Dan Snow's History Hit

In 1938, Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds radio broadcast stunned America. It was a defining moment in broadcast history - reports claimed it caused mass panic, with listeners believing Martians had tr...

As the Golden Age of Piracy drew to a close, the oceans turned into hunting grounds where pirates became prey. Dan tells the dramatic tale of the rise and fall of Bartholomew Roberts, or Black Bart, o...

In 1775, American revolutionaries went to war with the British. Seeking independence from colonial ties, they fought more than 150 battles over eight years. How did a relatively new nation of just 2.5...

Architect, astronomer, anatomist, and genius who rebuilt London after the Great Fire —Christopher Wren. His life is nothing short of extraordinary. In this episode, Dan is joined by historian and cons...

For centuries, the Barbary Corsairs captured ships and enslaved European Christians, turning the Mediterranean into a sea of fear and ransom. Backed by the rulers of Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, the c...

Boudicca, the warrior queen of the Iceni tribe, has become a symbol of resistance and British defiance. But what do we really know about her, and her bloody revolt against Roman rule? Dr Shushma Malik...

For centuries, the Roman Empire commanded unparalleled control over the world around it. It expanded its borders through trade and conquest, sucking resources from the periphery into its thriving cent...

Zheng Yi Sao was a pirate leader so formidable that she made Blackbeard and Captain Morgan look like amateurs. From humble beginnings as a sex worker in Canton, she rose to command a vast pirate fleet...

Today, we trace the rise and fall of ancient Greece’s most formidable warrior society - Sparta. This society's militaristic culture and battlefield feats are the stuff of legend - but how much of its ...

The Seven Years' War in the 18th century is often called the first world war - it was fought across Europe, North America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia. It redrew the world map, setting the stage f...