern track record of improving health, the Victorians saw treadmills as a way to explicitly inflict pain and punishment. A tool for ‘grinding men good’ through gruelling hours of physical activity.What were the moral rationalisations of this corporal punishment? Who was the inventor responsible for these machines? And what cautionary tales can we learn from this punishing chapter of penal history?We answer all these questions and more in this episode of Patented with the help of Rosaline Crone, a Senior Lecturer in History at the Open University who specialised in nineteenth-century criminal justice history.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Ho

Longing to go back to the 'good old days' is nothing new. For hundreds of years, the British have mourned the loss of older national identities and called for a revival 'simple', 'better' ways of life - from Margaret Thatcher's call for a return to 'Victorian values' in the 1980s to William Blake's protest against the 'dark satanic mills' of the Industrial Revolution that were fast transforming England's green and pleasant land. But were the 'good old days' ever quite how we remember them?Hannah Rose Woods is a cultural historian, writer and contributor. Hannah joins Dan on the podcast to explore Britain's fixation with its own past— debunking pervasive myths and asking why nostalgia has been such an enduring emotion across hundreds of years of change.Produced by Hannah WardMixed and Mastered by Dougal PatmoreIf you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the A

Berlin’s fate was sealed at the 1945 Yalta Conference: the city, along with the rest of Germany, was to be carved up between the victorious powers - American, British, French and Soviet. On paper, it seemed a pragmatic solution. In reality, once the four powers were no longer united by their common purpose of defeating Germany they wasted little time reverting to their pre-war hostility toward each other.Writer and historian Giles Milton joins Dan on the podcast to share the story of the race to seize Berlin in the aftermath of World War II. They discuss how rival systems, rival ideologies and rival personalities ensured that the German capital became an explosive battleground.Giles Milton's new book is called Checkmate in Berlin: The Cold War Showdown That Shaped the Modern World.Produced by Hannah WardMixed and Mastered by Dougal PatmoreIf you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History H

Catherine Belton joins Dan on the podcast to discuss the remarkable story of Vladimir Putin's rise to power. After working from 2007-2013 as the Moscow correspondent for the Financial Times, Catherine's career has offered an exclusive insight into the workings of Putin's Kremlin. Her book 'Putin's People' is packed with interviews with the key inside players, uncovering fascinating details about how Putin subverted Russia’s economy and legal system and extended the Kremlin's reach into the United States and Europe. It's a story of billions of dollars being siphoned out of state enterprises, murky networks of operatives and the suppression of independent voices.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Various legends, characters and myths are associated with the medieval period. The British Isles is filled with prehistoric monuments - from Stonehenge and Wayland's Smithy, the archipelago of Orkney to as far south as Cornwall, Snowdon and Loch Etive, and rivers including the Ness, the Soar and the story-silted Thames - Britain is a land steeped in myth.Dr Amy Jeffs is a historian specialising in the Middle Ages. Here to offer her retellings of medieval tales of legend, Amy joins Dan on the podcast. They discuss the characters of Brutus, Albina, Scota, Arthur and Bladud, and retread the paths where the medieval myths and legends of the British Isles first sprang to life.Produced by Hannah WardMixed and Mastered by Dougal PatmoreIf you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for m

Please note that this episode contains frank discussions of conflict, mental health and suicide.Admiral Lord West is the former First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff. In 1982, West commanded the frigate HMS Ardent which was deployed to the South Atlantic for the Falklands War. During the successful retaking of the islands, HMS Ardent was sunk in the Falkland Sound on May 21. West was the last to leave the sinking ship and was subsequently awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his leadership.Alan West joins Dan on the podcast to mark the 40th anniversary of the Falklands War. In a very candid conversation, they discuss Alan’s memories of the conflict, the experiences faced by him and his comrades, and the mental impact of bearing witness to the theatre of war.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and Hannah WardMixed and Mastered by Dougal PatmoreIf you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download t

When we think of the modern Mediterranean, delicious and vibrant food is one of the first things that come to mind. But how much has the regional food changed over the last two millennia? In this episode, Tristan is joined by the host of 'The Delicious Legacy' Thomas Ntinas to discuss just how much the food has changed and helps by providing Tristan with some mouth-watering homemade recreations of just what they would have eaten. With the importance of fresh produce, who would've eaten an extravagant meal just like the one Tristan is served, and the importance of honey and wine, Thom takes us on a flavoursome journey through history.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.