In 1698, a 6’8” Russian giant went on a bender through an English gentleman’s estate. He trashed portraits, burned furniture and drunkenly rammed wheelbarrows through a prize-winning holly hedge. The giant in question was Peter the Great, and this wasn’t just a royal lads' holiday; it was - ostensibly - statecraft.

In this episode, Dan Snow is joined by historian Daniel Beer to unpack the life of Russia’s most ruthless moderniser - from dodging Kremlin bloodbaths to building a brand new capital atop a mountain of human bones.

Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.

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Ghost stories have haunted conversations since ancient times, from the Mesopotamians to the Romans to the Vikings. The medieval period was particularly awash with ghost stories - after all, it was an era of great plague, piety and corporal punishment. Ghost stories served as useful tools to uphold hierarchies and manipulate the masses - live in accordance with the bible or be visited by a restless spirit... or become one yourself. To delve into some of the most popular ghost stories of medieval Britain and what the restless dead can tell us about the anxieties of the living, Dan is joined by Dr Eleanor Janega, historian and host of the Gone Medieval podcast.

Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Natasha Hughes.

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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.

In June 1940, France was collapsing. Paris was in enemy hands, the government had fled, and Marshal Pétain was preparing to surrender. Into that chaos stepped a lanky, rigid French general with no army, no government and almost no followers - Charles de Gaulle. From penniless exile to twice head of state, his career would span two world wars, the collapse of empire, and the birth of modern France.

Dan Snow is joined by Richard Vinen, author of 'The Last Titans: Churchill and de Gaulle', to unpack the extraordinary, contradictory life of this formidable statesman.

Produced by James Hickmann and Dougal Patmore. 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.

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Dan Snow's History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™.

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From the elaborate burial rituals of Ancient Egypt to Victorian mummy unwrapping parties, mummification has fascinated humanity for centuries. But what is mummification really about? Because Hollywood, supernatural folklore and popular culture have muddied our understanding of the real history behind this burial practice. Dan is joined by Dr Campbell Price, Egyptologist and curator of Egypt and Sudan at the Manchester Museum to unravel (pun intended) the myths and misconceptions around Ancient Egyptian mummification and explore the morbid curiosity the Romans, Greeks and Victorians all had for this mysterious practice.

Produced by Mariana Des Forges 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.

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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.

When 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.

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Dan Snow's History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™.

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Obviously, 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.

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Dan Snow's History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™.

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On 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.

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Dan Snow's History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™.

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Henry 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 Feodorov

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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.

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Dan Snow's History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

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They 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.

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Dan Snow's History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™.

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The 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.

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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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 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 [email protected].

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.