There remains a tendency to reduce the history of African and Caribbean people in Britain to a simple story: it is one that begins in 1948 with the arrival of a single ship, the Empire Windrush. Yet, from the very beginning, from the moment humans first stood on this rainy isle, there have been African and Caribbean men and women set at Britain's heart.

Professor Hakim Adi is the first historian of African heritage to become a professor of history in Britain— he has been researching and writing about the history of African and Caribbean people in Britain for decades. Hakim joins Dan to chart a course through British history with an unobscured view of the actions of African and Caribbean people, sharing the stories of the Africans in Britain during the Roman period, Black Tudors, Stuarts and Victorians, and shedding light on the Windrush Myth.

This episode was produced by Hannah Ward and edited by Dougal Patmore.

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Russia's current conflict in Ukraine was supposed to be a showcase of military prowess, a quick war that solidified her status as a great power. Instead, it has laid bare issues in leadership, training, supply and morale, all of which have crippled the military's operational capabilities. Although separated by a century, this conflict and Russia's handling of it bear a striking resemblance to Russia's involvement in the First World War. Dan speaks to Alexander Watson, acclaimed historian and author of the award-winning book The Fortress: The Great Siege of Przemysl, to find out exactly what comparisons we can draw between that conflict and the current war in Ukraine.

This episode was produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.

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After Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in 1933, thousands of German Jews facing systematic persecution wanted to flee the Third Reich but found few countries willing to accept them. For refugees fleeing the Nazis, America’s immigration quotas, established in the 1920s and sustained by popular and Congressional support, made it extremely difficult to enter the United States.

Ken Burns and Lynn Novick join Dan to explore America's response to one of the greatest humanitarian crises in history. They discuss the rise of Hitler and Nazism in Germany in the context of global antisemitism and racism, the eugenics movement in the United States and race laws in the American south.

This episode was produced by Hannah Ward and edited by Dougal Patmore.

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Located on the banks of the River Nile in Luxor, Egypt, the Karnak Temple complex is one of the largest buildings ever constructed for religious purposes. Dedicated to the god Amun-Ra and covering over 200 acres - the Karnak Temple complex is bigger than some ancient cities.

Earlier this year, Tristan from The Ancients podcast, visited the Temple complex and spoke to the Director of Karnak Temples, El-Tayeb Gharieb Mahmoud. In this special, on-location episode, Tristan and Tayeb give us a tour of one of the most colossal sites left from the ancient world. Journeying around the complex, looking at the reliefs, architecture, and reflecting on the Pharaohs responsible for its construction - what can we learn from this 4,000 year old building?

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The Romanov family were the first imperial dynasty to rule Russia, reigning from the early seventeenth century until the Russian Revolution of 1917. Including such illustrious names as Peter the Great, Catherine the Great and Alexander I, they oversaw and often instigated, dramatic changes to the fabric of Russian society and culture as a whole. Through conquest and expansion, they carved out a Russian Empire and propelled their nation into great power status. The myth and memory of the Romanovs still permeate Russian identity and history today.

Dan catches up with Orlando Figes, a distinguished historian and an expert on Romanov Russia whose acclaimed books, including A People's Tragedy: The Russian Revolution, 1891 - 1924, help to shed light on this crucial portion of Russian history.

This episode was produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.

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Josie Bassett Morris' life epitomised the Wild West. She grew up on a homestead in the late 18th century, in Northern Utah, USA. Their home was situated on the Outlaw Trail and gun-slingers like Butch Cassidy and the Sun Dance Kid would stay as they passed through. Her mother was a forbidding cattle rancher and Josie quickly learnt the trade. As an adult, she was known for her quick wit, hardy lifestyle on the land and the many husbands she got through- she was smart, self-reliant and kind; a force they struggled to reckon with. As an older woman, she set up her home in the wilderness of Cub Creek where she lived completely off the land, stealing nearby cattle when she needed meat. When the depression hit, she brewed her own corn whiskey to sell. In the mid-20th century, she became a living legend - a movie starring Doris Day was even made about her- and she remains a legend of the old west to this day.

While in the USA, Dan took a visit to the Uintah Heritage Museum in Vernal, where he spoke with curator LeeAnn Denzer about life on the frontier and Josie Bassett Morris' extraordinary life.

You can find out more about the museum and the history of the frontier at the UINTAH COUNTY HERITAGE MUSEUM website.

It was produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.

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Please note that this episode contains discussion of racist language.

Charles Ignatius Sancho was born on a slave ship crossing the Atlantic Ocean, in what was known as the Middle Passage. He was soon orphaned and then brought to England, where he was enslaved in Greenwich, London, by three sisters who opposed any attempt at education. So how did Charles Ignatius Sancho later go on to meet the King, write and play highly acclaimed music, become the first Black person to vote in Britain and lead the fight to end slavery?

Paterson Joseph is an actor and writer. Paterson joins Dan on the podcast to share Sancho’s extraordinary story— ​​one that begins on a tempestuous Atlantic Ocean, and ends at the very centre of London life.

This episode was produced by Hannah Ward, the audio editor was Dougal Patmore.

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This episode will establish the century-long roots of sectarian tensions, paint a picture of the political atmosphere in Northern Ireland as the decade came to a close, and track the series of escalating conflicts that climaxed in the deployment of British Troops.

Dan is joined by Tim McInerney, co-host of The Irish Passport podcast, for this deep dive into the pivotal events of 1969 to the early 1970s. 

This episode was edited by Dougal Patmore.

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Dame Hilary Mantel died on 22 September 2022 at the age of 70. Her acclaimed Wolf Hall trilogy - which brought the life of Thomas Cromwell so vividly to life - has sold more than five million copies worldwide. She won the Booker Prize twice - for Wolf Hall and its sequel, Bring Up the Bodies.

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb and History Hit's Dan Snow pay tribute to one of the greatest English-language novelists of our century.

The Senior Producer was Elena Guthrie. It was edited and produced by Rob Weinberg.

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A long dark, cold winter looms with soaring energy prices. Some of the advice we've heard recently includes buying a new kettle or taking a flannel bath...echoing previous advice given during the brutal fuel crisis of 1973. The Arab–Israeli War sent oil sky high and Britain saw a wave of crises from rolling strikes to energy shortages but the 1970s saw a fuel shortage and what we're facing now is fuel at inflated prices. Any sense of communal struggle and national unity is absent this time. Making sense of what we're facing today, historian Alwyn Turner joins Dan on the podcast to look at similarities in how people coped, how the government responded and also the big differences.

This episode was produced by Mariana Des Forges, the audio editor was Dougal Patmore.

If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!

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