20th Century
Defined by a rise of nationalism, two world wars, clashing super powers, nuclear weapons and space exploration, the 20th Century is certainly not void of fascinating history. Enjoy our enormous library of documentaries on key events such as D-Day or the sinkng of the Titanic, interviews with leading experts such as Tom Holland, David Cannadine and fascinating podcasts on the history of warfare.
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π§ Battle of the Somme: Part Two - The Skylarks with Paul Reed
Paul Reed is a military historian and author specialising in the First and Second World Wars.
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Recognition of the Japanese Zero
Recognition of the Japanese Zero Fighter was produced by the US Air Force in 1943. The first part of the film describes the recognisable features of the Zero, and compares them with other aircraft. The second part takes the form of a short film, in which Ronald Reagan plays a pilot who finds hims...
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U. S. S Indianapolis: The Legacy
The Legacy Project tells the fate of the World War II heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis using exclusively first-person accounts. The last crew and their families share gripping stories of kamikaze attacks, invasions, a secret mission, and ultimately a devastating torpedo attack that killed three fou...
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The Western Front Tunnels
The creation of man-made underground tunnels played a huge role in the outcome of the First World War. They were first dug to mine under enemy positions and detonate bombs or attack in desperate and fierce fights. As the war dragged on, nevertheless, they developed another purpose: providing sold...
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π§ Big Week with James Holland
Dan sits down with James Holland to talk about Operation Argument in February 1944, the biggest air battle of World War Two.
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Legacies of Eugenics
Eugenics is a set of ideas that cast a long shadow over the 20th century and beyond. In this film, historian Marius Turda takes us on a tour of a new exhibition about Eugenics, exploring how it spread, who it affected and how to confront it.
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π§ Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany
The Nazis presented themselves as warriors against moral degeneracy. As Norman Ohler reveals, the entire Third Reich was permeated with drugs: cocaine, heroin, morphine and, most of all, methamphetamines, or crystal meth, used by everyone from factory workers to housewives, and crucial to troops'...
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The Pursuit of Endurance: On the Shoulders of Shackleton
In the heart of the Antarctic, nine adventurers are about to live an extraordinary story. They come from very different backgrounds, but one thing brings them together: a passion for adventure and testing the limits.
Their goal: to follow in the footsteps of one of the greatest legends of the go...
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π§ Bloody Sunday 100 Years On
Diarmaid Ferriter joined me on the podcast to talk about the events of Bloody Sunday on 21st November 1920, which marked a decisive turning-point in Irish history.
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π§ Bomb Disposal with Peter Gurney
Peter Gurney had a prolific career as a bomb disposal expert, from defusing bombs during the Troubles, to addressing bomb scares outside Downing Street. He tells Dan his best stories, explains how he learned to defuse bombs and just how scared he was most of the time. Producer: Peter Curry
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Women of the Second World War: Courage and Conviction
By 1944, a third of the civilian population in Britain was engaged in war work, including over 7 million women. From compiling weather reports, maintaining aircraft, serving on airfields or working in intelligence, the work of women was crucial in the fight against Nazi Germany. Alice Loxton trac...
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Ghost Ships: Forgotten Wrecks of the River Dart
In 2013, a survey around the UK identified 199 different assemblages of hulks, remains of craft. These included paddle ships, ferries, steamboats, sail ships, submarines and fishing boats.
All around the UK, in rivers and streams, and in the mud on the side of riverbeds are the remains of our m...
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π§ Britain and Empire in the 20th Century with David Edgerton
David Edgerton attacks outdated views of the British nation and the British Empire during the 20th century with his new book. He revitalises discussion about declinist views of empire, and challenges the idea that the new British nation was forged in World War Two by Britain's isolation. Producer...
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1979: Women of the Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution of 1979, also known as the Islamic Revolution, was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and the replacement of his government with an Islamic republic under the rule of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
The...
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π§ Britain and the Birth of the Modern World with Ben Wilson
Ben Wilson is a Historian. He is author of Empire of the Deep: The Rise and Fall of the British Navy (2013) and Heyday (2016).;Episode music;Mike Skinner - You Better Be;Laura Mvula - Green Garden Presented by Dan Snow @thehistoryguy;Produced by Dan Morelle @danmorelle
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Debunking the Myths of the Titanic
At noon on 10 April 1912, crowds gathered at Southampton to watch the maiden voyage of the World's largest ship RMS Titanic. A sleek, modern luxurious liner that was offering a safe and fast crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. Titanic was said to be invincible. She cruised down Southampton waters on ...
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π§ Britain in the 1980s
Dominic Sandbrook is one of Britainβs most prolific historians, currently working his way through a series on Britain since the Second World War. His most recent book examines the pivotal early years of Margaret Thatcherβs premiership in Britain. In this podcast, Dominic and I discuss the social ...
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π§ Britain's Black Power Movement
Leila Hassan Howe and Amanda Kirton joined me on the podcast to talk about the history of the Black Power movement in Britain.
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π§ Britain's Fightback
Daniel Todman is a Professor of Modern History at Queen Mary. He has just published his epic study of how during the Second World War Britain fought back from near disaster to triumph. It opens with the fall fall of Singapore Feb 1942 and ends with Britainβs post war experiment in social democrac...
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Life Underwater: Inside the HMS Alliance
Submarine veteran Commodore Eric Thompson gives Dan Snow a tour of HMS Alliance, now preserved at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Portsmouth.
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Australia's Pearl Harbor: The Bombing of Darwin
In February 1942, the Second World War came to Australia. The same Japanese fleet that had attacked Pearl Harbor only ten weeks before had set its sights on a new target. The harbour town of Darwin. In two separate attacks on February 19 1942, nearly 250 Japanese aircraft wreaked havoc on the lig...
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π§ Britain's First All Women Hospital
When the First World War broke out, the suffragettes suspended their campaigning and joined the war effort. Flora Murray and Louisa Garrett Anderson headed out to France, setting up two small military hospitals - whilst battling fierce opposition on account of being women. But Flora and Louisa pr...
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π§ Britain's War with Daniel Todman
Daniel Todman @daniel_todman is a Historian at Queen Mary University of London, author of Britain's War, 1937-1941: Into Battle Twitter Instagram Facebook Dan Snow;Producer: Dan Morelle
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Salisbury Plain: Training for War
Salisbury Plain is the Ministry of Defence's largest training ground, covering an area the size of the Isle of Wight. Dan Snow is shown around the Plain by MOD archaeologist Richard Osgood, to explore how British, Commonwealth and Allied troops prepared for the two great wars.