History
by History Hit
A podcast for all ancient history fans! The Ancients is dedicated to discussing our distant past. Featuring interviews with historians and archaeologists, each episode covers a specific theme from antiquity. From Neolithic Britain to the Fall of Rome. Hosted by Tristan Hughes. New episodes every Sunday and Thursday. From History Hit, the world's best history channel and creators of award-winning podcasts Dan Snow's History Hit, Gone Medieval, and Betwixt the Sheets. History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™ Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original…
The Ancients explores ancient Antarctica through a conversation between host Tristan Hughes and paleontologist Professor John Long. The episode examines how Antarctica was once a thriving ecosystem with forests, rivers, and diverse animal life—a stark contrast to its current frozen state. The discussion centers on…
Worth it if you're interested in paleontology, prehistoric ecosystems, or how Earth's continents and climates have changed over deep time.
The Ancients episode 'Prehistoric Penguins' explores the evolutionary journey of penguins from their origins as flying birds after the dinosaur extinction through their transformation into flightless marine predators. Hosted by Tristan Hughes and featuring paleontologist Dr Steve Brusatte, the episode traces how…
Worth it if you enjoy accessible paleontology narratives with expert guests and are curious about penguin evolutionary history from the K-Pg extinction to modern times.
The Ancients explores daily life in ancient Babylon during Hammurabi's reign, moving beyond the city's famous temples and palaces to examine the lived experiences of ordinary residents. Host Tristan Hughes is joined by Professor Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, a Babylonian specialist, to investigate what existence actually…
Worth it if you're interested in ancient history, daily life in antiquity, or want to understand Babylon beyond its famous structures and rulers.
The Ancients examines the historical reliability of the four Gospels as sources for understanding the life of Jesus. Hosted by Tristan Hughes and featuring Professor Helen Bond, the episode addresses a central question in biblical scholarship: how much can we actually know about the historical Jesus given that the…
Worth it if you're interested in biblical history, the historical Jesus, or how scholars evaluate ancient religious texts as historical sources.
The Ancients episode on Maya hieroglyphs features host Tristan Hughes interviewing Professor David Stuart to explore what deciphered Maya writing reveals about the civilization beyond calendars and astronomy. The episode promises to uncover a complex political landscape dominated by rival city-states Tikal and…
Worth it if you enjoy accessible Maya history with a narrative edge and want to learn how hieroglyphic decipherment revealed political complexity, but skip if you expect deep linguistic or archaeological analysis.
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The Ancients explores human sacrifice in ancient Britain by examining the gap between popular imagination and archaeological evidence. Hosted by Tristan Hughes with guest archaeologist Dr. Miles Russell, the episode tackles how much of our understanding comes from Roman propaganda versus what the physical record…
Worth it if you're interested in ancient British history, archaeology, or how classical sources can distort our understanding of the past.
The Ancients episode on Ice Age America's Clovis culture features host Tristan Hughes in conversation with archaeologist Dr. Madeline Mackie. The episode explores the Clovis people, a mysterious hunter-gatherer culture that flourished during the Ice Age in North America. The central narrative focuses on the Clovis's…
Worth it if you're interested in North American prehistory and want an accessible introduction to Clovis culture and Ice Age megafauna hunting, but not if you seek deep archaeological analysis or controversial theories.
The Ancients explores the First Punic War (264–241 BCE), the 20-year conflict between Rome and Carthage for control of Sicily. Host Tristan Hughes is joined by Carthage expert Dr. Eve MacDonald to examine this pivotal ancient conflict. The episode promises to cover the war's defining features: massive naval battles,…
Worth it if you're interested in ancient military history, naval warfare tactics, or the Carthaginian-Roman rivalry and want an accessible, expert-guided introduction to the First Punic War.
The Ancients explores Iron Age Ireland through the lens of archaeology and legend, examining how much of the popular mythology surrounding this period reflects historical reality. Host Tristan Hughes interviews Dr. John Waddell, author of The Celtic World, to investigate the Hill of Tara—a monumental site associated…
Worth it if you're interested in Iron Age Celtic history, Irish archaeology, or how mythology and legend relate to historical reality.
The Ancients episode on human origins features host Tristan Hughes in conversation with leading palaeoanthropologist Prof. Chris Stringer to challenge the oversimplified "out of Africa" narrative that dominates popular understanding of human evolution. The episode promises to explore how recent breakthroughs in fossil…
Worth it if you're interested in human evolution and want a corrective to pop-science oversimplifications, and you trust Prof. Stringer's expertise to guide the discussion.
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The Ancients episode 'Egypt's Lost Cities' explores the archaeological mystery of vanished Egyptian urban centers, hosted by Tristan Hughes with guest Egyptologist Chris Naunton. The episode promises to examine what caused entire cities to disappear beneath Egyptian sands and wetlands, and how many remain…
Worth it if you enjoy accessible Egyptian archaeology, Indiana Jones nostalgia, or want an overview of famous lost cities without requiring specialized knowledge.
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