Dan Snow's HISTORY HIT

Saul David - historian, broadcaster and author of several critically-acclaimed works of fiction and non-fiction - comes on the show to discuss the most brutal and controversial British imperial conflict of the 19th century: the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. For information regarding your data privacy, visit

In May 1941, the Royal Navy pursued Nazi Germany's largest battleship, the Bismarck, in the greatest chase story in the history of naval warfare. Bismarck represented the single most important threat to the Royal Navy and the vital Atlantic convoys they sought to protect; her armoured protection had earned her the reputation of being unsinkable. Join Dan as the historian Angus Konstam takes him through a blow by blow account of Operation Rheinübung and the sinking of Bismarck. For information regarding your data privacy, visit

In 1940 the Polish resistance decided it needed to send an agent to Auschwitz concentration camp. They were desperate to find out what was going on in a place that even by that stage of the war had an evil reputation. Historian Jack Fairweather tells the story of Witold Pilecki the Pole who volunteered for the job. He smuggled out first accounts of the camp to the rest of the world. He chronicled its transition from a concentration camp for Polish political opponents to a factory of genocide. For information regarding your data privacy, visit

During the Second World War the Netherlands fell to advancing German forces in just a few hours. The Dutch found themselves under Nazi occupation. Many men and women resisted, which took many different forms. Recently the story emerged of three young women who chose a particularly dangerous way in which to strike back against the German occupiers. In this podcast Dan talks to the writer Sophie Poldermans about Hannie Schaft and sisters Truus and Freddie Oversteegen. With astonishing bravery these three young women seduced high-ranking Nazi officers, lured them into the woods and killed them. They also provided Jewish children with safe houses and gathered vital intelligence for the resistance. Sophie tells us their story. For information regarding your data privacy, visit

The world faces a unique environmental challenge. The scale of response to this looming catastrophe can be overwhelming. But economist and activist Andrew Simms believes that history provides us with a guide. It can inspire us to see that we have overcome greater challenges than those we face now. It can encourage us to be bold and believe that the solution lies in our hands. Andrew co-founded the New Weather Institute and Green New Deal group and is a lover of history. In this podcast Andrew shares his thoughts with Dan on episodes in the past that we should be looking to, from the New Deal to the allied victory in the Second World War. He believes we "are capable of extraordinary things." For information regarding your data privacy, visit