- 53 minutes 33 secondsGulliver's Travels
Is Gulliver’s Travels just a whimsical children’s adventure story, or is it a scathing satire designed to expose political hypocrisy?
From suppressed Irish resistance allegories to biting parodies of Whig corruption, Enlightenment science, and moral decay, Gulliver's author Jonathan Swift transformed personal exile into a profound critique of human nature.
To mark the 300th anniversary of Gulliver’s Travels, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Professor David Womersley to unmask the "savage indignation," political turmoil, and risk of censorship that drove Swift’s writing.
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C.S. Lewis & Narnia: Renaissance Origins
Creator of Don Quixote: Cervantes
Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Max Wintle, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
Not Just the Tudors 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 plus ad-free podcasts, PLUS early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe
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19 October 2026, 2:00 am - 35 minutes 14 secondsDark Origins of Fairy Tales
What if the fairy tales you grew up with were never meant for children at all?
Long before these stories were transformed into family-friendly animated films, they were forged in the gritty reality of Renaissance Italy and later weaponized by rebellious Parisian aristocrats to challenge systemic oppression.
Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Professor Jack Zipes to unearth the dark, strange, and deeply political origins hidden behind our favourite folklore.
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The Man who Wrote Robinson Crusoe
Practical Magic: Spells, Prayers & Cunning Folk
Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Max Wintle, edited by Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast
History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™
Want even MORE fascinating history? Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week PLUS early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
15 October 2026, 2:00 am - 54 minutes 33 secondsHow to Survive Henry VIII
How did one man survive serving Henry VIII as principal secretary when others lost their heads? Why is the mastermind behind the King’s final, most turbulent decade so often forgotten?
Rising through sheer intellect and royal favour, William Paget navigated bitter religious conflict, spiralling crown finances, and looming foreign threats to become Henry VIII’s most indispensable advisor.
Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Dr. Andrew Johnston to unpack the astonishing career of this forgotten Tudor mastermind who shaped the monarch’s final years.
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The Rotten End of Henry VIII
Cardinal Wolsey: His Rise and Fall
Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Max Wintle, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
Not Just the Tudors 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 plus ad-free podcasts, plus early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
12 October 2026, 2:00 am - 53 minutes 11 secondsBritain's Slave Traders
How did a risky 16th-century venture evolve into a national enterprise that fuelled the rise of the British Empire? How did a vast network of royalty, politicians, cultural figures, and ordinary citizens finance human exploitation to expand British wealth and naval power?
Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Professor William Pettigrew to trace the nation's deep entanglement with the transatlantic slave trade and explore why its legacy was systematically obscured.
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How Protestants Justified Slavery
British Barbary Slaves
Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Max Wintle, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
Not Just the Tudors 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 plus ad-free podcasts, PLUS early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
8 October 2026, 2:00 am - 44 minutes 43 secondsJohn Dudley, The 'Wicked' Duke
How did the son of an executed traitor rise to become the power behind young Edward VI? Was John Dudley a visionary patriot saving England from crisis or a ruthless opportunist who risked everything for ultimate power?
Following the death of Henry VIII, Dudley seized control of the realm. However, his later gamble to put Lady Jane Grey on the throne condemned him to the executioner's block.
Professor Suzannah Lipscomb and Dan Snow explore John Dudley's meteoric rise and catastrophic fall.
Watch Professor Suzannah Lipscomb and Dan Snow's new series How The Tudors Lost Their Heads now on Nat Geo and Disney+
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Death, Desire, Power & Scandal: The House of Dudley
Lady Jane Grey
Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Max Wintle, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast
History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™
Want even MORE fascinating history? Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week PLUS early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
5 October 2026, 2:00 am - 57 minutes 55 secondsHow the Americas Transformed Tudor England
In 1588, mathematician Thomas Harriot mapped a doomed colony and drafted the playbook for English empire. But did Indigenous culture reshape Shakespeare's England just as profoundly?
Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Dr. Lauren Working to explore how indigenous knowledge, labour, and resources, from Bolivian silver to North American beaver pelts, vibrant feather work, and Algonquin smoking customs, infiltrated Tudor fashion and society.
