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Dan Snow's History Hit
The Unheard Tapes of Bomber Command
Over 55,500 men died flying with Bomber Command during World War Two; more than the number who serve in the Royal Air Force today. Flying at night over occupied Europe and battling German night fighters, anti-aircraft fire and mid-air collisions, they showed astonishing courage and resilience in the face of what often seemed to be insurmountable odds. On 25 July 1943, Flight Lieutenant Stevens flew in one of the deadliest bombing raids on Essen. The moment he returned home, he made a recording of himself reliving the events of that night. Here, for the first time, we bring together the voice of the 21-year-old and his present-day 96-year-old self, conversing across the years. With original recordings interwoven with a fascinating interview, Dan presents a vivid insight into the life and bravery of this remarkable man and the extraordinary men he flew with.
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1849. The Khmer Rouge & Pol Pot's Reign of Terror
01:00:41||Ep. 1849When the Khmer Rouge marched into Phnom Penh in April, 1975, they immediately declared 'Year Zero' - a ruthless ideological crusade to reset history, and forge Pol Pot's vision for a communist utopia. Over the next four years, the regime carried out a genocide that killed nearly two million people - almost a quarter of Cambodia's population.Dan Snow is joined by Ben Kiernan, author of 'How Pol Pot Came to Power' and 'The Pol Pot regime'. Together, they trace how the turmoil of the Vietnam War fuelled the rise of the Khmer Rouge, detailing the horror of their reign and their eventual downfall in 1979.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Tim Arstall.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.You can also email the podcast directly at ds.hh@historyhit.com.Dan Snow's History Hit is a History Hit podcast.History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™.
1848. The Real History Behind the Illuminati
45:13||Ep. 1848Obviously, a secret sect doesn't control global events - despite what the internet says. But the myth of a shadowy cabal of elites grew out of a very real secret order, and one that went extinct within a decade. So what is the true story of the Illuminati? And why has it been blamed for every major crisis since, from the French Revolution to the New World Order?Dan Snow and historian Michael Taylor, author of 'Illuminati', unravel history’s greatest conspiracy theory once and for all.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Matthew Wilson.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.You can also email the podcast directly at ds.hh@historyhit.com.Dan Snow's History Hit is a History Hit podcast.History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™.
1847. The October Revolution
47:46||Ep. 1847On the night of October 10th, 1917, a revolutionary disguised as a priest slipped into an apartment in Petrograd and browbeat his comrades into an armed insurrection. The revolutionary in question was Vladimir Lenin, and two weeks later, he and the Bolsheviks seized power in a coup that set the course of the 20th century.Victor Sebestyen, author of 'The Russian Revolution', joins us to trace the extraordinary chain of events that put Lenin's party in control of one of the largest nations on Earth.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Tim Arstall.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.You can also email the podcast directly at ds.hh@historyhit.com.Dan Snow's History Hit is a History Hit podcast.History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™.
1846. Did Mountbatten Plot To Overthrow the Government?
40:00||Ep. 1846In 1968, four of Britain's most powerful men gathered behind closed doors to discuss an almost unthinkable question: whether the elected government could no longer govern, and whether Britain needed saving by an unelected emergency administration...In this episode, we explore this alleged plot involving media mogul Cecil King, Fleet Street editor Hugh Cudlipp and Lord Mountbatten himself. Historian Stephen Dorril, author of 'Smear! Wilson and the Secret State', guides us through the evidence, the personalities and the myths surrounding that fateful meeting.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Tim Arstall.Our subscribers can contact us with their ideas and suggestions at the exclusive email: dshh.suggestions@historyhit.com.We need your help! Let us know what you want from Dan Snow's History Hit by filling in our anonymous survey here: https://forms.gle/PvgayWLkWGjYT4St6Dan Snow's History Hit is also available on YouTube. Check it out at: https://www.youtube.com/@DSHHPodcastDan Snow's History Hit is a History Hit podcast.History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™.
1845. John Dudley: Tudor England's Wicked Duke
42:46||Ep. 1845Henry VIII is dead and England has replaced him with a boy king. But the one really pulling the strings of power behind the young and inexperienced Edward VI is one of Tudor England’s most formidable power players: John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland.Remembered by his enemies as the ‘Wicked Duke’, Dudley was ruthless and ambitious - but also a skilled statesman who helped rescue England from war, financial crisis and political instability. Then, in 1553, he risked everything by attempting to place Lady Jane Grey on the throne.In this episode Dan is joined by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb to explore Dudley’s extraordinary rise and bloody fall - and ask: was he a villain, an opportunist, or Tudor England’s unlikely saviour?You can check out Dan and Suzannah's latest documentary series How the Tudors Lost Their Heads on National Geographic.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Hannah FeodorovWe need your help! Let us know what you want from Dan Snow's History Hit by filling in our anonymous survey here: https://forms.gle/PvgayWLkWGjYT4St6Sign 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.Dan Snow's History Hit is a History Hit podcast.History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™.
1844. The Yakuza
49:02||Ep. 1844They projected themselves as fearless protectors bound by a code of chivalry, yet in their wake they left trails of bloody street duels and ritualised finger-chopping. From 17th-century dispossessed samurai turned street muggers, to powerful paramilitary bosses infiltrating national politics, the yakuza's evolution is a masterclass in criminal survival and reinvention.Andrew Rankin, author of 'Yakuza: A 400-Year History of the Japanese Underworld', joins us to uncover the dramatic rise and transformation of Japan's organised crime syndicates.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Tim Arstall.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.You can also email the podcast directly at ds.hh@historyhit.com.Dan Snow's History Hit is a History Hit podcast.History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™.
1843. The Cuban Missile Crisis Explained
58:18||Ep. 1843The nuclear close calls, rogue commanders, silent standoffs and split-second decisions that nearly resulted in nuclear armageddon… In this episode, Dan breaks down the edge-of-your-seat crisis that almost triggered Doomsday, and explains how individual heroism and blind luck saved humanity from extinction.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Natasha Hughes.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.You can also email the podcast directly at ds.hh@historyhit.com.Dan Snow's History Hit is a History Hit podcast.History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1842. Britain's Deadliest Arctic Expedition
50:10||Ep. 1842In 1913, a celebrity explorer led an ambitious expedition into the frozen Arctic - and straight into disaster. From the ensuing catastrophe emerged three incredible stories: a captain's desperate 700-mile trek across treacherous sea ice; an Inuit mother's gruelling efforts to survive on the most remote island on Earth; and the 5-year journey of their charismatic, deceitful leader, who ventured into the frozen wastes with a bag full of Union Jacks in the pursuit of glory.Giles Milton, author of 'Empire at the Edge of the World', takes Dan through this extraordinary saga of endurance, mutiny and murder at the edge of the world.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Tim Arstall.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.You can also email the podcast directly at ds.hh@historyhit.com.Dan Snow's History Hit is a History Hit podcast.History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™.
1841. The English Reformation
45:37||Ep. 1841We usually view the English Reformation through Henry VIII’s marital drama, but away from the royal court, it was a sensory shockwave: monasteries plundered, saints erased, and altars stripped bare.Today we're joined by Lucy Wooding, author of 'Tudor England: A History', to reveal how everyday people survived the chaotic dismantling of their spiritual world.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.We need your help! Let us know what you want from Dan Snow's History Hit by filling in our anonymous survey here: https://forms.gle/PvgayWLkWGjYT4St6Dan Snow's History Hit is also available on YouTube. Check it out at: https://www.youtube.com/@DSHHPodcastDan Snow's History Hit is a History Hit podcast.History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™.