Kim Ghattas joined me on the podcast to explore how Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran - who were once allies and the twin pillars of US strategy in the area - became mortal enemies after the revolution of 1979. In a war of cultural supremacy, we discussed the nature of various groups using and dis...

Dr Sue Black is a British computer scientist, academic and social entrepreneur. She has been instrumental in saving Bletchley Park, the World War II codebreaking site. Her book documenting this vital task is 'Saving Bletchley Park: How #SocialMedia Saved the Home of the WWII Codebreakers'.

Professor Andrew Lambert has written a magisterial history of sea power states, and the tools and methods of control they used to exert influence. From the Athenians to the British, Lambert discusses the way that states became sea powers, as well as offering insights on whether sea powers can exi...

Sam Willis is a maritime historian, archaeologist, and broadcaster. He is the author of a number of books on maritime and naval history, including the latest book The Struggle for Sea Power: A Naval History of American Independence.

Henry Hemming is a historian and author of five works of non-fiction including In Search of the English Eccentric, Misadventure in the Middle East, shortlisted for the Dolman Travel Book Award, and Churchill’s Iceman, published in the US as The Ingenious Mr Pyke, which became a New York Times bes...

Selma Van De Perre joined me on the pod to talk about her life as a Dutch Jewish Resistance fighter during the Second World War. She joined the resistance under the pseudonym Margareta van der Kuit, and she forged documents and delivered them throughout the entire country. She escaped the Nazis o...

Dan talks to Simon Elliott about Septimius Severus, the first Hammer of the Scots, about his Northern Campaigns, and the true story of this savage 3rd century invasion of Scotland.

According to John Evelyn, the great diarist, Charles II was ‘addicted to women’. Charles' court is infamous for tales of licentiousness and promiscuity, and I was thrilled to be joined by Linda Porter who introduced me to Charles' impressive list of mistresses. There was Frances Teresa Stuart, ‘t...

Did people have better sex under socialism? The answer is probably yes, and Dan talks to Kristen Ghodsee to find out why, also discussing why young people are having less sex and the Soviet approach to gender equality. Image credit: Adam Jones

I invited Kate Lister to join me after the enormous popularity of her last appearance on the pod. But this time we talked about how our sexual habits are both dulled and invigorated in unprecedented times - wars, plagues, pandemics. We discussed licentious widows who let loose during plagues, the...

Dan talks to giant of journalism, Sy Hersh, about the many things he's covered in his long career, from Vietnam to Iraq to Trump.

Dr Chris Laoutaris talked to Dan about Shakespeare and love at our History Hit Live event at the British academy. Their discussion doesn't just limit itself to love in the upstart crow's plays, but to his own personal affairs and sexual proclivities.

Dan visits the site of The Theatre, the 16th-century playhouse where some of Shakespeare's works were first performed, to investigate the archaeology with Heather Knight, Senior Archaeologist from the Museum of London Archaeology.

Emma Smith, Professor of Shakespeare Studies at Hertford College Oxford. Presented by Dan Snow.

Suzie Grogan talks about the 'hidden illness' of World War One, now better known as shellshock or PTSD. Dan chats with her about the initial reception to cases of shellshock and how diagnoses changed as we understood the problem better over time.

Dan talks to Janet Booth, the grand-daughter of Harry Farr, who was shot for cowardice in October 1916. Image Credit: Oosoom (CC).

Rob Heard created an incredibly-moving memorial to the Battle of the Somme. In the new podcast, Dan talks to him about his inspiration and what the work means to him.

James Holland joined me on the podcast to discuss the allied invasion of Sicily on the 10th July 1943.

Simon de Montfort was a member of the English peerage, who led opposition to King Henry III. He played a major role in the constitutional development of the country and remains an important figure in British history. Producer: Peter Curry

Dan talks to Simon Mayo about his new historical novel, Mad Blood Stirring, set in Dartmouth prison at Christmas 1814.

Dan talks to Nicholas Walton about the role of Sir Stamford Raffles in the emergence of Singapore as one of the world's largest ports, and about the history of the country more generally, from the earliest days of Javanese agriculture to Singapore's involuntary independence.

David Boyle @davidboyle1958 has been fascinated by the navy since he was a boy, but also writes about politics, economics and management. His latest book, Lost at Sea: The story of the USS Indianapolis, combines his interest in naval history with his interest in great management disasters, becaus...

Dan speaks with Linda Norris, the Global Networks Program Director at International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, about how we look at history and the museums of the future.

Dan chats to Christer Petley about slavery, focusing on one particularly virulent slave-owner called Simon Taylor, one of the most powerful men in Jamaica in the 18th century.