Dan Snow's History Hit

In 1941, the SS Politician ran aground off Eriskay in the Scottish Hebrides Islands, carrying 260,000 bottles of whisky. As war rationing gripped Britain, Hebridean islanders saw the wreck as a godsend. Under cover of darkness, they salvaged thousands of bottles, hiding them in caves, haystacks, and peat bogs. A cat-and-mouse game ensued with customs officers who were determined to stop the whisky smuggling. 

Dan is joined by Laura Boon-Williams, Lloyd’s Register Foundation Senior Curator in Contemporary Maritime at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, who recounts the true story behind the beloved movie Whisky Galore and tells us about the spirit of this Hebridean community during wartime, merchant shipping in WII and why a seemingly endless supply of whiskey wasn't entirely a blessing.

You can find out more about Lloyd's Register Foundation's history and its work that supports research, innovation and education to help the global community tackle the most pressing safety and risk challenges. Just go to https://hec.lrfoundation.org.uk/

Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore. Peta Stamper is the production manager for this series, 'Ships that Made the British Empire'. 

3/4 In February 1882 the SS Dunedin departed New Zealand on a voyage that would revolutionise the way we eat and kickstart the world's food supply chain. Aboard were thousands of mutton, lamb and pig carcasses as well as 250 kegs of butter, hare, pheasant, turkey, chicken and 2226 sheep tongues. This cargo would be kept fresh in the ship's hold using a state-of-the-art Bell-Coleman compression refrigeration machine and would mark the first time fresh goods had ever been transported over such a distance. However, the route was far from plain sailing...

 For the third story in our series 'Ships that Made the British Empire' series, Dan is joined by Senior Archivist Max Wilson and former colleague Charlotte Ward from Lloyd's Register Foundation whose archives hold the greatest stories of Britain's maritime history. You can find out more about Lloyd's Register Foundation's history and its work that supports research, innovation and education to help the global community tackle the most pressing safety and risk challenges. Just go to https://hec.lrfoundation.org.uk/

Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore. Peta Stamper is the production manager for this series, 'Ships that Made the British Empire'.

We'd love to hear from you - what do you want to hear an episode on? You can email the podcast at [email protected].

You can take part in our listener survey here.

How unprecedented is Joe Biden's sudden withdrawal from the presidential race? He's given his endorsement to Kamala Harris to take his place, but not all Democrats have, including former president Barack Obama. How will a new candidate be chosen? Dan is joined by Professor of American History at the University of Cambridge Gary Gerstle to look back to 20th-century presidential campaigns that may shed light on what could happen next and unpick the 'political conventions' process of electing a new candidate.

Produced by Dan Snow, Mariana Des Forges & edited by Dougal Patmore

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We'd love to hear from you - what do you want to hear an episode on? You can email the podcast at [email protected].

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On the 80th anniversary of the 20th of July Plot, Dan explores the dramatic events when members of Germany's military and political elite attempted to kill the führer and launch Operation Valkyrie to overthrow his government.

Joining us today is the historian and journalist Nigel Jones, author of Countdown to Valkyrie: The July Plot to Assassinate Hitler. All told, over 40 attempts were made to assassinate Adolf Hitler - and those are just the ones that we know of. Nigel takes us through some of the most famous attempts to assassinate Hitler and the 20th July Plot that came the closest to toppling the Third Reich.

Produced by Mariana Des Forges 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 [email protected].

You can take part in our listener survey here.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

Members of this elite unit - formed in 1664 under Charles II - were present at the American Revolution, the Battle of Trafalgar, the Crimean War, both World Wars and even joined Shackleton on his expeditions in Antarctica. It's quicker to list the few countries the Marines haven't been deployed to!

To trace a potted history of the Royal Marines through its 360-year legacy, Dan visits HMRB Portsmouth to record a special episode from inside their fabled port cellar with Brigadier Chris Haw MC and John Rawlinson, Vice President of the Royal Marines Historical Society.

Produced by Mariana Des Forges 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 [email protected].

