Dan Snow's History Hit

The climate crisis, the rise of AI and the cost of living - do you feel like our society is on the brink of falling apart? Dan is joined by Dr Luke Kemp, Research Associate at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (CSER) at the University of Cambridge, who has spent seven years analysing 400 societies over five millennia to discover what has led to the collapse of Ancient civilisations in places like Mesoamerica, China, Egypt and across Europe.

He explains the impact inequality, leaders with traits of 'the dark triad' and environmental factors have on a historic society's survival. He identifies what changes we could make to stop it from happening to us, too.

You can learn more in Luke's book 'The History and Future of Societal Collapse'

Produced by Mariana Des Forges and James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore

Join Dan and the team for a special LIVE recording of Dan Snow's History Hit on Friday, 12th September 2025!

To celebrate 10 years of the podcast, Dan is putting on a special show of signature storytelling, never-before-heard anecdotes from his often stranger-than-fiction career, as well as answering the burning questions you've always wanted to ask!

Get tickets here, before they sell out: https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/words/dan-snows-history-hit/.

You can also get tickets for the live show of 'The Ancients' here - https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/words/the-ancients-2/

We'd love to hear your feedback - you can take part in our podcast survey here: https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on.

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

From dazzling festivals honouring the goddess Athena to the engineering marvels of the Parthenon, Dan and classical historian Steve Kershaw explore how the Acropolis became the ultimate symbol of democracy, power, and devotion in Ancient Greece.

Steve and Dan explain everything you need to know about this ancient hill that towers over the centre of Athens - from its role in Ancient Greek life, what the Parthenon friezes depict and how Lord Elgin controversially removed huge chunks of it to send back to Britain.

This is the final episode in our travel history series 'Dan Snow's Guide to Europe'.

Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore

Join Dan and the team for a special LIVE recording of Dan Snow's History Hit on Friday, 12th September 2025!

To celebrate 10 years of the podcast, Dan is putting on a special show of signature storytelling, never-before-heard anecdotes from his often stranger-than-fiction career, as well as answering the burning questions you've always wanted to ask!

Get tickets here, before they sell out: https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/words/dan-snows-history-hit/.

You can also get tickets for the live show of 'The Ancients' here - https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/words/the-ancients-2/

We'd love to hear your feedback - you can take part in our podcast survey here: https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on.

You can also email the podcast directly at [email protected].

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

In this episode, we tackle the Punic Wars - three epic clashes between Rome and Carthage for control of the Mediterranean. From naval battles to Hannibal’s daring Alpine crossing and Carthage’s final destruction, we uncover how these wars reshaped the ancient world.

Joining us is Eve MacDonald, ancient historian and author of Carthage: A New History of an Ancient Empire, to explain why these two rising powers collided in a fight for supremacy.

Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.

Join Dan and the team for a special LIVE recording of Dan Snow's History Hit on Friday, 12th September 2025!

To celebrate 10 years of the podcast, Dan is putting on a special show of signature storytelling, never-before-heard anecdotes from his often stranger-than-fiction career, as well as answering the burning questions you've always wanted to ask!

Get tickets here, before they sell out: https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/words/dan-snows-history-hit/.

You can also get tickets for the live show of 'The Ancients' here - https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/words/the-ancients-2/

We'd love to hear your feedback - you can take part in our podcast survey here: https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on.

You can also email the podcast directly at [email protected].

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

Dan takes listeners through 1000 years of Britain's history at the Tower of London, from its formidable kings to its most notorious prisoners. Dan dives into the deep history of this mighty fortress built by William the Conqueror and tells the stories of the medieval sieges, the executions, the escapes and the animals that have called the tower home.

This episode is part of our series 'Dan Snow's Guide to Europe'

Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore

If you want to explore the Tower of London and the Medieval Palace exhibition, you can find more information here: https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/whats-on/medieval-palace/

Sign up to History Hit to watch Dan's latest documentary - 'Powerhouse: The Medieval Tower of London' at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

We'd love to hear your feedback - you can take part in our podcast survey here: https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on. You can also email the podcast directly at [email protected].

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

You probably know the Ancient Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur, who lives in a labyrinth under Knossos on the island of Crete - was there ever really a labyrinth, or a King Minos? Dan is joined by the University of Oxford's Steve Kershaw to unravel the mysteries of Knossos, trace the rise of the Minoan civilisation during the Bronze Age, its collapse and the controversial excavation and reconstruction by the eccentric archaeologist Arthur Evans in the early 20th century.

This is part of our 'Dan Snow's Guide to Europe' summer travel series.

Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore

Join Dan and the team for a special LIVE recording of Dan Snow's History Hit on Friday, 12th September 2025!

To celebrate 10 years of the podcast, Dan is putting on a special show of signature storytelling, never-before-heard anecdotes from his often stranger-than-fiction career, as well as answering the burning questions you've always wanted to ask!

Get tickets here, before they sell out: https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/words/dan-snows-history-hit/.

We'd love to hear your feedback - you can take part in our podcast survey here: https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on.

You can also email the podcast directly at [email protected].

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

Emperor Nero has gone down in history as the archetypal bad ruler - cruel, decadent, and perhaps even responsible for setting Rome ablaze. But how much of this is fact, and how much is propaganda?

