American History Hit
History Hit
Join Don Wildman twice a week for your hit of American history, as he explores the past to help us understand the United States of today. We’ll hear how codebreakers uncovered secret Japanese plans for the Battle of Midway, visit Chief Powhatan as he prepares for war with the British, see Walt Disney accuse his former colleagues of being communists, and uncover the dark history that lies beneath Central Park. From pre-colonial America to independence, slavery to civil rights, the gold rush to the space race, join Don as he speaks to leading experts to delve into America’s past. New episodes every Monday and Thursday. Brought to you by History Hit, the award-winning podcast network and world’s best history channel on demand, featuring shows like Dan Snow’s History Hit, Not Just The Tudors and Betwixt the Sheets.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.
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Episodes
Mentioned books
Mar 30, 2026 • 52min
The Trail of Tears | The Frontier
Ryan Spring, Cultural Research Associate in the Historic Preservation Department of the Choctaw Nation and Choctaw citizen, guides listeners through Choctaw homelands, social structures and origin stories. He traces early colonial alliances, the rise of removal policy and the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek. The conversation covers the brutal logistics of the removals, recovery in Indian Territory and modern acts of remembrance.
Mar 26, 2026 • 50min
Rise and Fall of the Shakers
Doug Winiarski, a professor of Religious and American Studies and scholar of Shaker history. He traces Shaker origins in Manchester and Ann Lee's visions, their transatlantic migration, charismatic worship and communal gospel order. The conversation covers their peak prosperity, the era of manifestations with visions and spirit art, and how only a handful remain today.
Mar 23, 2026 • 38min
The Texas Rangers | The Frontier
Ben Johnson, historian and Loyola University Chicago professor who writes on Texas history, guides a tour through the Texas Rangers' rise. He traces their origins as frontier scouts and militia. He explores their battlefield tactics, campaigns against Indigenous and Mexican communities, and how books, radio and TV turned violence into legend. He closes with debates over memory, monuments and modern reassessment.
Mar 19, 2026 • 28min
The Battle of Fredericksburg
Chris Mackowski, Civil War historian and Copie Hill Fellow who teaches journalism and writes on battlefield history, explains why Fredericksburg became the war's largest battle. He breaks down Burnside’s plan, pontoon delays and river challenges. Urban fighting, snipers and failed assaults on Marye’s Heights shape the narrative. Preservation and political fallout round out the conversation.
Mar 16, 2026 • 58min
Murder on the California Trail | The Frontier
Daniel James Brown, historical nonfiction author known for The Indifferent Stars Above, discusses the Donner Party tragedy and his personal reasons for researching it. He traces the emigrants’ motives, the influence of guidebooks, Hastings’ Cutoff, the Salt Flats ordeal, entrapment at Donner Pass, the Forlorn Hope snowshoe trek, cannibalism, rescue attempts, and how myth shaped the aftermath.
8 snips
Mar 12, 2026 • 54min
America's Bloodiest Day: Battle of Antietam
Garry Adelman, award-winning author and Civil War photography expert, guides listeners through the clash at Antietam. He explains Lee’s Maryland invasion, McClellan’s intelligence windfall, the brutal phases from the cornfield to Burnside Bridge, and how photography revealed the battle’s shock. The discussion covers casualties, Lincoln’s political gains, and Antietam’s lasting legacy.
Mar 9, 2026 • 44min
How Wild Was the Wild West? | The Frontier
Torrey Olson, history professor and author of Red Dead’s History, links games and scholarship in a lively take on America’s frontier. He contrasts mythic shootouts with real forces like railroads, corporations, labor strife, Native dispossession and ecological warfare. Short, sharp conversations peel back nostalgia to reveal how economics, politics and technology shaped the so-called Wild West.
6 snips
Mar 5, 2026 • 49min
What Did FDR Get Wrong?
David Beito, historian and Professor Emeritus who wrote 'FDR: A New Political Life', offers a critical reassessment of Franklin D. Roosevelt. He questions whether the New Deal ended the Depression. He probes FDR's use of executive power, court‑packing, harms to farmers and workers, and failures on civil rights and Japanese American internment.
Mar 2, 2026 • 52min
Life and Death on the Oregon Trail | The Frontier
Stephen Aron, historian and museum director of the Autry Museum and UCLA Professor Emeritus, guides a tour of the Oregon Trail. He discusses who the migrants were and what drove them west. He maps the physical route and daily life on the trail. He covers the dangers travelers faced and how relations with Native peoples and later policies reshaped the West.
13 snips
Feb 26, 2026 • 52min
The Making of Malcolm X
Clarence Lang, a Penn State dean and historian of African American politics, breaks down the making of Malcolm X. He traces family trauma, prison transformation, and the rise through the Nation of Islam. Discussion covers the split from Elijah Muhammad, the pilgrimage that reshaped his views, and how his ideas influenced Black Power and later movements.
