Vladimir Putin is the modern face of dictatorship, rising out of the ashes of the chaotic Yeltsin years. In the 90's, Putin was a relatively unknown figure would go on to occupy an untouchable position in a country spanning 11 timezones. We delve inside the twisted mind of Vladimir Putin.

Over the course of his 106 years, Doctor William Frankland has experienced more than most. He served with the Royal Medical Corps during World War Two, spending more than three years as a prisoner of war of the Japanese following the fall of Singapore. After the war, his medical career focused on...

Alexander the Great forged one of the largest empires of ancient history. But his early death, aged 32, ensured that it came crashing down within decades of his passing. In many ways, the story of this extraordinary conqueror’s early demise is more fascinating than that of his life.

Over the yea...

Join Dan Snow and a hand picked team of experts for a thought-provoking panel discussion that delves into one of the most consequential diplomatic agreements of the 20th century: the Treaty of Versailles.

Representing Woodrow Wilson and America is Historian Alexandra Churchill, taking the perspe...

Charles Moore discusses the legacy of Margaret Thatcher, the Iron Lady: where she succeeded, where she failed and why she still matters today.

When people think of Medieval diseases, hysterical dancing is not usually what first comes to mind. Yet in 14th and 15th century Germany, dozens of ordinary people claimed to be infected by the ‘dancing plague’. What was this mysterious phenomenon? What caused it? And was it even a real disease?
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When one thinks of the Ancient World you would be forgiven for instantly thinking of either the cultural glories of ancient Greece or the military might of the Roman Empire. Yet the Mediterranean and the Near East was just one part of a much larger, interconnected ancient world. In India and Chin...

Egyptologist Dr Chris Naunton explores the story of how Ancient Egypt was rediscovered, and how its incredible sites and treasures were gradually decoded. Starting with the earliest travelers who ventured inside the pyramids, Chris traces how this curiosity exploded into Egyptomania in the 18th ...

In this Easter special episode of History Hit Live on Timeline, Dan Snow takes us through some of his favourite historical movies from the most accurate, to the most technically impressive - and perhaps a couple of guilty pleasures…

What happened to Hitler's body? When did he die? What really happened in the last 48 hours of his life? In this extraordinary episode of 'As It Happened', historian Emma Craigie and Dan Snow discuss the final moments of the Fuhrer's life in the bunker beneath the Reich Chancellery in Berlin.

Emm...

People seem forever reimagining the seafaring Vikings from northern Europe, but 'the Viking Age' is one of the most confusing periods in European history. When did it really start and why? What does 'Viking' really mean? What kind of helmets did they actually wear?

One of the best ways to delve ...

At about 1am on 17 July 1918, in a fortified mansion in Ekaterinburg in the Ural Mountains, the Romanovs – ex-tsar Nicholas II, ex-tsarina Alexandra, their 5 children, and their 4 remaining servants – were awoken by Bolshevik captors and told they must dress and gather their belongings for a swif...

The Ancients host Tristan Hughes sits down with Professor John Mcnabb at the University of Southampton to discuss the extinct species of archaic human, Homo Erectus (aka the 'Upright Man') that existed about 2 million years ago.

Were these ancient ancestors the first to make stone tools? Were th...

Dan chats to Greg Jenner about how we should interpret the past and what the role of a historian is - featuring meringues, ear trumpets and Agincourt!

In today's episode Dan is joined by David Freidel, often regarded as the real life Indiana Jones, to talk through the history of the Mayans and some of his own discoveries in that area.

In the winter of 1941 an alien-seeming object was spotted by an RAF reconnaissance pilot flying a lone unarmed Spitfire across the French coast. Balanced upon the cliffs near Le Havre was what appeared to be a giant convex dish, directed across the Channel at the war-torn British coastline. With ...

Characterised as super soldiers, formidable fighters who would rather perish than surrender - their reputation truly did proceed them.

But how accurate is this image - and does it correlate with what the ancient sources actually tell us?

In this filmed episode of The Ancients podcast Sparta mi...

During the years of World War Two, a short lived, but remarkable, organisation existed. The Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) was a civilian service that was tasked with the delivery of aircraft from factories to the squadrons of the RAF and Royal Navy, and the delivery of supplies. Featuring pilots ...

Happy Birthday Victor Gregg - he has turned 100 this week. Victor volunteered to join the army before the Second World War and he fought all the way through - from clashes with the Italians in North Africa in 1940 to being captured 75 years ago this autumn at Arnhem. He was a Prisoner of War in D...

Human evolution can’t help but fascinate us - the story of where we came from. Today we, Homo sapiens, are the only human species left. But that wasn’t always the case….

For millions of years, there thrived a great range of early human species. From small-brained island dwellers in Indonesia to ...

In this series, Alice Loxton and Dan Snow head to Stratford-upon-Avon to uncover the secrets of William Shakespeare’s early life and upbringing. Who were Shakespeare’s parents? What was rural Warwickshire like in the 16th century, and how was it changing? What sort of childhood did William have?
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80 years ago Wing Commander Joseph Watts was killed when his RAF Hampden Bomber crashed, as it returned from a bombing raid in Occupied Europe. He left behind a daughter, and also an unborn son. John Watts, born 8 months later, would never meet his father. But recently he discovered that at the R...

The two Dans are back. And this time, they're talking all things crusades. Dan Jones provides his namesake host a thrilling background to the series of holy wars that have come to define Medieval Europe.

If you love Dan Jones, then join him at our book club. He is the History Hit Book Club's aut...

Dan sat down with Julie McDowall to talk about Britain's plans in case of nuclear Armageddon during the Cold War. They also discuss the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl and its infamous legacy.