From the stone age to current day, from sticks and rocks to drones and artillery - the nature of warfare has changed drastically throughout history. Over the years, technology and societal organisation have transformed the battlefield. Dan talks to Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman, a professor of war studies at King's College London about the evolution of warfare. Professor Freedman takes the temperature of the war in Ukraine from the point of view of history, examining the patterns of recent years.

This episode was produced by Beth Donaldson, 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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Complete the survey and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win 5 Historical Non-Fiction Books- including a signed copy of Dan Snow's 'On This Day in History'.

In 1939 Franklin D Roosevelt received a letter from Albert Einstein, warning him that the Nazis might be developing nuclear weapons. America has to act fast.

What follows is the creation of a secret city in the rural area of Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Around 75,000 people moved to the secret city during World War Two, and the first atomic bomb was developed in just 28 months.

Don Wildman is joined by historian, Ray Smith, to find out how it was possible, and to hear about the experiences of the people who worked at Oak Ridge, most of whom didn't know what they were creating.

You can find out more here.

The senior producer was Charlotte Long. The producer was Benjie Guy. Mixed by Thomas Ntinas. Special thanks to Fendall Fulton.

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!

To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.

Complete the survey and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win 5 Historical Non-Fiction Books- including a signed copy of Dan Snow's 'On This Day in History'

In the week of the Labour Party when polls indicate that the party is likely to form the next government, it seems an opportune moment to examine what lessons they might be able to draw from their own history. But why Harold Wilson?

Harold Wilson won four general elections. More than Clement Atlee or Tony Blair. Wilson was a wily, strategic political operator who made some radical changes to the UK including the decriminalisation of homosexuality, legalising abortion, abolishment of the death penalty and confirming the UK's membership of the European Economic Community. He led the country through a number of crises that would be very familiar to us today including industrial action an energy crisis and the pound sterling being under threat. He was also, allegedly, the Queen's favourite Prime Minister.

To discuss Wilson's life and leadership Dan is joined by Nick Thomas-Symonds. Nick is a Labour MP and Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade. He is also a writer, barrister and politician and has recently published a biography of Harold Wilson.

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!

To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.

Complete the survey and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win 5 Historical Non-Fiction Books- including a signed copy of Dan Snow's 'On This Day in History'.

As the UK's bond market has suffered its biggest fall in decades and the pound has reached its lowest ever price against the US dollar, Dan talks to Dr Nuno Palma, a senior lecturer and associate professor in economics at the University of Manchester about the Bank of England. Dr Palma explains its historical role in Britain's imperial expansion and the industrial revolution and now how it's fighting to keep the British economy from the precipice.

This episode was produced by Beth Donaldson, 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!

To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.

Complete the survey and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win 5 Historical Non-Fiction Books- including a signed copy of Dan Snow's 'On This Day in History'.

Agatha Christie is the best-selling fiction writer of all time and her many detective novels, short stories and plays have gripped and entertained millions around the world. Her real life was just as fascinating as any of her crime novels. It was full of love and loss, travel and adventure and an enduring passion for archaeology.

In this episode, Dan is joined by historian and Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces Lucy Worsley to discuss the life of Agatha Christie. They talk about her upbringing, what Christie was like in private and the inspirations that led her to become probably the most famous author in history.

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!

To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.

Complete the survey and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win 5 Historical Non-Fiction Books- including a signed copy of Dan Snow's 'On This Day in History'.

From an age in which women’s lives were obscured and poorly recorded, one shines brightly from the darkness. Eleanor of Aquitaine - born 900 years ago - has been the subject of scandal and legend for almost a millennium. Nevertheless, she played a central role in the pivotal events that defined nations and set relationships across Europe for centuries to come. 

In this special explainer episode of Gone Medieval, Matt Lewis recounts an incredible life, separating the myths from the facts to get to the real Eleanor of Aquitaine.

The Senior Producer on this episode was Elena Guthrie. It was mixed and edited by Rob Weinberg. 

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The Lion House is a riveting new book from journalist and historian Christopher De Bellaigue, written like a novel that tells the dramatic story of Suleyman the Magnificent and his power and influence over 16th Century Europe. In this episode recorded at the Chalke Valley History festival earlier this summer, Christopher talks Dan through what was happening at the opposite end of Europe to Henry VIII and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V as this fearsome Sultan set his sights on swathes of the Middle East and the Horn of Africa and reigned over what became known as the 'Golden Age of the Ottoman Empire.'

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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In September 1952 Mahmood Hussein Mattan became the last to be executed at Cardiff Prison, but Mahmood had in fact been framed by the police and 70 years later South Wales Police formally apologised to his family for his wrongful conviction.

Mahmood originally hailed from Somalia and had been a merchant seaman who had ended up settling in Cardiff and marrying a Welsh woman called Laura Williams. They lived in the Tiger Bay district of Cardiff and had three children before their separation in 1950. Mahmood faced racism and discrimination and had several encounters with the police. His vocal distrust of the police had made him unpopular with the local force though and when Lily Volpert, a Cardiff shopkeeper, was found murdered and her shop robbed they quickly turned to Mahmood. Despite a lack of any firm evidence linking him to the crime, he became the prime suspect. He was poorly represented in court and facing a hostile jury he was convicted in July 1952 and sentenced to death. The sentence was carried out three months late. The case never went away though and his family kept the fight alive for 45 years until 1998 when his case was the first to be reviewed by the newly created Criminal Cases Review Commission. His conviction was quickly quashed but it was another 25 years before they received the apology they and Mahmood deserved.

To discuss Mahmood's case author Nadifa Mohamed joins Dan for this episode of the podcast. Her novel The Fortune Men, which has been longlisted for the Booker Prize, is based on the case and she immersed herself in Mahmoud's life and the history of Cardiff's multicultural Tiger Bay area to bring this story of injustice to life.

Please note that this episode contains mentions of racial trauma, slavery and violence.

The audio editor was Dougal Patmore.

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It is believed clans started to emerge in Scotland around 1100AD and were originally the descendants of kings – if not of demigods from Irish mythology. As well as kinship and a sense of identity and belonging, being part of a clan was an important part of survival throughout the centuries that would follow.

Scotland’s leading cultural historian, Professor Murray Pittock, joins Dan on the podcast to share the history of the clans from their Celtic origins through to the Clearances and the present day. They discuss the structure of clans, how the system collapsed and the paradox of how global clanship has become today.

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

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On the 16th of September 1620, The Mayflower set sail from Southampton to the New World. Aboard were 102 passengers determined to reach a new land, escape the religious persecution they faced and establish a colony. They endured a long and arduous crossing and a brutal first winter which they only survived due to the help of the native Wampanoag people. It was from this first, successful, colony that the United States of America would eventually grow, but it came at a terrible price for the indigenous people of North America.

In this archive episode, originally in 2020 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower setting sail, Dan is joined on the podcast by a series of historians, writers and storytellers, to talk about the journey of the Mayflower. They discuss why the settlers left, and we examine the contested legacy of the Mayflower for the descendants of North American communities.

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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