HMS Wager: Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder

In the heart of the Pacific Ocean, over 2,000 miles from the nearest continent, lies one of the world’s most iconic archaeological treasure troves - Rapa Nui, known to the outside world as Easter Island. Famed for the towering stone faces of the moai, the island has undergone extraordinary transformations since it was first settled. Joining us to explain the island's fascinating history is James Grant-Peterkin, a cultural historian and someone who has lived and worked on the island for over 20 years. Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Tim Arstall. You can now find Dan Snow's History Hit on YouTube! Watch episodes every Friday (including this one) here. 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. We'd love to hear your feedback - you can take part in our podcast survey here: https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on. You can also email the podcast directly at [email protected].

Dan is joined by his dad, veteran broadcaster Peter Snow, to tell the incredible story of the clash between Napoleon Bonaparte and the Duke of Wellington on June 18, 1815. This showdown - packed with heroic last stands, strategic genius, and catastrophic missteps - shattered Napoleon’s dreams of empire. This episode marks exactly 10 years of Dan Snow's History Hit, and in it, Dan and Peter reflect on the very first episode of the podcast they did together and everything that has come since. Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore You can now find Dan Snow's History Hit on YouTube! Watch episodes every Friday here. 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. We'd love to hear your feedback - you can take part in our podcast survey here: https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on. You can also email the podcast directly at [email protected].

Tensions between Iran and Israel have escalated with a recent Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities and retaliation from Iran. The two countries openly carried out attacks on each other for the first time last year, in April and October, after a years long shadow war. But have Iran and Israel always been at odds? Dan is revisiting this episode from April 2024 with Maziar Bahari, an Iranian-Canadian journalist and filmmaker who founded the news website IranWire; Bahari explains how these two nations went from partners in the Middle East to implacable enemies. Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore. You can now find Dan Snow's History Hit on YouTube! Watch episodes every Friday here. 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. We'd love to hear your feedback - you can take part in our podcast survey here: https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on. You can also email the podcast directly at [email protected].

Humans are everywhere. How did we get from the savannahs of Africa across to the most northern reaches of Alaska and Greenland, to the outbacks of Australia and the islands of the Pacific millennia ago? How did we master fire, figure out how to craft tools and survive the Ice Ages? In this episode Dan is joined by Professor Chris Stringer, Research Leader in Human Evolution at London's Natural History Museum, to talk about how Homo Sapiens managed to outlive other human cousins like Neanderthals and Denisovans and cross oceans s hape landscapes and one day, build cities and space shuttles. Produced by James Hickmann, Mariana Des Forges and edited by Tim Arstall. You can now find Dan Snow's History Hit on YouTube! Watch episodes every Friday (including this one) here. 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. We'd love to hear your feedback - you can take part in our podcast survey here: https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on. You can also email the podcast directly at [email protected].

For thousands of years, ancient cuneiform - the script of the ancient Mesopotamians was lost to time, until being dramatically rediscovered in the 19th century by an adventurous group of unlikely Victorians. A dashing archaeologist, an officer turned diplomat and a reclusive clergyman raced to decipher it and unlock the secrets of long-lost empires. Joining us is Joshua Hammer, a former war correspondent and author of 'The Mesopotamian Riddle'. Produced by Mariana Des Forges and 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. We'd love to hear your feedback - you can take part in our podcast survey here: https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on. You can also email the podcast directly at [email protected].