- 1 hour 3 minutesThe Gospels: Are They Historical?
How much can we really know about the historical Jesus? The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John have shaped Christianity for nearly 2,000 years, but they were written decades after the events they describe. So how should we treat them as historical sources?
Tristan Hughes is joined by Professor Helen Bond to examine where the Gospels came from, who wrote them and how closely they reflect the world of first-century Judea. Were they based on eyewitness testimony and earlier traditions? And what do their stories reveal about the life of Jesus of Nazareth?
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The Pharisees
Rise of Christianity
Presented by Tristan Hughes. Editor is Matthew Wilson. The producers are Joseph Knight and McKenna Fernandez. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds
The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.
History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™
The Ancients is now on YouTube! Watch HERE
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27 September 2026, 2:00 am - 48 minutes 55 secondsMaya Hieroglyphs Decoded
Forget everything you thought you knew about the ancient Maya. Cracking their mysterious hieroglyphs didn't just reveal boring calendars, it exposed a cutthroat, Game of Thrones-style world of rival superpowers, Tikal and Calakmul.
Tristan Hughes is joined by Professor David Stuart to uncover tales of powerful female warlords, dark pilgrimages to the underworld, and the secret jungle "whiteboard" of an ancient mathematician.
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The Maya Collapse
The Olmec: Mother of Mesoamerican Civilisations
Presented by Tristan Hughes. Edited and produced by Joseph Knight.
The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds
The Ancients 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.
24 September 2026, 2:00 am - 1 hour 1 minuteHuman Sacrifice in Ancient Britain
WARNING: This episode contains descriptions of graphic violence from the start.
When we picture human sacrifice in ancient Britain, the iconic, flaming Wicker Man often comes to mind. But how much of this is Roman propaganda, and what does the actual archaeology reveal? Tristan Hughes is joined by archaeologist Dr. Miles Russell to separate popular myth from gruesome reality. From perfectly preserved bog bodies in the north to mysterious grain pit burials down south, who were these victims and why did they die?
Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio & video editor is Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Robin McConnell. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds
The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.
History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™
The Ancients is now on YouTube! Watch HERE
Want even MORE Ancients? Sign up to History Hit for early access ad-free, plus exclusive subscriber-only episodes.
PLUS with a History Hit subscription you can watch hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
20 September 2026, 2:00 am - 57 minutes 42 secondsIce Age America: The Clovis Culture
Before the mammoths disappeared, people hunted them across Ice Age America. Armed with distinctive stone spear points, the mysterious Clovis culture left behind traces of a world filled with giant beasts and landscapes now lost to time.
Tristan Hughes is joined by archaeologist Dr Madeline Mackie to explore the latest discoveries surrounding America’s prehistoric history. Who were these remarkable hunter-gatherers? How did they hunt some of the largest animals ever to walk the continent? And what mysteries still surround one of the most fascinating cultures of Ice Age America?
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Ice Age America
The First Americans
Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Aidan Lonergan, the producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds
The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.
History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™
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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17 September 2026, 2:00 am - 1 hour 1 minuteThe First Punic War
How did the Romans ambush a massive Carthaginian fleet from behind a Sicilian island to win one of history's fiercest sea battles? For over 20 years, Rome and Carthage fought a brutal war for supremacy over Sicily. Tristan Hughes is joined by Carthage expert Dr. Eve MacDonald to explore the epic First Punic War; a conflict defined by titanic naval clashes, lethal boarding bridges, war elephants...sacred chickens!
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Rise of Hannibal
How To Survive in Carthage
Presented by Tristan Hughes. Edited by Natasha Hughes. The producers are Joseph Knight & McKenna Fernandez. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds
The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.
History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™
The Ancients is now on YouTube! Watch HERE
Want even MORE Ancients? Sign up to History Hit for early access ad-free, plus exclusive subscriber-only episodes, including our recent 'After Ancients' interview with Dr. Eve MacDonald.
PLUS with a History Hit subscription you can watch hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
13 September 2026, 2:00 am - 52 minutes 48 secondsIron Age Ireland
How much of Iron Age Ireland is myth, and how much is archaeological reality? At the monumental Hill of Tara, sacred kings ruled over a landscape steeped in ancient ritual and ancestral memory.
Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr. John Waddell, author of The Celtic World, to explore the truth to be found through the mist and beneath the hills. We hear about legendary rulers like Queen Medb, epic cattle raids, massive ceremonial feasts, and lawless, roaming war bands.
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Iron Age Britain
Origins of the Celts
Presented by Tristan Hughes. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds
The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.
History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™
Want even MORE Ancients? Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week, PLUS ad-free, early access podcasts AND exclusive subscriber-only Ancients episodes. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
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10 September 2026, 2:00 am - 58 minutes 54 secondsHuman Origins: Did We Begin in Africa?
The story of human origins is often imagined as a simple journey from Africa, but is the truth actually much messier? Tristan Hughes and leading palaeoanthropologist Prof. Chris Stringer dismantle the traditional narrative, discussing how recent breakthroughs in fossils and ancient DNA reveal a complex, shifting history of multiple migrations and cross-breeding to uncover where we truly come from.
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The First Britons with Prof. Chris Stringer
Rise of Humans
Presented by Tristan Hughes. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. The studio manager is Hanif Hussain. The producers are Joseph Knight and McKenna Fernandez. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds
The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.
History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™
The Ancients is now on YouTube! Watch HERE
Want even MORE Ancients? Sign up to History Hit for early access ad-free, plus exclusive subscriber-only episodes.
PLUS with a History Hit subscription you can watch hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
6 September 2026, 2:00 am - 59 minutes 57 secondsEgypt's Lost Cities
What happens when an entire city disappears? Beneath the sands and wetlands of Egypt lie the remains of forgotten cities that once stood at the heart of one of the ancient world’s greatest civilisations.
In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by Egyptologist Chris Naunton to uncover the story of Egypt’s lost cities. From the rediscovery of Tanis, the mysterious city immortalised by Indiana Jones, to ancient capitals like Memphis and Amarna, they explore what caused these cities to vanish. And how many more are still waiting to be found?
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The Silver Pharaohs
Alexandria: The Sunken City
Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds
The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.
History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™
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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3 September 2026, 2:00 am - 57 minutes 26 secondsRoman Emperor Augustus and His Trusted General
Augustus was Rome's first Emperor. But who made his empire possible? Behind the throne stood Marcus Agrippa, the brilliant general whose victories secured the Roman world yet whose name was consciously erased from the record by his erstwhile great friend.
In this very special episode Tristan Hughes is joined by bestselling author Robert Harris to uncover the remarkable life of Agrippa. How did a man from relative obscurity become Augustus’s most trusted ally? What role did he play in the victory at Actium and the birth of the Roman Empire? And why did this extraordinary figure disappear from Rome’s public memory?
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How Slavery Built the Roman Empire
Young Caesar v Mark Antony
The Ancients is now on YouTube! Watch here: @TheAncientsPodcast
Presented by Tristan Hughes. Editor is Natasha Hughes. Produced by Joseph Knight and McKenna Fernandez. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds
The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.
History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™
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.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
30 August 2026, 2:00 am - 50 minutes 1 secondThe Vandals
The Vandals have gone down in history as the barbarians who helped bring down the Western Roman Empire. Their name became synonymous with violence and destruction, but who were they really?
In this episode, Tristan Hughes is joined by Professor Andy Merrills to uncover the real story of the Vandals. From their migration across Europe to the conquest of Carthage, they explore how the Vandals emerged as a formidable power at the heart of Rome’s final crisis; what archaeology reveals about their rule, and whether the Vandals were really as destructive as their reputation suggests.
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The Goths:
The Franks:
Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds
The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.
History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™
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.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
27 August 2026, 2:00 am - 45 minutes 14 secondsTerror Birds
What kind of predator needs no teeth to terrify its prey? The terror birds were enormous flightless hunters that ruled South America for millions of years, standing metres tall and built for a life of pursuit and slaughter.
In this episode, Tristan Hughes is joined by palaeontologist Dr Steve Brusatte to explore the world of the phorusrhacids. What were these extraordinary birds really like? How did they dominate an isolated South America after the extinction of the dinosaurs? And what ultimately brought their predatory reign to an end?
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Tyrannosaurs Rex
The Rise of Mammals
The Ancients is now on YouTube! Watch here: @TheAncientsPodcast
Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds
The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.
History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™
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.
History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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