Dan Snow's History Hit

Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 was a controversial amendment to the UK's Local Government Act 1986, enacted on 24 May 1988 and repealed on 21 June 2000 in Scotland, and on 18 November 2003 in the rest of the UK by section 122 of the Local Government Act 2003. The amendment stated that a local authority "shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality" or "promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship".Paul Baker, Professor of English Language at Lancaster University, joins Dan on the podcast in celebration of LGBT+ History Month. They discuss the background to the Act, how the press fanned the flames and what politicians said during debates, how protestors fought back to bring about the repeal of the law in the 2000s, and its eventual legacy.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Endurance22 crew have made it to the Weddell Sea and the point where they believe Shackleton’s ship sunk! It’s a rocky start as they begin the search using the AUV drones that scan the seafloorIf you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To mark the US release of our very own Dr Cat Jarman’s incredible book River Kings: A New History of the Vikings from Scandinavia to the Silk Roads, sit back and relax as she takes us a whistle-stop tour of her captivating Sunday Times bestseller. From Sweden to Ukraine and from London to Constantinople, the Vikings certainly got about! But how much of a link was there between the western and eastern Viking worlds? By joining the dots of fascinating new archaeological evidence, pioneering research and reassessments of traditional sources, Dr Cat reveals that many of the stories we are traditionally told about the Viking Age might not quite be as true as they seem. Order Dr Cat's book today.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Icebergs, albatrosses and growlers- the team have crossed the Antarctic circle! In the first of our episodes recorded from Antarctica, Dan takes you on a tour of the ship and brings you updates with expedition lead John Shears and marine archaeologist Mensun Bound. Hear how the crew are passing the time and the rumours floating around the ship about Dan...Dan Snow's History Hit podcast is the place to follow the expedition in real-time.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Fall of Singapore to the Japanese Army took place in the South-East Asian theatre of the Pacific War, with fighting in Singapore lasting through 8 to 15 February 1942. Nicknamed the “Gibraltar of the East,” Singapore was the foremost British military base and economic port in South-East Asia and was important to British interwar defence planning for the region. The British stronghold was captured by the Empire of Japan in what is considered one of the greatest defeats in the history of the British Army, and arguably Britain’s worst defeat in the Second World War. In the largest British surrender in history, sixty-two thousand Allied soldiers were taken prisoner, and more than half eventually died as prisoners of war.Dan tells the story, explainer style, to mark this 80 year anniversary. This episode also features archive from Dan’s interview with the late Dr Bill Frankland (19 March 1912 - 2 April 2020), a veteran of World War II who lived through a Japanese prisoner of war camp and who also made important contributions to our understanding of allergies. You can go back and listen to the full episode here.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dan gives a quick update on the expedition's progress towards Antarctica from a rather wet and windy deck as the crew prepare for a storm to hit.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Writing letters to a spouse or sweetheart deployed overseas was portrayed as a patriotic duty, a means to boost the morale of the fighting man. But what of the letter that broke off an engagement, or announced the intention to file for divorce? During World War II, such letters became known as “Dear Johns,” and the women who sent them were denounced as traitors.Susan L. Carruthers, Professor in U.S. and International History, has listened to hundreds of hours of oral testimony from veterans to understand the stories men told each other about these breakup notes. Susan and Dan discuss who wrote the “Dear John” letter, wartime relationships and breakdowns from multiple perspectives and the expectations placed on women across miles and years of absence, and the role of constantly changing technologies in both facilitating intimacies and undermining it in wartime.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots were cousins who never met - but their fates were intertwined. As their nations were engulfed in religious turmoil and civil wars raged on the continent, these two powerful women struggled for control of the British Isles. In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb goes to the British Library in London to meet curator Andrea Clarke and visit a stunning exhibition on the rival Queens, which uses original documents and extraordinary objects to show how paranoia turned sisterly affection to suspicion.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A little update from Dan on where he is and how the journey to Antarctica is going!If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The extraordinary story of Shackleton's doomed Trans-Antarctic expedition has captured audiences for over 100 years. It's not just because it's a dramatic tale of survival, but because there's visual evidence of it. Some of the greatest moments of history in the last century are etched into our minds because someone was there with a camera; for Shackleton's expedition, it was the tough and tenacious Australian photographer Frank Hurley. His photographs and footage became world-famous on the crew's return to England when they were turned into a remarkable feature-length film. 'South' told the story of the destruction of the Endurance and the survival of the men on the ice without a ship.Even today, the expedition footage remains breathtaking; to see the frozen world the Endurance crew found and the daily habits and behaviours of the men whose names are so well known in history books is nothing short of remarkable. The film has been remastered by the BFI and now for the centenary of Shackleton's death, 'South' is available to watch on BFI Player and is currently in cinemas. It will be released on DVD and Blu Ray at the end of February.In this episode, Dan speaks to BFI curator Bryony Dixon about how Frank Hurley managed to get the astonishing footage seen in 'South' and why it endures.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.