Dan Snow's History Hit

In the closing months of World War II in the Pacific, the Allies prepared for Operation Downfall - a massive planned invasion of the Japanese homeland. The invasion would never actually take place - the dropping of the atomic bombs assured that - but the question remains: just how devastating would this invasion have been?We're joined by Paul Poast, an international relations professor at the University of Chicago. He discusses the strategy and the stakes for this planned invasion, and how it impacted the decision to drop the atomic bombs.Produced by Dougal Patmore and James Hickmann. Edited by Dougal Patmore.Join Dan and the team for the first-ever 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 now find Dan Snow's History Hit on YouTube! Watch episodes every Friday here.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.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.

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 million people face off against the greatest military power on the planet at that time? And when exactly did the tide turn?In this first of two episodes with Don Wildman, host of American History Hit, and Major Jonathan Bratten of the National Guard, Dan represents the British in the Revolutionary struggle.Edited by Aidan Lonergan, and produced by Sophie Gee, Mariana Des Forges and Charlotte Long.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 now find Dan Snow's History Hit on YouTube! Watch episodes every Friday here.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.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.

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 conservationist Stephen Brindle to unravel the unexpected journey of the man best known for designing St Paul’s Cathedral, one of London's most iconic landmarks, but whose contributions spanned science and even medicine.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.Join Dan and the team for a 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/

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 corsairs built vast fortunes—and even empires. But in 1816, after failed diplomacy and mounting outrage, Britain struck back.Dan tells the story of the fiery bombardment that shook Algiers to its core and marked the beginning of the end for Barbary piracy. For this episode in our Pirates series, he's joined by Aaron Jaffer, Curator of World History and Cultures at Royal Museums Greenwich.Written by Dan Snow, produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.You can discover more and book tickets for the 'Pirates' exhibition at the National Maritime Museum Greenwich here.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 now find Dan Snow's History Hit on YouTube! Watch episodes every Friday here.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.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.

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 from the University of Cambridge joins us to untangle this mystery and explore the lasting legacy of this enigmatic ruler.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Tim Arstall.Join Dan and the team for the first-ever 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 now find Dan Snow's History Hit on YouTube! Watch episodes every Friday (including this one) here.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.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.

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 centre - Rome. And then, suddenly, everything changed. The Empire entered a state of crisis and rapidly disintegrated. The West has experienced a similarly dramatic rise and fall over the last 3 centuries, moving from an era of global dominance to one of economic stagnation and political division. But is the decline and fall of empires inevitable? And what can be done to avoid the fate of Rome? In this episode, historian Peter Heather and political economist John Rapley join Dan to compare the West's current crisis with that of Rome and discuss what comes next.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.Join Dan and the team for the first-ever 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/

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 that wrought havoc in the South China Sea. She took on the Qing Dynasty, the Portuguese and the East India Company and still managed to walk away free.In the second episode of our 'Pirates' mini-series, Dan is joined by Andrew Choong, Curator of Historic Photographs & Ship Plans at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, to uncover the story of one of history's most successful buccaneers.You can discover more about the exhibition and book tickets here.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.Join Dan and the team for the first-ever 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 now find Dan Snow's History Hit on YouTube! Watch episodes every Friday here.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.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.

HMS Dreadnought was a revolutionary British battleship that completely reshaped warfare on the high seas. It was faster, more heavily armed, and more technologically advanced than any warship that had come before it. But it was more than just a marvel of engineering - it was a geopolitical statement.Dan is joined by Andrew Lambert, the Laughton Professor of Naval History in the Department of War Studies at King's College London. They explore how this single ship rendered every other battleship obsolete overnight, triggered a global naval arms race, and became a potent symbol of Britain's imperial might.Produced and edited by Dougal Patmore.Join Dan and the team for the first-ever 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 ds.hh@historyhit.com.

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 story is based on cold, hard fact?Joining us is Dr Andrew Bayliss, a professor of Greek History at the University of Birmingham. He separates the fact from the fiction, explaining how a brutal education system and unyielding discipline forged an elite military state, and eventually led to its downfall.Join Dan and the team for the first-ever 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 now find Dan Snow's History Hit on YouTube! Watch episodes every Friday (including this one) here.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.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.