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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Top 10 American History Hit Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best American History Hit episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to American History Hit for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite American History Hit episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
New Orleans Voodoo
American History Hit
10/30/23 • 39 min
If you've ever watched a Voodoo scene in a horror movie, you might be forgiven for envisioning zombies, dolls and witchcraft when asked what it is. But in this episode of American History Hit, Don speaks to Elizabeth James to find out the truth about the New Orleans strand of this misunderstood religion and spiritual practice.
Where does Voodoo come from? How has it been practised over the years? And who was Marie Laveau?
Elizabeth James is a programme associate for Afroamerican and African Studies at the University of Michigan. She had the practises of Voodoo passed on to her by her grandmother in Louisiana.
Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.
Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, James Holland, Mary Beard and more.
Get 50% off your first 3 months with code AMERICANHISTORY. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up at historyhit.com/subscribe
You can take part in our listener survey here.
2 Listeners
Elections Explained: A History of Voting
American History Hit
10/14/24 • 46 min
We have a constitutional right to vote in the United States ... don't we? Find out in this first episode of American History Hit's series, Elections Explained.
Having correctly predicted every election since 1984 (except - arguably - 2000), Allan Lichtman joins Don to explore the development of the American right to vote,. When did we move from public to private voting? And where did the electoral college come from?
Allan is a Distinguished Professor of History at the American University, Washington DC, and has been an expert witness in 100 Civil and Voting Rights cases. His books include ‘White Protestant Nation: The Rise of the American Conservative Movement’, ‘The Keys To the White House’, and ’The Thirteen Keys To the Presidency’, and his Youtube can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/@AllanLichtmanYouTube
Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.
Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for $1 per month for 3 months with code AMERICANHISTORY sign up at https://historyhit.com/subscription/
You can take part in our listener survey here.
1 Listener
JFK Assassination: A Witness Remembers
American History Hit
11/20/23 • 61 min
On November 22nd 1963, President John F. Kennedy was shot dead. The ensuing years have been filled with questions and conspiracy about the events of that day, and the weeks, months and years leading to it.
In the second of our special series, Don meets Paul Landis, a former secret service agent who was feet from the presidential limousine when the assassination happened. He tells us his recollection of the event itself, the direction of the bullets and the experience of accompanying First Lady Jackie Kennedy into the Emergency Room alongside her husband.
Don is also joined by Jefferson Morley and Thomas Whalen to explore why we have so many unanswered questions despite the Warren Commission report of 1964 and the many other reports that have followed.
Jefferson Morley is a journalist and editor who has worked in Washington journalism for over thirty years. He has been researching the CIA files of the assassination since their release 3 decades ago, is the editor of the JFK Facts blog, and his books include 'Our Man in Mexico: Winston Scott and the Hidden History of the CIA' and 'Scorpions' Dance: The President, the Spymaster, and Watergate.'
Thomas J. Whalen is an associate professor of social science at Boston University. His books on JFK include 'JFK and His Enemies: A Portrait of Power' and 'Kennedy Versus Lodge: The 1952 Massachusetts Senate Race'.
Produced and edited by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.
This podcast contains archive from NBC, 22 November 1963, and music and SFX from Epidemic Sound.
Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, James Holland, Mary Beard and more.
Don’t miss out on the best offer in history! Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 for 3 months with code AMERICANHISTORYHIT1 sign up now for your 14-day free trial https://historyhit/subscription/
You can take part in our listener survey here.
1 Listener
The Tudors & the American West Coast
American History Hit
01/01/24 • 36 min
In the summer of 1579, Francis Drake had to land in a ‘fair and good bay’ on the western coast of the New World when his ship - The Golden Hind - needed repairs. A sign was put up, naming it Nova Albion (‘New England’) for Queen Elizabeth I. But the question of exactly where Drake landed has continued to vex historians to this day.
In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Melissa Darby, whose meticulous and painstaking work has uncovered all manner of evidence to finally resolve the controversy.
This episode was edited by Joseph Knight and produced by Rob Weinberg.
Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, James Holland, Mary Beard and more.
Don’t miss out on the best offer in history! Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 for 3 months with code AMERICANHISTORYHIT1 sign up now for your 14-day free trial https://historyhit/subscription/
You can take part in our listener survey here.
1 Listener
The Watergate Scandal
American History Hit
01/21/24 • 45 min
Wiretapping, White House tapes and the possibility of impeachment. On June 17, 1972, a break-in at the Watergate Hotel triggered a chain of events ending with the resignation of President Nixon in 1974.
From the burglary to the surprising redactions from the Nixon tapes, Kathryn Brownell joins Don to explore the story. Kathryn is an Associate Professor at Purdue University and author of '24/7 Politics: Cable Television and the Fragmenting of America from Watergate to Fox News'.