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Elizabethans in America
Pocahontas & the Virginian Venture
Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Max Wintle, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast
History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™
Want even MORE fascinating history? Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week PLUS early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1 October 2026, 2:00 am - 42 minutes 38 secondsEarl of Essex: Rise & Fall of Elizabeth I's Favourite
How did a favourite of Elizabeth I go from royal darling to executed traitor?
Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Dr. Alex Gajda and Dr. Will Tosh to explore the meteoric rise and catastrophic fall of Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, one of the most glamorous yet volatile figures in Elizabethan England. Together they unpack the true motives behind Essex's rebellion and the surprising propaganda role played by William Shakespeare.
Watch Prof. Suzannah Lipscomb's new series How The Tudors Lost Their Heads now on Nat Geo and Disney+
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Henry Wotton: Outlaw and Royal Spy
Robert Dudley: Elizabeth I's Forbidden Love
Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Max Wintle, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast
History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™
Want even MORE fascinating history? Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week PLUS early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
28 September 2026, 2:00 am - 55 minutes 23 secondsDutch Armada: The Last Invasion of England
Why did the Dutch Republic risk everything to launch one of the boldest seaborne invasions in English history and overthrow King James II? Why did England’s defences collapse so quickly? How close did the operation come to disaster?
In 1688, William of Orange led a Dutch armada of 16,000 troops across the North Sea, after years of diplomacy, financial manoeuvring and meticulous military planning. Yet victory was never guaranteed.
Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Dr Arthur de Weduwen, to uncover the Dutch perspective on the revolution that reshaped Britain and Europe.
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Queen Mary II & the Glorious Revolution
William III & the Persecution of Sodomites
Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Max Wintle, audio editor is Aliza Dams and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast
History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™
Want even MORE fascinating history? Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week PLUS early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
24 September 2026, 2:00 am - 50 minutes 11 secondsRoyal Favourites: The Filthy Earl of Rochester
**CONTAINS VERY STRONG LANGUAGE & ADULT THEMES**
What really went on behind closed doors in the scandalous court of the "Merry Monarch"? What made John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, both Restoration England's most notorious debauchee and sharpest literary mind?
Rochester's razor-sharp verse sliced through religious hypocrisy, court politics, and even the King’s own reputation, pushing the boundaries of royal patience further than anyone else dared.
Professor Suzannah Lipscomb and Rebecca Rideal explore the outrageous life of the ultimate libertine.
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Charles II: Restoration of the Monarchy
Nell Gwyn: Actress and Royal Mistress
Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Max Wintle, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast
History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™
Want even MORE fascinating history? Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week PLUS early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
21 September 2026, 2:00 am - 54 minutes 49 secondsThe Rotten End of Henry VIII
Death, death, and more death surrounds Henry VIII's final years.
What happens when a monarch is trapped by physical decay, paranoia, and lethal court factionalism? He may have secured an heir and severed ties with Rome, but Henry VIII found no peace. And once he turns away from you, he doesn't turn back.
In our series finale, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb and Dr. Joanne Paul explore the explosive 1540s to ask: was Henry’s legacy a sovereign nation, or a traumatised, ruined kingdom?
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The Death of Henry VIII
Henry VIII's Conscience and Contradictions
Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Max Wintle, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast
History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™
Want even MORE fascinating history? Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week PLUS early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
17 September 2026, 2:00 am - 51 minutes 11 secondsHenry VIII's Reign of Terror
**Contains graphic description of execution**
What happened when one monarch's personal obsession dismantled an entire international order? How did Henry VIII transform a marriage crisis into the English Reformation—and at what point did royal ambition cross the line into outright tyranny?
When papal authority, international diplomacy, and canon law stood between the king and his quest for an heir, Henry did not yield. Instead, he rewrote the legal and religious fabric of the realm.
In the third episode of our series on Henry VIII, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb and Dr. Joanne Paul enter the 1530s: the darkest, most consequential decade of Henry's reign.
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Six Wives: Anne Boleyn
Henry VIII's Reckoning: Pilgrimage of Grace
Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Max Wintle, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast
History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™
Want even MORE fascinating history? Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week PLUS early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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