Dan Snow's History Hit

Roughly two miles south of Hadrian’s Wall lie the remains of Roman Corbridge, the northernmost town of the Roman Empire. The site’s archaeology is unique. The remains highlight what was once a bustling town. As its centre was the high street. Covered walkways, street-side shops and an ornate fountain are just a few of the structures that we know were present along this central road, now known as the Stanegate. Metres away, however, you have the remains of very different structures surviving. Military buildings, ‘mini forts’ that were slotted into Corbridge’s bustling town landscape, when the legionaries returned here in the 2nd century. Though not on Hadrian’s Wall itself, this ancient cosmopolitan town had strong economic connections with those manning this frontier. It is a must-see site for anyone planning to visit Hadrian’s Wall.A few months back, I was fortunate enough to visit Corbridge and be shown around the site by English Heritage curator Dr Frances McIntosh.The full tour / documentary can be viewed

Historian Michael Taylor joined me on the podcast to discuss the resistance of the British establishment to the ending of the slave trade. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sally Hoedel joined me on the podcast to talk about the turbulent life and career of Elvis Presley, King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Helen Rappaport, a specialist in Russian history, joined me on the podcast for the third episode of our lockdown learning series to talk about the Russian Revolution. We run through some key moments in the fall of the Romanovs.Many thanks to Simon Beale for creating this downloadable pdf worksheet for students:https://drive.google.com/file/d/1K9b4wZUKbagxobWBPlCOs3ZUuiLmzOj3/view Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rebecca Simon joined me on the podcast to talk about the Golden Age of Piracy within the British-Atlantic world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For Holocaust Memorial Day Dan talks to people who have experienced and survived genocide. Four guests from four different parts of the world. Sophie Masereka, Ruth Barnett, Kemal Pervanic, Sokphal Din all share their traumatic experiences. All of them lost their loved ones. All of them are brave enough to speak out, driven by the belief that memorialisation and education may stop the next genocide.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fergal Keane joined me on the podcast to talk about the profound influence the Irish have had on Britain over many centuries. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, I was joined by journalist Ian Dunt, a well known a commentator on politics and on Brexit. Ian is host of the 'Oh God What Now' podcast and editor of politics.co.uk. We discuss his recent book which makes an impassioned defence of liberalism and tells its story, from its birth in the fight against absolute monarchy to the modern-day resistance against the new populism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eric Thompson has had his finger literally on the nuclear button. He joined the Royal Navy submarine service in the early days of the Cold War. He served on WW2 era ships and submarine before ending his career as a senior officer on Britain's state of the art nuclear submarines. Each one armed with inter continental ballistic missiles with nuclear tips. He took Dan to the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Gosport to show him around one of the finest preserved submarines in the world, HMS Alliance. He told Dan how they kept the beer cold and why his main concern at sea was the toilet. To watch an extended version of this interview, please check out our documentary now available at historyhit.tv. It's still January, so the code 'january' gets you a month for free and the next three months for 80% off the subscription of $/£ 5.99 per month. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

BAFTA winning historian and Joint Chief Curator of Historic Royal Palaces Lucy Worsley takes Dan on a tour of Kensington Palace, one of the principle royal residences since 1689, and the childhood home of Queen Victoria.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Lockdown Learning episode, I was delighted to be joined by medieval historian Marc Morris. We discuss broad themes relating to the Middle Ages - what were they and which periods did they come in between. We ask whether many of the clichés about the Middle Ages are accurate.Many thanks again to Simon Beale, who's put together a worksheet for students to fill out while listening to the episode. You can download it here:https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dwbcPc4qmHIfuIQImt4nfp1cPWfJSoFd/view?usp=sharing Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ella Al-Shamahi, explorer, paleoanthropologist, evolutionary biologist and stand-up comic, joined me on the podcast to talk about Amazon Civilisations. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Marissa Roth, Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist, joins me on the podcast to talk about her pictures of the 1992 LA riots and lifetime of war photography, especially dealing with women in war. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s a paradox for the ages, breaking news about people who lived and died thousands of years ago. This discovery is no different, because Adam Brumm and his team in Sulawesi have released their discovery of the oldest known art. The paintings on the Indonesian island are over 45,500 years old, and feature three pigs alongside the stencilled outlines of the hands of their prehistoric painter. Listen as Adam tells Tristan about his research on this beautiful island, how the pigs were discovered and what they can tell us about early people. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On 18 January 1871 as the Siege of Paris raged a couple of miles away King Wilhelm I of Prussia was proclaimed Emperor of the German empire in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles. It was the most dramatic possible beginning to a new imperial project in the heart of Europe. The German Empire was instantly a major power on the continent and quickly developed global ambitions. Dan talked to Katja Hoyer about the events leading up to its founding and what it meant for German and the world.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

He's made history. Donald Trump has become the only President in US history to be impeached not once but twice. Three years ago Dan talked to Joshua Matz, an attorney and constitutional scholar in Washington DC and author of "To End a Presidency." He explained to Dan the history of impeachment and discussed how it works in practice. Not long after we all got a practical demonstration of impeachment and Joshua Matz played a key role. He served among the counsel for the impeachment and trial of President Trump. Following Trump's second impeachment we decided to re-release this podcast. Some of it has aged, but it has aged pretty well!  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're very pleased to bring you this special 'Lockdown Learning' episode of the podcast, featuring the brilliant Dr Anna Whitelock on the Tudor period. Anna is Director of the London Centre for Public History and Heritage and head of history at Royal Holloway, she's written extensively on the Tudors and in this episode she gives us a general view right across the period.Thank you also to Simon Beale, a history teacher in our community, who has put together the accompanying worksheet, you can download the PDF here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1E4XPAhTiIRHnQsqEC6fqkEJSVk81ZWZO/view?usp=sharing Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Constitutional law and legal history scholar Carlton Larson talked to Dan during Christmas about treason in the American legal system. How is it defined in the US constitution and how has it been used by prosecutors over the centuries? The chat took place before the insurrection at the Capitol but we thought we would broadcast it anyway. We believe it has become even more relevant given the events of the last week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tash Walker and Adam Zmith join me to talk about The Log Books Podcast, a history of LGBTQ+ life in the UK. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1814 a British expeditionary force landed in Maryland, marched on Washington, brushed aside an American army and stormed into the US capital. The British looted and burnt the Capitol, then moved on to the White House, ate President Madison's dinner and then torched the White House. Even members of the British force described it as 'barbaric.' Two hundred years later Peter Snow, Dan's dad, wrote an account of the raid. He seemed like the obvious guy to talk to as The Capitol was once again attacked this year.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.