Dan Snow's History Hit
Lost tombs buried beneath desert sands, enchanting hieroglyphs, mysterious mummies, great rulers and kingdoms- Egypt has it all. Since antiquity, tourists have ventured to Egypt to see for themselves the great remnants of its ancient civilisation. Archaeologists have since found graffiti from Ancient Greek scholars and 18th century French explorers in the tombs of the Valley of the Kings.
But what is it about Ancient Egypt that captures us in childhood and adulthood, more so than any other period in history? Well, Dan joins Dr Campbell Price, curator of Egypt and Sudan at the Manchester Museum, to get to the bottom of it. They tell the stories of their own obsession with Egypt, which pharaohs they think are overrated and the impact mass documentary-making is having on archaeological discoveries in places like Saqqara and Luxor.
Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.
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- Update frequency
- every 2 days
- Average duration
- 33 minutes
- Episodes
- 1438
- Years Active
- 2020 - 2025
How did Andrew Jackson Change the U.S. Presidency?
A hero to some, and a villain to others, the seventh president of the United States was a populist firebrand who reshaped America and left a legacy that still echoes today. In this episode, Dan dives…
Germany After Hitler
80 years ago, as the war in Europe drew to a close, the world began to come to terms with the horrors of the Third Reich. This is the story of the Nuremberg Trials, the first of their kind, that woul…
The Death of Hitler
Warning: this episode contains discussion of suicide.
Berlin, April 1945: After nearly 12 years, the "Thousand-Year Reich" is crumbling. Isolated in a bunker beneath the city, as Soviet forces close i…
The Dreyfus Affair: The Spy Scandal that Shook France
It started with an inconsequential piece of military intelligence, scrawled on a piece of paper and left in a waste paper basket. But over the next decade, the infamous Dreyfus affair would mutate in…
The Einstein Murders
Warning: this episode contains discussion of suicide.
In August 1944, German soldiers burst into the Florentine villa of Robert Einstein, cousin of the renowned physicist, Albert Einstein. As both a J…
A History of Popes
Popes have shaped the history of the world. The Catholic Church has had a Pope for two thousand years, the first- tradition dictates- was St Peter, the fisherman turned disciple of Jesus. Pope 'Leo t…
How Did the American Revolution Start?
On 19th April, 1775, just over 250 years ago, the opening salvos of the American Revolutionary War were fired at the battles of Lexington and Concord. Elite British Redcoats went head-to-head with th…
The Battle of Berlin with Sir Antony Beevor
Warning: this episode includes discussion of subjects like suicide and sexual assault that some listeners may find disturbing.
80 years ago, the Soviets launched their final assault on the German capi…
The Liberation of Bergen-Belsen
Warning: This episode contains detailed discussion of the Holocaust and genocide, which some listeners may find upsetting.
80 years ago, British troops liberated the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. …
The Sinking of the Titanic
How could the unsinkable ship… sink? In this dramatic moment-by-moment account, Dan tells the dramatic tale of the Titanic from the moment of impact with the iceberg to the first steps of survivors i…
The Red Army Surrounds Berlin
By April 1945, Soviet forces stood at the gates of Berlin. From the summer of 1944, Hitler's armies had suffered a series of cataclysmic defeats that had left them shattered and desperately trying to…
The Great Tariff Battle
Have trade tariffs ever worked? Dan explores a cautionary tale from the turn of the 20th century when Britain's Conservatives' flirtation with tariffs led to huge political upheaval and a truly disas…
Saint Petersburg: Putin's Hometown
Founded by Peter the Great, the city of Saint Petersburg was built to rival the majesty of any capital in Europe. Its splendour made it a hub of Russian culture, and its geography made it a focal poi…
The Samurai
This is the story of the legendary Samurai - how did they go from provincial bodyguards to revered warriors? Why did they transform from ancestral soldiers to office workers? And will we ever see the…
Francis Drake (Part 2)
Dan Snow picks up his dramatic tale of the exploits of Francis Drake- this time the story of the Spanish Armada. From his astonishing raids on Spanish assets in the New World to his exploits as Queen…
Francis Drake (Part 1)
Dan tells swashbuckling tales of Francis Drake on the Spanish Main. Francis Drake was England's first imperial warrior forged in the crucible of the 16th-century naval engagements against Spain. This…
THE LEADERS: Roosevelt
How instrumental was Roosevelt in the Allied victory? He'd guided America through the Great Depression, he changed American society and his post-war vision shaped the world we see today. He knew WWII…
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
He was responsible for the fastest trains in history. He built innovative new hospitals for Florence Nightingale. His vessels shattered records for crossing the Atlantic and he enabled the laying of …
THE LEADERS: Hirohito
Was Hirohito really as passive as history has painted him? Emperor Hirohito stood at the head of Japan’s war machine, yet after 1945, both the Japanese and the Americans painted him as a powerless ob…
The Rise & Fall of The Moors in Spain
In 711 an Arab and Berber army crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and invaded the Iberian Peninsula. Seven years later, their conquests had birthed the Muslim kingdom of al-Andalus. This marked the begi…