Channel History Hit

In this BONUS episode, the Histories of the Unexpected duo, James and Sam, tackle the expected history of FALCONS! Which is all about medieval and Tudor society, from Kings to knaves via The Book of Hawking, Hunting, and Blasing of Arms; it's also all about Barry Hines' 1968 novel, A Kestrel for a Knave, and it includes a SPECIAL INTERVIEW with Paul Manning, the falconer at Beaulieu, the first official falconer at the house from three centuries! This is living history - and the role of the falconer hasn't changed in over 700 years! Who knew!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sally Hoedel joined me on the podcast to talk about the turbulent life and career of Elvis Presley, King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this BONUS episode, the Histories of the Unexpected duo, James and Sam, once again take to the skies to swoop upon the expected history of BIRDS! Which in this episode is all about it's also all about homing pigeons in WWI and WWII, the Dickin Medal and honouring of animals during the Second World War, including super pigeon hero William of Orange. It's also all about Viking culture, which fluttered with birds from the evidence of osteoarchaeology (the study of animal bones from archaeological sites) which shows us that birds were a common feature of the Viking diet; use of birds for navigation; and mythological birds, including perhaps the most famous birds in Norse legend, Huginn and Muninn, which perched on the shoulders of the god Odin, and flew all over the world gathering information for him. Who knew!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Helen Rappaport, a specialist in Russian history, joined me on the podcast for the third episode of our lockdown learning series to talk about the Russian Revolution. We run through some key moments in the fall of the Romanovs.Many thanks to Simon Beale for creating this downloadable pdf worksheet for students:https://drive.google.com/file/d/1K9b4wZUKbagxobWBPlCOs3ZUuiLmzOj3/view  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode, the Histories of the Unexpected duo, James and Sam, take to the skies to swoop upon the expected history of BIRDS! Which is all about the Battle of Waterloo and plumed helmets, costume feathers, hats, the American Ornithologists Union and cruelty to birds; it's also all about canary resuscitators, John Scott Haldane and the use of canaries down mines and in the trenches during the First World War. Who knew!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Rebecca Simon joined me on the podcast to talk about the Golden Age of Piracy within the British-Atlantic world.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this Homeschooling History episode, the Histories of the Unexpected duo, James and Sam, explore the fascinating history of BATHTUBS!. From discussions of the 'eureka' moment of Archimedes in Ancient Greece and the discovery of displacement and bathtubs in ships to H.L. Mencken's fictitious tales of bathtubs in the White House, Sam and James rampage around history of bathtubs before settling on the fascinating history of Prohibition in the1920 and 1930s in the USA until it was ended by President Roosevelt in 1933. It starts by looking at the production of bathtub liquor, before looking at why prohibition was introduced, the social problems caused by prohibition, and the rise of gangsters such as Al Capone. As always, at the end there is a quiz and a writing task to look at the effects of prohibition on American people!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

For Holocaust Memorial Day Dan talks to people who have experienced and survived genocide. Four guests from four different parts of the world. Sophie Masereka, Ruth Barnett, Kemal Pervanic, Sokphal Din all share their traumatic experiences. All of them lost their loved ones. All of them are brave enough to speak out, driven by the belief that memorialisation and education may stop the next genocide.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this Homeschooling History episode, the Histories of the Unexpected duo, James and Sam, explore the fascinating history of LEAVING HOME. From discussions of seventeenth-century boys leaving home to attend school and university (and letters home to mothers), going off to war and travelling around the world to the exact opposite, staying at home, lockdown and being under house arrest, Sam and James rampage around history of leaving home before settling on the fascinating history of the Viking Invasions. It starts by looking at sources that describe Viking raids, before discussing who the Vikings were, when and where the invasions took place, and what motivated them to leave Scandinavia. As always, at the end there is a quiz and a task to produce your own map of the Viking invasions!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Fergal Keane joined me on the podcast to talk about the profound influence the Irish have had on Britain over many centuries.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode, I was joined by journalist Ian Dunt, a well known a commentator on politics and on Brexit. Ian is host of the 'Oh God What Now' podcast and editor of politics.co.uk. We discuss his recent book which makes an impassioned defence of liberalism and tells its story, from its birth in the fight against absolute monarchy to the modern-day resistance against the new populism.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this Homeschooling History episode, the Histories of the Unexpected duo, James and Sam, fathom the mind-numbingly difficult history of HACKING. From Guglielmo Marconi and magician and inventor Nevil Maskelyne, the history of Rene Carmille, who in 1943 was the first ethical hacker for sabotaging the computerization of data about French Jews during World War II to Joe "Joybubbles" Engressia, a blind 7-year-old boy with perfect pitch who was able to hack AT&T's telephonic system in 1957, Sam and James rampage around history of hacking before settling on the fascinating history of codebreaking during WW2. It starts by looking at an example of an encrypted German Codes, before discussing the intricacies of the Enigma machine, and early attempts by Polish codebreakers to crack the German codes. We then discuss, the role of Alfred Dillwyn "Dilly" Knox, Alan Turing and the team at Bletchley Park and the invention of the Bombe machine; the precise methods for cracking codes, and the impact of the course of the

