American History Hit

From fur traders to rulers of the New York social scene - how did the Astors rise to the top? What did it mean to be 'Old Money' in the Gilded Age? And where did that power go? Don is joined by New York Times best-selling historian and novelist, Katherine Howe. From the Titanic, to the slums of New York, to the penthouse of the Waldorf Astoria, Katherine today guides us through a family story like no other. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Produced by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick. 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. All music from Epidemic Sounds. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shays’ Rebellion has long been taught as a dangerous uprising, one that risked shaking the newly founded United States of America. But by tracing the events from mounting grievances to the march on the Springfield Armory, one might argue it was as a disciplined, community-driven movement born out of economic injustice... Our guest for today’s episode is Dr. Daniel Bullen, author of the book ‘Daniel Shays's Honorable Rebellion’. His other works include ‘The Dangers of Passion: The Transcendental Friendship of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Margaret Fuller’ & ‘The Love Lives of the Artists: Five Stories of Creative Intimacy.’ Edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Tomos Delargy. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick. 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. All music from Epidemic Sounds. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What was it like to live on Alcatraz? And was it possible to escape? In this episode, Don speaks to a historian with the unique experience of growing up there. Jolene Babyak's father worked on Alcatraz during its 29 years as a federal maximum-security prison. She and Don discuss the origins of the prison, the people who were imprisoned there and the escape of 1962. Jolene is the author of a number of books about the history of Alcatraz, including 'Breaking the Rock: The Great Escape from Alcatraz'. Edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick. 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. All music from Epidemic Sounds. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Driven from the United States, the Mormons journeyed West to build a new society in the desert- one that would challenge the political, economic, and moral norms of the nation they had left behind. But when the United States lay claim to the Utah Territory, a tense standoff developed between the two sides... Our guest today is Prof. Peter Coviello, University of Illinois, who studies American literature and queer theory. His book, Make Yourselves Gods: Mormons and the Unfinished Business of American Secularism was published in 2019 and was a finalist for the John Whitmer Historical Association award for best history book. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Produced by Tomos Delargy. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick. 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. All music from Epidemic Sounds. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chicago is the third most populous city in the United States. It's the windy city, the railroad capital, and home of countless film and tv hits. But when was it founded? Who were the first people living and working on this land? And when did Chicago become Chicago. Don is joined by Ann Durkin Keating, Professor of History at North Central College. Her book on this subject is ‘Rising Up from Indian Country: The Battle of Fort Dearborn and the Birth of Chicago’. Edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick. 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. All music from Epidemic Sounds. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1831, a rebellion erupted in Virginia that sent shockwaves across the United States, and challenged the brutal system of slavery in a way that white slave-owners had long feared. Led by an enslaved man named Nat Turner, he and his followers carried out one of the most significant slave rebellions in American history. To help us in the retelling of this event, we’re lucky to be joined by Dr. Vanessa Holden of the University of Kentucky, where she is the Associate Professor of History of African American & Africana Studies and serves as Director of the Central Kentucky Slavery Initiative. Her work includes the award winning ‘Surviving Southampton: African American Women and Resistance in Nat Turner’s Community.’ Edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Tomos Delargy. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick. 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. All music from Epidemic Sounds. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Their name is synonymous with power, influence ... and tragedy. And with so much of the latter, many have taken to speculating - are the Kennedy family cursed? To find out more, Don is joined by Professor Barbara Perry, co-chair of the Presidential Oral History Program at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center. What is the Kennedy Curse? How far back does it go? And how do the family interpret it? Edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick. 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. All music from Epidemic Sounds. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Trail of Tears is one of the darkest chapters in American history: the forced removal of thousands of Native Americans from their ancestral lands in the Southeast to territories west of the Mississippi River. In this episode we focus specifically on the experiences of the Choctaw people. In this final episode of our 'Frontier' miniseries, we are lucky to welcome Ryan Spring to take us through this story. Ryan is a Cultural Research Associate in the Historic Preservation Department of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Produced by Tomos Delargy. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick. 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. All music from Epidemic Sounds. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, best known as the Shakers, emerged in the UK in the 18th Century. So how is it that the three remaining Shakers are based in the US? How did this religion cross the Atlantic? And where did they get their nickname from? Don is joined for this episode by Professor Doug Winiarski, professor of Religious Studies at the University of Richmond, and editor of upcoming 'Shakers at the Centre: Manifesting Spirits and Spectacles in 19th Century America'. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Produced by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick. 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. All music from Epidemic Sounds. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We've all heard of the Texas Rangers: an undoubted icon of the American West. In this week’s instalment of our Frontier series, we’ll be exploring the history of lawmen famed for riding across a violent and uncertain landscape. But how much of their reputation reflects the realities of the frontier, and how much was shaped by legend? Were the Rangers truly defenders of order in a lawless land, or agents of expansion whose actions came at a devastating cost to neighbouring Indigenous and Mexican communities? To help take us through this story, we welcome Ben Johnson, professor of history at Loyola University Chicago, onto the show. Ben is the author of numerous works, including ‘Texas: An American History,’ and ‘Revolution in Texas: How a Forgotten Rebellion and Its Bloody Suppression Turned Mexicans into Americans.’ Check out more of Ben's work: https://refusingtoforget.org/the-history/ Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Produced by Tomos Delargy. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick. 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. All music from Epidemic Sounds. