Interviews
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7 Wonders of the Ancient World
People have always looked to the wonders of the ancient world for awe and inspiration. In the Ancient era, people embarked on dangerous pilgrimages to visit storied sites like the Pyramids of Giza, or the Statue of Zeus at Olympia. While only one of them remains, they still excite us thousands of...
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Dresden: The Fire and the Darkness
75 years ago this week Dresden, in Saxony, known as the ‘jewel box’ because of its stunning architecture was obliterated by British and American bombers. The flames reached almost a mile high. Around 25,000 people were thought to have been killed. The novelist Kurt Vonnegut was there. It was he w...
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Ernest Shackleton: With Ranulph Fiennes
In this fascinating interview, Dan Snow chats to the world's greatest living explorer Ranulph Fiennes about Ernest Shackleton and his heroic expeditions in the Golden Age of Antarctic Exploration.
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HMS Terror and Erebus: With Sir Michael Palin
In 1845, a British voyage of Arctic exploration led by Captain Sir John Franklin departed England aboard two ships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror. The expedition was assigned to traverse the last unnavigated sections of the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic and to record magnetic data to help ...
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SAS Shadow Raiders
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 ...
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Hitler's Last 48 Hours
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...
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The Room Where It Happened: Versailles 1919
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...
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The Roman Republic
We've asked ancient historian and archaeologist Dr. Simon Elliott to answer the most googled questions about the roman empire.
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Tom Holland on the Birth of Islam
Historian Tom Holland shares his fascination at how the events of ancient history can resonate in the modern world. The author of Islam: The Untold Story talks to Dan Snow about the birth of this rich and sophisticated civilisation, tracing its history through the centuries, and its interaction a...
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My Life and World War Two
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...
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Debunking Myths of Spartan Warriors
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...
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The Seven Deadly Sins: With Stephen Fry
Actor, writer and legendary broadcaster Stephen Fry joins Dan to talk about the 7 Deadly Sins.
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The Fall Of The Western Roman Empire
The Roman Empire remains one of the most enduring and prolific civilisations of written history. Yet it, like all great civilisations, would eventually come to an end. Join Dan Snow as he speaks to historian Tom Holland about the many contributing factors that would bring this seismic and seeming...
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Unpacking the Myths of King Arthur with Eleanor Janega
King Arthur. Merlin. The Knights of the Round Table and the Sword in the Stone. We think we know these stories but they've changed a lot since they were first told...
In this episode of History Hit's After Dark podcast, Maddy and Anthony are joined by Dr. Eleanor Janega, host of the Gone Mediev...
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Dan Snow and Dan Jones Talk Crusades
Dan is joined by fellow history presenter Dan Jones to talk about the Knights Templar and the crusades.
If you love Dan Jones, then join him at our book club. He is the History Hit Book Club's author for October/November 2022. The book club is a community of people who are passionate about histo...
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Shakespeare
Emma Smith, Professor of Shakespeare Studies at the University of Oxford and the author of 'This is Shakespeare', tackles the big questions about William Shakespeare.
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Homo Erectus: Why did the Most Successful Early Human Go Extinct?
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...
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How To Make Friends and Influence People In Medieval Europe
From grand castles & cathedrals to glowing sonnets and well chosen marriages, Dan is joined by Dr Eleanor Janega to find out how one might get ahead in Medieval Europe.