Dan Snow's History Hit

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.You can also email the podcast directly at [email protected] 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.You can also email the podcast directly at [email protected] 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.

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.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] 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.

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.You can also email the podcast directly at [email protected] 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 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] 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.

At its height, Ming China was one of the most powerful states on Earth. Its cities bustled with merchants and scholars, its goods travelled across continents, and its treasure fleets sailed as far as East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. At the heart of this vast empire stood the Forbidden City- a spectacular symbol of imperial authority.But prosperity bred corruption, power created enemies, and rebellion threatened the dynasty from within. In this episode, Dan heads to Beijing to explore how an impoverished peasant founded a dynasty that ruled China for nearly three centuries and how war, political crisis, rebellion and environmental catastrophe ultimately brought it down. Warning: this episode refers to suicide. Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal PatmoreYou can check out our documentary on Youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHBTevu_eTcIf you want more of Jeremiah on Dan Snow's History Hit, check out these episodes on any podcast player:The Opium Wars at https://open.spotify.com/episode/4GYkpTToitfmACR6RX9yGaThe Forbidden City at https://open.spotify.com/episode/5FdOolMSttL4aIXlMniMUjThe Terracotta Warriors at https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-terracotta-warriors/id1042631089?i=1000666138627Sign 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] 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.

This is an extraordinary story of espionage, betrayal and an unlikely friendship between spies on opposite sides - and of a man who risked his life and shaped the course of history, for a deeply personal and unlikely reason. In 1981, Washington feared a Soviet takeover of Iran could trigger military intervention and potentially a nuclear war. A KGB officer - Vladimir Kouzichkin - was stationed in revolutionary Iran. He was codenamed Agent Redwood and worked with British intelligence to expose the Soviet Union's operations in Iran... in exchange for a cure to a very private medical problem.Ben McIntyre's new book is called Redwood: The Most Extraordinary Spy of the Cold War and is out now!Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.Listen to The Iranian Embassy Siege with Ben Macintyre:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2Yn4pGGxsG1YLI90kf4UkM?si=sUB3ShdzQiGEDeEj9fyBNgApple: https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/the-iranian-embassy-siege-with-ben-macintyre/id1042631089?i=1000670522326Dan Snow's History Hit is now available on YouTube! Check it out at: https://www.youtube.com/@DSHHPodcastSign 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] 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.

For more than 3,000 years, the Maya built one of the Ancient world's greatest civilisations. They raised towering pyramids in the rainforest, mastered the environment and established powerful dynasties- long before the rise of the Aztecs or the Inca. Their city-states waged wars, forged alliances, and practised elaborate rituals as they competed for power across Central America.In a special mini-series, Dan travels to the remote jungles of Belize to trace the remarkable story of the Maya: from their earliest beginnings and astonishing rise to their golden age, to the enduring mystery of the ninth-century collapse that continues to puzzle historians.In episode one, Dan discovers exactly how the Maya emerged to become a dominant force in the ancient Americas.If you would like to find out how to visit the ancient city of Caracol and the many places mentioned in this podcast, visit www.travelbelize.org for more information!If you want more, you can sign up to watch our History Hit documentary The Secrets of the Maya at https://access.historyhit.com/videos/secrets-of-the-mayaWith huge thanks to Jonnell Augustine and Simon Noralez from the Belize Tourism Board, Natalie Wilson and Gabriella Bustone from Finn Partners. Our contributors: Dr Adrian Chase, Dr Diane Chase and Jose Mes.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.