Dan Snow's History Hit

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 ...

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 ...

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, po...

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 galleri...

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 cat...

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 su...

From its origins as a Bronze Age settlement, to a battleground for Robert the Bruce’s men during the Wars of Independence, and a refuge for Mary, Queen of Scots, this castle has stood witness to thous...

Did the "heist of the century" really happen the way the robbers say it did? In the summer of 1963, a gang of masked robbers executed a daring plan to intercept a Royal Mail train carrying millions of...

This episode contains descriptions of graphic violence and may not be suitable for all listeners. On the morning of August 6th, 1945, a single American bomber unleashed a weapon unlike anything the wo...

Join Dan Snow in the heart of Paris as he kicks off his summer series exploring Europe’s greatest historic sites. From a leafy Montmartre café to the towering Gothic Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Dan teams...