American History Hit

Sandwiched between Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson is our 26th President of the United States, William Howard Taft. Did he have the confidence, belief and vision necessary to become a president?...

Why did an aristocratic French man fight for American freedom? How influential was Lafayette? And what did he do on his return visit to the United States 200 years ago this year?Don is joined by Chuck...

Cleopatra, Catherine the Great, Boudicca, Margaret Thatcher, Angela Merkel: what do these women have in common? They were all leaders of their nations, and they may - pending the choices of the electo...

Host Don Wildman has a message for listeners old and new, marking 200 episodes of American History Hit. American History Hit first started publishing in 2022, and since then we've covered the first Am...

What kind of a nickname is Bull Moose? How progressive was Theodore Roosevelt's presidency? And how does his legacy live on? Don is joined once again by Michael Patrick Cullinane, historian of America...

"Speak softly and carry a big stick." The youngest President ever, Lieutenant Colonel of the Rough Rider Regiment, uncle to Eleanor Roosevelt, fifth cousin to FDR, and a keen huntsman; Theodore Roosev...

How do our politicians use the media? Throughout the 2024 election we have seen a boom in the use of social media and cable news, so how far back does this go? To find out, Don speaks first to crisis ...

When the First World War ended at 11am on 11 November, 1918, how did army command relay the ceasefire to their troops? In fact, before radios and computer systems, in the early years of the telephone,...

On 6th September, 1901, President William McKinley attended a public reception at the Pan American Exposition, a 6-month-long World’s Fair, in Buffalo, New York. He was at the height of his power, hav...

Why does the Secret Service protect the President of the United States? And what can we learn from McKinley's life and presidency, not just his assassination? Don speaks with Kim Kenney, Executive Dir...