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Lincoln, FDR, Reagan, Clinton, Bush and now Trump. All have been targets of assassination attempts while in or running for office. Dan is joined by Professor of American History at Cambridge University Gary Gerstle to take a look at the assassination attempts that could have changed the course of American history and how.

Produced by Dan Snow, Mariana Des Forges 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 [email protected].

You can take part in our listener survey here.

2/4. With towering masts and billowing sails, the Cutty Sark and the Thermopylae raced neck and neck through relentless waves to be the first to arrive in London with their tea shipment from Shanghai. The first ship back could claim the highest price for its cargo.

Dan is joined by Senior Archivist at Lloyd's Register Foundation Max Wilson for a dramatic blow-by-blow account of this high-stakes race that gripped Victorians in the late summer of 1872, where fortunes were made and lost by the hour. 

This is episode 2 of our mini-series 'Ships that Made the British Empire' that tells four stories of ships that have shaped Britain and its maritime history, from the trade that kickstarted the global food chain to the technology that revolutionised our ability to conquer the seas.

You can find out more about Lloyd's Register Foundation, its history and its work that supports research, innovation and education to help the global community tackle the most pressing safety and risk challenges. Just go to https://hec.lrfoundation.org.uk/

Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore. Peta Stamper is the production manager and Beth Donaldson is the production coordinator for the series 'Ships that Made the British Empire'.

We'd love to hear from you - what do you want to hear an episode on? You can email the podcast at [email protected].

You can take part in our listener survey here.

1/4. Join Dan for the first episode in a mini-series telling four stories of ships that have shaped Britain and its maritime history, from the trade that kickstarted the global food chain to the technology that revolutionised our ability to conquer the seas.

The Cutty Sark was the fastest ship of her day and could carry over a million pounds of tea from China back to Britain for a thirsty Victorian public. She ruled the waves at the height of Britain's imperial century as she carried trade goods across the globe as far as Australia. To make the treacherous journey across the world's biggest oceans, she was equipped with state-of-the-art technology and surveyed by the Lloyd's Register, the world's first ship classification society. Before the Lloyd's Register, shipbuilding in Britain was something of a wild west.

Dan and Senior Archivists from Lloyd's Register Foundation Max Wilson and Zach Schieferstein meet on board the Cutty Sark to delve into the story of this magnificent ship and what it tells us about shipbuilding and trade in the 19th century.

You can find out more about Lloyd's Register Foundation, its history and its work that supports research, innovation and education to help the global community tackle the most pressing safety and risk challenges. Just go to https://hec.lrfoundation.org.uk/

Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore. Peta Stamper is the production manager and Beth Donaldson is the production coordinator for the series 'Ships that Made the British Empire'.

We'd love to hear from you - what do you want to hear an episode on? You can email the podcast at [email protected].

You can take part in our listener survey here.

During the 1950s, in the remote expanses of Australia's outback, the British government conducted a series of clandestine nuclear tests. These were the early years of the Cold War, and Britain was determined to expand its atomic capabilities and shore up its great power status. But these tests came at a harrowing cost to Aboriginal communities and site personnel, who were not sufficiently protected from the deadly nuclear fallout. The full extent of the harm done by these detonations is still not known.

We're joined by Elizabeth Tynan, author of 'The Secrets of Emu Field: Britain’s Forgotten Atomic Tests in Australia'. She explains the reasons for these tests, the damage they did, and what they tell us about the peculiar bonds of colonialism.

Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.

For more episodes on the history of nuclear weapons:

1. Oppenheimer - https://shows.acast.com/dansnowshistoryhit/episodes/oppenheimer
2. How to Prepare for Nuclear War - https://shows.acast.com/dansnowshistoryhit/episodes/how-to-prepare-for-nuclear-war
3. The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb - https://shows.acast.com/dansnowshistoryhit/episodes/the-decision-to-use-the-atomic-bomb

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 [email protected].

You can take part in our listener survey here.

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 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 [email protected].

You can take part in our listener survey here.