Eric Thompson has had his finger literally on the nuclear button. He joined the Royal Navy submarine service in the early days of the Cold War. He served on WW2 era ships and submarine before ending his career as a senior officer on Britain's state of the art nuclear submarines. Each one armed with inter continental ballistic missiles with nuclear tips. He took Dan to the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Gosport to show him around one of the finest preserved submarines in the world, HMS Alliance. He told Dan how they kept the beer cold and why his main concern at sea was the toilet. To watch an extended version of this interview, please check out our documentary now available at historyhit.tv. It's still January, so the code 'january' gets you a month for free and the next three months for 80% off the subscription of $/£ 5.99 per month.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

BAFTA winning historian and Joint Chief Curator of Historic Royal Palaces Lucy Worsley takes Dan on a tour of Kensington Palace, one of the principle royal residences since 1689, and the childhood home of Queen Victoria.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this week's Lockdown Learning episode, I was delighted to be joined by medieval historian Marc Morris. We discuss broad themes relating to the Middle Ages - what were they and which periods did they come in between. We ask whether many of the clichés about the Middle Ages are accurate.Many thanks again to Simon Beale, who's put together a worksheet for students to fill out while listening to the episode. You can download it here:https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dwbcPc4qmHIfuIQImt4nfp1cPWfJSoFd/view?usp=sharing  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ella Al-Shamahi, explorer, paleoanthropologist, evolutionary biologist and stand-up comic, joined me on the podcast to talk about Amazon Civilisations.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this Homeschooling History episode, the Histories of the Unexpected duo, James and Sam, investigate the flamboyant history of BLING. From the history of opulence, luxury and ostentation via subjects as wide-ranging as HIP HOP and the Palace of Versailles, Sam and James rampage around history of bling before settling on the fascinating history of Stuart clothing. It starts by looking at Samuel Pepys's diary and his attitudes to clothing, before considering Tudor Sumptuary laws in the sixteenth century, the attitudes of Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans towards dress, and the impact of the Restoration on costume. The episode also looks at how the Tudors and Stuarts would have washing their clothing. As always, at the end there is a quiz and a task to compile a timeline of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century costumes!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Marissa Roth, Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist, joins me on the podcast to talk about her pictures of the 1992 LA riots and lifetime of war photography, especially dealing with women in war.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This is fifth episode in our new micro history series - where we take an historic subject and try to demonstrate how it has a history in just 15-20 minutes!! And without just talking at supersonic speed. Think of it as the historicaI equivalent of speed chess or speed dating. In this fifth foray into historical brevity the histories of the unexpected duo of James Daybell and Sam Willis tackle the intriguing subject of FUN, which is inspired by their book on the VIKINGS. Taking that as their starting place, the boys tackle topics of the archaeology of fun, gaming pieces, the status of fun, drowning matches and pillow fights, the viking ball game and female fun, before tackling the subjects of fun rhymes and children's nonsense poems in Britain in the 1950s and wagers in the second half of the eighteenth century! Who knew?  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It’s a paradox for the ages, breaking news about people who lived and died thousands of years ago. This discovery is no different, because Adam Brumm and his team in Sulawesi have released their discovery of the oldest known art. The paintings on the Indonesian island are over 45,500 years old, and feature three pigs alongside the stencilled outlines of the hands of their prehistoric painter. Listen as Adam tells Tristan about his research on this beautiful island, how the pigs were discovered and what they can tell us about early people.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.