Dan Snow's History Hit

1/4. On the West Bank of the Nile in Luxor lie the burial chambers of some of Ancient Egypt's greatest pharaohs - Ramses II, Seti I and Tutankhamun. From Luxor, Dan delves into the history of the Valley of the Kings with Alia Ismail whose current project is 3D mapping the tombs. He ventures deep into the earth inside the most magnificent of all the valley tombs- Seti I - as he and celebrated Egyptologist Salima Ikram tell the story of Giovanni Belzoni and the many explorers and archaeologists who set the stage for Howard Carter's discovery of the century.

This podcast was written and produced by Mariana Des Forges and mixed by Dougal Patmore

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Stories of shipwrecks, smugglers and ghosts. Built in the mid-18th century, over the years many of the Jamaica Inn's patrons have been less respectable than most. The inn has a long history of being used by smugglers to hide away contraband that was brought ashore concealed in all sorts of things - potatoes, women's stockings and even a hollowed-out turtle. It is estimated that half the brandy and a quarter of all tea being smuggled into the UK was landed along the Cornish and Devon coasts. Jamaica Inn was remote and isolated so it was the ideal stopping place on the way to Devon and beyond.

The inn was made famous by Daphne Du Maurier's novel of the same name published in 1936 after she and a friend became lost in fog whilst out riding on the moors and were led back by their horses to safety at the Inn. During the time spent recovering from her ordeal, the local rector is said to have entertained her with ghost stories and tales of smuggling...

Today it still operates as a hotel and museum and local historian at the Jamaica Inn Karin Beasant joins the podcast to regale us with tales of smuggling off the Cornish coast.

Find out more information about the Jamaica Inn.

Produced by Mariana Des Forges, edited by Dougal Patmore and readings by Lucy Davidson.

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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From their origins in necromancy to their ritualisation in the religion of Spiritualism, seances have long been a staple in the occultist's toolbelt. Purporting to call forth spirits and allow communication with the dead, they exploded in popularity in the nineteenth century, attracting great scientists, writers and thinkers to their cause. Dan is joined by Lisa Morton, an expert on Spiritualism and author of Calling the Spirits: A History of Seances to talk about where seances came from, what they mean, and the frauds behind them.

Produced by Mariana Des Forges and Beth Donaldson and edited by Dougal Patmore.

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The inspiration behind countless gothic novels, Countess Elizabeth Báthory is said to be one of the most prolific serial killers of all time, accused of the murder of 600 girls during the late 16th century. Dan talks to Professor Kimberly Craft, a legal historian who has spent over a decade researching the life and trial of Countess Báthory and over a year translating original source material into English. Where does the truth lie, a conspiracy started by her enemies or a psychopathic vampire?

Produced by Beth Donaldson and edited by 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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Was Rasputin really Russia’s greatest love machine? Did he have any healing powers? And why might his penis be pickling in a jar?

In this episode, we are drawing this mystical man out of his cloud of green smoke to find out which of the things we know about him might actually be true.

Kate Lister from Betwixt The Sheets is joined by Douglas Smith, historian, translator and expert in Russian history, who has emerged from the archives with a new interpretation of this cartoon baddy.

*WARNING there are naughty words and discussions of sexual coercion in this episode*

Produced by Charlotte Long and Sophie Gee.

Betwixt the Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society. A podcast by History Hit.

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James Arthur Stanley Harley was a scholar, reverend, politician, and perhaps aristocrat. Born in a poor village in the Caribbean island of Antigua, he went on to attend Howard, Harvard, Yale and Oxford universities, was ordained a priest in Canterbury Cathedral and was elected to Leicestershire County Council. This remarkable career was all the more extraordinary because he was black in an age - the early twentieth century - that was institutionally racist.

Pamela Roberts is an award-winning creative producer and historian. Her work as Founder and Director of Black Oxford Untold Stories has raised the profile of many black scholars from the turn of the twentieth century. Pamela joins Dan to offer insight into the Antiguan scholar, his entry by marriage to the Washington elite, and his clerical and political careers.

Produced by Hannah Ward and edited by Joseph Knight.

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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On the 1st of November comes an immersive mini-series telling the story of one of the great discoveries of all time: the tomb of Tutankhamun. For more than 3000 years, the boy pharaoh lay undisturbed and almost forgotten in the Valley of the Kings; when in 1922 British archaeologist Howard Carter noticed a set of steps leading down into the earth, they would reveal the most extraordinary gateway to the afterlife the world had ever seen

Marking the 100th anniversary of Howard Carter’s discovery, Dan Snow’s History Hit is bringing you a dramatic retelling, recorded from within the tombs of Egypt’s Valley of the Kings. With celebrated Egyptologists, Dan unravels the story of one of the world’s greatest ancient dynasties and the discovery that gripped the globe and still does to this day.

Get lost in the Valley of the Kings with Dan, coming to the podcast soon…

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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 attempts by the British to halt German 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, James Hickmann and edited by Joseph Knight.

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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On 21 October 1805, A British fleet commanded by Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson met the combined might of the French and Spanish fleets off the coast of Spain. Outnumbered, Nelson used innovative tactics to break up the allied fleet and ensure success but at great cost to his men and of course himself. It was a truly crushing defeat for the Franco-Spanish forces though. With the majority of their ships destroyed or captured it confirmed Britain's naval supremacy for decades to come. In this dramatic telling of one of the most famous battles in naval history, Dan brings to life the men, the commanders, the ships, and the tactics that enabled the British fleet to emerge as victors.

This episode was edited by Dougal Patmore.

This episode was first broadcast on 21st October 2021.

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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Death by tiger bites. Death by prodding. Death from sexual excess. Deaths from over-eating and over-drinking. The opening of graves.

These are a few of the chapter headings in a 13th-century Chinese book called ‘The Washing Away of Wrongs’. It is a compendium of grizzly, gory, bizarre murders and deaths.

Its author was Song Ci, a Confucian trained bureaucrat who, like his fellow officials all over China, was responsible for investigating murders in his jurisdiction. According to the Wikipedia page for ‘forensic science’ this book is the earliest written evidence of forensic thinking. Is that correct?

Our guest today is Daniel Asen, a historian of China at Rutgers University.

This is the first episode in a mini-series from Patented: History of Inventions we’re bringing you all about the invention of Forensics.

Produced by Freddy Chick

Edited by Pete Dennis and Anisha Deva

The actors were Lucy Davidson and Tristan Hughes

The Executive Producer is Charlotte Long

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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