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the largest battle, by number of combatants, of the entire Civil War. But why? What was the federal objective at Fredericksburg? And how did it all go so wrong for Burnside and his troops? Don is joined to explore the Battle of Fredericksburg by returning guest Chris Mackowski. Chris is the Copie Hill Fellow at the American Battlefield Trust, and a professor at the Jandolin School of Communication at St Bonaventure University. Edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick. 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. All music from Epidemic Sounds. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The words 'Donner Party' have become synonymous with disaster in the American imagination. In this week’s instalment of our Frontier miniseries, we’ll be exploring how this group of pioneers' journey across the Old West ended with fatal consequences... To tell us more about this story, we’re very lucky to welcome Daniel James Brown as our guest. Daniel is a writer who specialises in historical non-fiction and is the author of The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of the Donner Party. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Produced by Tomos Delargy. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick. 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. All music from Epidemic Sounds. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's known as the deadliest single day in American history: the Battle of Antietam. After weeks of Union defeats, Confederate forces pushed north into Maryland and carried the war onto Northern soil for the first time. Near a quiet creek in Maryland, two armies faced one another and engaged in a battle that would decide the course of American history. To take us through today's episode, we welcome our guest Garry Adelman. Garry is an award-winning author and vice president of the Center for Civil War Photography. He works full time as Chief Historian at the American Battlefield Trust. For those who are interested, here are some of images referenced in the episode: https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2021644156/ Edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Tomos Delargy. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick. 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. All music from Epidemic Sounds. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Heroic cowboys on horseback. Bands of outlaws. Brawls in small town saloons. This is the Wild West as popular culture remembers it. But was it really as “wild” as we’ve been led to believe? Did the violence of the frontier truly revolve around outlaws and lawmen... or were much larger forces shaping life on the Frontier? To explore this question, we welcome Tore Olsson as our guest for this episode. Tore is Professor of History at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, and his most recent work is Red Dead’s History: A Video Game, An Obsession, and America’s Violent Past. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Produced by Tomos Delargy. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick. 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. All music from Epidemic Sounds. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Franklin D Roosevelt is consistently considered one of the United States' best Presidents. Elected four times, he oversaw the end of the Great Depression and victory in the Second World War. But was all of this actually his work? Did FDR solve the depression? And how do both his failure to support an anti-lynching bill and the internment of thousands of US citizens during the war impact his legacy? Don is joined by David Beito, Professor Emeritus at the University of Alabama and author of 'FDR: A New Political Life'. Edited by Aidan Lonergan, produced by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick. 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. All music from Epidemic Sounds. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the first instalment of our Frontier miniseries, we explore one of the most iconic symbols in American history: the Oregon Trail. For decades, thousands of Americans packed their lives into wooden wagons and set out for the West. They crossed sun-scorched plains without shade, climbed mountains without roads, and forded rivers that could turn deadly in an instant. Along the way, many buried loved ones beside the trail and pressed on. What compelled ordinary people to leave everything behind and walk nearly two thousand miles into uncertainty? How much did they truly understand about the dangers ahead? And what was daily life really like - day after exhausting day - on the trail? Our guest today is Stephen Aron, Calvin and Marilyn Gross Director and President & CEO of the Autry Museum of the American West. Stephen is Professor of History, Emeritus at the University of California, Los Angeles. His works include ‘The American West: A Very Short Introduction,’ and most recently ‘Peace and Friendship: An Alternative History of the American West.’ Edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Tomos Delargy. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick. 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. All music from Epidemic Sounds. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Known by the end of his life as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, the Black Nationalist leader best known as Malcolm X died at just 39. Despite his short life, however, his legacy continues to this day. Don is joined by Clarence Lang today, who introduces us to this legendary figure and takes us through the events that made him who he was. Clarence is the Susan Welch Dean of the College of the Liberal Arts and professor of African American studies at Penn State. He is currently working on his third book, 'Malcolm X: A Political Biography of Black Nationalism and the African American Working Class'. Edited by Tim Arstall, produced by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick. 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. All music from Epidemic Sounds. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Origins of Slavery in America, from its early colonial history to its expansion after the Revolutionary war, is the darkest chapter of American history. In this episode, we'll explore how European colonists first brought enslaved Africans to the Americas, how legal frameworks were devised to uphold the practice and what they were forced to endure on the plantations. Today's guest is Justene Hill Edwards, Historian and Professor at University of Virginia, as our guest on today’s episode. Justene is the author of Savings and Trust: the Rise & Betrayal of the Freedman’s Bank, which was the Winner of the 2025 Frederick Douglass Book Prize. Edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Tomos Delargy. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick. 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. All music from Epidemic Sounds. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Roughstock, roping and risk - the sport and spectacle of rodeo has become one of the most iconic American pastimes over the last couple of centuries. But where did it begin and how has it changed over time? Don is joined by Dr Tracey Hanshew, Assistant Professor of History at Eastern Oregon University. Tracey's article, 'Here she comes wearin’ them britches!’ Saddles, Riding Skirts, and Social Reform in the Turn-of-the-Century Rural West,' was recently published in Montana The Magazine of Western History. Edited by Tim Arstall, produced by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick. 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. All music from Epidemic Sounds. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On May 4 1970, four students were shot dead by the Ohio National Guard during a protest. What were they protesting? Why were the National Guard brought in? And what chain of events led them to shoot? Don is joined by historian Brian VanDeMark, formerly of the United States Naval Academy, whose latest book is Kent State: An American Tragedy. Edited by Aidan Lonergan, produced by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick. 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. All music from Epidemic Sounds. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.