Produced and edited by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.
Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, James Holland, Mary Beard and more.
Don’t miss out on the best offer in history! Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 for 3 months with code AMERICANHISTORYHIT1 sign up now for your 14-day free trial https://historyhit/subscription/
You can take part in our listener survey here.
1 Listener
Killers of the Flower Moon: Native Americans & the FBI
American History Hit
11/02/23 • 22 min
During the first half of the 20th century, dozens of murders plagued the oil-rich Osage Nation. The question of who killed them, and why, spread beyond the borders of the nation, eventually being picked up by the fledgling FBI.
In this episode, Don speaks to David Grann, author of the silver-screen adapted 'Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI'. Don and David explore the Osage Nation, why it fell victim to the greed of its neighbours, and how the truth was eventually discovered.
Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.
Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, James Holland, Mary Beard and more.
Get 50% off your first 3 months with code AMERICANHISTORY. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up at historyhit.com/subscribe
You can take part in our listener survey here.
1 Listener
Battle of Little Bighorn
American History Hit
09/24/23 • 42 min
Not one of the US forces led by General George Custer into the attack on 25 June 1876 survived. But the story of 'Custer's Last Stand' as it was known for a long time, has long been told by the settlers, rather than the indigenous people who survived.
In this episode, Don talks to Lindsay Stallones Marshall, Assistant Professor of History at Illinois State University. Together, they talk through the battle and the opposing narratives and names of it.
She is the author of 'Teaching Us to Forget: The Wars of Westward Expansion, U.S. History Education, & Public Memory, 1870 - 1995'.
Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Siobhan Dale. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.
Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, James Holland, Mary Beard and more.
Get 50% off your first 3 months with code AMERICANHISTORY. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up at historyhit.com/subscribe
You can take part in our listener survey here.
1 Listener
Founding Father: Who Was John Hancock?
American History Hit
04/22/24 • 40 min
An iconic signature on the Declaration of Independence - that is what John Hancock is best known for. But how did he come to be the first signatory? What was his role in the American Revolution?
Brooke Barbier joins Don in this episode to take us through the life and works of John Hancock, and to explain how he got the nickname, 'King Hancock'.
Brooke is the author of ‘Boston in the American Revolution’ and ‘King Hancock: The Radical Influence of a Moderate Founding Father’. She also founded 'Ye Old Tavern Tours', a private tour company in Boston.
Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.
Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for $1 per month for 3 months with code AMERICANHISTORY sign up at https://historyhit/subscription/
You can take part in our listener survey here.
1 Listener
The Rise & Fall of the Ku Klux Klan
American History Hit
03/11/24 • 30 min
A far-right hate group known the world over, the Ku Klux Klan emerged in the aftermath of the Civil War. So why did it emerge? Where did it get its name from? And how has its size, focus and influence changed in the years since?
To demystify this terrorist organisation, Don spoke to Professor Kristofer Allerfeldt from the University of Exeter, England. Kristofer is the author of 'The Ku Klux Klan: An American History'.
Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Anisha Deva. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.
Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for $1 per month for 3 months with code AMERICANHISTORY sign up at https://historyhit/subscription/
You can take part in our listener survey here.
1 Listener
The Boston Tea Party Explained
American History Hit
12/10/23 • 19 min
On December 16th 1773, Bostonian colonists took a stand against the British Crown in the Boston Tea Party.
In this episode, we dive deep into the events of that evening in Boston Harbor. Don is joined by Benjamin Carp, the Daniel M. Lyons Professor of American History at Brooklyn College. Who was involved? What signalled the start of the event? And was it really a non-violent protest?
Benjamin is the author of ‘Rebels Rising: Cities and the American Revolution’; ‘Defiance of the Patriots: The Boston Tea Party and the Making of America’; and ‘The Great New York Fire of 1776: A Lost Story of the American Revolution’
Produced and edited by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.
Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, James Holland, Mary Beard and more.
Don’t miss out on the best offer in history! Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 for 3 months with code AMERICANHISTORYHIT1 sign up now for your 14-day free trial https://historyhit/subscription/
You can take part in our listener survey here.
1 Listener
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FAQ
How many episodes does American History Hit have?
American History Hit currently has 240 episodes available.
What topics does American History Hit cover?
The podcast is about History, Podcasts and America.
What is the most popular episode on American History Hit?
The episode title 'New Orleans Voodoo' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on American History Hit?
The average episode length on American History Hit is 38 minutes.
How often are episodes of American History Hit released?
Episodes of American History Hit are typically released every 3 days, 6 hours.
When was the first episode of American History Hit?
The first episode of American History Hit was released on Aug 23, 2022.
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