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Dan Snow's History Hit

Inside Downing Street with Gavin Barwell

British politician Gavin Barwell served as Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Theresa May from June 2017 to July 2019, one of the most turbulent periods in recent British political history.


As the Prime Minister’s senior political adviser, Barwell was at May's side as she navigated tumultuous Brexit negotiations, met Donald Trump, learnt about the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury, met Jeremy Corbyn and Keir Starmer to broker a cross-party Brexit agreement - and ultimately made the decision to stand down as Prime Minister.


Joining Dan on the podcast, Gavin poignantly reveals a historical first-hand account of how government operates during times of crises, resignations and general elections. Taking us beyond the corridors of power, they discuss the prominence of political advisors, the shifting of power and the decision-making that goes on behind closed doors at 10 Downing Street.


Gavin is the author of Chief of Staff: Notes from Downing Street

More episodes

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  • 1749. The Battle of Bosworth

    44:28||Ep. 1749
    In August 1485, the would-be king Henry Tudor went head-to-head with King Richard III - the final, decisive battle of the Wars of the Roses. Only one of these men would leave the battlefield alive, and this bloody clash between Houses York and Tudor would decide the future of Britain.Joining us is Matt Lewis, host of the Gone Medieval podcast, to take us through this climactic moment in British history.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.Dan Snow's History Hit is now available on YouTube! Check it out at: https://www.youtube.com/@DSHHPodcastSign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up 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 ds.hh@historyhit.com.
  • 1748. The Top Assassination Attempts on Hitler

    41:20||Ep. 1748
    What does it take to kill a dictator? In this episode, we explore the most dramatic assassination attempts on Adolf Hitler. From Georg Elser, the lone-wolf carpenter who built a bomb by hand, to the Polish underground’s relentless plots under occupation, and finally Claus von Stauffenberg, the one-eyed officer whose briefcase bomb nearly took out the Führer.Joining us for this is Roger Moorhouse, author of 'Killing Hitler'.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.Dan Snow's History Hit is now available on YouTube! Check it out at: https://www.youtube.com/@DSHHPodcastSign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up 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 ds.hh@historyhit.com.
  • 1747. The German Peasants' War

    43:20||Ep. 1747
    In the early 16th century, tens of thousands of peasants across the German-speaking lands rose up against their lords. Fuelled by economic hardship, religious upheaval and radical new ideas about justice and freedom, the German Peasants’ War became the largest popular revolt in European history before the French Revolution.In this episode, we're joined by Professor Lyndal Roper to explore why the rebellion erupted, how it spiralled into brutal violence and how its failure reshaped Europe for centuries to come.Professor Roper's book is called 'Summer of Fire and Blood: The German Peasants' War'.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.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 ds.hh@historyhit.com.
  • 1746. A History of Iran

    01:10:10||Ep. 1746
    How does Iran's history underpin today's unrest? Dan traces more than 2,500 years of Iran's story — from the first Persian empires through conquest, dynasties, and revolution — to understand how power, identity, and sovereignty have shaped the country. He's joined by Ali Ansari, Professor of Iranian History at the University of St Andrews, to explore key turning points over the centuries from the Arab conquest to the 1953 overthrow of Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh and the 1979 Revolution.A version of this podcast was first released back in 2019. Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore Dan Snow's History Hit is now available on YouTube! Check it out at: https://www.youtube.com/@DSHHPodcastSign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up 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 ds.hh@historyhit.com.
  • 1745. The Dambusters Raid Explained

    44:43||Ep. 1745
    In May 1943, the RAF launched one of the Second World War’s most audacious missions: the Dambusters Raid. Today, we follow the raid as it unfolded, hearing about the remarkable people involved and examining its lasting impact.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.Dan Snow's History Hit is now available on YouTube! Check it out at: https://www.youtube.com/@DSHHPodcastSign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up 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 ds.hh@historyhit.com.
  • 1744. U.S. Interventions in Latin America and Beyond

    30:18||Ep. 1744
    For over 200 years, American presidents have repeatedly justified intervention as 'protection' - from the Monroe Doctrine of the 1820s, Teddy Roosevelt at the turn of the 20th century, to Richard Nixon and George H.W. Bush during the Cold War. America has a long history of using formal, informal, military and economic power to influence and exert control in its neighbouring countries and beyond. Dan is joined by Professor Daniel Immerwahr, historian and author of How to Hide an Empire: The Greater United States, to explore the ways in which America has shaped the political landscape in the western hemisphere for two centuries. They examine the parallels and differences of historic interventions like the 1954 coup in Guatemala and the 1989 invasion of Panama with the events of today.Produced by Mariana Des Forges, edited by Dougal Patmore.Dan Snow's History Hit is now available on YouTube! Check it out at: https://www.youtube.com/@DSHHPodcastYou can also email the podcast directly at ds.hh@historyhit.com.Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
  • 1743. A history of (American) occupation in Greenland

    35:05||Ep. 1743
    This isn't the first or even second time the U.S has made moves to procure Greenland in the last 160 years. President Donald Trump has stepped up his rhetoric, now saying that the use of US military is ‘always an option’ to annexe the autonomous territory. Currently part of the Kingdom of Denmark, an American takeover of Greenland would pose a serious crisis for NATO. But how much authority does Denmark have to protect Greenland? Why does Trump want it, and why are there already American troops already stationed there?In this episode, first released in January 2025, Dan and Professor Robert Rix from the University of Copenhagen trace the occupation of Greenland from the first Vikings to the arrival of the Americans in the mid-20th century, as well as explain its relationship with Denmark and explore previous attempts from American administrations to acquire it.You can discover more about the history of Greenland in Robert's book 'The Vanished Settlers of Greenland: In Search of a Legend and Its Legacy'. Produced by James Hickmann, Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.Dan Snow's History Hit is now available on Youtube! Check it out at: https://www.youtube.com/@DSHHPodcastYou can also email the podcast directly at ds.hh@historyhit.com.Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
  • 1742. The Top Assassination Attempts on Hitler

    41:20||Ep. 1742
    What does it take to kill a dictator? In this episode, we explore the most dramatic assassination attempts on Adolf Hitler. From Georg Elser, the lone-wolf carpenter who built a bomb by hand, to the Polish underground’s relentless plots under occupation, and finally Claus von Stauffenberg, the one-eyed officer whose briefcase bomb nearly took out the Führer.Joining us for this is Roger Moorhouse, author of 'Killing Hitler'.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.Dan Snow's History Hit is now available on YouTube! Check it out at: https://www.youtube.com/@DSHHPodcastSign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up 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 ds.hh@historyhit.com.
  • 1741. The Rise, Fall and Rise of the Taliban

    01:03:25||Ep. 1741
    The Taliban’s return to power in August 2021 shocked the world. But, it was not an abrupt collapse — it was decades in the making. Lyse Doucet has spent her career reporting from the world's war zones and at the key moments in modern history as the BBC's Chief International Correspondent. She's followed the events in Afghanistan for decades and joins Dan to explain the rise of the Taliban from the chaos of the Soviet invasion in the 1980s, through their brutal rule in the 1990s, the impact of American and British intervention after 9/11 and explains how they returned to Kabul in 2021, plunging Afghanistan into another era under their grip. Her new book, which explores this history through the lens of the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, where both international journalists and the Taliban stay, depending on who is running the country. It's called 'The Finest Hotel in Kabul: A People's History of Afghanistan'Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal PatmoreDan Snow's History Hit is now available on YouTube! Check it out at: https://www.youtube.com/@DSHHPodcastSign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.You can also email the podcast directly at ds.hh@historyhit.com.