Dr Shushma Malik from the University of Cambridge joins us to dive into Nero’s reign, from his early promise to his scandals, the Great Fire, and his bloody downfall.

Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.

Join Dan and the team for a special LIVE recording of Dan Snow's History Hit on Friday, 12th September 2025!

To celebrate 10 years of the podcast, Dan is putting on a special show of signature storytelling, never-before-heard anecdotes from his often stranger-than-fiction career, as well as answering the burning questions you've always wanted to ask!

Get tickets here, before they sell out: https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/words/dan-snows-history-hit/.

We'd love to hear your feedback - you can take part in our podcast survey here: https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on.

You can also email the podcast directly at [email protected].

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

Join Dan in Rome as he unravels the dramatic story of the Colosseum and the gladiators who fought — and died — for glory. From the origins of gladiatorial combat in funerary rites to the elaborate, politically charged spectacles of the Imperial era, Dan reveals what it took to reach the top and what really happened when a fighter lost.

Beginning in 64 AD with the Great Fire of Rome, he charts the rise of a new emperor, the construction of the colossal amphitheatre, and the ingenuity and brutality of the inaugural 100 days of games in 80 AD. Along the way, expert historians join Dan to separate fact from Hollywood fiction, bringing to life the greatest show on earth.

This is part of our series 'Dan Snow's Guide to Europe' and a version of this episode was released as a mini-series in November 2024.

Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore

You can watch Dan's documentary on Gladiators on our History Hit documentary channel - sign up at: https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

Join Dan and the team for a special LIVE recording of Dan Snow's History Hit on Friday, 12th September 2025!

To celebrate 10 years of the podcast, Dan is putting on a special show of signature storytelling, never-before-heard anecdotes from his often stranger-than-fiction career, as well as answering the burning questions you've always wanted to ask!

Get tickets here, before they sell out: https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/words/dan-snows-history-hit/.

We'd love to hear your feedback - you can take part in our podcast survey here: https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on.

You can also email the podcast directly at [email protected].

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

Napoleon Bonaparte dreamed Paris would be the 'capital city of the universe' and much of what we see - and love - about Paris is thanks to him. The long straight boulevards, the fountains, the galleries and museums- even the bread that comes with European cuisine were brought in by Napoleon. He wanted to make it a city that reflected his imperial ambition. But this city shaped him too - Paris is where he went through his most formative experiences as a young man, where he first tasted power, seduction and revolution.

Dan joins historian and expert guide Stephanie Paul in Paris to explore the story of Napoleon's early life here, how the city shaped him and how he created the Paris we recognise today.

Click here for Stephanie's Napoleonic Paris Tour.

This episode is part of our 'Dan Snow's Guide to Europe' Series.

Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore. The production manager was Beth Donaldson.

Join Dan and the team for a special LIVE recording of Dan Snow's History Hit on Friday, 12th September 2025!

To celebrate 10 years of the podcast, Dan is putting on a special show of signature storytelling, never-before-heard anecdotes from his often stranger-than-fiction career, as well as answering the burning questions you've always wanted to ask!

Get tickets here, before they sell out: https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/words/dan-snows-history-hit/.

We'd love to hear your feedback - you can take part in our podcast survey here: https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on.

You can also email the podcast directly at [email protected].

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

Warning: this episode contains explicit language and discussions of sex.

Pompeii is a city frozen in time and shows us exactly how the Romans really lived. Buried by volcanic ash and debris from a catastrophic eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, visitors to the Roman town can still see eerily preserved homes, bathhouses, the notorious brothel, and plaster casts of victims in their last moments.

Dan is joined by Dr Kate Lister to tell the story of the eruption and explain the history behind what remains in Pompeii and their top tips for visiting.

This is part of our summer travel series 'Dan's Guide to Europe'.

Produced by Mariana Des Forges, edited by Tim Arstall and sound designed by Dougal Patmore.

Join Dan and the team for a special LIVE recording of Dan Snow's History Hit on Friday, 12th September 2025!

To celebrate 10 years of the podcast, Dan is putting on a special show of signature storytelling, never-before-heard anecdotes from his often stranger-than-fiction career, as well as answering the burning questions you've always wanted to ask!

Get tickets here, before they sell out: https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/words/dan-snows-history-hit/.

We'd love to hear your feedback - you can take part in our podcast survey here: https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on.

You can also email the podcast directly at [email protected].

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

On the morning of August 15th, 1945, Emperor Hirohito's voice crackled over Japanese airwaves to announce the unthinkable - the surrender of Japan. Today we delve into the complex story behind that surrender, examining Japan's fierce military code, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the Soviet invasion of Manchuria.

We're joined by Dr. Evan Mawdsley, historian of the Second World War, to unpack the final days of the Pacific War and explore what might have happened if Japan had not surrendered.

Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Tim Arstall.

Join Dan and the team for a special LIVE recording of Dan Snow's History Hit on Friday, 12th September 2025!

To celebrate 10 years of the podcast, Dan is putting on a special show of signature storytelling, never-before-heard anecdotes from his often stranger-than-fiction career, as well as answering the burning questions you've always wanted to ask!

Get tickets here, before they sell out: https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/words/dan-snows-history-hit/.

We'd love to hear your feedback - you can take part in our podcast survey here: https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on.

You can also email the podcast directly at [email protected].

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