Dan Snow's History Hit

As a foreign correspondent for ITN in the 70s, Peter Snow remembers handing tins of film to strangers on airport runways, hoping they would take it back to Britain to hand over to his colleagues on the other side. It was a tough and thrilling job as a travelling reporter before the internet, and Dan remembers hearing his dad's travel stories as a child - witnessing the Fall of the Berlin Wall, meeting presidents in the West Wing and being given exclusive access to Communist China.

In this special episode sponsored by British Airways, Peter joins Dan to share his incredible stories as a witness to some of the most important history of the late 20th century and the adventures that shaped his career as one of Britain's most respected journalists. They also reminisce about the trip that shaped Dan's whole life - the first TV documentary he ever presented about the Battle of El Alamein in Egypt, with Peter.

This is a bonus episode of the podcast sponsored by British Airways.

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. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code DANSNOW sign up at https://historyhit/subscription/

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Fought in the second half of 1942, the Battles of El Alamein were a series of climactic confrontations in Egypt between British Imperial and Commonwealth forces and a combined German and Italian army. Intended as a last-ditch attempt by the British to halt Axis gains in North Africa, they resulted in a clear victory for the British and represented a key turning point in the Second World War. Winston Churchill famously remarked that it was ‘not the end, not even the beginning of the end but, possibly, the end of the beginning’.

In this episode, Dan explores the circumstances that provoked this historic confrontation and takes us through the twists and turns of the battle itself, from the perspective of those who fought it.

Produced by Dan Snow and James Hickmann. Edited by Joseph Knight.

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/subscription/

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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In the mid-17th century, King Charles I of England was put on trial for treason against the sovereign state. Such a process involved a singular determination by Parliament to find a way, through due legal process, to try the one they saw as a man of blood, to ensure that he paid the price for his faults and failings, but not through extrajudicial summary justice.

To understand how such a thing came about, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb speaks in this episode of Not Just the Tudors to Professor Edward Vallance, who has deeply researched King Charles I's trial. 

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

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/subscription/

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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Dan delves into the complex history of Zionism, exploring its multifaceted origins and the various ideological strands that have shaped it over the years. From its early beginnings in the 19th century to its pivotal role in the establishment of the State of Israel. With expert insight and analysis from Peter Bergamin, lecturer at the University of Oxford and a visiting Scholar of the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies, they examine the impact of Zionism on the geopolitical landscape of the Middle East and explore how Zionism continues to influence the region's dynamics today.

Dan also hears from Rachel Cockerell who tells the story of The Galveston Movement which saw thousands of Jews escaping persecution in the lead-up to WWI, flee to Texas to establish a new Jewish homeland.

For more information, Peter Bergamin's latest book is 'The Making of the Israeli Far-Right'

Rachel Cockerell's book about The Galveston Movement is called 'Melting Point'

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. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code DANSNOW sign up at https://historyhit/subscription/

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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From a plague in Athens during the Peloponnesian War in 430 BCE, to another in 540 that wiped out half the population of the Roman empire, down through the Black Death in the Middle Ages and on through the 1918 flu epidemic (which killed between 50 and 100 million people) and this century's deadly SARS outbreak, plagues have been a much more relentless fact of life than many realise.

Brian Michael Jenkins is one of the leading authorities on U.S. national security and an advisor to governments, presidents and CEOs. Brain joins Dan to discuss the legacy of epidemics— which is not only one of the lives lost but also of devastated economies, social disorder, and severe political repercussions.

This episode was produced by Hannah Ward 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/subscription/

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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Frederick Rutland was one of Britain's finest naval pilots and a celebrated hero of the First World War. And yet in the interwar period, he would become a turncoat, feeding information to Japanese intelligence whilst living undercover in the glitz and glamour of 1930s Hollywood.

Joining Dan to discuss Rutland's life is Ronald Drabkin, author of 'Beverly Hills Spy: The Double-Agent War Hero Who Helped Japan Attack Pearl Harbor'. Ron explains how his information helped the Japanese to build a cutting-edge navy, and how he managed to evade capture by American and British intelligence.

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/subscription/

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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Join Dan as he narrates the harrowing story of the HMS Wager and its crew's descent into mutiny and survival against all odds. Set against the backdrop of the War of Jenkins' Ear, the Wager, a British warship, was part of a secret squadron sent to attack Spanish holdings in the Pacific but, tragedy struck as the ship was wrecked off the desolate coast of Patagonia during a storm in 1741.

With expert testimony from David Grann, the author of the best-selling HMS Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder, this episode delves into the ensuing struggle for leadership as the survivors split into factions, the deterioration of their psychological state due to the appalling conditions and the moral quandaries of mutiny and loyalty the men faced as they clung to life.

Written 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 https://historyhit/subscription/

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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This is the untold story of how Nazi experiments with psychedelics influenced CIA research and the War on Drugs. From covert mind control programs to experiments with 'truth serums', we trace the connection between the Third Reich's sinister scientific experiments and later US drug policy.

To explain this wild post-war history, Dan is joined by the bestselling historian Norman Ohler, author of 'Tripped: Nazi Germany, the CIA, and the Dawn of the Psychedelic Age'.

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/subscription/

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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In 1872 the ghost ship Mary Celeste is found sailing across the Atlantic without a single crew member left onboard. Theories over what happened on the Mary Celeste range from insurance fraud to a violent mutiny... this week, Maddy and Anthony discuss what they think happened to the ship's crew.

Edited by Tom Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.

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/subscription/

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Kensington Palace was the centre of court life in 18th-century Britain. It was the principal London residence for the Royals, as well as a lavish venue for hosting monarchs and world leaders. But behind this very public world existed an entirely obscured one, made up of a small army of people who kept the royal show on the road.

Dan is joined by Dr. Mishka Sinha, Curator for Inclusive History at Historic Royal Palaces and Co-Curator of the ‘Untold Lives: A Palace at Work’ exhibition at Kensington Palace, open until October, 2024. Mishka tells us all about the staff of the Georgian court, and what we can learn from the objects they left behind.

Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.

Book your tickets now for the Untold Lives exhibition at Kensington Palace here.

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/subscription/

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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.